Tag: Darren Rizzi

Chris Olave ‘in a good place’ after second concussion in 2024

Saints coach Darren Rizzi said this week that Chris Olave is “in a good place” after his second concussion of 2024. But he’s no sure thing to return this season:

Has Chris Olave already caught his last pass with the New Orleans Saints this season? It’s certainly possible. The standout wide receiver suffered two concussions in his first eight games and was put on injured reserve, and there’s currently no timetable for him to return to the field. At least not in pads and a helmet. Olave was spotted at the Saints practice facility this week spectating and dapping up teammates, but he’s not ready to run routes and take on contact.

Interim head coach Darren Rizzi shared an update on Olave’s status after practice on Tuesday.

“He’s still going through that whole process. He’s met with a bunch of people, he’s got another meeting coming up here next week. He’s met with some different specialists throughout the country,” Rizzi said, adding that Olave had another specialist visit lined up later this week. “He’s in a good place.”

The soonest Olave could return is Week 15’s home game with the Washington Commanders (which would set him up for a matchup with his former teammate Marshon Lattimore), but that might be overly ambitious. Rizzi emphasized that Olave’s wellbeing, not his availability on the field, is the greater concern here. A rapid series of brain injuries like this can have serious, lifelong implications.

“Him and I the last couple days had great conversations. He’s feeling a lot better. With that kind of injury, you just want to make sure you’re doing the right thing by the person,” Rizzi continued, “We’ll have a lot more information on him next week.”

So we’ll see if Olave returns this year, but it’s clear his coach won’t be rushing him back into action. That’s the right approach. If Olave decides to put his body in harm’s way again, that’s his decision to make. Kudos to Rizzi and the team for recognizing that.

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Chris Olave still consulting specialists to treat his concussion symptoms

Chris Olave has dealt with many concussions in his New Orleans Saints career. His most recent injury has him visiting with specialists:

Chris Olave was seen at practice on Tuesday, but that isn’t necessarily a sign of his return being imminent. By the sounds of things, the New Orleans Saints wide receiver missing the remainder of the season is still a good possibility.

Darren Rizzi shared an update on Olave’s progress: “He’s met with a bunch of people, he’s got another meeting coming up here next week. He’s met with some different specialists throughout the country.”

New Orleans is rightfully being cautious with Olave, who is currently on injured reserve.

Olave suffered a concussion against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 10. It was his second concussion of the season and fourth of his three-year professional career. The severity may have been the same, but the aftermath of this one looked the worse visually of all his concussions.

Rizzi insists Olave is in a good place. With emphasis being on the person over the player, that’s a positive sign. This upcoming meeting appears to be a big one in understanding what Olave’s immediate future looks like. The Saints will “have a lot more information on him next week.”

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Saints rookie has been one of the best punters in this key stat

There isn’t a punter who has placed more tries inside the 20-yard line than Matthew Hayball through 11 games. The Saints rookie has been one of the NFL’s best in this stat:

In his first year in the league, New Orleans Saints punter Matthew Hayball has been an extremely effective weapon for the Saints. You actually would like to never see your punter.

Unfortunately for the Saints, they’ve seen Hayball frequently. Fortunately for the Saints, however, Hayball frequently delivers. Punts aren’t typically highlight plays unless it’s a punt return, but Hayball has put the opposing offense in tough situation on a regular basis.

Hayball has placed 27 punts inside the opposing 20-yard line. No other punter has done it more times through 11 games. What’s more impressive is the percentage of punts he places inside the 20-yard line. 57% of Hayball’s punts have been inside the 20.

If you hyper focus on yards per punt, you may think Hayball has struggled. He ranks 31st in the NFL in what can be a misleading stat. You don’t want a 55-yard punt when you’re just outside of field goal range. Judging a punter solely on how far he punts on average is flawed because a punter doesn’t always use his full leg. Accuracy is what’s most important in that situation.

Punts landing inside the 20-yard line also doesn’t tell the full story, but it’s a better metric to measure effectiveness. But even if he’s effective, let’s hope we see less of Hayball through the final six weeks — that would mean the Saints are ending more drives with points than punts.

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Saints’ 2024 season following a similar script as previous years

After 11 games, the New Orleans Saints sit in an unfortunately familiar position whether it’s Darren Rizzi, Dennis Allen, or Sean Payton leading them:

The New Orleans Saints get to rest during Week 12, as they enjoy their bye week. After 11 games, they sit in an unfortunately familiar place. New Orleans is currently 4-7. They have alternated between 4-7 and 5-6 for the last four seasons. It doesn’t matter if they’re led by Sean Payton, Dennis Allen or a mix of Allen and Darren Rizzi.

The path to the outcome is different but the outcome remains the outcome. The Saints are below-.500 football team after 11 games. Payton’s last year in 2021 was the most unfortunate because Jameis Winston led the Saints to a 4-2 record when healthy. They won the game he was injured in, then lost four in a row with Trevor Siemian at quarterback to land at 5-6.

This year’s variation included a seven-game losing streak, a coaching change and a two game winning streak by the interim head coach. It’s been quite the rollercoaster, but the Saints still ended at the same point.

The end of the season has been kinder to New Orleans. They have won three or four of their last six games each season. That would give Rizzi five or six wins as the interim coach.

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Darren Rizzi is already one of the Saints’ winningest interim coaches

After just two games, Darren Rizzi is tied for the second-most wins by a New Orleans Saints interim head coach. How far to reach the top?

Darren Rizzi’s the only New Orleans Saints head coach other than Sean Payton to start 2-0. The second victory tied him with Aaron Kromer for the second most victories by a Saints’ interim head coach. The only person with more victories is Joe Vitt, who took over for Kromer after six games.

The big difference between Rizzi, Kromer and Vitt is the situations they inherited. Kromer and Vitt were interim coaches because Payton was suspended for a year. The team the year prior went 13-3 and is one of the greatest teams in franchise history. Did we mention Drew Brees was still the quarterback?

That was a flourishing team who lost their head coach for the entirety of the season. Rizzi took on a team in the middle of the year that was in the midst of a seven game losing streak. These were drastically different circumstances, to say the least.

Unless there’s a complete explosion, Rizzi will finish the year with more victories than Kromer. To cross Vitt’s bar of five wins, New Orleans will have to beat the Rams, Packers, Commanders or Buccaneers in addition to winning the easier games on the schedule.

Rizzi has started his run strong, but how it ends will determine how the Rizzi Era is remembered.

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Saints’ playoff chances remain slim entering the bye week

The Saints have won back-to-back games and made ground in the NFC South title race, but their playoff probability still remains beneath 5%:

A path for the New Orleans Saints to the playoffs has come into clearer view but it hasn’t become more likely.

Next Gen Stats is used by NFL.com to project playoff probability. It gives current probability and what changes with a win or a loss this week. Because New Orleans is currently on their bye week, they have no opportunity to improve or lessen their 4% chance at making the playoffs.

Darren Rizzi has led the Saints in consecutive wins, and he’d likely punch his ticket as the team’s long-term head coach if he beats those odds.

Why is it in the single digits? The Atlanta Falcons have a 72% chance at making the playoffs. Seeing that neither team have a record good enough to be a wild card team, a percentage that high would suggest belief in Atlanta to win the division.

The Saints’ path to the playoffs is through the division. Despite making ground on Atlanta and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the analytics say completing the comeback isn’t likely.

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Taysom Hill recognized with his second career Offensive Player of the Week award

Take a bow, Taysom Hill. The Saints’ standout football player was recognized with his second career Offensive Player of the Week award:

Take a bow, Taysom Hill. The New Orleans Saints football player was recognized with his second career NFC Offensive Player of the Week award after making plays as a runner, receiver, and passer against the Cleveland Browns — not counting his impressive kick return for 42 yards.

Take that with his 138 rushing yards, 50 receiving yards, and an 18-yard pass, and Hill amassed 188 yards from scrimmage with 230 all-purpose yards. Each of those totals were personal bests for him, and he had three touchdown runs on the afternoon, too.

This is the third weekly honor for Hill after he was previously named NFC Offensive Player of the Week in 2022 and NFC Special Teams Player of the Week in 2018. Call him a quarterback, fullback, tight end or wide receiver — wherever Hill lines up, he makes plays. That’s what interim head coach Darren Rizzi expressed to FOX Sports sideline reporter Jennifer Hale during Sunday’s win over the Browns.

“Taysom’s an unbelievable football player, usually the more we can use him the better off we are,” Rizzi said on the broadcast, acknowledging Hill’s highlights despite an interception and fumble on the day. “We just gotta do a better job limiting the negative plays, can’t turn the football over. But we’re going to use Taysom as much as we can.”

