Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio created a stir on Saturday by raising questions about Michael Thomas’s status with the New Orleans Saints — asking whether the Saints could trade their star receiver before the NFL’s Nov. 3 deadline.
Payton, who recently protected his tweets by making his official Twitter account private, responded to a Bleacher Report post citing Florio’s post by commenting, “Outsiders on the Inside where they belong.”
If that doesn’t silence these rumors, I’m not sure what will. The Saints have been patient with Thomas as he’s recovered from a Week 1 ankle sprain, and they’re just as disappointed to be playing without him as he is to not be able to join his teammates.
Hopefully he can get back to action soon and start executing Payton’s plays as well as anyone ever has (if not better). The Saints are a better team with Thomas in the fold, and everyone in the building knows that. As Payton pointed out, maybe those outside the facility should learn better.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers briefly made waves for his touchdown-scoring run against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, followed up by a celebratory dance referencing a scene from the “Key & Peele Show.” The classic “Hingle McCringleberry Dance” skit is always worth bringing back, but nothing went Rodgers’ way after he evoked it.
He was ruled down at the one-yard line, short of scoring a touchdown. And he threw a pair of interceptions on the following possessions, one of them returned by the Buccaneers defense for a score. Rodgers floundered under pressure and sent his team into halftime down 28-10.
It’s a far cry from how things went for New Orleans Saints wide receivers Lance Moore and Kenny Stills back in 2013, when they first brought the “Hingle McCringleberry” to the NFL. Moore danced (as he often did after hitting paydirt for the Saints) and Stills played the part of the skit’s referee, who fouled McCringleberry for it.
“And we BOTH got fined!!!” Moore wrote from his official Twitter account, reflecting on the event after Rodgers made his own take. They were also each penalized for Stills using his hand towel as a prop, mimicking a flag, but Rodgers escaped any penalties (and probably any fines).
At least the Saints wideouts still have their bragging rights. They won their game that day (also against the Buccaneers, coincidentally) with a score of 42-17. Compare their effort for yourself:
Cameron Jordan was posted up in what appears to be a hallway at the New Orleans Saints training facility, discussing his experience as one of the longest-tenured members of the team on ESPN’s “First Take” when he welcomed a surprise guest: superstar wide receiver Michael Thomas.
Thomas had been fined and benched for their Week 5 game with the Los Angeles Chargers after starting a fight in practice with a teammate, but it was all smiles when he stumbled upon Jordan’s interview.
After initially nodding his hellos to the camera, Thomas walked away and shouted back to Jordan over his shoulder: “Tell them I’ll be back next week.”
Jordan laughed, passed on the news with a thumb’s up, and got back to business. He’s a real pro’s pro and should adjust well to a media job once he’s hung up his cleats (and maybe after breaking Rickey Jackson’s all-time sacks record in New Orleans; Jordan is up 88.5, trailing Jackson’s 115.0).
Without overanalyzing this moment too deeply, it’s good to see Jordan and Thomas being on such good terms after what was an ugly incident in practice last week. Malcolm Jenkins, elected a team captain in his first year back in New Orleans after six seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, said that Thomas’s teammates understood that the fight was a one-off issue and that they’re all eager to get back to work with him. So this friendly exchange might add to that point.
And the real story is here is that Thomas expects to return in Week 7 after missing several games with an ankle sprain. He had practiced on a limited basis for two weeks before the Chargers game, and if all goes well he’ll suit up for his next matchup after six weeks of rest. We’ll know for certain whether he’s fully participating in practice once the next injury report is released next Wednesday, but it sure looks like he’ll be catching passes from Drew Brees sooner rather than later.
It’s still a developing situation, but the New Orleans Saints could take their show on the road. They haven’t received clearance from New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell to fill the Mercedes-Benz Superdome to partial capacity during the COVID-19 public health crisis, so the Saints are looking into hosting their five remaining home games at LSU’s Tiger Stadium.
That’s a thought that excites Saints coach Sean Payton. And it’s made superstar Saints running back Alvin Kamara curious. He never played against LSU or visited Tiger Stadium in his two years with the Tennessee Volunteers, so he asked a friend who would know about what to expect from playing on that venue’s grass: Kansas City Chiefs safety and former Tigers standout Tyrann Mathieu.
There’s a big difference between running on the artificial turf at the Superdome versus natural grass, and it’s something Kamara wisely wants to prepare for. He’ll have to wear different cleats and put different punishment on his feet, as will everyone else. So it’s good to know he has a trusted source.
Tiger Stadium is paved with “Celebration Bermuda Grass,” a unique strain among its peers. While Kamara has played on similar Bermuda variants in road games with the Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, and Chicago Bears, no NFL stadium uses this specific grass. In fact, the only other college programs to carpet their football fields with it are North Texas and South Florida.
