By Ross Jackson
Replacing a starting center is never an easy task for an NFL team, but that is the challenge that now awaits the New Orleans Saints offense. Former Saints offensive lineman Jon Stinchcomb joined ESPN Baton Rouge’s Matt Moscona on “After Further Review” to discuss the tall task New Orleans has ahead of itself.
“They make calls, they get everybody on the same page before the quarterback gets up there,” Stinchcomb said of the responsibilities of a center. “Obviously, any veteran quarterback has the ability and wherewithal to make adjustments, but it just speeds up the process in the operation. (Teams are) able to get up and down and in and out of a huddle and into your play a heck of a lot quicker when your center’s able to get everyone on the same page almost instantaneously. And anytime you lose a veteran like McCoy who is the bell cow of that offensive front, it’s going to be a loss that’s felt.”
A loss that is going to be felt for sure. The Saints lost McCoy just three plays into their Week 3 contest against the Philadelphia Eagles and his absence was unmistakable. The interior of the Eagles defensive line had a field day with the Saints’ front, applying a ton of pressure on quarterback Derek Carr. The unit struggled to match up with stunts and twists as well as pre-snap alignment adjustments by the defensive line. These are all places where McCoy’s ability to communicate would have been key along with his playing ability.
We wrote recently about Carr’s “addition by subtraction” where we highlighted head coach Dennis Allen’s comments about taking things off of Carr’s plate pre-snap. McCoy was a pivotal part of that simplification. Not only is the team trying to replace a good player, but they have to find a way to substitute his mental impact as well. McCoy is a multi-faceted player whose impact is hard to summarize in one area of the game.
“I think he’s got a really good anchor and he’s athletic,” Stinchcomb said of what makes McCoy as good as he is. “And that really separates a lot of the centers. Some are one or the other. Very few are both. He’s got that ability to move in space well but also, the one-on-one situations with some of the nose guards in this league is a challenge for a lot of guys. He’s got the power and ability to sit down and still allow a pocket for Derek Carr behind him. He’s one of the best centers in the league and probably at times has been under-appreciated.”
One thing is for sure, if the Saints struggle to fill McCoy’s shoes in the interim, he will neve be under-appreciated again. But ideally the Saints are able to conduct a plan that will allow their offense to get back to looking more like it did Week 1 and 2 than it did in the loss last week.
When McCoy left the game, starting left guard Lucas Patrick moved to center, a position where he has a lot of experience. In his place at left guard: veteran offensive lineman Oli Udoh.
It stands to reason that the Saints will call upon the same, or at least similar, plan for their Week 4 bout with the division rival Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons will also be without their starting center Drew Dalman who was placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury. Patrick in this case would get a full week of work at the position rather than being thrown in without practicing at center. Which could have a major impact for New Orleans. Stinchcomb highlighted the difficulty of having to change positions in-game.
“I thought he did a great job of trying to make that transition,” Stinchcomb said. “But having a week’s worth of preparation, anyone would appreciate that more. Obviously for Lucas (Patrick), he’s going ‘Okay, now I can see things different. The ask is a little bit different. And I’ve got a whole week to prepare for that.’ But that’s the nature of the beast for the interior guys.”
Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak will have his work cut out for him as he tries to prove that the real fluke of the Saints’ offense was their 12-point output against the Eagles rather than their 91-point historic start to the season. The extra layer of overcoming the loss of one of the unit’s best players at one of its most important positions makes the navigation even more difficult. If the Saints can circumvent the 6-8 week loss of McCoy with any success, it will speak loudly of their resilience and ability to overcome adversity.
