Tag: fumbles

Opportunistic Saints defense can take advantage of Jared Goff’s mistakes

An opportunistic Saints defense can take advantage of Jared Goff’s mistakes. The Lions quarterback has committed six turnovers in his last two games:

An opportunistic New Orleans Saints defense must take advantage of Jared Goff’s mistakes. The Detroit Lions quarterback has committed six turnovers in his last two games, losing three fumbles to the Green Bay Packers last week after throwing three interceptions to the Chicago Bears a week earlier. Goff is in a bit of a rut, and the Saints need to capitalize on it. He’s thrown eight interceptions and fumbled five times this season.

That’s easier said than done for most teams, but New Orleans is known for its ballhawks. The Saints defense has intercepted the second-most passes in the NFL this season (14 in 11 games) while doing an admirable job of recovering fumbled balls from the offense — nine different defenders have recovered a fumble this season, and cornerback Paulson Adebo has two of them.

Adebo also has four interceptions in just nine games, leading the team. Strong safety Tyrann Mathieu is second with three picks, and his tag-team partner Marcus Maye has two of his own (though the free safety may not play this week due to a shoulder injury). Five other Saints defenders have intercepted passes this season, too.

Taking the ball away becomes even more important when you consider all the struggles the Saints have experienced offensively. The more opportunities the defense can create for Derek Carr and company, the better. Shorter fields and swings of momentum are going to be critical against a talented and well-coached Lions team. If Goff does a better job protecting the football, Saints fans may be in for a long afternoon.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

Despite first takeaway of season, Raiders take sole possession of NFL-worst turnover differential

Despite first takeaway of season, Raiders take sole possession of NFL-worst turnover differential

Good news: The Raiders finally got a takeaway. No longer making team one of just two teams without one this season.

Bad news: Their three turnovers on offense now land them alone in last place for the NFL’s worst turnover differential.

After the first three weeks of the season, the Raiders were tied with the Minnesota Vikings with a -7 turnover differential.

Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Raiders would break the shutout in terms of takeaways by getting their first interception of the season. Tre’von Moehrig finally secured an interception.

Unfortunately, Aidan O’Connell fumbled three times and threw an interception. Two of those fumbles were recovered by the Chargers, giving them three turnovers on the day and a -2 turnover differential for the game.

This dropped them to a -9 turnover differential on the season.

Meanwhile, in Minnesota, the Vikings had two turnovers and one takeaway in a win over the Panthers, to give them a -1 turnover differential for the game and tied for 30th in the league with a -8 for the season.

The Chargers going +2 versus the Raiders moved them into a tie for 4th in the league with the Sehawks (+5).

The top three are the Cowboys (+9), Buccaneers (+7), and Bills (+6).

Raiders have NFL’s worst turnover differential through 3 weeks

No team in the NFL has a worse turnover differential right now than the Raiders.

You can find a lot of different ideas of what makes for a successful team and what doesn’t. But there’s one thing most everyone can agree upon as a major factor in wins and losses: turnovers.

In that regard, there is little question as to why the Raiders have just one win which they eeked out against a bad Broncos team.

The Raiders defense has yet to take the ball away from the opposing offense this season. Not by interception or by fumble.

The Raiders offense, on the other hand, has turned the ball over seven times. That’s six interceptions and one fumble.

That -7 turnover differential is tied for dead last in the NFL. But the Vikings, with whom the Raiders are tied, at least have two takeaways. The Raiders and Giants (-5) are the only two teams in the league without a takeaway through three games.

Sunday night, Marcus Peters gave the Raiders their best shot at changing that stat. He read a short pass perfectly and had what would have been a sure pick six, but dropped it.

Obviously, the Raiders six interceptions thrown were by Jimmy Garoppolo. Compared to five touchdown passes. While Garoppolo has one of the team’s three fumbles, just one of those fumbles was not recovered by the Raiders and that was Zamir White’s fumble in Buffalo in Week two.

In case you’re wondering, the best turnover differential belongs to the Dallas Cowboys with six. The Buccaneers come in second with five. Then a cluster of teams at four and so on.

Rounding out the worst teams are the Broncos (-4), Bears (-4), and Browns (-5).

No team had a better point differential against Tom Brady than the Saints

No team had a better point differential against Tom Brady than the New Orleans Saints, one of the few teams to outscore him in his career:

It’s finally over. Tom Brady announced his retirement on Wednesday after spending decades on top of the NFL, but no team had more success against him than the New Orleans Saints. Brady posted the lowest point differential of his career against the Saints in getting outscored by 31 points.

