Category: 2024 season

Surprising Saints rookie leads his position group in NFC Pro Bowl votes

After the first week of Pro Bowl voting, it’s New Orleans Saints rookie punter Matthew Hayball ahead of his peers in the NFC:

With the start of the 2025 Pro Bowl voting starting officially just week ago, we have received our first update on the current leaders of each position group in the league. You can cast your vote here.

As the New Orleans Saints have fallen apart with many injuries sustained over the course of the year, it was highly unlikely that they’d have any Pro Bowl players let alone a top vote-getter.

Turns out, that just might not be the case. Undrafted rookie punter Matthew Hayball currently leads the NFC in Pro Bowl votes at his position. Quite a pleasant surprise, isn’t it?

For those who may not know, Hayball is currently first in the NFC with 29 punts pinned inside the 20. That’s eight more than the next-closest player.

Diving a little bit deeper into the statistics, one may say that Hayball has punted 50 times this season tying him for third most the conference. However, in comparison to the punters’ ahead of him in this category, Hayball has been far more efficient in terms of forcing opponents into poor field position.

Hayball also ranks in the top five in total punt yardage and touchbacks but for the most part is somewhere between average and the bottom of the conference elsewhere. This is likely indicative of Hayball not having the biggest leg but makes up for it with his ability to accurately place his kicks.

Credit to special teams guru, now head coach Darren Rizzi, as well as the teams scouting department for locating Hayball this offseason. The Saints potentially have their long term solution at the punter position, after years of searching for Thomas Morstead replacement, a former franchise hero and Super Bowl XLIV champion.

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Kendre Miller to be ‘all gas, no brakes’ after return from injury

The move from Dennis Allen to Darren Rizzi took Kendre Miller out of the doghouse. It should lead to greater usage when he returns from injured reserve:

Kendre Miller’s New Orleans Saints career hasn’t really been able to get off the ground due to injuries. Injuries have limited the former third-round draft pick to just 10 games in two seasons.

The frustrating part about Miller is you see why the Saints selected him when he plays. He only played in two games and carried the ball nine times this year, but he looked like a great complement to Alvin Kamara.

And Miller may have the chance to truly showcase this upon his return now that Darren Rizzi is the coach. Dennis Allen was publicly critical enough to assume he and Miller had a bad relationship in private.

It was reported Miller didn’t need to be put on injured reserve, and that was a Dennis Allen decision. The change at head coach takes the running back out of the doghouse.

Per LouisianaSportsDotNet’s Ross Jackson, the plan is for Miller to be “all gas, no brakes” when he comes back from a hamstring injury. That could be as early as this week against the New York Giants.

Miller should see plenty of carries per game if this is the approach. The Saints will be without Taysom Hill for the rest of the season, and Miller should be the secondary rushing option over Jamaal Williams.

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NFL trade deadline pickup debut likely happens vs. former team

Marshon Lattimore hasn’t played since being traded from the Saints, and it seems his first game with his new team will be in New Orleans:

Things appear to be shaping up for Marshon Lattimore to make his debut with the Washington Commanders against his former team.

The New Orleans Saints made their biggest splash at the trade deadline in recent memory when they traded Lattimore to the Commanders. The trade wasn’t overly surprising. There was apparent discontent between the parties, and Lattimore dealt with long-term injuries in recent seasons.

Lattimore had missed one game with the Saints due to a hamstring at the time of the trade. That one game has turned into five games after his move to Washington, but things are looking up for the cornerback.

This week was the first time Lattimore participated in practice. He still missed the Commanders’ Week 14 game versus the Titans, but it’s a sign he’s closer to returning to action.

The Commanders’ next game is against New Orleans, but first Washington has a bye week. This means Lattimore has two weeks to be physically ready to step on the field. By that point, it’ll be nearly two months since he injured his hamstring.

Many Saints fans circled this game after the trade, but it being Lattimore’s first game back is a surprise.

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Darren Rizzi offers scant details in postgame injury report

The Saints suffered some significant injury issues over the weekend, but Darren Rizzi offered scant details in his postgame injury report:

The Saints suffered some injury issues during Sunday’s 21-14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Two of the most notable ones were to offensive lineman Nick Saldiveri and Swiss army knife Taysom Hill.

Saldiveri suffered a knee injury in the third quarter of the game and was carted off of the field. This really hurt the Saints up front, considering the team had already lost Erik McCoy and Lucas Patrick, who Saldiveri was specifically filling in for.

No updates have been provided on his condition to this point, outside of the fact that he was set to go for further imaging after the game. Interim head coach Darren Rizzi said he didn’t want to speculate about either of them.

