The New Orleans Saints have been one of the more disappointing teams during the 2023 NFL season as they’ve got enough talent on both sides of the field to win the NFC South.
There was optimism that the Saints would take a leap this year considering how wide-open the NFC is and the stars on their roster.
However, the offense has been a major letdown despite their offseason signing of Derek Carr and their issues continued in their Week 7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Almost the entire evening, Carr struggled to move the ball downfield and opted for several short passes that led to minimal gains.
Chris Olave was Carr’s favorite option as the receiver was targeted 15 times, though only managed to reel in seven of them.
Olave could’ve had a much bigger day had he been able to come up with a deep shot from Carr, and head coach Dennis Allen later called out the second-year receiver for running the route incorrectly via Katherine Terrell of ESPN.
Allen was asked about the incompletion from Carr to Olave that's gotten a lot of attention. Allen said Olave "didn't run that route the way it needs to be run," so the result was a throwaway OOB
— Katherine Terrell (@Kat_Terrell) October 20, 2023
Backed up on their own 10-yard line on third down, Carr drops back while Olave is running down the right sideline.
Olave seems to stop running mid-route and Carr ends up throwing the ball out of bounds, forcing the Saints to have to punt again.
When reviewing the play, it does look like Olave cuts his route short, and had he not done that could’ve conceivably pulled in the pass for an explosive play.
Carr and Olave have yet to really find their stride together, and they’ll need to work those issues out soon as they’re falling in the standings.
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