Category: saints history

Where ESPN ranked the 2009 Saints among 57 Super Bowl-winning teams

Did ESPN get it right? Where they ranked the 2009 Saints among 57 Super Bowl-winning teams:

Where do you rank the New Orleans Saints’ Super Bowl XLIV-winning squad among the greatest teams of all time? Or at least, among the NFL’s other 57 champions?

That’s a question that ESPN writer Aaron Schatz set out to answer. Using his advanced-stat DVOA ratings (which you can read more about here), Schatz estimated the play-by-play efficiency for every team to win a Super Bowl.

And his findings have the 2009 Saints at No. 32. New Orleans fielded a high-powered offense and an opportunistic defense that year, outscoring the next-best team by 40 points (at 510, far above the second-place Minnesota Vikings at 470) and nearly tying the league lead with 39 takeaways (the Green Bay Packers had 40).

The Saints achieved a level of dominance that season that’s only rarely seen. We’ll let Schatz explain it further:

The Saints led the NFL in DVOA after a 13-0 start but fell to sixth because of a three-game losing streak to finish off the regular season. (Their starters played in the first two of those three losses, but not the third.) The Saints were second on offense, narrowly behind the Patriots, but 13th on defense and 28th on special teams.

Their DVOA moves up nicely thanks to some big playoff victories. They dominated Arizona 45-14 in the divisional round. The NFC championship required overtime and a Brett Favre interception for a 31-28 victory over the Vikings. But then the Saints beat the Colts 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV, capped off by a Tracy Porter pick-six off Peyton Manning.

It’s disappointing that the 2009 Saints were not ranked higher, but the numbers back it u p. They allowed the 12th-most yards per play that season on defense. No team gave up more yards per punt return (14.3) and they were fourth-worst in yards per kick return (24.5). But they made up for it with an offense that few teams could match and, critically, key stops on defense with sacks and turnovers.

That may have been a difficult strategy to sustain, but it took the Saints all the way to the Super Bowl. And when the chips were down, that same hungry defense sealed the win with one of the most memorable plays in franchise history. And we shouldn’t overlook the benefits of having a Hall of Fame quarterback in the prime of his career leading the way, either.

Now, what’s frustrating — and we’re twisting the knife here, so stop reading if you are not in the right headspace to receive information that could possibly hurt you — is how low Schatz ranked some of the teams that won the Super Bowl in years that got away from New Orleans. The 2011 New York Giants, who advanced on a miracle overtime run over the San Francisco 49ers (and who lost to the Saints in a regular season blowout) clocked in at No. 56 out of 57 Super Bowl winners. If Gregg Williams’ defense had held up against the 49ers in the final minutes of their divisional round classic, Drew Brees might have two Super Bowl rings.

Heck, he could have had three. The 2018 Patriots knocked out the Los Angeles Rams to win a championship after L.A. got through with a lot of help from a botched officiating decision in New Orleans in the conference title game. New England won that title in the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in the history of the sport. Schatz ranked them all the way down at No. 48 in this list. That’s a matchup they could have handled better than the Rams, who lost in a pathetic effort 13-3. Ah well.

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Bryan Bresee owns the Saints rookie sacks record for a defensive tackle

Bryan Bresee owns the Saints rookie sacks record for a DT. No interior lineman has had more sacks in their rookie year for the Saints since tracking began in 1982:

Don’t look now, but Bryan Bresee is closing in on the New Orleans Saints’ rookie sacks record for defensive tackles. He may have it already. Bresee sacked Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Bake Mayfield on Sunday, putting his season total at 4.5 sacks — which would be the official record, pushing Sedrick Ellis (2008) and Sheldon Rankins (2016) down and into a tie for second-place.

But depending on where you look, Bresee may still be in second place. Officially, his 4.5 sacks are the most by a rookie defensive tackle in Saints franchise history. Unofficially, thanks to the research of analysts at Pro Football Reference and Stathead, he’s still trailing one player in the team record books: Dave Rowe.