Hill was also carted off of the field during the game after he took a helmet to the knee.

At the time, he led the team with 5 catches for 37 yards and carried the ball five times for 10 yards. It is the third time this season in which Hill has had to leave the game with an injury. Previously, he had suffered cracked ribs and a bruised lung.

He is one of the most loved players by the fan base, with many questions prompted after he had to exit the game.

The update provided on him most recently was not an optimistic one, coming from a report from NFL insider Ian Rapoport that indicated he thought Hill would be out for the remainder of the season, which was confirmed after imaging on Monday morning.

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Taysom Hill is out for the year after Week 13 knee injury

Breaking: Taysom Hill is out for the year after a Week 13 injury, which included damage to his ACL and other parts of his knee:

Testing on Taysom Hill’s injured knee confirmed the New Orleans Saints’ fears: ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that imaging revealed a season-ending injury for the star playmaker, which NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill clarified meant damage to his ACL and other parts of his knee.

It’s the latest in a series of lower-body injuries dating back to Hill’s college career. The 34-year old has suffered everything from broken bones to sprained tendons and planter fasciitis, on top of this new ligament issue. Hill could be forgiven for choosing to call it a career at this point, but we shouldn’t speculate too much about his future.

For now the Saints are going to have to find out ways to win without him. They’re 4-4 in games he’s dressed for this season and 0-4 in games he’s missed. Hill was one of the first players offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak sat down with when he accepted the job, and the positionless playmaker was a key part of his plans for 2024. We’ll just have to wait and see what’s next for both of them.

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Week 13 loss didn’t help Saints’ draft pick, but MNF’s outcome could

Losing to the Rams didn’t help the Saints’ draft pick, but Monday night’s result could. Be sure to cheer against Sean Payton and the Broncos:

Well this stings. The New Orleans Saints’ loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 13 didn’t even help their position in the 2025 NFL draft order. But they aren’t out of the woods yet. The Denver Broncos’ game with the Cleveland Browns on “Monday Night Football” could do a lot to help them out. All Saints fans need to do is root against Sean Payton (or for Jameis Winston).

The Saints went into their matchup with the Rams projected to pick at No. 9 overall, per Tankathon. They’re still at No. 9 after losing to LA, which put their record at 4-8. The Browns are slotted ahead of them at 3-8, and a loss to the Broncos on Monday night could keep them there.

But a win would tie Cleveland with New Orleans, both at 4-8. Their head-to-head result wouldn’t put the Saints ahead, but their lower strength of schedule (.495, at the moment) would help them against the Browns (whose SOS is .512 before this Broncos game). So if the Browns win, they would drop down behind the Saints, who would move up to the eighth overall pick.

For now. There are five more weeks left in the regular season to determine who picks where at the top of the NFL draft. The Saints aren’t mathematically eliminated from the playoffs and they showed plenty of fight in that loss to the Rams; don’t expect them to go in the tank and hope for a better draft pick. We’ll keep tracking where they rank through the weeks ahead, but know this is a fluid process.

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Derek Carr reacts to Taysom Hill’s injury: ‘It’s bigger than football’

Derek Carr was upset to see Taysom Hill go down with an injury against the Rams: ‘It’s bigger than football in that moment’

Disaster hit the New Orleans Saints late in Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams when star playmaker Taysom Hill left the field with what’s believed to be a significant knee injury. Hill, the reigning NFC Offensive Player of the Week, took a helmet to the knee when running for a first down and was down for several minutes being attended to by the medical staff.

Many of his fans were upset to see him hurt; Hill’s physical style of play and skills as a chess piece who can line up anywhere have endeared him to a lot of supporters. One of those was Derek Carr. The Saints quarterback shared his reaction to Hill’s reaction after the game.

“It’s the worst,” Carr told reporters, adding that he hadn’t yet heard details about Hill’s status. He continued, “Just as a brother, as a friend. It’s bigger than football at that moment.”

Carr has gone on the record to call Hill one of the best football players he’s ever shared a field with, so he was right there with many Saints fans watching worriedly when No. 7 went down. And he appreciated the cheers of support for Hill as he was carted off to the locker room.

“I love how our fans treated him. I expected nothing less from our fans. The way they treated him,” Carr reflected. “It was not not a good time for him but that was really cool.”

Here’s hoping Hill’s injury isn’t as severe as it looked, but the Saints are bracing for the worst. Stay tuned for updates.