For context, just three teams outscored Brady in his career — the Kansas City Chiefs were next-best (-20), followed by the San Francisco 49ers (-8), with Brady’s old New England Patriots team coming close to breaking even (2). Brady outscored every other team in the league by 7 or more points in his long run as a pro.

That’s impressive by New Orleans. But the Saints also created more negative plays by Brady than many other opponents. They sacked him 30 times in 11 games, the fourth-highest sacks total of all opposing defenses; his former AFC East rivals, who he played more often, took a lead there with 66 sacks in 36 games by the Miami Dolphins, 64 sacks in 36 games by the Buffalo Bills, and 56 sacks in 37 games by the New York Jets.

It extends to takeaways, too. The Saints defense intercepted Brady 12 times in 11 games; the Dolphins had 27 interceptions, the Bills had 25, and the Jets had 16, as did the Indianapolis Colts in 15 games. Brady fumbled 7 times in 11 games with the Saints and Chiefs. The Denver Broncos had 10 fumbles in 14 games. The Jets and Bills had 14 each, and the the Dolphins had 16.

Whew. The Saints got the better of him almost every time they shared the field. It’s a shame Brady didn’t come to the NFC South sooner. Here’s to a happy and fulfilling retirement for him.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyahgz6p2j3xp7 player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

[listicle id=121538]

Brandon Staley emphasizes ball security ahead of Chargers’ Wild Card matchup with Jaguars

Brandon Staley said his staff will emphasize ball security heading into the Chargers’ Wild Card matchup against the Jaguars.

Turnovers played a huge role in the Los Angeles Chargers’ loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 18. Two balls were punched out in the regular season from Austin Ekeler and DeAndre Carter.

At Tuesday’s media availability, head coach Brandon Staley fielded some tough questions about them.

Staley gave a lengthy explanation of what caused his players to lose control of the football in key situations. He gave all credit to the Broncos for making big plays that altered the course of the matchup and made sure to note that he and his staff would emphasize ball security moving forward.

“I think that what you saw on [WR DeAndre Carter] D.C.’s is a blind spot. That happens when you are carrying the ball, especially. A blind spot is someone who you can’t see. [RB] Austin [Ekeler], that was unexpected. Justin Simmons made a great play and flashed unexpectedly. He was able to get his hat on the football there. You know the story of turnovers.

“We were able to finish even yesterday, but those two definitely prevented us from scoring a lot more points because we really moved the ball well yesterday. You just know that if you can secure it, how much more prolific you are going to be offensively. That is certainly something that we’re going to be emphasizing every single day moving forward. Our guys have been outstanding all year with it.”

While Chargers fans certainly won’t be satisfied with the result their team achieved in this Week 18 matchup, their primary concern will now turn to the all-important elimination games in the playoffs, where Los Angeles’ margin for error will be even slimmer than before, facing a Jaguars team that is tied for second in forced fumbles (13).

Watch for the Bolts to protect the football at every opportunity and for the team to exercise better fundamentals against the Jacksonville in its Wild Card matchup this weekend.

Alvin Kamara has more fumbles than touchdowns scored in 2022

Alvin Kamara has more fumbles than touchdowns in 2022, but it says more about the Saints offense than his issues with ball security:

It’s been a rough year for Alvin Kamara. The New Orleans Saints running back was sidelined by a rib injury early in the 2022 season, and he just tied his career-high with 4 fumbles in a single season after turning the ball over twice against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. And he’s only scored 3 touchdowns all season, which is almost baffling.

Especially when you consider that Kamara entered the season needing 5 scores to claim Marquese Colston’s record for the most touchdowns scored in franchise history. It’s unlike him. Kamara only has one other season with multiple fumbles, and he’s averaged 13.6 touchdowns per year as a runner, receiver, and kick returner going into the 2022 campaign.

So while it’s easy to focus on the turnovers, the larger issue here is the Saints not getting more out of Kamara, specifically in the red zone. This season he’s totaled 13 carries and 8 targets inside the opponent’s 20-yard line — an average of 2.1 scoring opportunities per game. Going into this season, Kamara had 180 carries and 75 targets in the red zone for an average of 3.5 tries per game. That’s a small difference, but it adds up.