The second round pick of the Saints’ inaugural 1967 draft class (out of Penn State), Rowe finished his rookie season with 5.5 sacks. The first player to wear No. 76 in team history was an early fan-favorite on some really bad Saints teams, winning Pro Bowl recognition in 1968, and he went on to play for four different teams over his 12-year career, winning a Super Bowl ring with the Oakland Raiders in 1976.

But Rowe’s total is unofficial. It hasn’t been verified by another outlet or the NFL itself (which didn’t begin tracking sacks until 1982), so Bresee technically already has it in the bag. Still, it would be nice to see him remove all doubt and sack Taylor Heinicke or Desmond Ridder a few times next week in the regular season finale.

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Arch Manning doesn’t look back on his grandfather’s Saints career too fondly

Arch Manning doesn’t look back on his grandfather’s Saints career fondly, though he says “it’s cool” to be back in the Superdome:

It’s the weekend of the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans where the Texas Longhorns and Washington Huskies will meet inside the Caesars Superdome for the opportunity to advance to the NCAA National Championship Game.

Though he won’t play, barring injury, Texas quarterback Arch Manning is back home in the city and ready to suit up in the same stadium where his grandfather Archie Manning played from 1971 to 1982. The younger Manning acknowledged the history made at the venue, but he doesn’t look back on his predecessor’s Saints career too fondly.

“My granddad, he’s my biggest role model. It’s cool being back where he played, where he ran around and got killed,” Manning told The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate’s Rod Walker.

Sacks were not officially tracked until 1982, but the good people at Pro Football Reference have done the work to find unofficial sack numbers all the way back to 1960. And their research found that the elder Manning set and broke the NFL record for sacks in a single season three times. He was sacked 40 times for a loss of 332 yards in 1971, 53 times for 347 lost yards in 1972, and a personal-high 49 times for 390 yards in 1975, before he lost the entire 1976 season to a shoulder injury.

Manning will continue as the backup to Quinn Ewers at Texas next season, unless Ewers makes a surprise decision to declare for the 2023 NFL draft following the playoffs. A local favorite who starred at Isidore Newman High School, Manning is patiently waiting for his opportunity at the college level. The son of Cooper Manning, he’s hoping to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather and uncles Peyton and Eli to forge his own successful pro football career.

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The Raiders broke a surprising record set by the Saints in Thursday night’s blowout

Interim Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce broke a surprising record set by the Joe Vitt-led Saints in Thursday night’s blowout:

You won’t find many scores more lopsided than the final tally from Thursday night’s game — and the history books spell it out. The Las Vegas Raiders destroyed the Los Angeles Chargers by a margin of 63-21, breaking a record that was, surprisingly, set by the New Orleans Saints.

That’s because the Raiders are led by interim head coach Antonio Pierce, who took over earlier this season. Pierce’s 42-point margin of victory is the biggest win by an interim head coach since the league merger in 1970, surpassing the 41-0 shutout that the Saints pitched when Joe Vitt was their interim coach back in 2012.

It isn’t the biggest win by an interim coach in pro football history, though. As noted by CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones, Chicago Bears interim coach Hunk Anderson and Luke Johnsos logged a 47-0 win against the Cleveland Rams way back in 1942. How’s that for a stat?

But this Raiders win does surpass the Saints’ blowout in 2012. And it’s just the tenth time sine 1970 that a team has scored more than 60 points in a game, as observed by Yahoo Sports’ Charles McDonald. The Miami Dolphins put up 70 points on Sean Payton’s Denver Broncos earlier this season.

The last time before that, Payton was on the other end of it (and so was Vitt, the current Broncos senior defensive assistant) when his Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts 62-7 more than a decade ago in 2011. It’s funny how these things are all interconnected.

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How have the Saints fared when playing on Thanksgiving?

The Saints don’t play on Thanksgiving this year, but they have played on Turkey Day four times. Do they have a winning record on the holiday?

The New Orleans Saints don’t play this year on Thanksgiving, and they don’t have a long history of playing on Turkey Day. Along with the Atlanta Falcons, the Saints have played the most Thanksgiving games in the division. The Saints and Falcons have ironically faced off on Thanksgiving for two of each team’s four games on the holiday. Only five NFL teams have played fewer Thanksgiving games than the Saints, and three have been around for less than 30 years.

