Kamara Nears Colston’s Record: No Two Players Have Ever Personified The Saints More

After a stellar performance against the Raiders, Alvin Kamara reignited a bit of hope within Saints fans and backed up the words he spoke to the team after the loss to Arizona.

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Kamara's "never-surrender" mentality showed on the field, big time.

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But Kamara's performance didn't only land his team a victory and silence the haters...

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It also got him closer to being enshrined in Saints legend.

After the Raiders game, Alvin Kamara has recorded 71 career touchdowns as a Saint. That's the second most among non-quarterbacks.

First?

The Silent Storm. Marques Colston.

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If Kamara scores twice more, he will have made more points for the team than Colston did. If it wouldn't be so impressive, it'd almost be sacreligious. Marques Colston was the epitome of Saints football in the late 2000s/early 2010s.

As a matter of fact, no two players have quite epitomized Saints football in their tenures with the team than the Silent Storm and AK-41.

Marques Colston went to college at Hofstra, and was drafted late in the 7th round in 2006, in the same class as Reggie Bush, Roman Harper, and Jahri Evans.

He and his fellow rookies would relocate to New Orleans a few months after one of the most destructive and lethal events in the city's history, to a football team that was just about all the city had, and even that was nebulous.

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Thankfully, they had two great leaders in newly hired Coach Payton and Drew Brees, but this was a team that wasn't expected to do much.

Just the fact they still existed was impressive enough.

Something similar could be said of Colston. Just the fact that he was drafted was impressive. He was an on-the-bubble player, on a team full of bubble players.

But the Silent Storm ended up making some noise, and so did his team.

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The Saints made it all the way to the NFC Championship game, Drew finished second in MVP voting behind Ladainian Tomlinson and Marques Colston lost Offensive Rookie of the Year to Vince Young, but not by much.

The Silent Storm would be a Saint from his first play to his last, and represented the essence of a team in his story. He came from nowhere, unexpected. Most thought he would fail, maybe even fall out of the league entirely. But he perservered.

As did his team.

Alvin Kamara's story is different, but it fits his iteration of the Saints in a similarly poetic way.

Drafted in the 3rd round out of Tennessee, overlooked at every level, always just waiting for a chance to shine, Kamara's energy and swagger were backed up by smooth yet explosive play.

In his own way, he also epitomized the Saints teams he was a part of.

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The recent speech he made in the locker room proved that. Kamara defined Saints football as having a swagger, a confidence in the team and in themselves.

It may be a different vibe than Colston's, but it is accurate. Alvin has been a part of numerous playoff-caliber teams, and has made the NFC championship, all while leading the team in rushing yards since his second season.

He represents the Saints teams that have always been in it, so close to glory. Offensive powerhouses with swagger and style, almost always impressing.

That may not be what things are like this year, and the identity of the team may change going forward. But when Kamara breaks Colston's record, it'll be worth remembering that when players personify a team, make their identity the team's, it usually makes the team better.

So regardless of how the rest of the season goes, the Saints better hang on to Alvin Kamara.

Talent like his is impossible to replace.

Same thing could be said about his swagger.