What gives? Part of the problem lies at quarterback. Both Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston have had trouble finding Kamara in the flats at times, though Kamara is averaging more targets per game with Dalton (6.8) than Winston (3.4, including their games together in 2021). Dalton also just missed a walk-in touchdown to Kamara against the 49ers. The point is that both passers haven’t gotten the most out of one of the NFL’s proven playmakers.

But it also comes down to playcalling. Pete Carmichael Jr. has been on the headset all season and he hasn’t done a good enough job getting Kamara involved — specifically in the red zone. And the plays Kamara is getting show a worrying lack of creativity. Just 25.9% of his carries are going outside the tackles, compared to 31.1% of his rushing attempts from 2019 to 2021. Carmichael is asking him to run between the tackles and into the teeth of the defense over and over again, and it isn’t working.

Hopefully things turn around over these final five games. If this is all the production the Saints are going to get out of Kamara, it doesn’t justify his contract value. They owe it to themselves to get the most out of that investment, and the best path forward is to go back and key in on what Kamara has done well throughout his career. He may not be as effective without Drew Brees, but he’s made enough plays with enough different quarterbacks over the years to where this scoring drought is inexcusable.

As for the fumbles: again, this is uncharacteristic for Kamara. It should stabilize over time. It’s not like he’s gotten lazy with his ball security or is mishandling his opportunities. These things happen, and taking the ball out of his hands isn’t the answer. No one knows how important protecting the football is better than Kamara, and he’s shown before that he’ll get it cleaned up. He and the Saints can’t afford not to.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyahgz6p2j3xp7 player_id=none image=https://saintswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[pickup_prop id=”30383″]

[listicle id=119001]

Kentucky QB Will Levis falls past the Saints in 2023 mock draft

Kentucky QB Will Levis fell past the Saints in a recent 2023 mock draft, but they could consider him if given the opportunity:

We’re still weeks away from draft season kicking off in earnest, but the discourse surrounding the 2023 NFL draft is already off to a heated start. One polarizing prospect is Kentucky quarterback Will Levis — anonymous scouts are still dealing out quotes about his potential as the draft’s No. 1 overall prospect, but the mock draft industrial complex has chilled on him amid a difficult senior season for the Wildcats.

Levis even fell past the New Orleans Saints in a recent mock draft from our own Luke Easterling over at Draft Wire. The Saints selected Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Hendon Hooker at No. 43 overall, who we’ve advocated for in spite of his season-ending knee injury, with Levis falling to the Washington Commanders at No. 48. Would the Saints let Levis get past them if given that opportunity?

Maybe so. He fits their established prototype for the position as an experienced college passer with size and athleticism at a listed 6-foot-3 and 232 pounds, and real arm talent. Levis entered his senior year with plenty of momentum after completing 66% of his attempts last year while throwing for 2,826 yards with 24 touchdown passes, adding another 376 rushing yards and 9 touchdown runs on the ground. It was a strong start for the Penn State transfer.

The issue was whether he could cut down on the turnovers (throwing 13 interceptions in 13 games, and fumbling 3 times) and endure a lot of changes in his supporting cast: Levis lost his offensive coordinator Liam Coen (who was once in the mix for a job with the Saints), his offensive line coach Eric Wolford (who ironically replaced Saints line coach Doug Marrone at Alabama), multiple starters along the offensive line, and his leading receiver Wan’Dale Robinson.

He responded to all of that adversity by throwing for 2,218 yards and 17 touchdown passes in 10 games, lobbing 10 interceptions through those 10 games. Levis has completed 65.9% of his passes and improved on his yards per attempt average (going from 8.0 to 8.4), but he hasn’t been a factor as a runner with just 2 touchdown carries and more yards lost than gained on the ground — he’s actually at negative-97 rushing yards right now. Tack on 3 fumbles (the same as last year, but in 3 fewer games; Levis fumbled twice in an ugly last-minute sequence during Kentucky’s loss to Ole Miss in October) and it isn’t looking pretty.

Still, scouts claim they love him when they can’t put their names to that testimony where the public can read it, and he’s routinely getting picked in the first round of mock drafts. He wouldn’t be the first quarterback to enjoy greater stability and thrive in a better situation at the pro level. But is that the kind of prospect you spend a first-round pick on? What about a second rounder?