How has New Orleans performed in their limited action? The first of the Saints four Thanksgiving games in 2010 against the Dallas Cowboys. New Orleans’ debut was dramatic and came down to the wire. The most memorable play was Malcolm Jenkins chasing down Roy Williams to force a touchdown-saving fumble.

The Saints returned to Thanksgiving in 2018 and 2019 against the Falcons in sort of a home and home Thanksgiving series. The venue was irrelevant. The Saints came out with the win in both years, highlighted by Shy Tuttle stiff arming Matt Ryan into Christmas. Unfortunately, the Saints final game on the fourth Thursday of November ended with an ugly loss to the Buffalo Bills in 2021. That was their largest margin of defeat that year. All-time, New Orleans is 3-1.

This year’s slate of NFL games on Thanksgiving (and Black Friday):

  • Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions (11:30 a.m. CT)
  • Washington Commanders at Dallas Cowboys (3:30 p.m. CT)
  • San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks (7:20 p.m. CT)
  • Miami Dolphins at New York Jets (2 p.m. CT on Friday, Nov. 24)

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Drew Brees says he doesn’t throw with his right arm anymore

A Hall of Fame career took a toll on Drew Brees, who says he can’t throw with his right arm anymore:

Legendary former New Orleans Saints quarterback Brees made a recent appearance on ESPN Radio with Mike Greenberg, who asked the future Hall of Famer if he had heard from any NFL teams hoping to bring him out of retirement.

There was some chatter in the year after he hung up his cleats, Brees confided, but dropping back to pass like he used to is out of the question. The long-term impact of injuries in his playing career have made that impossible.

“I don’t throw with my right arm anymore, my right arm does not work,” Brees said. “When I throw in the backyard I throw left handed. I can play pickleball just because it’s below the waist. But anything above my shoulders I’ve got a hard time with. It’s probably, it’s definitely a result of the injury that I suffered when I left San Diego. The dislocated right shoulder, and all that stuff, that I thought I may never play again. But that put me on the fast track to degenerative shoulder, all kinds of arthritic changes, stuff like that.”

Brees added, “I don’t throw with my right arm anymore. If I could, absolutely I’d still be playing.”

That explains a lot. The Saints offense was a shadow of its former self in the final years of Brees’ playing career, condensing everything down tight to the formation and relying on quick and accurate passes to wear down opposing defenses. He wasn’t able to air it out like he used to and attack teams vertically. The heart may have been willing, but the body wasn’t able to keep going.

Years ago, way back in 2005, Brees dislocated his throwing shoulder and tore the cartilage in the joint when trying to recover a fumbled ball. The injury ended his Chargers career and threatened his future in pro football. During surgery, doctors found that Brees had suffered a partial rotator cuff tear, and the procedure suddenly became even more complicated (you can read more about it here).

That Brees was able to not just regain function in his shoulder but use it to throw his way into the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday is remarkable. It’s just a shame the wear and tear eventually took him out of the game before he could win another Super Bowl title.

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Pro Football Hall of Fame makes room for Saints star Taysom Hill

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is making room for Taysom Hill, asking the Saints for memorabilia from his historic performance against the Bears:

Now that’s something special. The New Orleans Saints announced Monday that the Pro Football Hall of Fame reached out to request memorabilia from Taysom Hill’s uniform after his historic performance against the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Hill became just the fifth player in pro football history to have 10 passing touchdowns, 10 rushing touchdowns and 10 receiving touchdowns in a career. Hill’s touchdown catch against the Bears finally sealed the deal.

If you’re curious, Hill was the first player to do so since New York Giants great Frank Gifford accomplished the feat in 1957; according to ESPN, he’s now one of five players in the 10-10-10 club, along with Gifford; Charley Trippi, leader of the old Chicago Cardinals’ “Million Dollar Backfield”; Red Grange; and Jimmy Conzelman.

