(15:00) 1st & 10: Blount lines up singleback, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Dotson), right + H-back (Stocker), right and H-back (Winslow), right. Play is power-O to the strongside (right) with Larsen (who starts in place of an injured Zuttah) lead-blocking on a pull. Blount takes the handoff and follows Larsen. Larsen attempts to force open a hole through the strongside C-gap (between Trueblood and Dotson) but there is none. Blount follows him but seeing that there is nothing open, bounces to the outside where there is open field. He cuts downfield tight to the outside of the line but there is a Saints DB unblocked to his outside. As Blount runs past, the DB wraps up Blount around the knees which brings him down for a gain of three.
What could Blount have done better?
This is a play where, no doubt, people will be accusing Blount of "dancing", but the fact is there was nothing open in front of him, so he had no option but to bounce outside. It looks like the DB who brought down Blount was covering Winslow, and as no-one blocked that DB, I would guess that he was Winslow's responsibility (Winslow doubled with Stocker on a linebacker instead). Even so, the failure of the play was down to the line not being able to get any holes open, forcing Blount outside. (For those wondering, had Blount stayed behind Larsen and just waited for a hole to open up, he would have definitely been at risk at being tackled for a loss by a safety who, worryingly, Larsen seemed unable to block without having to resort to holding).
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(14:24) 2nd & 7: Blount lines up tailback, Lorig at FB, Freeman under center. OL + TE (Stocker), right. Play is a drop-back pass. At the snap, Blount runs up to the strongside (right) A-gap, where there is a linebacker and a safety blitzing. Joseph picks up the linebacker, but as Blount approaches the safety, the safety changes direction and runs to the weakside of the field, as Freeman has already thrown the pass in that direction (which is incomplete to Williams). Williams is dinged in the leg on the play, and Tracy Porter is carted off. (Ironic, huh?)
What could Blount have done better?
His assignment appeared to be blitz-pickup in the strongside A-gap, and seeing two blitzers coming through, he runs towards them with determination. So, he knows his responsibility, and goes to execute it, so he did fine on the play - with the exception of my pet peeve: once the safety has changed direction, meaning he was no longer Blount's responsibility (as he never actually got through the A-gap), Blount did just stand and watch the play rather than chase down the safety. Yes, his assignment may well have been "Stay in the A-gap and don't chase down any potential blitzers", but in that case, he should have remained looking for a blitzer, rather than watching the play. Still, he was in position to execute his primary assignment.
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Lumpkin subbed in for Blount on third down.