Tag: Chris Olave

Michael Thomas airs out Derek Carr after Chris Olave’s injury

Ex-Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas criticized Derek Carr immediately after Chris Olave went down with a concussion against the Panthers:

After returning from a concussion just a week ago, Chris Olave suffered another concussion at the beginning of the New Orleans Saints’ game against the Carolina Panthers. Watching from home, ex-Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas didn’t waste time calling out Derek Carr on social media in a series of tweets.

Carr threw a ball high over the middle to the point it was uncatchable, and Olave took a big hit on the play. Thomas jumped on Carr’s lack of accuracy by reflecting on Davante Adams’ catch percentage in his All-Pro season in Las Vegas.

Thomas also called out Carr’s tendency to get antsy with any pressure, saying Carr panics and just throws the ball. It’s difficult to argue with some of the points Thomas was making.

This isn’t the first time Thomas has called out Carr and most times it has been in defense of Olave. He and Olave are both Ohio State Buckeyes and appeared to have a good relationship since Olave was drafted. Thomas isn’t on a team after being released back in March, but you have to think a team will sign the 2019 Offensive Player of the Year sooner or later.

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Michael Thomas blamed Derek Carr for getting Chris Olave injured with a reckless pass

Michael Thomas thinks Derek Carr literally hung Chris Olave out to dry.

After missing roughly a month of action, the New Orleans Saints were excited to see Derek Carr back as their starting quarterback against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

However, more Saints misfortune struck when Carr hung up an inaccurate pass over the middle of the field to star receiver Chris Olave. The playmaker couldn’t catch the difficult ball and wound up taking a big shot from Carolina safety Xavier Woods, who knocked him out of the game.

Based on Saints receiver Michael Thomas’ reaction, Carr essentially hung Olave out to dry by hanging a high pass over the middle of the field — often referred to as a “hospital ball” by football fans because of the vulnerable and dangerous position it puts playmakers in.

Olave would be carted off the field and is already apparently recovering at a nearby hospital in Charlotte, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport:

Thomas called Carr out on his Twitter account after the Olave play and proceeded to go on an NSFW rant that I won’t link here for obvious reasons, but you can check it out for yourself. Here’s the initial segment with a blotted-out curse and inappropriate emoji:

Woof. That’s a fiery critique of a quarterback that has mostly been underwhelming in New Orleans. For what it’s worth, many receivers likely feel the same way about “hospital balls,” but it’s just a little uncouth to call your quarterback out for them in public. And this also seems to be about Carr’s play in general.

With Thomas on no NFL team at the moment, you’re seeing some honesty shine through there.

Saints share update on Chris Olave injury vs. Panthers

The Saints issued a positive health update on Chris Olave after he sustained a concussion in a big hit against the Panthers:

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave has movement in his extremities and is being evaluated at Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center after being diagnosed with a concussion against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, the team announced on social media.

Olave briefly lost consciousness on the field after a big hit from Panthers safety Xavier Woods, who drew a foul for unnecessary roughness on the  play. He was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the game.

This would be the fourth concussion in a series of brain injuries for Olave. The young pro has switched helmets and considered wearing a Guardian cap into games to better protect himself, but it’s something that must be handled seriously. We may be entering the point where his NFL future should be contemplated. For now, though, here’s to a full recovery.

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Chris Olave carted off after scary hit vs. Panthers

Saints wide receiver Chris Olave was carted off on an immobilizing stretcher after a scary hit from Panthers safety Xavier Woods:


This is the worst thing to see in an NFL game. New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave was carted off on an immobilizing stretcher after a scary hit from Carolina Panthers safety Xavier Woods. Derek Carr’s pass sailed too high for Olave to catch it and the wideout was sandwiched between Woods and the Panthers defender covering him. He remained motionless on the turf after the collision.

Players from both teams crowded around as the medical staff attended to Olave, as did Saints coach Dennis Allen. It’s an awful situation. Olave raised his arms after he was placed on the cart, which is a great sign, but he’s already suffered three concussions in his brief NFL career. He practiced this  week with a unique Guardian cap over his helmet and considered wearing it into the game, but ultimately chose not to. Few players do.

Hopefully this wasn’t as serious as it looked, but Olave shouldn’t be expected to return to this game against the Panthers. Stay tuned for updates.