Those four have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Hill may not receive his own bronze bust (he doesn’t have the All-Pro and Pro Bowl recognition of those old-school legends of the game), but his name and memorabilia will be in Canton for years to come. And that’s definitely worth celebrating.

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Alvin Kamara broke another Saints franchise record with his latest two-point conversion

Alvin Kamara broke another Saints franchise record with his latest two-point conversion. He’s also now tied with Travis Kelce for the league lead among active players:

Look, times are tough for the New Orleans Saints these days, and we’ll take our doses of positivity when we can. So it’s worth celebrating Alvin Kamara’s latest accomplishment — not long after the dynamic running back broke Marques Colston’s record for touchdowns scored in a Saints uniform, Kamara laid claim to another record: the team’s high-water mark for two-point conversions.

Kamara went into last week’s game with the Jacksonville Jaguars locked in a tie with his old teammate Mark Ingram II, both players having successfully converted four two-point tries in their Saints careers. But Kamara caught a quick pass from Derek Carr to walk into the end zone untouched for his fifth two-point conversion. That play tied the game after a frightful first three quarters, though the Saints ultimately weren’t able to pull off the win.

Still, it’s just the latest achievement in Kamara’s impressive NFL career. Hopefully he and Carr can link up with more scoring plays like this one to help the Saints offense get back on track, though you’d like to see Carr taking greater advantage of the talent stacked up for him at wide receiver in most situations.

As for Kamara: his five successful two-point conversions are now tied with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce for the most among active players, matching the career totals of Pro Football Hall of Famers Cris Carter, Marvin Harrison, and Edgerrin James in a ten-way tie for sixth-place in NFL history. Four players are ahead of them in a tie for second place with six two-point scores (including Ingram, who did it twice in 2019 with the Baltimore Ravens), but everyone is trailing the legendary Marshall Faulk, whose seven two-point conversions are the most in NFL history. Kamara has a real shot at going the distance and surpassing even Faulk someday — strengthening his own Hall of Fame candidacy.

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WATCH: Marques Colston responds to Alvin Kamara breaking his franchise scoring record

WATCH: Marques Colston responds to Alvin Kamara breaking his franchise scoring record

Now this is cool. There weren’t many players more beloved by fans than Marques Colston during his time with the New Orleans Saints, with the “Quiet Storm” rising from an afterthought as a late-round draft pick to become the team’s record-holder for touchdowns scored (72).

But his record fell on Sunday with star running back Alvin Kamara rumbling into the end zone for his 73rd career score. And though Colston was often slow to speak on his own accomplishments as a player, he was quick to praise Kamara’s achievement on Sunday.

Colston responded to Kamara’s historic play in a video shared by the Saints on social media, “Hey what’s up Alvin, just want to say congratulations on your new touchdown record. As a fan of the game I love everything about your game, love everything you bring to the field and to the organization. Just truly excited for you because I know you’re just getting started. I can’t wait to see how much higher you push the bar. Congrats again.”

It’s really cool to see two great players from different eras of Saints football interact like this. Colston may not be No. 1 in the record books anymore, but fans are still going to look back on his career fondly for a very long time.

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Dennis Allen’s Saints defense just broke one of the Dome Patrol’s best records

Dennis Allen’s Saints defense just broke one of the Dome Patrol’s most impressive records

Now this is impressive. Dennis Allen’s New Orleans Saints defense just broke one of the best records in team history, established by the famed “Dome Patrol” themselves way back in 1991 — holding opposing offenses to 20 or fewer points in 10 consecutive games. It’s the longest active streak in the NFL, too.

And the 1991 Saints team accomplished that feat in a single season, while the Saints set the pace a year ago and have kept it going. Sure, things got closer than they needed to on Monday night; the Panthers took advantage of Allen’s too-soft prevent defense in the final minutes to drive downfield and score a garbage-time touchdown pass, tightening the tally to 20-17.

Still, this is a rare achievement no matter how you slice it. Allen has built one of the league’s best defenses over the years and largely kept it together while introducing new elements and refining what worked. Hopefully he has the right pieces in place to develop an offense to compliment the defense.

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