Taysom Hill's role in the New Orleans Saints' new offense will be fascinating to watch develop, but there's always going to be a question for him: How much is too much?
We've seen the 34-year-old quarterback take on new roles in Klint Kubiak's scheme that seems to mirror do-it-all fullback Kyle Jusczyk. But is blocking the best use for a player who has struggled to stay healthy in the past?
"I don’t mind using Taysom as a guy that cuts off the backside as far as the defensive end is concerned," said WWL's Deuce McAllister on SportsTalk this week. "I have a problem when Taysom is the lead blocker and he’s working on the Sam linebacker as he’s trying to lead up on a Mike linebacker."
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The amount of wear and tear the Saints are willing to let Taysom accrue could very well determine how much he's on the field. Saints head coach Dennis Allen said a bit of "dirty work" will be necessary.
Allen also noted that while there wouldn't be a snap count or touch count that the team would target, something of a collision count -- the total number of high-impact plays he participates in -- could be in the cards.
As McAllister puts it, the question becomes longevity. Overloading Taysom and having him for 10 games isn't better than a metered workload over 17 games. Taysom appeared in 16 games a season ago and had a career high in catches (33) and yards (291), which adding 401 rushing yards, 83 passing yards and 7 total touchdowns.
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In the end, a lot will be determined on whether Taysom can dial back some of his own aggression.
"Taysom has to be able to protect Taysom as well," McAllister continues. "I mean, because it’s one thing to take 20 tackles. But when I’m taking 20 tackles and I’m the guy who’s delivering all of the brunt of that hit, it wears on your body and so he’s just got to understand when it’s time to get my five and when it’s time to get down after I’ve gotten three.”
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MORE FROM DEUCE
On Alvin Kamara's contract situation
“At the end of the day I think they both [Kamara and the team] have a little leverage. I think the Saints are probably a little embarrassed that it happened to one of their captains, one of their leaders as far as this situation. But if you do go back and remember this isn’t the first time that they’ve been at odds over a contract, and so you’re surprised that it happened in this manner. I don’t think that either side is pressed today, now, if this was August, that would be a little bit different. So I think that hey, you know, let’s see if we can come up with something that makes both of us happy.
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"I’m probably in the neighborhood of what you guys both say of, hey, you can bet on yourself and say I’m going to go out and perform at the highest level and prove that I am worth it, but have some security as far as guarantees, like we know that he’s going to be able to hit or get, and if he doesn’t then the Saints have a way to get out of it and he can go and say hey, look, it was a short deal. I can go prove it somewhere else if that should be the case, so I do think that they figure it out because he is that engine that kind of makes it move and it is critical, it is critical that they are able to run the football this upcoming season and we know that they have not been very successful over the last couple of seasons and so, I’m not worried about Alvin missing time. There’s no time to miss over the next 4, 5 weeks anyway. I’m not truly even worried about him missing, you know, if it’s a week into training camp. I don’t think he would’ve even do that because now you’re talking about getting fined for every day … because you’re under contract. So both teams, I think that they’re probably a little bit embarrassed that it got to this point and it hit publicly, I mean, both sides. But at the end of the day I think that they will figure it out.”
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What's next for Kendre Miller
“At the end of the day, Kendre has to get healthy. He’s got to get healthy, Bobby, I mean, and that’s where injuries have hindered him. Injuries hindered him when he was coming into the league and injuries hindered him last year during the regular season, and so he’s got to figure out what do I have to do for my body to make sure that I am 100% or close to 100% on gameday. Because you’re not going to feel great throughout the week, so he’s got to figure out how to take care of my body and to make sure that I am ready to play on Sundays. So I mean, at this point he’s penciled in, but you probably have to lay it on Jamaal just because you know that he’s going to be available moreso than Kendre at this point.”
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On WIllie Gay's role
“I need to get them in third and medium and third and long situations where I get three defensive linemen down and then I bring three backers on the field. I want athletes so I’ve got guys that will be able to protect me against the run, but also, whether it’s Pete Werner, whether it’s Demario, whether it’s Willie rushing the passer, one of those guys can be the other rusher. Where they have to be careful is when teams say OK, it’s 3rd and 7, we know you want to get exotic, we’re gonna run the ball. You’ve got to be able to stop the run in those situations.
"But for me, I am going to use his speed and the other thing is, right now it may be a lot, but it’s going to be a lot. They’re going to expect a lot out of you because you’re going to be moving and playing a lot of different places and spaces, so I think he’s up for that. And then for him as well, he wants to get paid. He wants to get something long-term. Didn’t we just talk about guarantees? He wants a long-term opportunity. That was the one thing that we talked about for this defense, how can you get faster, whether that’s in the defensive line, whether it’s in the second level or whether it’s on the back end, and I think they’ve added speed to that unit."