Alvin Kamara's New Orleans Saints take on Bruce Arians' Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football, live on Sky Sports NFL from 1.20am, Monday; Arians coached at Indianapolis Colts in 1998 season when Marshall Faulk was in the backfield
Wednesday 4 November 2020 17:42, UK
Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians has said New Orleans Saints' duel-threat running back Alvin Kamara is "scarier" than Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk, ahead of the two teams' matchup on Sunday.
Through the first seven games of the season, Kamara has rushed 87 times for 431 yards and four touchdowns, adding 55 receptions for 556 yards and another three scores.
It means that Kamara has joined Faulk (2000) as the only two players in the Super Bowl era with 400-plus rush yards and 500-plus receiving yards in their team's first seven games; Faulk finished with 2,189 scrimmage yards, 26 TD and was named NFL MVP.
Arians crossed paths with Faulk during the 1998 season, when serving as the quarterbacks coach for the Indianapolis Colts in Faulk's final season there before being traded to the St Louis Rams.
"I coached Marshall Faulk, and this guy [Kamara] is scarier," Arians told reporters on Tuesday. "He has great speed, he has got great hands and he has wide receiver skills.
"He is a hell of a running back and is a tough tackle.
"In the first ball game, I thought we did a good job, but he has expanded his role. Drew [Brees] is really doing a nice job in finding him in the passing game and Sean [Payton] has put him in position to be successful.
"Hopefully we can do as good a job this time."
Kamara found the endzone twice in the Saints' 34-23 Week One win over Arians' Buccaneers, but he was largely held in check in the ground game, managing just 16 yards on 12 carries, though he would add 51 yards on five catches.
As Tampa Bay look for revenge on Sunday, ensuring they stay top of the NFC South, they have a new offensive weapon of their own to add into the mix, four-time All Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown.
Brown was officially activated by the team this week after serving an eight-game suspension from the league, but Arians wouldn't go into detail over how big his role would be in his first game back.
"It depends on how the game goes," said Arians. "If we're successful with the package we put him, we'll probably run it more. It could be 10 plays, it could be 35 plays. I wouldn't anticipate 60 plays, but we'll see how it goes.
"He's an explosive player with the ball in his hands."
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