Payton has been mindful of different playing surfaces in the past; back in 2017, he offered to foot the bill for free pedicures after getting his players to wear longer studs in a game with the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Wherever the Saints play their next game (they’ll exit the Week 6 bye with a home matchup against the Carolina Panthers lined up), they’ll take steps to prepare accordingly.
The New Orleans Saints have not received clearance from Mayor LaToya Cantrell to host large numbers of fans for home games at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome amid the COVID-19 pandemic, so they’ve begun looking into a temporary move to LSU’s Tiger Stadium, where a crowd as strong as 25,000 could join them.
Just 15 NFL teams have been allowed to welcome spectators — less than half the league, and none of the approved venues have a fixed roof like the Superdome. The mayor’s office isn’t keen on becoming the first to break that trend.
And while negotiations with LSU are ongoing, the Saints do have other options. Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin reminded them of that from his official Twitter account, maybe-joking that his school’s Vaught Hemingway Stadium is available on Sundays.
For what it’s worth, Ole Miss has just as many 24-hour game conflicts with the Saints home schedule as LSU: Oct. 24 vs. Auburn and Nov. 14 vs. South Carolina, days before the Saints will play on Oct. 25 vs. the Carolina Panthers and Nov. 15 vs. the San Francisco 49ers.
So the only difference would be longer travel time: 76 minutes’ drive from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, La. against 5 hours on the road to Oxford, Miss.
Maybe the Saints will move to Tiger Stadium after their bye week. Maybe they’ll remain at the Superdome. We’ll find out in the days ahead, but it doesn’t appear Kiffin’s recruiting pitch resonated.
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas was suspended for Week 5’s Chargers game after a fight in practice with C.J. Gardner-Johnson
[jwplayer rib53Gbf-ThvAeFxT]
The New Orleans Saints suspended wide receiver Michael Thomas for Week 5’s game with the Los Angeles Chargers after an altercation during practice with safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson (who also goes by “Ceedy Duce”), and it drew a range of reactions from NFL fans across social media.
It’s understandable that people would be frustrated by this. Thomas hasn’t played since suffering an ankle sprain back in Week 1, and he’s experienced enough to know better than to swing at a teammate (especially when they’ve got their helmet on). His team has a 2-2 record and could have really used his help.
But he and Gardner-Johnson are two of the most competitive guys on the team, and they’ve gotten into scraps before. Hopefully Thomas getting benched sends a strong enough message from Sean Payton to keep tempers from flaring up again later on down the road.
Former Saints, current Panthers QB Teddy Bridgewater commented on Alex Smith’s Washington return and Cowboys QB Dak Prescott’s injury.
[jwplayer QPzvZgEN-ThvAeFxT]
Teddy Bridgewater doesn’t play for the New Orleans Saints anymore, but he managed to help them out a bit by leading his Carolina Panthers to a 23-16 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. That improved his Panthers to 3-2, and functionally ended the Falcons’ season by plunging them to 0-5, which led to the firings of Dan Quinn and Thomas Dimitroff. The Saints will surely pass on their thanks when they play Bridgewater’s Panthers after their Week 6 bye.
But Bridgewater kept his attention on other happenings around the NFL in Week 5, like the return of Washington FT quarterback Alex Smith. Smith was named the backup against the Los Angeles Rams and got into the game after the starter, Kyle Allen, was injured. This was remarkable because it followed nearly two years of difficult recovery for Smith since his career-threatening leg injury in 2018.
It’s a journey Bridgewater is familiar with from his Minnesota Vikings days, and he took time to congratulate Smith on his comeback:
So good to see Alex Smith take the field again. A blessing to be able to return after the journey youโve been on over these past couple of years. Only you, your family and the ones closest to you truly what it took to get back, amazing. A true fighter.
Unfortunately, another situation drew Bridgewater’s attention. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott went down late in his team’s game with the New York Giants with a season-ending ankle injury. And Bridgewater expressed sympathy for his fellow quarterback, wishing him a speedy recovery:
Praying for you @dak. I speak victory and healing favor over you during this time. You got this bra.
Moments like these make it easy to see why Bridgewater was such an popular addition to the Saints locker room. The guy is a class act through and through, having learned a lot by overcoming adversity. It’s just a shame Saints fans have to root against him twice a year.
Kickoff is almost here between the New Orleans Saints and Detroit Lions, so of course the black and gold gathered for a passionate speech from team leadership.
That meant a fired-up message from linebacker Demario Davis and quarterback Drew Brees, who have teamed up for these huddles the last two years. Brees traditionally led the speech himself until he missed a few games with a thumb injury in 2019, prompting Davis to step in. And the veteran linebacker hasn’t left the spotlight since.
