Tag: 2024 seeason

Derek Carr details the benefits of Saints’ new fast-paced practice

Darren Rizzi picked up the tempo at Saints practice on Wednesday. Derek Carr said it’s been a long time since he ran that many plays in practice:

Darren Rizzi’s first practice as the interim coach of the New Orleans Saints was extremely fast paced. Every coach has their own individual style and certain tweaks were expected when making the switch to Rizzi from Dennis Allen. While Klint Kubiak is still coordinating the offense, Rizzi is putting an emphasis on time on task at practice.

It started with the locker room layout, then shifted to coaching staff changes, and the latest change is the pace of practice. Derek Carr described the practice as “Extremely fast. Upbeat, fast, nonstop moving.”

Carr said, “That’s the most plays we’ve ran in a practice in my career in a long time.” The increase in plays gives more time to hone in on specific looks and also attack a larger array of objectives.

Rizzi’s approach should lead to a greater attention to detail and, in turn, lead to better performances. That’s the quarterback’s hope as well. Carr added: “You get more time on task on something, we get better at it. Lord knows we need to get better at what we’re doing right now.”

It’ll be interesting to see how consistently they use this pace throughout the week and the season. The benefits are there, but it may simply be unsustainable on the regular. Regardless, it’s a change of pace that hopefully leads to change of results.

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Juwan Johnson shares health update: ‘I would like to say I’m 100’

New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson shared a health update after returning to practice: ‘I would like to say I’m 100’

Juwan Johnson made his New Orleans Saints training camp debut on Tuesday. Last time we saw Johnson was in minicamp before going down with a foot injury.

He was asked after practice how he felt, to which Johnson replied, “I would like to say I’m 100 (percent).” The operative words here are “‘I would like to say.’”

Sometimes players feel ready to go mentally before they’re actually ready to go physically, and Johnson understands that his perception may not be reality on his health. Dennis Allen has already made it clear that while Johnson is back at practice, but the Saints will ease him back into his usual workload.

While Johnson felt great, the medical team had to real him in at certain points in his recovery. He continued, “They’ve been really patient. I’ve been pushing the envelope a little bit, a little too much to be honest.”

His pushing the envelope was evident. WWL’s Jeff Nowak praised how crisp Johnson looked. It wouldn’t be shocking if Johnson felt he could have returned even earlier. He chalked his return date up to him not being meant to practice in California. Now that the team is back in Louisiana, he’s working to get up to speed.

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How Willie Gay Jr. can change the Saints’ defensive strategy

The Saints will likely still play a lot of two-linebacker sets, but could the addition of Willie Gay lead to more base formations in 2024?

The free agency signing of Willie Gay Jr. elevates the New Orleans Saints linebacker corps. Now that room is led by Demario Davis, Pete Werner and Gay. Impressive room but how often will they all see the field together will be interesting.

The Saints have long used two linebackers and three cornerbacks or safeties on the field as their most common defensive deployment with Dennis Allen calling plays. Is the Davis-Gay-Werner triumvirate enough to change that? It likely won’t become the leading defensive formation but you could see it more than you have in the past.

Not only is it a possibility, it may actually benefit the Saints to roll those three players out together. New Orleans has been porous against the run for the last couple of years. Having a heavier defensive would help strengthen that weakness. Each linebacker also has coverage skills that could make you more comfortable taking the risk of leaving a nickel corner off the field more often.

Kaden Ellis and Zach Baun were more downhill players working at the line of scrimmage. Davis, Gay and Werner can play forwards and backwards. That versatility accounts for covering tight ends.

It’s doubtful the Saints will put three linebackers on the field more than three cornerbacks in 2024. The skillsets of those linebackers, however, could make the Saints more comfortable putting out more three linebacker sets than in years past. It’s something to watch out for when the Saints regroup for training camp in just a few weeks.

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Jameis Winston’s 72-yard touchdown pass is the Saints Play of the Day

Jameis Winston’s 72-yard touchdown pass is the New Orleans Saints Play of the Day. It was a great moment in a rough 2021 season:

We’ve got 72 days to go until the New Orleans Saints kick off their 2024 season, which means Jameis Winston’s 72-yard touchdown pass is our Saints Play of the Day. The Saints visited the Washington Football Team back in 2021 after an uneven 2-2 start to their season. Winston hit wide receiver Deonte Harris (who later changed his last name to Harty) on a strike down the middle of the field, retaking the lead after the Washington Football Team scored first on a 45-yard field goal.

It was a big moment for Winston. The Saints’ first drive ended after he threw an interception to linebacker Cole Holcomb, so this was something like redemption. Alvin Kamara matched a Washington touchdown run  with one of his own, and Winston put the Saints ahead at halftime with a 49-yard touchdown pass to Marquez Callaway.

New Orleans left town with a win, 33-22, going into their bye week with a much-needed 3-2 record. They won each of their next two games but the good times didn’t last. Winston was cut down by a season-ending injury and neither Trevor Siemian nor Taysom Hill were able to replace him under center (and the less said of Ian Book’s disastrous start during a prime-time game full of COVID-19 absences, the better). The season went poorly, sure, but there were still highlights like Winston’s long touchdown pass. And that’s worth remembering fondly.

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