It’s a curious situation, and it’ll take months to suss out. There are still games to play, not to mention all-star events like the Senior Bowl, interviews and athletic testing at the annual NFL Scouting Combine, plus private meetings and workouts with interested teams in the spring. Levis should be on the Saints’ radar just like every other quarterback in the upcoming draft class, but they might have better options. The next step for Levis comes in Saturday’s Governor Cup’s rivalry game with the Louisville Cardinals, with kickoff scheduled for 2 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyahgz6p2j3xp7 player_id=none image=https://saintswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[listicle id=118390]

Twitter reacts to Melvin Gordon’s latest fumble: ‘Stop giving him the ball’

The Broncos have to stop putting the ball in Melvin Gordon’s hands.

Denver Broncos running back Melvin Gordon fumbled again on Sunday, marking the fifth time he has fumbled this season and the 12th time he’s fumbled in 41 games with the team dating back to the 2020 season.

Gordon’s fumble in Week 11 came at the three-yard line when Denver was facing a third-and-one in the second quarter. Had the Broncos picked up a first down and went on to score a touchdown, Denver would have taken a 17-7 lead over the Raiders just before halftime.

Instead, Gordon’s fumble set the Broncos back four yards and the team’s ensuing fourth-down field goal attempt was blocked. Denver ended up taking a 10-7 lead into halftime and later lost the game 22-16 in overtime.

Gordon’s fumble was a momentum-swinging play that cost the Broncos points in a game that ultimately ended up being a one-score game. At some point, Denver’s staff has to realize that Gordon’s lows outweigh his highs.

Here’s a sampling of how Twitter reacted to Gordon’s latest fumble on Sunday.

Special teams miscues ‘bugging the heck’ out of Pete Carroll, Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks have been struggling on special teams as of late and are working to tighten up the unit and rectify the miscues.

The Seattle Seahawks have had relatively consistent special teams play over the years, but things have looked a bit different in the last couple of games.

“Golly, it’s just bugging the heck out of all of us because we are really good on teams on 98% of it, but then we have a play that wrecks the game for you in a sense,” coach Pete Carroll said during his Monday press conference. “We really have had those almost disastrous plays that just don’t fit us at all.”

From muffed punts to botched returns and fumbles and Michael Dickson’s snafu in the end zone on Sunday, the struggles have been real.

“We are working hard, we made a big plea to the guys that we have to clean up every snap, not just some here or some there,” Carroll continued. “We’ve been really consistent with our coverage and the kickers are doing well, so it’s unfortunate. Mike’s decision last week and then this one, we just made a real error on the one that happened this week. Man, those are big plays.

“We are going to do everything in our power to fix it.”

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbycpfe4qgv9nf6 player_id=none image=https://seahawkswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[lawrence-related id=95201]

[vertical-gallery id=95219]

Jaguars will talk to Trevor Lawrence about wearing gloves in rainy games

Jaguars offensive coordinator Press Taylor says coaches will “present the idea” of gloves to Trevor Lawrence if they play in the rain again.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence had a case of the butterfingers during a rainy, windy Week 4 game against the Philadelphia Eagles. His four fumbles were costly in the 29-21 loss and could result in Lawrence wearing gloves if the Jaguars encounter rough weather again.

“We’ll talk about anything that will help us,” Jaguars offensive coordinator Press Taylor told reporters Thursday. “We’ll present the idea of possibly wearing gloves if that’s something he wants, but again, the quarterback’s got to be comfortable.

“Really, the players in general have to be comfortable going into the game. If that’s something he feels comfortable with, then that’s something we’ll do. If he feels like that gives him the best ability to hold onto the football in situations like that, now I haven’t been in many games that were like that in terms of just the amount of rain and all that. Yeah, we will explore all avenues just to give us the best possible situation if that comes up again.”

Two of Lawrence’s fumbles came on strip sacks when Eagles pass rusher Haason Reddick was in his lap after beating right tackle Jawaan Taylor. Another was a failed snap and the first fumble of the day for Lawrence came when the ball simply slipped out of his hand.

“The unfortunate part, in that game at least, was that there were two completely unforced,” Taylor said of the fumbles. “We had a quarterback center exchange and then we had one that just slipped out of our hand. So those were the really disappointing ones. When it happens in the pocket, it’s going to happen from time-to-time. You want to do everything you can to not let that happen, but we understand that. The two unforced were the ones that really, really hurt us.”

The Eagles scored 22 points off the Jaguars’ five turnovers on the day in Week 4.