Hopefully their message resonated with teammates. Even with all the injuries hitting New Orleans on both sides of the ball, they’re still a better team than the Lions — on paper. Now it’s time to put proof to that.
New Orleans Saints WR Emmanuel Sanders called for an explanation over bad calls against his team on the “17 Weeks” podcast from SiriusXM.
[jwplayer qro7yVjn-ThvAeFxT]
Emmanuel Sanders has seen a lot in his long NFL career. When he suits up for Sunday’s game with the Detroit Lions, the New Orleans Saints wide receiver will be taking the field for his 159th career game in his 11th year at the pro level.
So he’s as perplexed as anyone at how his games have been officiated. In an appearance on the “17 Weeks” SiriusXM podcast, Sanders called into question whether the NFL’s officials are dealing with the Saints and their opponents with an even hand.
“I’ve never seen the type of calls that they’re calling on the team over and over and over,” Sanders said, via Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football. “I’ve never been part of a team where we’re the second most penalized team.”
Sanders pointed to fouls for defensive holding and pass interference, noting that he’s seen inconsistent officiating from the sidelines: “I’ve been in the league 11 years, I’ve never seen the calls that they make and then the calls that we don’t get, you know? Like, I see a running back running down the sideline and I see the cornerback get held and I know the refs see it but they don’t throw it. Sometimes I sit back and analyze like what the heck is going on with these refs?”
The numbers back it up. The Saints lead the league in penalty yards for defensive pass interference after the first three weeks, and by quite a large margin. They’re a statistical outlier:
So either their coaching staff is teaching players to work differently — and illegally — than 31 other teams, or three different officiating crews have each happened to throw more flags against the Saints defense than anyone else. We’ll see what happens in Week 4 against the Detroit Lions, with third-year referee Shawn Smith working his third career Saints game.
This is the sort of problem that should regress to the norm after a few more weeks, but the Saints have dealt with more scrutiny from officials before. It’s either a coaching flaw from the Saints coaches, consistent bad luck, or as Sanders suggests, a series of bad calls. Here’s hoping the issue, whatever it is, clears up soon.
New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara was the first guest on the new “Truss Levelz” podcast with Cameron Jordan and Mark Ingram.
[jwplayer 55f1rSAh-ThvAeFxT]
New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan had an eventful summer. He collaborated with his former teammate Mark Ingram on their new “Truss Levelz” podcast from The Players Tribune, and their first guest is an old friend: Alvin Kamara.
The trio held a wide-ranging discussion on Kamara’s college career (which started with plenty of friction with Nick Saban, who put Kamara into a “timeout box” during Alabama practices), his rare success with the Saints, their favorite New Orleans restaurants, and Kamara’s viral offseason workouts and semi-vegan diet.
Saints slot receiver Austin Carr also caught some strays for his poor fashion sense, which Jordan wrote off as him being a Northwestern grad and young father. It’s a treat.
You should be advised that the podcast features explicit language, so maybe don’t fire it up when the kids are in the car.
However, the most interesting story was Kamara’s reflection on his 2019 injuries — plural. After spraining his ankle in practice before a game with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Kamara initially tried to roll with it, but his cleats caught in the turf and he ended up being buried beneath a pile of other players. Saints doctors helped him off the field for further evaluation.
Kamara recounted his experience in the blue medical tent: “So [Director of Sports Medicine Beau Lowery], you know Beau’s like, ‘A.K., what do you want to do?’ So I tell him to tape me up, I’m good. I’m gonna play smart. Tape it. I’ll just get through this game, get the MRI, and on Monday we’ll figure it out.”
The Saints won 13-6, with Kamara running 11 times to gain 31 yards while catching 7 of 8 targets for another 35 yard. He and Jordan agreed it was an ugly game, but he doesn’t regret going back into it.
“I’m happy I played that game, because I had a feeling it was going to be close. It was closer than it should’ve been. But not to say if I wasn’t injured it would’ve turned out different. I’m happy that I did play so we don’t have to know,” Kamara said.
Kamara added that he spoke with Lowery after the MRI results returned, showing a Grade 2 tear on his MCL. And the timeline wasn’t promising: an 8-month recovery, with rest being the only real cure. Instead, he sat out two weeks before returning, gutting out the pain and frustrations of playing on such a severe injury.
“The locker room knows what I went through,” Kamara continued. “Same thing, Terron [Armstead] every play, after every drive, would check with me and ask if I’m good. He’d rock with me. Same thing with Drew [Brees]. And I’m like, ‘Man, I’m trying.'”
But he’s healthy now, and already reaping the rewards. Kamara has been the Saints’ best player through two weeks with 241 yards from scrimmage and four combined touchdowns scored. He’s poised for another prime-time performance against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.
