Tag: career

Former Saints TE Benjamin Watson doesn’t regret playing second fiddle to Jimmy Graham

Former Saints tight end Benjamin Watson doesn’t regret playing second fiddle to Jimmy Graham ‘His success was my success’

A career in pro football is just a job for some guys, but many players forge relationships that last a lifetime, even if they were only teammates for a couple of years. That’s the case for former New Orleans Saints tight end Benjamin Watson — who is watching Jimmy Graham go out and score touchdowns each week at around the same age he chose to hang up his cleats.

Watson and Graham played together on the Saints in 2013 and 2014, with Watson stepping in as a quality blocker and seasoned veteran five years Graham’s senior who could mentor the breakout star. And it worked out well with Graham’s 16 touchdown receptions leading the league in 2013.

But it was a humbling experience, Watson says, because he’d always been a starter on his previous teams — as a former first-round draft pick and highly-rated high school recruit, he had already enjoyed a lot of success in football, but here he was being asked to fill the role of a No. 2. But he embraced the opportunity to play on a winning team and did what he could to support Graham, and it ultimately worked out well for both of them.

“I practiced hard with Jimmy, and we pushed ourselves to be better. His success was my success because big-time performances from Jimmy often meant wins for the Saints, and that’s what I really wanted,” Watson wrote on the blog All Pro Dad. “I also learned a lot from Jimmy. Because of him, I would go on to become a better route runner later in my career. I wasn’t in the limelight as often that season, but embracing my role as a team player was worth it.”

Having picked up the playbook and seen how Graham executed his assignments when they were teammates, Watson posted a career-high 825 receiving yards with the Saints in 2015. He returned to the team for their Super Bowl run in 2018 and continued to play an important role on offense, but an untimely case of appendicitis sidelined him for the infamous NFC title game against the Los Angeles Rams.

Watson closed out his career in 2019 with the same New England Patriots team that drafted him way back in 2004, retiring at age 39 as one of the league’s most experienced players. And the way he tells it, the opportunity to work with Graham and learn some new things helped keep him going late into his career.

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Rashid Shaheed nearly broke his own all-purpose yards mark vs. Colts

Rashid Shaheed nearly broke his own all-purpose yards mark against the Colts. The second-year pro is making a big impact in multiple phases:

Have a day, Rashid Shaheed. The New Orleans Saints wide receiver went off against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday to the tune of 199 all-purpose yards — racking up 153 receiving yards while gaining 46 return yards on special teams. That’s the second-highest single game total of his career in pro football. Shaheed put up 216 all-purpose yards in this year’s season-opening win over the Tennessee Titans.

And he did it the hard way. Shaheed only caught three receptions but they were all deep shots downfield with defenders closing in, if not fighting to wrestle the ball out of his arms. And he returned four punts to gain those yards in the kicking game and help set the offense up in favorable starting field position. It’s not like he was running free on kick returns or catching a ton of passes short of the sticks.

Still, he has a ways to go in chasing the Saints franchise record. Michael Lewis set that bar high back in 2002 with 356 all-purpose yards when he returned five kicks for 203 yards, also gaining 70 yards on two receptions. Lewis scored twice on a 90-yard kickoff return and later on an 83-yard punt return.

So props to Shaheed for a great game against the Colts. The Saints will need more highlights from him to get where they want to go this season and not just qualify, but make some noise in the playoffs.

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Few coaches have made it as far as Dennis Allen while losing so many games

Few have made it as far as Dennis Allen while losing so many games. He’s going into Week 7 at .500 or better for the first time in his five years as a head coach:

Dennis Allen is going into Week 7 at .500 or better for the first time in his five years as an NFL head coach, which isn’t exactly a silver lining for New Orleans Saints fans after his team fell to 3-3 in a loss on Sunday.

Between his ugly stint with the Raiders and this continually disappointing run with the Saints, Allen has 59 games behind him as a head coach. But he’s gone 18-41 in that stretch, which results in a career winning percentage of .305. His 10-13 record with the Saints so far is doing a lot of heavy lifting after he went .222 with the Raiders a decade ago.