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Tyrann Mathieu not expected to miss time due to shoulder injury

Tyrann Mathieu left the Rams game with a shoulder injury, but the Saints expect him to return against the Giants next week:

After making a tackle on Kyren Williams, Tyrann Mathieu exited the New Orleans Saints Week 13 showdown against the Los Angeles Rams with a shoulder injury. The injury occurred in the third quarter and the safety never returned to the game.

Mathieu was seen on the sideline with a brace on his arm with his helmet on. That was a good sign, and there’s more good news on the way. Per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill, the Saints do not view the shoulder injury as a serious injury. The expectation is for Mathieu to return to the lineup next week against the New York Giants.

Mathieu has had to deal with a litany of injuries this season. He’s maintained a frequent presence on the injury report, but he has yet to miss a game. That trend isn’t expected to change this week. Expect Mathieu to appear on the injury report during the practice week and hope for limited participation instead of DNP.

The secondary’s communication is led by Mathieu. If he isn’t able to go on Sunday, New Orleans will have to replace his play on the field and his leadership. Neither is an easy task.

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Two Reasons: Cowboys only have selves to blame for disappointing 2024

The Dallas Cowboys haven’t met expectations in 2024, and the team only has themselves to blame for their issues. | From @cdpiglet

Coming off of their third 12-5 season in a row and a second seed in the playoffs, the Dallas Cowboys have fallen far from contention in 2024. That began well before the loss of starting quarterback Dak Prescott to a season-ending injury. If the team is upset by these results, it has only itself to blame.

The issues began with inactivity. The decision not to extend Prescott or star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb earlier in the offseason instead of right before September  was a two-fold error. Not only did it put them behind on the field, as it caused Lamb to miss training camp, but those extensions would’ve freed up cap space for Dallas to sign free agents to replace the nine players who signed elsewhere.

The only outside free agent the Cowboys signed before training camp began was Eric Kendricks, who was a direct replacement for a cut/retired player, Leighton Vander Esch.

That doesn’t negate the poor performance of the head coach and play-caller, Mike McCarthy.

Only recently did he make Rico Dowdle the primary running back, instead choosing a committee approach instead of featuring one of the top 10 running backs (success rate) on the season. In games Dowdle had at least 20 touches the Cowboys are 3-0, but only 2-6 in games when he gets under 20. After rushing 20 times for 87 yards against the Steelers’ top-three rush defense, Dowdle should’ve been the clear top back on the team.

McCarthy instead fed Ezekiel Elliott as the back with the most attempts the next game.

Beyond that, McCarthy hasn’t done a good job opening up the offense, failing to get the team’s playmakers the ball in spots where they can make plays. Speedster Kavontae Turpin has never had more than four receptions in a game all season and had more than five targets only once.

Against the Houston Texans, Turpin caught all three of his targets for 86 yards and a touchdown but had only one target the next game. In their last contest, the team targeted Turpin four straight plays on the opening drive and had him wide open on a slot corner route Cooper Rush missed in the end zone. Fans will have to wait and see if there were any lessons learned.

Dallas was due to regress, but the drop didn’t have to be this drastic if the front office and head coach had done their jobs more effectively. Now, they are trying to make a surge towards an unlikely playoff berth while many fans are already doing 2025 mock drafts, but the projections could’ve been much more positive if the people in charge had done their jobs earlier.

You can find Mike Crum on Twitter @cdpiglet or YouTube on the Across the Cowboys Podcast.

Darren Rizzi says Saints would have played for the win late vs. Rams

Aggression was the order of the day for the Saints, and Darren Rizzi says the plan was to go for two, not hope for overtime, had they scored a late touchdown:

Darren Rizzi’s undefeated two-game run as the New Orleans Saints’ interim head coach has officially come to an end after Sunday’s 21-14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

And even after all of the praise Rizzi has received, there were a lot of questions surrounding some of the decisions he made. One of those had to do with the offense’s late-game strategy.

Rizzi said after the game that he would have gone for the two-point conversion if the team would have scored a touchdown late in the game. He said in the postgame press conference that the team was going for the victory and that they recognized they were “reeling on defense” after several Los Angeles possessions drained the clock in the second half.

Nevertheless, that did not come to pass at all because the Saints never did get that late-game touchdown. Derek Carr was under pressure on the final play and no receivers got open against the Rams’ coverage before the pass rush got to him.

Trailing 21-14, they needed a bit more with seven more points there toward the end to tie, and eight, which would have derived from a touchdown and a two-point conversion, to get a victory. Rizzi planned to go out on his terms rather than ask his gassed defense to win the day in overtime, but it never got to that point.

The Saints will look to get back on the right track when they hit the road to face the New York Giants next Sunday.

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