Category: Saints

Saints 44, Cowboys 19 = Scorigami

The Saints-Cowboys final score had never happened in NFL history

The Saints beat the Cowboys on Sunday, 44-19.

And you know what that means: Scorigami.

The first time in NFL history a game finished with that score.

In case you are wondering Chiefs 26, Bengals 25 was the third time that final score happened.

Alvin Kamara with touchdown hat trick for Saints against Cowboys

Alvin Kamara had three first-half scores against the Cowboys

The New Orleans Saints were on pace against the Dallas Cowboys to score more points than the 47 they did against the Carolina Panthers in Week One.

Alvin Kamara had three touchdowns — two rushing and one receiving in the first half as New Orleans built a 28-13 lead at Dallas.

Saints get jump on Cowboys with pair of TDs

The Saints were off to a fast start against the Cowboys

The New Orleans Saints pummeled the hapless Carolina Panthers in Week One. They were out to prove it was no fluke against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at AT&T Stadium.

After Alvin Kamara opened the scoring on Sunday with a five-yard touchdown run, Derek Carr went to work.

He looked deep and found Rashid Shaheed for a 70-yard touchdown pass.

After the PAT, it was 14-3 for the visitors.

Carr and Kamara combined for a 57-yard TD pass play in the second quarter to give New Orleans a 21-6 lead.

One sack stat tells you how awful the Panthers are

The Panthers allowed a cornerback to sack Bryce Young three times

The Carolina Panthers are the worst team in the NFL. They were last year and they are off to a start that will allow them to actually use the No. 1 pick in the draft.

If you want to know why Bryce Young never had a chance in the first game of his second season check this: Alontae Taylor of the Saints had three sacks.

Yes, football fans, a cornerback had three sacks of the 2023 No. 1 overall pick.

This isn’t Aaron Donald or T.J. Watt. In 30 games over Taylor’s first two seasons, he had one total sack.

The porous Panthers offensive line allowed him  to have three in one game.

Saints Rattler completes huge 50 yard pass vs Titans

Watch this amazing late-game 50-yard connection between #Saints Rattler and Perry for an almost 50 yard gain

The New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans had a competitive game to wrap up the preseason this afternoon.

With minutes left in the 4th quarter and a 3-point spread between the opponents, rookie 5th round 2024 draft pick for New Orleans QB Spencer Rattler made this low altitude pass from the 50-yard line which sailed to the end of the field.

The long yardage throw was received by A.T. Perry who was ruled to have stopped just outside the goal line giving the Saints a first down in the red zone and allowing the offense an easy opening to score.

The official Saints Twitter account posted this amazing late-game 50-yard connection between Rattler and Perry, check out wide receiver Perry’s control of the ball after making the dramatic catch.

Although the Saints didn’t manage to grab the victory in this game they put up a great effort ending with a 30-27 loss to Tennessee and have some positive takeaways to review before their next outing versus the Carolina Panthers which will kick off the regular season.

Samson Nacua of Saints returns missed FG 106 yards, misses out on TD

Samson Nacua of the Saints with a 106-yard return that came up short of paydirt

Samson Nacua of the New Orleans Saints is in his first NFL season with the NFC South team. The 26-year-old from BYU already has a career highlight despite coming up three yards short of the end zone.

In a preseason game Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, Nacua collected a missed 58-yard field goal by Bryan Narveson in the back of the end zone. He took off and started running, hoping for a kick six.

Nacua was forced out of bounds by Titans tight end Thomas Odukoya, who gets major hustle points for not giving up on Nacua.

Samson Nacua is the older brother of the Rams’ Puka Nakua. His NFL journey is far different than his younger brother, who starred as a rookie last  season.

Per NOLA.com:

Nearly two years passed between Nacua’s first NFL opportunity, as an undrafted free agent with the Indianapolis Colts in 2022, and his next, when he signed with the New Orleans Saints earlier this month. In that time, he found temporary work to occupy him; not only in restaurants and construction sites, but in the USFL and UFL. He found time to train toward his still flickering dream. He made time to drive to interesting places and meet interesting people and soak up life.