For historical perspective, Allen is one of 176 head coaches to work 59 or more games in NFL history. But he ranks 171st in that group in career winning percentage. Here are the only coaches with a worse record:

  • Marion Campbell: 34-80-1 from 1974-76, 1983-85, 1987-89 (.300)
  • Joe Bugel: 24-56 from 1990-93, 1997 (.300)
  • Pat Shurmur: 19-46 from 2011-12, 2015, 2018-19 (.292)
  • David Shula: 19-52 from 1992-1996 (.268)
  • Gus Bradley: 14-48 from 2013-2016 (.226)
That’s not a group you’d like to belong in, but that’s where Allen — and the Saints, having hired and empowered him — currently belong. Allen would have to win his next 24 consecutive games to get over .500. That’s not likely to happen given his longest win streak was set last year at three games, cut short in the regular season finale by a Carolina Panthers team that managed just 32 passing yards.

This is who Allen is, and it’s what the Saints are as a team: a squad that’s lucky to get over .500 and, more often than not, sits quite a ways beneath that mark. Allen and his staff have a lot of work to do in changing the narrative, but time isn’t on their side.

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WATCH: Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt congratulates Andy Reid on impressive career milestone

Clark Hunt congratulated Andy Reid for an impressive career milestone after the #Chiefs’ win over the #Bears on Sunday.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 3 win over the Chicago Bears was notable for many reasons, but perhaps the most impressive feat achieved in the game was Andy Reid’s ascension to fourth place on the NFL’s all-time leaderboard for wins as a head coach with 271 career victories.

After the veteran skipper wrapped up his comments to the Chiefs on Sunday evening, team chairman and CEO Clark Hunt stepped in to congratulate Reid on his impressive career milestone.

While a win in this game may have seemed like a foregone conclusion for the defending Super Bowl champions, the victory is sure to have meant a bit more for Reid, who is rapidly gaining ground on George Halas for third place on the win leaderboard.

With a bit of luck and another decade of success, Reid could have an outside shot to take over the first-place spot from legendary Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula, who ended his career with 347 wins.

All of the quarterbacks Cameron Jordan has sacked in his NFL career

Here are all 46 of the quarterbacks Cameron Jordan has sacked in his storied New Orleans Saints career:

Cameron Jordan has sacked a lot of quarterbacks in his NFL career — 46 of them, going into Sunday’s game with the Green Bay Packers. If he can bring down Jordan Love, the New Orleans Saints sacks leader will level up even further.

Here are all of the passers Jordan has brought down so far, via Pro Football Reference’s research tool Stathead:

Saints, Cameron Jordan strike deal on extension to continue his career in black and gold

The New Orleans Saints and Cameron Jordan agreed on a new contract extension to ensure he’ll close out his career in black and gold:

Was there ever any doubt this deal wouldn’t get done? ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the New Orleans Saints have agreed to terms on a new contract extension with defensive end Cameron Jordan, all but ensuring the eight-time Pro Bowler will spend his entire career with New Orleans. It’s some smart planning for the future between the Saints and one of their best players.

Schefter reports that Jordan’s contract is valued at $27.5 million over two years. He was already set to count against the 2023 salary cap by more than $15.1 million, most of which was tied up in $13.3 million from previous contract restructures, so this isn’t going to bring much current-year cap relief as much as future stability. If Jordan hadn’t signed a new deal, he would have been set to become a free agent in 2024 while leaving a dead money hit on New Orleans’ books in excess of $23.3 million.

Jordan, 34, won the Saints’ all-time sacks record last season (115.5) to surpass Pro Football Hall of Famer Rickey Jackson while also ranking fourth in the team record books with 58 pass deflections. He’s been a steady and reliable presence in the defensive front — since being drafted back in 2011, Jordan established a streak of 172 consecutive starts until he was briefly sidelined on the COVID-19 reserve list late in the 2021 season.

He appeared in 186 regular season games and 11 playoff contests before missing a game due to injury midway through the 2022 campaign. It’s not for nothing that he’s the longest-tenured player on the team, and this new extension will keep it that way. Jordan is well on his way to surpassing Drew Brees for the team record of the most games played with the Saints.

