Tag: foul

Former NFL head coach says Saints got away with foul on game-winning FG block

Former NFL head coach Jay Gruden says the Saints got away with a foul on their game-winning field goal block. Check the tape for yourself:


There’s no love lost between Jay Gruden and the New York Giants — he coached against them with Washington from 2014 to 2019, going 4-7. The second-to-last game he coached was a 24-3 loss to Big Blue. But the former NFL head coach put the Giants’ close loss to the New Orleans Saints under a microscope when studying this week’s games, and he says the Saints may have gotten away with a penalty on their game-winning blocked field goal.

Gruden highlighted two Saints defensive linemen on the field goal try, Payton Turner and Nathan Shepherd, who pulled and pushed down the left guard and center, creating a gap for Bryan Bresee to leap through, arms extended for the block. That could count as a block in the back or defensive holding, but obviously no penalty was called this time.

“This referee is saying ‘Oh yeah that’s a flag, I got it,'” Gruden said, noticing the umpire’s hand dive into his pocket to grab a penalty marker. But the official decided to keep the flag where it was, and the play stood as a game-winner for New Orleans.

It’s not like referee Clete Blakeman and his crew hadn’t thrown many flags that day. They had fouled the Saints six times for a loss of 40 yards. But they did hit the Giants a dozen times for a staggering 112 penalty yards. They lived up to their reputation as one of the NFL’s most flag-happy officiating crews. So maybe the Saints did get away with one here. Either way, they got a win, and that’s what will be remembered.

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NFL fans criticize penalty on Saints: ‘End of the NFL as we know it’

NFL fans on social media criticized this baffling penalty against the Saints: ‘End of the NFL as we know it’

Sheesh. New Orleans Saints cornerback Alontae Taylor made a solid head-up tackle on New York Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger to get his defense off the field on third down, but it wasn’t meant to be — instead, referee Carl Cheffers’ officiating crew threw a penalty flag and said Taylor was committed unnecessary roughness by tackling Bellinger on the play.

It was a brutal penalty, and it’s tough to see what Taylor did that warranted the foul. But the play resulted in a big gain for the Giants, who drove downfield to kick a 40-yard field goal before halftime.

And fans weren’t happy. Neither were the Saints, with head coach Dennis Allen haranguing Cheffers and his crew through the next commercial break. Here’s what fans, media in attendance, former players and viewers on social media had to say about the play:

Saints rookie Bryan Bresee fouled for another costly special teams mistake

Saints rookie Bryan Bresee fouled for another costly special teams mistake

The New Orleans Saints have seen early growth and potential out of their first round selection Bryan Bresee, but he repeated a crucial mistake early against the Indianapolis Colts. The rookie defensive lineman was flagged for an illegal formation for being lined up over the center on special teams.

The flag was thrown on 4th-and-1 which set up a 10-yard touchdown pass for Gardner Minshew to Michael Pittman Jr. The score put the Colts up 7-0 early. It is the second time Bresee has been called for it this season, the first time happened in Week 1 against the Tennessee Titans.

Bresee has seven tackles so far in his rookie season, logging 1.5 sacks along the way. He’s had a nice start to his career with low stress, but needs to tighten up on his alignment in special teams. The coaching staff must work with him on this to wipe out these avoidable errors.

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C.J. Gardner-Johnson fined for late hit out of bounds vs. Panthers

New Orleans Saints safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson received a fine for striking Carolina Panthers wide receiver Robby Anderson out of bounds.

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Here’s one more low moment for New Orleans Saints safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. A week after his worst game as a pro, the second-year defensive back has been hit with a $5,128 penalty for unnecessary roughness in his team’s narrow win over the Carolina Panthers. Nola.com’s Amie Just first reported the fine.

Gardner-Johnson was also fouled on the play at the time, tacking on 15 yards to the Panthers after he shoved wide receiver Robby Anderson to the ground out of bounds. It turned a 26-yard gain into a 41-yard pickup for Carolina, leading to a Panthers touchdown minutes later.

Anderson victimized Gardner-Johnson in coverage throughout the matchup, with Pro Football Focus crediting the receiver with 4 catches on 5 targets to gain 59 yards when lined up against him. 3 of those receptions converted a first down, including the catch-and-run that preceded this illegal hit. Frustrations obviously boiled over.

As a rookie and former mid-round draft pick, Gardner-Johnson is only earning about $39,705 per week in base salary this season. So the fine he was just issued by the NFL amounts to nearly 12.9% of his total weekly earnings. It’s a costly reminder to remain disciplined, but should drive home how important it is for him to not hurt his team like that.

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J.T. Gray lost most of his game check to NFL fine for illegal block vs. Vikings

New Orleans Saints safety J.T. Gray, a second-team All-Pro, was fined $28,075 for an illegal blindside block versus the wild-card Vikings.

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It’s bad enough that the New Orleans Saints were unceremoniously booted out of the playoff picture in last week’s loss to the wild-card Minnesota Vikings. You have to feel for backup safety J.T. Gray, who was penalized for an illegal blindside block during a punt return — and then hit with a $28,075 fine by the league office, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

While he may have been voted a second-team All-Pro for his efforts on special teams, Gray’s salary ranked low on the team in 2019. He played on $570,000 contract that paid out just over $33,529 per week. In the playoffs, the NFL’s tiered payout structure granted him $31,000 for his participation in the wild-card round as a member of a division-winning team.

Now, most of that cash is gone. It’s unfortunate for a young player to be fined so heavily for a foul, especially on a rule that was just recently introduced in last offseason’s owners meetings. There’s no doubting the validity of his penalty and the fine that it drew, but maybe the NFL Players Association and the league can reach some sort of compromise on fining players relative to their income during the ongoing CBA negotiations. It would do a lot to help out the players who aren’t as experienced or as financially secure as their peers. Hopefully it’s something the powers that be will consider.

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Cameron Jordan owns up to ugly personal foul penalty: ‘That’s on me’

New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan took the blame for an ugly penalty against Carolina Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen.

The New Orleans Saints put a lot of responsibility on Cameron Jordan’s shoulders. The veteran defensive end is one of the most-experienced and longest-tenured players one the team, and his status as a captain makes him someone to rally around and look to for example.

So his unnecessary roughness penalty against Carolina Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen was uncharacteristic to say the least. Jordan is a former Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee recognized throughout the NFL for his sportsmanship and clean style of play, but this incident on Sunday hurt his team, his reputation, and Allen’s face.

When Saints linebacker Demario Davis spun Allen around for a sack on a long third down to force Carolina to punt the ball away, Jordan jumped into the fray to try and strip the ball from Allen’s arms. Except he did so after an official’s whistle had blown the play dead. And when Jordan punched at the ball, he missed and struck Allen’s facemask, sending the quarterback reeling as Davis threw him down.

“Gotta hear that whistle,” Jordan wrote from his official Twitter account after the game. “That’s on me gotta hear that whistle.”

It was an ugly moment for sure, and the Panthers capitalized on the opportunity (Jordan was hit with a 15-yard personal foul, granting Carolina a fresh set of downs from their own 44-yard line). Fortunately, Jordan’s Saints were able to end the game on a high note and send the Panthers home with a loss.

These two teams will play again during the Week 17 regular season finale; hopefully Jordan and his teammates can avoid more mistakes after drawing a dozen fouls for 123 penalty yards in what was very nearly an upset.

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