 

Alvin Kamara leaves Saints minicamp early amid contract dispute

Alvin Kamara leaves #Saints minicamp early amid contract dispute:

Alvin Kamara left the final New Orleans Saints minicamp practice early on Thursday. According to reports including NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, it is related to his contract:

Kamara’s currently under contract through the 2025 season. According to Saints Wire, the 28-year-old is looking to accelerate contract discussions that are already looming anyway:

Kamara has the highest salary cap hit on the team right now ($18.5 million), most of it coming from his $10.2 million base salary. While he’s technically under contract for 2025, his cap hit skyrockets to $29 million, most of it coming from an unguaranteed $22.4 million base salary. The Saints would extend or release him before paying that, so he’s attempting to force their hand and accelerate the timeline — with the goal being a new deal.

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New Orleans Saints’ most underrated player: EDGE Carl Granderson

Carl Granderson has made his way to the top of the Saints’ pass-rushing depth chart with an underrated skill set.

Josh Allen, Jim Kiick, Conrad Dobler, Tashaun Gipson Sr., Jay Novacek, and Dave Hampton have all had nice careers after coming out of Wyoming, and Saints edge-rusher Carl Granderson is looking to add his name to that roll.

An undrafted free agent who signed on with New Orleans in 2019, Granderson worked his way up from roster afterthought to key piece in the Saints’ defense, and he was rewarded with a four-year, $52 million contract extension with $32.3 million guaranteed last September. All he did after that was to put up career years in just about every possible category with nine sacks and 63 total pressures.

While Granderson has the speed to get around the edge, his premier skill has him wasting blockers with pure power to beat one-on-ones and double teams.

New Orleans Saints’ best draft sleeper pick: Bub Means, WR, Pitt

The Saints have a highly underrated speed receiver in Pitt’s Bub Means, who they stole in the fifth round.

The Saints came into the 2024 draft with some speed on offense already with Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and A.T. Perry, but in an NFL where it’s all about creating and defending explosive plays, more acceleration is always good. To that end, New Orleans welcomed Pitt receiver Bub Means to its roster with the 170th overall pick in the fifth round.

In his 2023 season, Means caught 41 passes on 82 targets for 718 yards and six touchdowns. That catch rate may have you wondering about Means’ hands until you go back and review Pitt’s quarterbacks. As Greg Cosell and I got into in the “Xs and Os,” Means is virtually guaranteed to be more productive and efficient with a quarterback who can actually get him the ball. 

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Inside the NFL’s press coverage revolution

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get deep into a new press coverage revolution in today’s NFL.

Over the last few seasons in the NFL, a lot of coaches and executives have tailored their defensive schemes in one specific fashion — an increase in press coverage from their cornerbacks. Not only the old-school aggressive press-man coverage we all know, but also mirror-match press man coverage, where a cornerback trails the receiver through his route as the route is declared.

Why? Because NFL offenses have found all kinds of ways to beat the old Seattle Cover-3 stuff from a decade ago with 3×1 and 2×2 receiver sets, and the route concepts inherent in those deployments. Now, if you’re rolling out that “Country Cover-3,” your defense is going to be in trouble.

There’s also the element of quick game in the league, which has increased in recent years. When the quarterback is throwing out of zero- to three-step drops, there are times when edge defenders simply don’t have time to get to the quarterback before the ball comes out. So, logic dictates that if you can’t disrupt the quarterback in the timing of the down, you need to disrupt the timing of the receivers’ routes, forcing the quarterback to delay his reads and throws, and giving those pass-rushers that extra split millisecond to get home.

In this week’s edition of “The Xs and Os,” Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup, and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire and the USA Today Sports Media Group, investigate the NFL’s changes in press coverage, and the players who do it the best, including...

  • L’Jarius Sneed of the Titans;
  • A.J. Terrell of the Falcons;
  • Martin Emerson Jr. of the Browns;
  • Patrick Surtain Jr. of the Broncos;
  • Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner of the Jets; and
  • Joey Porter Jr. of the Steelers.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell” right here:

You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.