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Mickey Loomis clarifies Dennis Allen’s statement on young players

Mickey Loomis used Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis as examples of how good young players can develop into great talents, and stars, with time:

Dennis Allen recently said the New Orleans Saints don’t have any great young players, instead saying they have “young guys who are developing.” It was an odd comment for a head coach to make about his team, even when taken in context of the conversation.

So Saints general manager Mickey Loomis stepped in to expand on Allen’s comments by comparing young players to Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis. Those two players didn’t blossom into stars immediately.

Loomis pointed to the beginning of their careers, specifically the first four years where their tackles, sacks, and postseason honors were more pedestrian. It took some time but both Jordan and Davis developed into great players with the records and Pro Bowls to back it up. He then pointed to players such as Chris Olave, Bryan Bresee, Taliese Fuaga and Alontae Taylor as some of the players who could follow that same career arc.

While those players may not be stars yet, Loomis believes they could ascend and begin to get more accolades in the next four to five years similarly to Jordan and Davis.

Loomis ended up naming nearly every prominent young player on the team, but he understands they can’t all be stars. “Will they all do that? No. That’d be unrealistic. We don’t expect that. But certainly we have a lot of guys, and there’s others as well, who have that opportunity.”

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Chris Olave practicing with unique Guardian cap at Saints practice

Whether or not he wears it into a game, using a Guardian cap could be a good idea for Chris Olave after several concussions:

NFL teams are required to wear Guardian caps on their helmets at practice, and players have the option to wear it during live game action, but only a few around the league have chosen to do so: Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Josh Whyle, James Daniels, Jabrill Peppers, Kylen Gransen, Rodney Thomas II, De’Von Achane, and Luke Goedeke, among others.

It appears Chris Olave may be on the way to being the first New Orleans Saints to select that option. ESPN’s Katherine Terrell made an interesting observation at Wednesday’s practice. Olave was the only player whose Guardian cap had a fleur-de-lis on it. Most of the protective headwear is blank, so the external team logo may suggest it could be worn in-game.

Whether or not he goes through with it, wearing a Guardian cap could be a good idea for Olave. He has a history of concussions that dates back to college. In the pros, he’s suffered one concussion in each season. The wide receiver just returned from a concussion last week, and took a big hit in the first game that led to him heading to the blue tent in his first game back.

Three concussions in three years is serious and wearing the Guardian cap adds at least one extra preventative measure for Olave. Any more concussions, and we’ll start having some uncomfortable conversations about Olave’s future.

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Saints offensive starter avoided a concussion vs. Chargers

Juwan Johnson exited late in Week 8’s Chargers game to be evaluated for a concussion. Dennis Allen announced he is good to go against the Panthers:

Dennis Allen announced starting tight end Juwan Johnson is good to go ahead of the New Orleans Saints divisional matchup versus the Carolina Panthers.

Johnson caught a pass late in the New Orleans Saints’ contest against the Los Angeles Chargers, immediately left the game and didn’t return. It looked like Johnson took a slight hit to the head or his head went straight to the ground as he made the catch.

You may not have noticed because it was late in the game. This was on the final possession right before the two-minute warning. Johnson was then ruled out for the remainder of the game while being evaluated for a concussion.

Allen announcing Johnson is good to go on Monday means Johnson didn’t suffer a concussion and doesn’t have to go through the steps of concussion protocol.

Johnson has been more involved in the offense lately after a slow start. With the limited amount of wide receivers at the Saints’ disposal, Johnson should continue to be featured.

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Dennis Allen doesn’t believe the Saints have any great young players

Dennis Allen doesn’t believe the New Orleans Saints have any great young players, but he says they don’t need them:

Dennis Allen joined WWL radio for the coaches show and gave an interesting outlook on the New Orleans Saints’ current roster, specifically the young players.

Allen doesn’t believe the Saints have any great young players, that would include Chris Olave. Erik McCoy feels like just aged out of being a young player. The first player who jumps to mind, however, is Olave.

When describing the roster, Allen said, “I think we have some good young players. I don’t know that we have any great young players, or at least we’re not in that position at least yet. I think we still got some young guys that are developing that we hope can continue to get better and improve.”

This just feels like an odd position for a head coach to take publicly. Even by leaving the door open for those players to become great, it feels like a slamming of the current roster.