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Where does Jimmy Graham rank in the New Orleans Saints record books?

Where does Jimmy Graham rank in the New Orleans Saints record books? And how high can he climb now that he’s come home?

What is Jimmy Graham hoping to accomplish in this late-career return to the New Orleans Saints? A lot, actually — he’s within punching distance of several very achievable goals in the Saints record books. It wouldn’t take much for Graham to climb higher after picking up where he left off back in 2014.

Here’s where he ranks in Saints history for touchdown catches, receiving yards, total touchdowns scored, and scrimmage yards:

Alabama Softball’s Montana Fouts emotionally recaps her collegiate career

After WCWS elimination, Montana Fouts says, “I couldn’t have asked for a better place to spend my dream.”

The Alabama softball program has seen a lot of really extraordinary talents and players walk through their doors, but Montana Fouts stands alone as the greatest player in program history. Coming out of high school, Fouts was a three-time Gatorade Player of the Year winner in Kentucky. During college, she was the SEC Freshman of the Year, two-time second-team All-American (2019, 2022), and First-Team All-American (2021).

Heading into the Super Regionals and Women’s College World Series Fouts has been a bit dinged up with an injury she suffered during the SEC Tournament. However, Alabama lost their first game of the double-elimination WCWS to Tennessee and absolutely had to rely on their best player.

She delivered and pitched incredibly well on Friday as she threw 7.0 innings and surrendered only five hits and two runs. She gave the Tide a real chance to win, but her offense let her down as they were shut out in a 2-0 loss to Stanford.  This is the second year in a row Stanford has ended Alabama’s season.

After the game, which marked the conclusion of her collegiate journey, Fouts was understandably emotional reflecting on her career. Through the tears, she managed to respond back saying, “These people are my everything. I couldn’t have asked for a better place to spend my dream.”

It’s unfortunate she was never able to get the desired national championship career, but that doesn’t take anything away from a magical career for someone who inspired and was beloved by so many.

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Tulane hires former Saints assistant Greg McMahon as special teams coach

Tulane hires former Saints special teams coach Greg McMahon as their new coordinator, bringing championship experience via @DillySanders:

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The Tulane Green Wave recently announced a return to the city of former New Orleans Saints assistant Greg McMahon, naming him as their new special teams coach.

McMahon was a member of the Saints’ special teams staff for a long stretch from the 2006 to 2016 seasons, of course earning a Super Bowl ring in the process. As the special teams coordinator at the time, McMahon was a part of the reason of the success of the iconic “Ambush” onside kick after the halftime of Super Bowl XLIV.

It’s not his only Louisiana football championship ring, as he joined the LSU Tigers coaching staff after his time in New Orleans. McMahon was in Baton Rouge from 2017 to 2021, being a part of the legendary 2019 season. Most recently, he spent time in the USFL with the Houston Gamblers and the XFL with the Houston Roughnecks.

Now, he joins Willie Fritz’s surging program after the best season in school history. Though he is not a Louisiana native, he’s been a part of some of the biggest parts of the state’s football history, so it’s nice to see him back in the city.

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Get to know the QB prospects the Saints will be coaching at the Senior Bowl

Several Saints coaches will work closely with QB prospects Malik Cunningham, Jaren Hall, and Jake Haener at Senior Bowl practices. Get to know them better:

The New Orleans Saints will have several coaches on the ground at the upcoming Senior Bowl, with passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach Ronald Curry and offensive assistant D.J. Williams both tabbed to join the National Team coaching staff; Curry is the offensive coordinator, and Williams is the quarterback coach. That’s going to put them in close proximity with several quarterback prospects in the 2023 NFL draft for a week of practices and classroom work, giving the Saints an early look at each of these promising passers.

And it’s an interesting group. All three National Team quarterbacks are listed at similar heights and weights in the 6-foot-1 and 200-pound range, though we’ll get a better idea of their athletic profiles once the Senior Bowl announces weigh-in results next week. Either way, unless something drastic appears they should pass the bar for New Orleans. The Saints have their prototypes but they aren’t about to pass on good players just because they’re a few pounds underweight. Let’s get to know each of them better: