Week 11 Flex Rankings

Photo By: Derick E. Hingle / US PRESSWIRE

One thing we can count on in New Orleans is a running game clustered with multiple tailbacks coming in and out of the lineup. With Joe Vitt back from his suspension, leading the charge as the Saints head coach there are some things have changed that we need to take note of.

For one, Vitt is open about wanting to run the football more, using ball control to take pressure off the defense. A smart move, and with Sproles out of the lineup, Chris Ivory has been pressed back into action as the third option in the backfield.

Both Ivory and Mark Ingram have run the football well and their fresh legs look to be an advantage as we creep closer to Thanksgiving. Because all three of the Saints running backs are flex play candidates, I want to breakdown the resent snap counts and stats for each back, in the past two weeks.

Snap Counts

snap count numbers courtesy of Football Outsiders

Stats

As we can see Thomas as led the charge in snaps both weeks but oddly enough he’s been out produced or at least matched in terms of production by both Ingram and Ivory each week. While Ivory is bringing up the rear in terms of touches and snaps, he’s been the top option to start of the three as he’s scored a touchdown each week, while Ingram and Thomas have failed to find the end zone.

Ivory the goal line back? Not that I’ve seen, yet, as Ivory’s touchdowns have come from distances of 22 and 56 yards! What we should notice is that both Ivory and Ingram have earned more playing time and I hope they receive it this week against a pathetic Raider defense.

Expect the Saints to build up a big lead on Oakland in the first half and run the football over 30 times by games end. Both Ingram and Ivory are worth starting, and I actually like Ingram as the top start of the three, because he received 16 carries last week.

If the Saints continue to run the football as they have in recent weeks, we can expect Brees’s numbers to take a dip from what we saw through the first two months of the season. Coach Vitt is wise to protect his defense and an effective running game is a great way to help them out.

Week 11 Standard Rankings – QB | RB | WR | TE | K | D |

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