Hill is averaging a career-high 38.3 rushing yards per game this season on top of 21.4 receiving yards per game, which is also the most for his time in the NFL. Over the summer Klint Kubiak and the Saints coaching staff expressed an eagerness to get more out of Hill than in past seasons, and you’re seeing that pay off. Hill just needs to stay healthy, protect the football, and keep earning recognition for his efforts.

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Consistency must be the theme of the Saints bye week

The New Orleans Saints passing attack has been highlighted by big plays, but they need consistency. They must pick up where they left off after the bye week:

It has been said that winning masks everything. The New Orleans Saints can’t allow that to be the case as they enter the bye week. Despite being on a two game winning streak, there’s still a lot of work to do.

The last two games may have each gone the Saints’ way, but they’re still 4-7. Teams with seven losses through 11 weeks need work, and New Orleans is no exception.

A high focus should be on developing a better connection between Derek Carr and his receivers, even without Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed. Alvin Kamara is dependable on the ground and he draws a ton of targets on checkdowns, but the passing attack is streaky. Veteran wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling has had a few splash plays, but he hasn’t been a consistent feature through the air. The Cleveland Browns took him out of the game plan in the second half last Sunday.

The passing attack was highlighted by stretching the field with Shaheed as well, but Olave had the ability to help march the ball down the field. New Orleans has to figure out who will play that role.

Juwan Johnson, Foster Moreau and the tight ends feel like a group that could fulfill that need. The inconsistencies passing the football at the intermediate level have led to the offense stalling for long periods.

That’s one negative that hasn’t disappeared despite the different results.

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This outlet says Darren Rizzi is making a case to stay long-term

It’s tough to go from interim to permanent head coach, but Bleacher Report feels Darren Rizzi is making a strong case to do just that.

The New Orleans Saints are undefeated since Darren Rizzi assumed head coaching duties from Dennis Allen. After only two games, Bleacher Report’s staff of NFL analysts believes Rizzi is forming a case to be the Saints head coach on a permanent basis.

Interim coaches aren’t typically retained after the season, but a strong ending would likely insert Rizzi into the conversation. The way Rizzi has rejuvenated the building feels similar to how Antonio Pierce impacted the Las Vegas Raiders a year ago. Pierce was retained as the Raiders head coach beyond his interim season.

Some would say winning cures all, and that’s the truth. On the other hand, the energy shift transpired before the Saints ever broke their losing streak. The shift partially had to do with moving on from Allen, but New Orleans picked the right person to close out the season as well.

Making a case or entering into the conversation is far from being the favorite. If Rizzi continues to lead the team in a similar fashion as he’s doing now, he deserves an interview during the search.

No team has scored more TDs on the Cowboys’ home turf than the Saints

No team has scored more touchdowns at AT&T Stadium than the Saints did in Week 2 — including the Cowboys all season long. New Orleans tore the roof off that sucker:

It’s a beautiful venue Jerry Jones built for the Dallas Cowboys, AT&T Stadium. It’s just a shame his team hasn’t scored more points for their fans than they have this season. The Cowboys have managed just five touchdowns on offense all year long, and it’s the New Orleans Saints who tore the roof off that sucker. The Saints are AT&T Stadium’s scoring leader with six touchdowns to their credit way back in Week 2.

At the same time, it’s a shame the Saints couldn’t maintain that pace. It’s why Dennis Allen got fired and they slumped into a seven-game losing streak. But the tide has turned, maybe. Darren Rizzi has brought new life to the locker room and the practice field and the sideline on game days. Klint Kubiak is running his offense the way he planned to with Pro Bowl center Erik McCoy back in the lineup and Taysom Hill recovered from injury.

The 35 points they dropped on the Cleveland Browns’ heads this Sunday were the most the Saints scored since they blew out the Cowboys in Dallas back on Sept. 15.

In a way, their bye week came at the worst time. You’d like to see the Saints keep this momentum going and continue playing fast in another matchup soon. But every team needs rest, and they could use it with McCoy on the mend (though Rizzi says he’s expected to be fine after the bye). The challenge then becomes picking up where they left off. And with the Los Angeles Rams, another playoff hopeful fighting for a winning record, coming up next? Rizzi and his squad need every minute to prepare to hit the ground running on Dec. 1.

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