Dennis Allen doesn’t understand the Saints-Falcons rivalry, but Raheem Morris does

Dennis Allen doesn’t understand the Saints-Falcons rivalry, but Raheem Morris sure does. Atlanta’s new head coach said Tuesday: “I have hated the Saints for a long time”

It’s really unfortunate that Dennis Allen still doesn’t understand the New Orleans Saints’ rivalry with the Atlanta Falcons, but his new opponent Raheem Morris sure does. Atlanta’s new head coach offered a very different perspective from Allen on his team’s relationship with its oldest rival.

“I have hated the Saints for a long time,” Morris told The Athletic’s Josh Kendall at NFL owners meetings on Tuesday. “Started back with Sean Payton. I was hanging out at the pool the other day with Dennis Allen. I hate him just as much.”

Allen, of course, embarrassed Saints fans by apologizing for his players going rogue to run up to the score on the Falcons in the final game of their 2023 season. The man he apologized to, former Atlanta coach Arthur Smith, was dismissed from his post just hours later. And Allen’s own players have voiced their disapproval of his actions — Cameron Jordan said the only thing they should have said sorry for was not scoring even more points.

Still, Morris acknowledged that it’s all in good fun. These rivalries add passion to the game and drive competition. Even if it’s a real visceral, bone-deep hatred, it’s important for those involved to express some passion.

“It’s a fun rivalry though. It’s really fun,” Morris grinned. “I really don’t hate those guys.” Even if he’s just playing the part, at least Morris is acknowledging it’s a role he’s supposed to play. Allen hasn’t yet grasped that concept.

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Cameron Jordan criticizes NFL’s rule banning hip-drop tackles

The NFL ignored complaints from the players association and voted to ban the hip-drop tackle. Cameron Jordan took issue with the rule change:

A big change is coming to the NFL. League ownership ignored complaints from the players union and voted to ban the hip-drop tackle on Monday, and big names around the league weren’t happy. New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan took issue with the rule change on social media.

Now, officials will be penalizing defenders for tackling offensive players around the waist and leaving the ground with both feet — resulting in a 15-yard foul and automatic first down for the offense. It’s a change in the name of safety after some high-profile players were injured on routine tackles last season.

But implementing it will be a challenge. Officials already struggle to get many penalties and penalty-worthy plays right, and this is something that can’t be practiced given the limited contact at training camp and summer workouts. It’s an unpopular move with players and a difficult task for officials, but team owners are determined to see it through anyway.

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Alvin Kamara and a couple of famous friends working hard in Liberia

Alvin Kamara and close friends Mark Ingram II, Cameron Jordan started their offseason with some hard work volunteering in Liberia:

Shoutout to Alvin Kamara. The New Orleans Saints running back started his offseason overseas, visiting his grandparents and extended family in his mother’s home country of Liberia. And while he was there, Kamara met with local government officials and community organizers to lend a hand however he could, including the mayor of Monrovia, the nation’s capital.

And he had some big help from a couple of famous friends. Kamara’s teammate Cameron Jordan says he invited himself to fly into Monrovia and join Kamara in volunteering with the sanitation department to help clean up the streets. Their former teammate and close friend Mark Ingram II made the trip, too. All three Pro Bowlers picked up shovels, slung on bright green vests, and got to work.

It’s a really great gesture from all of them. Ingram was a key influence in the Saints locker room as a team leader and mentor for Kamara, and Jordan has always valued community outreach and charity work. Both Jordan and Ingram volunteered for USO Tours during their decade-plus in the NFL. Grabbing some work gloves and choosing to leave a place better than they found it was an easy decision. Good for them providing a great example.

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Teaming up Cameron Jordan with Chase Young could bring out the best of them

Teaming up Cameron Jordan with Chase Young could bring out their best. Their strengths and weaknesses compliment each other:

Look at Chase Young and Cameron Jordan and you’ll see two players in very different stages of their careers. Jordan is putting the finishing touches on a career he hopes will earn him a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Young is joining the New Orleans Saints with visions of catapulting his career to greater heights, where he’ll earn a life-changing contract in a year or two and join Jordan on that Hall of Fame trajectory.

And Jordan, 10 years Young’s senior, is a different player now than he was a decade ago. He’s still reliable in run defense; few defensive ends set a harder edge and give up less ground when opposing offenses test them. However, age and injuries and wear and tear have taken a toll, and Jordan lacks that extra step to close in on the quarterback and finish a distracting pressure with a drive-killing a sack.

Young is in the opposite situation. He’s as disruptive against the pass as they come, consistently beating his blocker off the snap and getting into the backfield to breathe down the quarterback’s neck. But he’s known as someone who shies away from contact when teams run at him, with a bad habit of loafing around and letting his teammates rally to the ball instead.

So this is a unique opportunity for them to bring out the best in each other. At this stage in his career, Jordan should be a two-down player who can stop the run and bring some pressure when teams drop back to pass. And Young is exactly the type of player who should be stepping in for him on third downs and obvious long-yardage passing situations, where he won’t be asked to hold ground in run defense. They can play to each other’s strengths while minimizing their weaknesses.

Having the two of them together is a good teaching opportunity, and it’s something Young says he’s looking forward to experiencing. Young was asked about the situation the Saints have set up for him to learn from Jordan,  which he says he’s eager to embrace.

“That’s definitely something big for me, that I’m excited to do,” Young said Monday during his introductory press conference. “A future Hall of Famer, a guy who I can spend time with, who I can just absorb the game from. I’m definitely excited about Big Cam.”

Jordan was miscast as the Saints’ No. 2 pass rusher last year even before an ankle injury set him back through the back half of the season; Carl Granderson is a fine No. 2 option himself, but the group was missing a lead rusher to stet them both up for success. Young can do that. He had more pressures (74, including the playoffs) than both Granderson (58) and Jordan (45).

Even if Young is focused on playing the pass, there should be plenty of snaps to go around. The Saints faced 226 third downs last year. Opposing offenses needed 10 or more yards on 15 first downs and 133 second downs. If Young subbed in for Jordan on that exact number of plays (and, for the sake of this exercise, they were all passes by the offense) then it would be 374 pass rush snaps, which is comparable to the split Bryan Bresee saw at defensive tackle in his rookie year; he played the pass on 386 snaps while stopping the run just 148 times. A similar rotation could benefit Young and Jordan, too.

Letting players do what they do best sounds easy enough, but it can be tough to pull off. Ambitious young men don’t want to leave the field any more than their prideful elders. But the Saints didn’t sign Young without a clear vision for how he’ll fit into their rotation. If he takes point on passing downs (which, for the Saints, were about 67.2% of their defensive snaps in 2023) with Granderson rushing off the opposite end and Jordan putting his efforts into stopping the run, it just might bring out the best in everyone. That has to be the plan with Jordan’s career drawing to a close and Young hoping to cash in after playing out this prove-it deal in New Orleans. Let’s see if the team can carry out that vision, or if they have something else in mind.

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Chase Young signing with Saints may signal the end of Payton Turner era

Chase Young will be taking someone’s spot in the rotation after the Saints signed him. It just might be Payton Turner’s:

Chase Young will be taking someone’s spot in the rotation after the New Orleans Saints signed him to a one-year, $13 million contract on Monday (with every dollar guaranteed once his pen touched paper). The Saints are bringing back all of their major contributors from 2023 at defensive end, but the group performed so poorly that it makes sense for Young to elbow someone aside.

It just might be Payton Turner drawing the short straw. The 2021 first-round pick hasn’t lived up to expectations, and it’s almost a foregone conclusion that the Saints will not pick up his fifth-year option for 2025 before May’s deadline. Between injuries and coach’s decisions based on his too-slow progress, Turner has only played 15 games through his first three years, without a single start.

Cameron Jordan and Carl Granderson are locked in, and Tanoh Kpassagnon also played major snaps last year (23.8 per game). Backups Isaiah Foskey and Kyle Phillips got a few looks here and there. If Young can fill in for Jordan on third downs and obvious passing situations, limiting the old pro’s snap counts, there may not be many more reps to go around. Phillips is an unrestricted free agent who has not been retained. Foskey’s development has been slow, like Turner’s, but he’s only entering his second year in the NFL.

