Taysom Hill presents trouble for the Washington Football Team defense
Last week against the Atlanta Falcons, the Washington Football Team defense struggled to contain Cordarrelle Patterson in their in their 34-30 win. Patterson by far had his best game of the season against the 30th ranked defensive unit in the NFL. In Weeks 2 and 3, Patterson averaged 1.57 yards per attempt and 2.86 yards per rush respectively.
Against Washington, Patterson averaged 5.6 yards per rush on six carries for 34 rushing yards. He also torched the WFT secondary with five catches for 83 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. More impressively, Patterson did so while only playing on just 30 percent (23 plays) of Atlanta’s offensive snaps.
Versus the New Orleans Saints, the Washington Football Team will have to account for Taysom Hill. He may not have the same explosiveness as Cordarelle Patterson, but Hill is a jack-of-all-trades like Patterson. Throughout his career, Hill has played quarterback, running back, tight end, and wide receiver. Hill also has experience as a kick returner.
On the ground is where Taysom Hill is likely to do his most damage. In his career, Hill has run for 886 rushing yards on 167 rushing attempts. He also has 14 rushing touchdowns in his career, three of which have come this season. Although he’s only averaging 4.8 yards per attempt in 2021, Hill is averaging 5.3 yards per rushing attempt in his career.
Taysom Hill may see an increase in snaps against Washington with Saints backup running back Tony Jones Jr. out of the lineup for potentially a month. Hill punished the New York Giants on an eight-yard touchdown run last Sunday. On the play, Hill took a shotgun snap and ran what appeared to be a designed quarterback run. He then proceeded to plow through numerous Giants defenders … and we all know that broken tackles have plagued Washington Football Team defense this season.
This is how to tackle RBs in the flat on 3rd down. Falcons get the stop, whereas Washington miss 4 tackles and give up a touchdown. pic.twitter.com/DEP22dJFuq
— Mark Bullock (@MarkBullockNFL) October 3, 2021
Taysom Hill will attack the Washington Football Team defense from multiple positions.
Despite being the 28th ranked offense in the NFL, the Saints have players not named Taysom Hill who can make Sunday another long afternoon for Washington defenders. They also can open things up for Hill as well.
Four-time Pro Bowler Alvin Kamara remains the focal point of the New Orleans offense. He leads New Orleans with 88 total touches; Tony Jones is second on the team with 23. Although Kamara is averaging a career-low 3.8 yards per rush, he’s still is capable of dominating Washington’s defense.
Kamara is second on the team in targets (14) and catches (10). Kamara is also second on the team in receiving touchdowns with two. Additionally, Kamara had his first 100-yard rushing game of the season last week. Against New York, Kamara ran for 120 yards on 26 carries. So far this season, Alvin Kamara is averaging 19.5 rushing attempts per game and 74.3 rushing yards per game.
Although the Saints are averaging 156.3 passing yards per game, Jameis Winston and his receiving core are due for a get-right game. Washington’s secondary has shown the inability to limit opposing receivers. Guys like Deonte Harris, Marquez Callaway, Juwan Johnson could be in line for career games.
In the past two weeks, Taysom Hill has played more snaps within the Saints’ offense. In Week 1, Hill played 35 percent of offensive snaps. In week two, the number fell to 23 percent. Against the New York Giants last week, Hill played wide receiver, quarterback, and running back. He caught two passes for 26 yards as he started the game at wide receiver. Hill completed 2/3 passes for nine yards. However, Hill did throw an interception on an underthrown pass.
Although New Orleans has the 31st ranked passing offense in the NFL, they do possess the seventh-best rushing attack in the league. Head coach Sean Payton is more than capable of concocting an offensive game plan that confounds Washington’s defense fits. Jack Del Rio’s unit has to play better this week after allowing the Atlanta Falcons to score a season-high 30 points.
Hill will do his best to ensure that doesn’t happen.
