Tag: argument

Darren Rizzi explains sideline altercation with Matthew Hayball, Alvin Kamara

Saints coach Darren Rizzi explained what led to a sideline altercation involving Matthew Hayball and Alvin Kamara during their game with the Giants:

Darren Rizzi and Matthew Hayball were embroiled in a sideline altercation that was impossible to miss on Sunday, as the New Orleans Saints interim head coach slammed his punter for what he deemed to be a poor performance up to that point. The FOX broadcast caught Rizzi ripping into his punter after a kick was returned for a touchdown by the New York Giants, though it was negated by penalty.

Some may have referred to it as a moment of passion, if you will.

“That’s what you’re calling it, a passionate exchange?” Rizzi laughed when speaking with reporters after the game. “I’m passionate about everything. Everybody has a job to do. And he wasn’t executing the game plan. I’m going to say this. His last punt, his last two.”

It was not all bad in the eyes of Rizzi, though.

“His last punt was outstanding and it really helped us,” Rizzi said. “Actually, I think has last two punts, the second to last punt in particular, was really, really good.”

Hayball’s effort there accomplished something the Saints had been trying to do all game long. Rizzi continued: “Pinned them back, didn’t get any return yards, that’s what we were trying to do all day. Our first three punts weren’t good enough, so in that passionate exchange, I let him know that’s exactly how I felt.”

All is well though. Rizzi added, “Me and Matt are fine.”

The coach said Kamara was playing peacemaker and showed good leadership by stepping in to help keep Rizzi his cool.

“I love AK,” Rizzi said. “AK is a guy that sees everything and is very observant. You guys who have followed AK know he’s a little bit of lay in the weeds guy… he was just trying to be a peacemaker there.”

Kamara had some words to try to get Rizzi to slow his roll a little bit on Hayball.

“He came back around and said, ‘Riz man, I didn’t know you could lose your (expletive) on a punter like that.’ He was just trying to calm me down,” Rizzi said.

Hayball punted seven times for 292 yards, but just two of them landed inside the 20-yard line. He’ll look to tune that up as the Saints face the Las Vegas Raiders up next on the schedule.

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Saints aren’t eager to explain in-game squabble between Derek Carr, Erik McCoy

The Saints are brushing off a squabble between Derek Carr and Erik McCoy. Dennis Allen says he ‘wouldn’t read too much into’ the heated altercation:

A lot happened in the New Orleans Saints’ win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday — both good and bad. But nothing caught fans’ attention more than the late-game altercation between quarterback Derek Carr and center Erik McCoy.

Carr picked himself up off the ground in a fury after being sacked by Panthers linebacker Frankie Luvu, who beat right guard Cesar Ruiz to bowl Carr over as he dropped back to pass. Carr took aim at McCoy after the play, who responded in kind, and the pair had to be separated. Left guard James Hurst walled off McCoy as they returned to the sideline where backup quarterback Jameis Winston corralled Carr.

Other veterans on the team like running back Alvin Kamara and wide receiver Lynn Bowden Jr. bridged the gap, and the pair eventually hashed things out together on the bench. The offense rallied to close out a 28-6 win. But there were few people in the locker room willing to discuss the incident after the game, including head coach Dennis Allen.

“These kinds of things happen on the field. I’m glad that both of them had the balls to stand up and fight,” Allen said after the game. “Guys, they get pissed. Sometimes things get emotional. I wouldn’t read too much into it. We addressed it. Let’s move on.”

Dustups do happen in pro football, but it’s unusual to see a franchise quarterback going back and forth like this with his center. The two players who touch the football on every single play should be in sync, and they clearly weren’t. Whether Carr misidentified the middle linebacker to set protection before the snap or McCoy failed to help Ruiz pick up the blitz is unclear, and they’re all more interested in moving forward than dwelling on it.

Both McCoy and Carr brushed over the issue after the game, reiterating Allen’s point that these things happen, they’re good now, and there are no divisions splitting the locker room apart (WWL Radio’s Jeff Nowak shared transcripts from their postgame media availability here if you’d like to read full comments). So we aren’t likely to get any real resolution on the record any time soon.

Still: it’s near-impossible to watch this team each week, pay attention when guys are speaking on camera and into microphones, and not come away feeling that something isn’t right. Players and coaches and front office executives are not in lockstep and that discord is reflected in their losing record. Hopefully they can mend fences, build on this win, and work towards a run at the NFC South crown. There’s too much invested in these players and this coaching staff to settle for less.

