There was an idea outside of the New Orleans Saints building that the 2024 version of Alvin Kamara might not be the same Alvin Kamara who once dominated the NFL.
After a pair of down seasons, there was an idea that at 29 years old, there was a dropoff in ability. That idea only ever existed outside of the building, though, Saints head coach Dennis Allen said on WWL Radio this week.
“I’ve never once looked at his birth certificate, so I don’t really care what his age says," Allen told WWL's Bobby Hebert and Mike Hoss. "I watch the tape. I watch the practice. I watch what he does day in and day out. I still see a fast, explosive running back. I see a guy that’s engaged with what we’re doing. I see a guy that believes in what we’re doing and I think that’s why you’re seeing such an improved version of himself."
Listen to the full, exclusive interview with Dennis Allen and the rest of the WWL Saints Coaches Show in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here .
That start has already resulted in 198 yards and four touchdowns on 35 carries (5.7 yards per carry), and another 92 yards and a touchdown through the air on his 7 catches. That's a two-game pace for 2,465 yards from scrimmage and 42 touchdowns. It's almost certainly unsustainable, but if you haven't learned not to doubt Alvin Kamara at this point, that's on you.
The biggest question for the Saints is whether they look to get a new deal done with their star RB now or wait and see what happens. The conversation was thrust into the headlines when he departed early from minicamp in search of a reworked deal, but he arrived at training camp and has been a full, active participant nonetheless. Kamara has said he has no interest in talking about a new deal during the season, but his agents could be a different story. Regardless, the Saints are thrilled by the AK they've seen this year and the renaissance of the player who has wowed Saints fans since he entered the league in the 2017 season.
"I think he believes in what we’re … doing offensively, he feels like there’s an opportunity for success both for him individually and for us as a team and he’s totally bought in to everything and he’s been outstanding," Allen continued. "Ever since he came back for the start of training camp he’s been nothing but outstanding for our team.”
MORE FROM DENNIS ALLEN
On Rashid Shaheed's impact
“I’m not sure that the defensive players in our league recognize how explosive Rashid Shaheed is, because he continues to get behind the defense. I think that’s what this kid can really do, he can really run, and on top of that, like, he’s really good in transition and so there’s so many things that he can do. You have to respect his speed. You have to try to stay on top, and when you do that you’ll open up some more things underneath and just the fact that he can run like he can opens up so much more for the rest of our offense, so he’s a big part of what we’re doing, probably doesn’t get enough credit for what he can do with his speed on the field, but we’re certainly glad we’ve got him.”
On fan support at AT&T Stadium
“I think the Saints fans are awesome. I mean, I feel like the Saints fans – our fans travel really well. It’s not the first stadium I’ve ever been in where I felt like late in the game we had the Who Dat chant going, and it’s an awesome feeling to have. It’s great that our fans give us the support that they do, we feed off that energy and it’s an important part of being on the road and certainly it’s gonna be a big factor this weekend playing at home.”
On rookie Kool-Aid McKinstry's first start as a Saint
“I thought overall he did well. There’s certainly a few things that we need to clean up, but I thought, you know, he graded out pretty well. I thought he was pretty clean in terms of his technique and his fundamentals. I thought his effort was solid. You know, I think certainly with him missing all of the spring and even missing some time in training camp with a knee injury. I think we’re still working on getting him back into really, really, top football shape. He’s been working extremely hard at doing that. This kid is gonna be a good player for us and he’s gonna .. need to step up and play for us at times this year and I thought he did that in this game and for his first time out, you know, against a highly explosive offense I thought he did really well.”
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