So it’ll probably be Turner or Kpassagnon being squeezed out. They share surprisingly similar skill sets as defensive linemen who can set the edge or slide inside, and the financials are similar, too. Turner’s 2024 salary cap hit is set at just over $3.9 million. Trading or releasing him after June 1 (during or after training camp, too) would save the Saints $2.3 million. Kpassagnon’s cap hit is $3.3 million and moving him this summer would save the team $2.5 million against the cap.

And of those two, Kpassagnon has been the better player for the Saints. He’s been healthy and productive and played more games. That might make him a more appealing asset to other teams. At the same time, Kpassagnon will turn 30 in June, and the aging Saints defense has been a point of contention among fans. It’s possible Turner plays well enough in practices over the summer that it’s a real question of who makes the cut, and another team could swoop in to make New Orleans a trade offer they can’t refuse. It would be a good problem to have.

It’s just a shame Turner hasn’t met expectations to this point in his career. Some of it is his own fault with up-and-down performances when he’s been available. Some of it is on the coaching staff for preferring to run with older teammates in some games. But so much of the problem isn’t anyone’s fault. Injuries happen in the NFL, and Turner has been hit harder than most. We’ll see if he can bounce back with the stakes going higher in 2024.

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Panthers free-agent target Chase Young expected to sign with Saints

Free-agent pass rusher Chase Young, who visited with the Panthers last week, is expected to sign with the division rival Saints.

Well, Cameron Jordan was right.

As first reported by Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz on Monday, free-agent pass rusher Chase Young is expected to sign with the New Orleans Saints. The 24-year-old, who was initially slated to see the Saints at the end of last week, also visited with the Carolina Panthers this past Thursday.

Young was selected by Washington with the second overall pick of the 2020 NFL draft and went right on to capture AP Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. That debut campaign saw the Ohio State University star post 44 combined tackles, 7.5 sacks and four forced fumbles—all of which remain as career-highs.

Injury woes derailed his next two seasons, as Young appeared in just 12 contests between 2021 and 2022. The Commanders then shipped him to the San Francisco 49ers at this year’s trade deadline.

With Young off the board, three-time Pro Bowler Jadeveon Clowney still remains as an intriguing option for the Panthers. Carolina met with the 31-year-old Rock Hill, S.C. native and D.J. Wonnum—who they signed to a two-year, $12.5 million deal—last Thursday as well.

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Demario Davis agrees to an extension with the Saints

Contrary to some bad reporting, the Saints are going to sign an extension with Demario Davis which will let him play out his career in black and gold:

What’d we tell you? Contrary to some bad reporting suggesting the New Orleans Saints were going to have to trade Demario Davis, ESPN’s Adam Schefter says that the Saints reworked their deal with the All-Pro linebacker to insure he’ll retire in black and gold.

It’s an extension very similar to what Tyrann Mathieu received from the Saints last week. Schefter reports that Davis’ new deal is a two-year, $17.25 million contract with $13.25 million in guarantees. The NFL’s oldest starting linebacker (he turned 35 in January) is on the same timeline as Mathieu and defensive end Cameron Jordan, who are all now signed for 2024 and 2025, with the possibility of retirement in 2026.

Davis was set to count against the salary cap by $18,193,000 in 2024, which was the final year of his contract. Instead, that number should fall to about $9.5 million, but stay tuned for details to clarify exactly where his cap hit lands. The Saints were in the red by just $10.7 million prior to reworking his deal so they should be knocking on the door of salary cap compliance after this.

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ESPN highlights a free agent pass rusher fit for the Saints

ESPN highlighted the best team fits for its top 50 free agent, linking the New Orleans Saints to pass rusher Za’Darius Smith:

We’re moving closer to free agency, and there’s a good chance the New Orleans Saints are going to make some moves to improve their team. ESPN has already shared their list of the top 50 free agents — now, ESPN staff writer Matt Bowen has linked each of those players with the best teams they could join in March.

And one name was highlighted for the Saints: Za’Darius Smith. Here’s why Bowen sees New Orleans as a good fit for him:

Given the Saints’ cap issues, this would probably be a one-year deal for Smith to play in Dennis Allen’s multiple defense. I like the fit here, though, given Smith’s pass rush versatility. Allen could deploy him off the edge or inside as a stand-up defensive tackle/nose. He’s a power rusher who has 60 sacks in his career (5½ with the Browns in 2023), and New Orleans finished tied for 28th in sacks last season with 34.