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Saints Twitter reacts to Erik McCoy and Derek Carr’s onfield argument

Saints Twitter reacts to Erik McCoy and Derek Carr’s onfield argument

The frustration has reached new peaks with the New Orleans Saints as center Erik McCoy and quarterback Derek Carr were seen on the FOX broadcast walking off the field in a heated argument; Carr had just been bowled over by a blitzing Carolina Panthers linebacker.

It was shocking to see given the even-keeled personality of Erik McCoy, but fans were happy to see some accountability for the lack of offensive success. They made up on the bench with veterans like Alvin Kamara, Lynn Bowden Jr., and Keith Kirkwood mediating but it’s clear things aren’t in a good place.

Here are some reactions to the event from across Twitter and an update a little bit later into the quarter:

Watch: Marcus Freeman and Audric Estime seem to feud before halftime

What was this all about?

It wasn’t the prettiest of first halves for Notre Dame at Stanford on Saturday night but as the second quarter clock struck 0:00 the Irish held a 28-16 lead.  Frustrations over three first half turnovers from Notre Dame though appeared to boil over a bit just before intermission.

Leading 27-16, moments after Gi’Bran Payne extended Notre Dame’s lead with a short touchdown run, cameras caught an exchange between Audric Estime and Marcus Freeman on the sideline.  What they are discussing in a rather intense way isn’t certainly known but the optics clearly aren’t great.

Estime had a monster first half, pacing Notre Dame with 140 rushing yards and two scores on 14 carries.  Was he upset he didn’t get a chance at another?

Check out the video below:

We’re certain Freeman will be asked about this following the game so stay tuned for what he has to say.

Nothing to see here: Jake Fromm, D’Andre Swift fine after brief in-game argument

Georgia football QB Jake Fromm, RB D’Andre Swift HC Kirby Smart comment on brief argument in the game vs the Aggies.

I loved what I saw on Saturday late in the game between Georgia and Texas A&M.

There were 2:47 left in Georgia’s win over the Aggies when D’Andre Swift took a draw play from Jake Fromm and was dropped for a loss of two yards. After the play, Swift jumped up and got in his quarterback’s face, expressing his frustration with Fromm for not snapping the ball earlier.

Kirby Smart explained the situation in his postgame press conference and what led to their quick confrontation.

“I wouldn’t call it a dustup,” Smart said. “He was just frustrated. It was a situation where we don’t run that play into a pressure from that side. They did a good job disguising it.

We told Jake to milk the clock and when you milk the clock you can’t change the play. You milk the clock, you’ve got to run the play. It wasn’t a great play, but that’s called passion, it’s not a dustup.”

Sure, seeing your two star players argue is a bit awkward, but at the same time, if you know anything about the passion that goes into playing a team sport, it’s what you love to see.

Passion, that’s what was pouring out of Swift late in the ball game. That very well could have been both of their final games between the hedges and even though the Dawgs struggled to execute and find the end zone, those two left it all on the field.

Anyone who has ever played sports understands this. No, they are not going to go into awkward-mode, not talk to each other, not like each other’s Instagram posts or generate weird eye-contact when passing each other in the football facility.

They are fine. It was an emotional game. It’s an emotional sport.

“I think that was the play, the shot clock was on like one,” Swift said. “We hiked the ball. It wasn’t really a good play. I was telling him that we’ve got to snap the ball earlier but it wasn’t on him. I was just frustrated.”

“If you played football, you know teammates argue sometimes; we’ve got nothing but respect and love for each other. It’s football, it’s a game. Nothing is between us.”

Fromm did not push back. He let Swift express his frustration and carried on, eventually guiding the team to a win.

Fromm’s reaction to Swift’s complaints was exactly what you want to see from your quarterback. That’s the kind of stuff that NFL scouts will love when looking at his college tape. The guy is a leader and understands how to handle the emotions of 10 different players on the field at any given time.

“I think it’s just two competitors that want to compete and do the right thing for the offense,” Fromm said.

“The clock is ticking, they showed a blitz there at the last second and I didn’t have enough time to change it. That’s part of the four-minute scenario, trying to milk out the clock and two guys want to be really competitive and win a football game.”

Smart described it best following the game.

“It’s love,” Smart said. “When you have family, your family doesn’t always get along, right? But they love each other. These two young men love each other as much as anybody.”