Maybe Allen felt comfortable saying this because he believes, “You can win a lot of games with a lot of good players. You don’t have to have a ton of what people might consider great players. You need tough, smart, competitive football players that play the game the right way.”

Allen does believe they have those type of players. He just doesn’t think you need great players to win football games. He’s right if the coaching is great. Something has to be great for you for you to win a lot of games.

When you’re 2-6, coming out to say you don’t believe you have great young players gives the appearance of a coach blaming the roster for the team’s shortcomings. Everything else he said afterwards can’t erase the leading statement.

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The New Orleans Saints are the 2nd-worst team in the NFC

Numbers don’t lie. The Saints’ season can be summed up by two numbers, 2 and 6, but those numbers run deeper than just their record:

They say “numbers don’t lie.” Well, here are a couple of numbers about the New Orleans Saints’ season thus far.

2. The New Orleans Saints have the second worst record in the NFC. The only team with a worse record is the Carolina Panthers. The Saints defeated them in Week 1. Klint Kubiak seemed to revive Alvin Kamara and the run game. Derek Carr was flourishing in a play action dominant system. Maybe they can recapture some magic against the Panthers this upcoming week.

6. The Dennis Allen-led squad has suffered consecutive defeats for a month and a half. Spencer Rattler was at the helm for half of the games and Carr was responsible for the other half. The losses started close, but the Saints have been outclassed since Week 4.

2. This is the amount of wins the Saints have. Nothing to explain here. It’s been so long, that it was nice to reflect on the good times that were cut way too short this year.

6. This is where the Saints are currently drafting prior to Monday night’s game. Staying close to the top-5 should bring lengthy conversations about drafting a first round quarterback and possibly trading up for one.

Things are bad in New Orleans. The offense has been lifeless since Week 2, other than the first half against Atlanta. The energy has been drained from the fan base, and the season can be summed up with two numbers, 2 and 6. Ironically, that’s the Saints record.

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Everything to know from Chargers’ win over Saints

Here’s our recap of the Chargers’ 26-8 win over the Saints.

The Chargers beat the Saints on Sunday afternoon, improving to 4-3.

Here’s our recap of the Week 8 win.

It was over when…

Ladd McConkey scored his second touchdown to extend the Chargers’ lead to 18.

Notable number

According to NextGen Stats, Joe Alt did not allow pressure on any of his 38 pass-blocking snaps against the Saints, tied for the most snaps without pressure allowed by a rookie tackle over the last three seasons.

3 stars of the game

  1. QB Justin Herbert: Herbert had a strong performance against the Cardinals last Monday night and carried that over to this weekend. Herbert finished 20 of 32 passing for 279 yards and two touchdowns. He also added 49 yards on the ground on four rushes, including one for a big 38-yard gain.
  2. WR Ladd McConkey: McConkey has shown flashes this season, but it was only a matter of time until he had a breakout game. That came on Sunday when he caught six passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns, including one for 60 yards.
  3. LB Daiyan Henley: Henley led the team in tackles (11) and had a pass deflection.

Quick hits

  • Herbert engineered a multitude of big plays through the air. On 10+ yard throws, he finished 7 of 11 for 195 yards and two touchdowns, highlighted by McConkey’s 60-yard scoring grab.
  • The Chargers had no problems finding the end zone after failing to score a touchdown since the second quarter of the Week 6 game against the Broncos.
  • Second-half scoring has been a problem this season. The Chargers hadn’t scored a touchdown in the third or fourth quarter since Week 1, but they ended that drought by scoring two in the second half. They were 2-of-3 in the red zone.
  • The offense had its fair share of struggles, however. The Chargers struggled to run the ball against a Saints defense that was bottom of the barrel in that department. They went 3-for-12 on third down. The pass protection was uneven.
  • The Chargers held the Saints to 2-for-14 on third down and prevented them from reaching double digits in scoring. But they still allowed 366 total yards, 117 of which came on the ground. Alvin Kamara had a few explosive plays, a product of Los Angeles’ handful of missed tackles in open space.
  • The Chargers did a much better job of generating pressure. They finished with five sacks and seven quarterback hits.
  • Special teams was sloppy early on. Josh Harris and JK Scott failed to connect on a punt snap, which resulted in a safety. Cameron Dicker also missed an extra point.

What’s next?

The Chargers are back on the road to face the Browns next Sunday, Nov. 3, at 11:00 am PT.