Smith has the size that the Saints covet off the edge, and he brings productivity that few players in their lineup can match — Pro Football Focus charting credited him with 61 and 80 quarterback pressures in his last two seasons on the Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings. Before that, he was a two-time Pro Bowler with the Green Bay Packers and a big piece in the Baltimore Ravens’ rotation to start his career.

If the money checks out, he’d be a good get. But he shouldn’t be seen as the long-term fix at defensive end. Smith is an older player (he’ll be 32 when the season starts) and he would be joining an aging defense. Four of their top 11 defenders in snaps played are 30 or older, including Cameron Jordan, the second-oldest player on the team. Having two defensive ends on the wrong side of 30 and few young draft picks developing into known commodities behind them is worrisome.

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Cameron Jordan on Saints’ controversial TD vs. Falcons: ‘Say sorry we didn’t go for 50’

Cameron Jordan doesn’t see the problem with running up the score on the Falcons, much less apologizing for it: ‘Say sorry we didn’t go for 50’

The New Orleans Saints ended their season with a flourish — and then some controversy. When the second-string offense and backup quarterback Jameis Winston went rogue to get Jamaal Williams a late touchdown run over the Atlanta Falcons, Saints head coach Dennis Allen responded by apologizing to the other team for their actions.

It was a move that got him lambasted by the Saints fanbase. And one of Allen’s captains and the longest-tenured player on the team, Cameron Jordan, wants it known that he disagreed with Allen’s decision to apologize for scoring too many points on their greatest rival.

“I’m so sorry the locker room really enjoys being a brotherhood,” Jordan joked during an appearance on the Around the NFL podcast this week. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry we punished a rival team. I would do it again. In fact, I would’ve gone for two. The only thing I’m gonna have a discrepancy with is I didn’t understand the ramifications of like, ‘No, they were taking victory formation.’ The ‘Can’tlanta Failcons’ had already acquiesced. They were just trying to get it out there just like their head coach was about to get out there.”

Already unpopular among Saints fans, Allen’s determination to take a stand and tell them to stop enjoying themselves rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Whatever goodwill he earned for his first winning season in five years as a head coach went with the wind. He has more work to do to convince the team’s supporters that he’s the right man for the job, even as general manager Mickey Loomis continues to cook up bad arguments favoring Allen.

But this isn’t going away. Jordan finished his piece with “Half of my gripe was Dennis ended up saying sorry. And I’m like why would you say sorry? Say sorry we didn’t go for 50.”

It’s unfortunate, but it makes sense that Allen still doesn’t get this rivalry. He doesn’t understand why Saints players and fans dislike the Falcons because his heart’s not in it. He was born in Atlanta as the son of former Falcons linebacker Grady Allen. He grew up and into life with Texas A&M as a student, college football player, and assistant coach; the Aggies have built an unhinged program with strange culture and ideas of sportsmanship, which has defined its relationship with its biggest in-state rival by running from the Texas Longhorns to join a new conference (only for Texas to get the jump on them anyway in the expanding SEC). The sense of rivalry and bone-deep hate isn’t in him.

And Allen’s reluctance to lean into that rivalry and engage with Saints fans (and, apparently, his own players) is going to be a storyline until something bigger happens to overshadow it. Hiring an entirely new offensive coaching staff will help. But Allen has a lot of work to do to convince fans the team he’s leading is worth lending their time and money to support. All we can do is it and see whether he can deliver.

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Twitter is obsessed with Kirk Cousins dancing at NFL Honors

From Kirko Chains to Dancing WIth Kirk Cousins, it’s been a wild couple of years for the Vikings soon to be free agent quarterback

The last two years for Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins have been a fascinating ride.

Through his first four seasons with the Vikings, Cousins was really reserved in both media appearances and the public eye. Ever since Kevin O’Connell took over as head coach, that has changed.

The team and organization has outwardly embraced the quirky guy that Cousins is with the chains and Kohls Cash and it has culminated two years in a row with Cousins having a blast at the NFL Honors ceremony.

Just a few months after rupturing his Achilles tendon, Cousins was dancing with New Orleans Saints DE Cameron Jordan and Twitter was immediately obsessed.