Category: saints history

Saints great Craig ‘Ironhead’ Heyward ranked high among best NFL nicknames ever

Saints great Craig “Ironhead” Heyward recognized on list of NFL’s best-ever nicknames

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A lot of players have left their mark on the NFL, and many of them left with great nicknames. But who owns the best? And which New Orleans Saints legends would you rank highest?

Thomas Neumann put together an expansive list over at Touchdown Wire, making his picks for the 101 greatest nicknames in NFL history. And just one Saints player made his list: Craig “Ironhead” Heyward, at No. 20. Here’s what Neumann wrote of Heyward:

Not only did longtime NFL running back Craig Heyward have a terrific nickname, but there also was an awesome backstory behind it. One of Heyward’s sons, current Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, relayed the story in a 2016 article. It seems young Craig got into a scuffle, and an antagonist broke a pool cue over his head. Unfazed, he didn’t flinch, which led Craig’s mother to dub him Ironhead. After rushing for 3,086 yards in three seasons at the University of Pittsburgh, Craig was drafted No. 24 overall by the New Orleans Saints in 1988. He went on to record 5,860 yards from scrimmage and 34 total touchdowns in 11 pro seasons with the Saints, Bears, Falcons, Rams and Colts.

Heyward is well remembered among Saints fans even to this day, but he isn’t the only member of the black and good to rock a great nickname. What about the “Quiet Storm” Marques Colston, one of the most underrated receivers to ever play the game? He who let his play speak for itself and who caught more passes for more yards than Donald Driver in 2007 and scored almost six times as many touchdowns as the big-name Packers wideout, only to be overlooked in that year’s Pro Bowl voting?

Some Saints diehards still remember Super Bowl XLIV champion blocking tight end and part-time fullback David Thomas, nicknamed “Wendy’s” in honor of the fast food chain’s founder, Dave Thomas. Or Mike “The Predator” McKenzie, whose signature hairstyle and fiery playstyle invoked the sci-fi alien’s dreadlocks? And who can forget Josh “Playoffs” Hill, who doubled his receiving yards-per-game average in the postseason?

To say nothing of Alex Anzalone, whose last name was (affectionately?) spun off as “Autozone,” “Calzone,” and some profane variants we can’t put in print here, depending on how well he was playing at the time. “Thor” would have been the easy pick given his luscious blond locks, but Saints fans are (sometimes) too creative to take such low-hanging fruit.

In any case, there are more great nicknames in Saints history than we have time to recount. So which ones stand out to you? Who will you remember to tell your grandkids about someday?

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Updated sacks totals extends Rickey Jackson’s lead on Saints record

Cameron Jordan is still chasing Rickey Jackson for the Saints sacks record, but new research may put it out of reach:

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Here’s some big news for NFL stat heads: the team at Pro Football Reference announced that they have gone back to log sacks before they were officially recorded in 1982, giving a more comprehensive history of pro football’s greatest pass rushers. But it’s a tough break for New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan, who finds himself a bit further behind Rickey Jackson in his quest for the franchise sacks record.

The PFR researchers found that Jackson bagged 8.0 sacks in his 1981 rookie year, raising his career total with the Saints to 123.0. That means Jordan  (94.5 career sacks) needs 28.5 more takedowns for New Orleans to tie the Hall of Famer for first place, or 29.0 sacks to win the title.

It’s a tall order, but Jordan has gotten this far. He’s averaged 0.59 sacks per game in 160 appearances for New Orleans compared to Jackson’s 0.63 sacks per game in 195 outings; at that rate, he would have to play in 49 more games, or a little under three years, to claim the top spot. If he does go the distance and total 209 games with the Saints, that would rank second-most in team history behind Drew Brees (228), ahead of Morten Andersen (196), Jackson (195), and Thomas Morstead (190).

But Jordan’s contract is set to expire after the 2023 season, which is the end of this projected 49-game sequence for him to take Jackson’s spot. And he’ll be 34 then. If his down year in 2020 (just 7.5 sacks, tying the second-lowest total of his career) is the beginning of a slump, he could very well come up short. That’s very possible considering the Saints drafted Payton Turner in the first round this year as part of a contingency plan should the team move on from him or Marcus Davenport in the near future.

Will Jordan reach the mountaintop before his time in black and gold runs out? We’ll just have to wait and see. But the stakes couldn’t be higher for the 6-time Pro Bowler (the same number of all-star game appearances Jackson earned, by the way). If anything, it goes to show just how special Jackson was that the best Saints defender of his generation is still chasing him.

And Jackson benefited in the all-time rankings from PFR’s new research, too, not just for his spot in New Orleans’ record books. He’s now tied with Jared Allen for the 16th-most sacks in NFL history (136.0) despite having started playing in an era when teams were passing 5% less often than they would in Allen’s day. Jordan is enjoying an epoch where almost half the league is throwing on 60% or more of downs, but it might not be enough for him to catch up. It really puts into perspective how rare talents like the Dome Patrol’s best player really are.

