Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Who are the experts are picking in Saints vs. Buccaneers? Here are the Week 4 game picks from those in the know:
We’re in for a competitive matchup between the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday — but which team is being backed by those in the know? NFL experts, analysts, and bloggers all around submitted their game picks this week. Here’s who they like in Week 4’s game at the Caesars Superdome:
Some experts see #Chiefs GM Brett Veach’s vision for the offseason, while others graded it quite poorly.
The Kansas City Chiefs are in the midst of Phase 3 of the offseason program.
While Brett Veach’s work to compose a roster for the 2023 NFL season is hardly complete, the front office has assembled their initial 90-man roster. They’ve made additions at the top of the roster all the way down to the bottom, featuring some new faces who will help the team defend their Super Bowl title in 2023.
Some believe Kansas City had an offseason that will help Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes return to the Super Bowl. Others think the offseason acquisitions have been lackluster compared to the departures.
Below you’ll find a collection of grades for the Chiefs’ offseason from various media outlets:
The Saints’ 2023 draft grade point average leaves a lot to be desired. Many experts feel most of the league did better on draft day:
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The 2023 New Orleans Saints draft class has been one that has gotten mixed reviews from around the NFL world. Now, we’re able to get a full view of what the consensus of the class is thanks to René Bugner putting together a compilation of 29 different draft grades to give every team a grade point average.
Doug Farrar at TouchdownWire put every team in order and gave his thoughts on the grade. Here were his thoughts on the Saints being ranked 22nd in the league with a 2.68 GPA.
The Saints lost a lot of talent along their defensive line in free agency, and they addressed that with authority in this draft. If Bryan Bresee can stay healthy, he’ll be one of the best interior disruptors in this entire draft class. He’s a natural one-gap penetrator, and you can line him up everywhere from nose shade to edge. I liked Isaiah Foskey’s tape more than some people I’ve talked to, and head coach Dennis Allen won’t have any trouble taking Foskey’s 12 sacks and 33 total pressures from last season and extracting that kind of production in his concepts.
Personally, I felt that this grade was much lower than expected going into the list. It feels a bit harsh for a team that mostly just filled needs they had going into the draft, minus potentially adding a linebacker. The selection of Bryan Bresee has been one that’s been criticized based on his past health concerns. The addition of Kendre Miller was another that could turn out to be much more important that some might be giving them credit for right now, with a looming Alvin Kamara trade.
One thing that has been repeatedly brought up when discussing the draft class was the trade last year that kept the Saints from using their first round pick this year. That should not be counted as a negative for this class, as it was also heavily criticized as a part of last year’s class which is more fair in my opinion.
Here is the full list of grades for every NFL team, provided by Bugner:
🏈🧑🏻🎓 I´ve compiled 29 evaluations of the 2023 NFL draft and totaled the team grades.
Here is the spreadsheet. Sorted by GPA for all 32 teams.
I also sorted the 29 evaluations by GPA. From left (soft graders) to right (hard graders).
Thanks to all who give out grades every year! pic.twitter.com/lEvqCkViCT— René Bugner (@RNBWCV) May 25, 2023
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Experts predict the New Orleans Saints’ record in 2023; how many wins do you see on this year’s schedule?
We’ve had a week to digest the New Orleans Saints’ 2023 schedule, and opinions vary quite a bit on just how good the team will be this year. There’s a lot of hand-wringing going on about how high Derek Carr can elevate their struggling offense (if at all, to hear some experts spin it) as well as whether Dennis Allen is the right head coach for this team after an unimpressive debut ten years after his Raiders stint went up in smoke.
All of the turnover and free agent departures hasn’t instilled much confidence, either, but this is still a team that can compete in a weak division and maybe make some noise if things go their way. Here’s what’s being written about the Saints and their fortunes for 2023:
High marks all across the board for Jason Licht and the Bucs.
Cornerback [autotag]Jamel Dean[/autotag] isn’t going anywhere.
The upcoming fifth-year corner out of Auburn was expected to leave the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency. Still, general manager Jason Licht was able to lock him up without the use of the franchise tag and without much cap room, signing him to a four-year, $52 million deal. The team will be happy to have him back in Tampa Bay, as Dean has accrued seven interceptions and defended 41 passes during his time as a Buc —he’ll be alongside Carlton Davis as one of the team’s shining pieces in the secondary heading into the 2023 season.
Here is what experts thought about Jamel Dean’s re-signing with the Bucs:
Week 10 NFL game picks suggests Saints-Steelers will be a toss-up
We’re on to Week 10’s slate of NFL games, but Sunday’s matchup between the 3-6 New Orleans Saints and 2-6 Pittsburgh Steelers isn’t easy to figure out. Neither of these teams have played inspiring football through the first half of their seasons. They’re both dealing with shaky quarterback situations, inconsistent-at-best defenses, and some baffling coaching decisions. To top it all off, the game will be played during a cloudy, windy 41-degree Sunday afternoon at Pittsburgh.
So it’s going to be ugly. And nobody seems to have an idea of which squad will walk away with a win — just 56% of experts surveyed by NFL Pickwatch this week like the Saints to win on the road, with a strong 44% minority favoring the Steelers coming out of their bye week.
That’s a better differential than the Saints have seen in recent weeks, but that goes to show just how dire of straits both teams find themselves here. And it makes sense seeing as they’ve won a combined 5 of their last 17 games. It’s shaping up for a sloppy, mid-November slugfest between two teams hoping to avoid their seventh loss on the season so far.
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Week 9 NFL expert picks come in for Ravens over Saints by a landslide, with half as many game picks siding with New Orleans compared to a week ago:
Whew. 72% of last week’s NFL expert picks came in against the New Orleans Saints, and the black and gold proved them all wrong by winning a shutout at. This week, they’re facing even more doubters with 87% of this week’s game picks favoring the visiting Baltimore Ravens. NFL Pickwatch surveys weekly game picks from experts in the media and fan blogs from around the pro football landscape, and the outlook on the Saints this week isn’t any better than what we saw last week.
It’s actually worse — half as many experts like the Saints to repeat with a win over the Ravens on Monday night this week, with the group picking New Orleans falling from a 28% minority to a thin crowd of 13%. It makes sense when you look at the records (Baltimore is 5-3, while the Saints have an inverse mark at 3-5) and remember that Saints quarterback Andy Dalton has lost his last four games against his old AFC North rivals.
So it almost goes without saying that the Saints are facing long odds in this game. Baltimore is a very strong running team, averaging 165.6 yard on the ground each week. They’re also tied for the second-most rushing first downs (76) around the league. That’s a mismatch against the up-and-down Saints run defense, though New Orleans did just allow its lowest single-game rushing total (38 yards) of the season. With the Ravens managing injuries to two of their top three receiving threats in tight end Mark Andrews (488 receiving yards this season) and wide receiver Rashod Bateman (285), they’ll be looking to place an even greater emphasis on their run game this week. The Saints must be ready.
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The 🐐 is back in town for #Bills-#Packers @StevieJohnson13
Stevie is back in town.
On Sunday when the Buffalo Bills host the Green Bay Packers for their prime-time showdown, former Bills receiver Stevie Johnson will return to be the “Legend of the Game.”
Johnson played from 2008 to 2013 with the Bills after he was a seventh-round pick of the franchise out of Kentucky. Johnson last played in the NFL in 2015.
During his tenure in Buffalo, Johnson was a rare bright spot during the playoff drought. So much so, this is not the first time the Bills have decided to honor him in such a way. He “led the charge” back in 2018.
Prior to kickoff, Johnson will be one of the first ones out of the tunnel at Highmark Stadium. He’ll pump Bills Mafia up just ahead of the opening kick and team introductions.
“I feel like a player, but a fan too,” Johnson said to the team’s website. “That whole feeling of preparing for a game and preparing for those moments is the same with this, being the Legend of the Game. It’s huge to introduce the team and be around that atmosphere again.”
Johnson elaborated further during an interview with the team’s radio partner, WGR-550 radio. Hear more from Stevie in the attached YouTube player below:
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College GameDay experts predict today’s top games!
Week 9 of the college football season is upon us, and while the Crimson Tide are on the bye week, there are still plenty of entertaining games this weekend. I think all Alabama fans will secretly admit they are relieved to have a stress-free weekend ahead of two monumental games against LSU and Ole Miss.
Across the country though, Kentucky and Tennessee meet in a huge showdown in the SEC East today while Penn State and Ohio State battle for a position in the Big Ten Championship Game.
College GameDay was live from Jackson State today for the showdown with Southern! As always, the GameDay experts predict the key matchups of the day and decide who the winners are.
The numbers below are not the predicted score, but rather how many experts on the panel picked that respective team.
Most NFL picks are favoring the Raiders over the Saints in Week 8. It’s a tough look when both teams are chasing their third win of the season:
Ouch. According to surveying of game picks from around the NFL media landscape at Pickwatch, a staggering 72% majority of Week 8 picks are coming in for the visiting team. Both the Las Vegas Raiders (2-4) and the New Orleans Saints (2-5) are looking for their third win of the season this week, but just 28% of media experts, national reporters, and fan blogs from around the Internet like New Orleans to win at home.
That’s a tough look, but it makes sense. The Saints are missing a ton of starters due to injuries and their defense has ranked among the worst in pro football over the last month. Las Vegas is on a roll, having come out of their bye week to wallop on the Houston Texans last Sunday. Raiders star running back Josh Jacobs is a horrible matchup for a Saints defense that’s struggled to tackle opponents in the open field.
But the experts have been wrong before, so here’s hoping the Saints can prove them wrong again on Sunday. Other game picks coming in around the NFC South gave the Tampa Bay Buccaneers just a 33% vote of confidence in knocking off the Baltimore Ravens (the Bucs lost 27-22, making for a very complicated division title race) while an overwhelming majority of 89% of picks favor the Atlanta Falcons against the Carolina Panthers. Let’s see how it all turns out on Sunday.
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