The Swiss Army Knife that is Taysom Hill gives the New Orleans Saints a really intriguing weapon to use on offense as well as special teams. But his role on the offensive side of the ball for New Orleans has set them back a few steps, especially when it mattered the most.
For example, Hill was put in during a key fourth quarter snap against the Green Bay Packers during last week’s Sunday Night Football affair for the Saints, and it was pretty obvious that he was brought in to run some sort of rushing play alongside running back Alvin Kamara, who was next to him in the backfield. Funny enough, the Green Bay defense had that same outlook and thought process coming into that play as well.
Hill and Kamara ran a read-option play for the Saints, with Hill becoming the ball carrier after he pulled the ball out of the gut of Kamara and tried to take off with it. Packers’ edge rusher Za’Darius Smith came through the line and met Hill one-on-one in the backfield, reaching his arm in and knocking the ball out of Hill’s arms.
Smith recovered and put together a short return, but that turnover seemed to take any wind out of the sails of the Saints as they were looking to come back and squeak out a win in a game that they had seemingly been behind for the entirety of.
Hill’s role, while small, is a key cog in what the Saints do, as they try and throw so many different forms of action and movement and pre-snap motion and formation quirks at opposing defenses, but this play call seemed to be just a little too much, especially with the outcome that it caused.
For New Orleans, their willingness to take the ball out of the hands of Brees, especially late in games, is a failure to stick to what makes this team as successful as they are, and that is by having Brees be the leader and choreographer of the team when they are on offense. When taken out of being behind center, the offense loses a few levels, and even though Hill has been filling this role for head coach Sean Payton for a few seasons now, his commitment to sticking with that gameplan and not keeping the ball in his star QB’s hands is quite shocking.
What Hill brings to the offense
Hill’s involvement in the Saints' offense is certainly warranted, as he is a wild card that can run, throw, and catch the ball in various forms – but, especially late in games, why would you take out the leader of your offense?
Teams are more worried about covering Kamara and wide receiver Michael Thomas (when healthy), so the involvement of Hill does not seem to move the needle one way or the other all that much. Yet Payton’s reliance on Hill getting his snaps in as either the QB in a sure-fire running opportunity, lining up out wide to catch a wide receiver screen (that also backfired in the GB game that resulted in a failed third-down conversion), or in any other format that somehow manages to get him on the field.
At times, Hill is merely out there as a decoy, set up to provide the defense with an added element to worry about all while the NO offense knows quite well that Hill will not be targeted. And that is fine, especially with the multiple dimensions that Hill can attack a defense with – but again, late in a game is not the time nor the place to take that chance.
Why Hill should earn fewer snaps
This should not be seen as a demotion or a punishment for how his fumble kinda sorta cost the Saints the game, but Hill’s role in this offense could be better utilized in fewer snaps, plain and simple. He is not taking the top off of the defense, he is not any sort of an x-factor that the opposing defenses gameplan for, and he is not someone that jumps out on game replay tape – he is a multi-dimensional weapon that is just kinda there.
On the year through the first four games, Brees has had at least 25 pass attempts (30+ in three of four), and 1,006 yards have come with Thomas being sidelined for three of the four games this year and with Kamara slotting in as his WR1 out of the backfield, on top of his regular rushing capacity.
An 80.1 quarterback rating, coupled with an 8:2 TD to INT ratio is nothing to scoff at, and those numbers are prime examples of why Brees deserves to have the ball in his hands more, especially in crunch time.
While a frequent critique of his game is that he favors the short-passing game more than anything and his numbers look inflated due to that, Brees’ efficiency is quite remarkable. Boasting a 71.3 completion percentage this year is impressive as well, even if it is inflated with his short-range targets and route tree that the WR unit (and Kamara) utilize.
By getting Hill off the field more, it puts the ball back into the hand of Brees, and at least that gives the opposing defense more to worry about. Yes, Hill is absolutely a candidate to throw it as well when he receives the snap, but the likelihood of him rushing the ball supersedes the chance that he throws the ball, which is quite the opposite of what happens with Brees.
That $21 million deal that the Saints just handed down to Hill this past offseason is quite a large deal for a backup QB that also has Jameis Winston in that QB room, something that should absolutely push Hill to do better. However, Winston is a QB that Hill will never be, which is a shame, especially with how the Saints paid Hill as though he is the QB that Winston is.
Financial crunching aside, the Saints need to take the ball out of the hands of Hill more often and give it back to Brees, as Brees is the unquestioned maestro of this offense, and while Hill brings a ton of different ways to move the ball to the table, his fumbling issues have cost the Saints one too many times.
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