While these updated numbers haven’t been vetted by the Saints or the NFL, defensive stats are, well, historically played with fast and loose. Here is how the unofficial top-20 from PFR shakes out, with Jackson among them:

Unofficial Leaders Table
Rank Player Sk Years
1 Bruce Smith+ 200.0 1985-2003
2 Reggie White+ 198.0 1985-2000
3 Deacon Jones+ 173.5 1961-1974
4 Kevin Greene+ 160.0 1985-1999
5 Julius Peppers 159.5 2002-2018
6 Jack Youngblood+ 151.5 1971-1984
7 Chris Doleman+ 150.5 1985-1999
8 Alan Page+ 148.5 1967-1981
9 Lawrence Taylor+ 142.0 1981-1993
10 Michael Strahan+ 141.5 1993-2007
11 Jason Taylor+ 139.5 1997-2011
12 Terrell Suggs 139.0 2003-2019
13 DeMarcus Ware 138.5 2005-2016
14 Richard Dent+ 137.5 1983-1997
John Randle+ 137.5 1990-2003
16 Jared Allen 136.0 2004-2015
Rickey Jackson+ 136.0 1981-1995
18 John Abraham 133.5 2000-2014
Carl Eller+ 133.5 1964-1979
20 Leslie O’Neal 132.5 1986-1999

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The jury is still out on a frustrating 2020 Saints draft class

The New Orleans Saints got neither quantity nor quality out of their 2020 rookie draft class, picking a part-time starter in the first round

Here’s the final entry in our 2021 NFL draft countdown, recapping last year’s rookie class with just one day left before the cycle starts over. The Saints took a quality over quantity approach in 2020’s pandemic-impacted offseason, but they didn’t get either virtue based on their initial performance. Here’s hoping things improve in 2021. In the meantime, let’s review what happened last year:

The Saints got back on track with a promising 2019 draft class

Still frustrated from a botched draft and their loss in the NFC title game, the New Orleans Saints rebounded well in 2019 after more trades.

All of the chips were pushed in on a Super Bowl run in 2018, but a botched call in the NFC championship game’s final minutes helped push the Saints into another early postseason exit. Part of the frustrations were due to an unexciting rookie draft class; Marcus Davenport, the much-lauded target of a draft day trade, had not produced much before a midseason toe injury slowed him down. The only other notable draft pick to even make the team, Tre’Quan Smith, was an inconsistent part of the receiving corps. The Saints needed reinforcements.

And they found some right away in 2019. Let’s keep our 2021 NFL draft countdown running:

Did the Saints’ blundering 2018 draft set back the franchise?

The Saints dropped the ball on their 2018 draft class, but did trading up for Marcus Davenport really set back the franchise?

The Saints were riding a high going into the 2018 NFL draft, having revitalized the team around a stellar rookie haul the year before. It’s time for our 2021 NFL draft countdown to look back on a class that, well, hasn’t quite met expectations. Here are the previous entries in our series:

Recapping the historic 2017 Saints draft class

Draft grades didn’t appreciate what the Saints found in the 2017 NFL draft, selecting Alvin Kamara, Ryan Ramczyk, and Marshon Lattimore.

The week of the 2021 NFL draft is here, and our countdown to this year’s event continues by recapping the 2017 Saints draft class. We knew at the time that this would be a pivotal rookie haul, but few observers around the league appreciated just how great the group would be. Let’s recap:

Looking back on 2016 Saints draft picks and grades

The 2016 Saints draft picks included instant impacts like Michael Thomas, though it took longer for Vonn Bell and Sheldon Rankins to start.

Our 2021 NFL draft countdown continues with a recap of the 2015 Saints draft class, which was the first year Jeff Ireland really got to work with his own scouting department after rebuilding the group. It was also the last year Rob Ryan worked as defensive coordinator for the Saints, though he split responsibilities with his eventual replacement Dennis Allen. After another historically-worst defensive effort, the pressure was on for Sean Payton to make big changes, but it took time for that to happen. 

Reviewing 2015 Saints draft picks, grades, and impacts

The 2015 Saints draft class didn’t quite hit its potential with Andrus Peat needing time to win a starting job and Stephone Anthony flopping

Here’s the next entry in our 2021 NFL draft countdown, this time recapping the 2015 Saints draft class — Jeff Ireland’s first year on the job running New Orleans’ scouting department. It was a tumultuous offseason that also featured the shocking Jimmy Graham trade and frustration after Rob Ryan’s defense took a big step back from its success a year before. Let’s review.

Reviewing disastrous 2014 Saints draft picks, grades, and impact

The 2014 Saints draft class was a disaster, with all players picked out of town by 2017, including Brandin Cooks and Stanley Jean-Baptiste.

Our 2021 NFL draft countdown marches on, this time reviewing the 2014 Saints draft picks. Let’s get out in front of this: it was one of the worst draft classes of the Sean Payton era, with all but one player washing out of the NFL in just three years; the only pro-qualify talent to persist was their first selection, who forced his way out of New Orleans through a trade before his rookie contract expired. Not great! But here’s how we got here.

Previous draft reviews:

Reviewing 2012 Saints draft picks and grades

The 2012 NFL draft was one to forget for the New Orleans Saints, who didn’t get the most out of Akiem Hicks while whiffing on other picks.

Our countdown to the 2021 NFL draft continues, this time recapping the Saints’ 2012 draft haul. Hamstrung by their 2011 draft-day trade for Mark Ingram and the “Bountygate” penalties Roger Goodell brought down on New Orleans, there wasn’t much to write home about — but the Saints still gave it their best effort despite the circumstances.