Tag: Highlights

Watch: Taysom Hill blocks a Falcons punt, catches a touchdown pass

New Orleans Saints quarterback Taysom Hill made two big plays against the Atlanta Falcons, blocking a punt and catching a touchdown pass.

The New Orleans Saints started their Thanksgiving night game with the Atlanta Falcons in the most entertaining way imaginable. Defensive end Marcus Davenport sacked Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan on the first play of the game, and the Saints snuffed out Atlanta’s efforts at trying to dig out of that hole.

Forced to punt, the Falcons failed to block reserve Saints quarterback Taysom Hill, who crashed through the line and blocked the punt to give New Orleans the ball inside Atlanta territory. It was a huge breakdown for the Falcons and possibly the worst start they could have hoped for. Check out Hill big play for yourself:

However, Hill wasn’t finished yet. He caught two passes on the Saints’ first drive to first convert a fresh set of downs and then score the game’s opening touchdown, grabbing a shovel pass from Brees and following his blocker into the Falcons’ end zone. All told, Hill almost gave the Saints’ an early 7-0 lead over Atlanta on his own. It’s going to be tough for Hill’s detractors to talk down his impact in this one:

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Drew Brees, Demario Davis hype up Saints in pregame: ‘Today we are thankful’

New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees and LB Demario Davis hyped up their teammates with a passionate pregame speech against the Atlanta Falcons.

The New Orleans Saints have always had a custom of passionate pregame speeches from quarterback Drew Brees, but the 2019 season introduced a new twist during Brees’ five-game absence with a thumb injury. Linebacker and defensive captain Demario Davis stepped into Brees’ role while the quarterback was away, but they’ve teamed up now that the Saints are back together. The team pregame huddle is even more passionate than it’s ever been, with Brees reviving his iconic “win again” chant from the 2009 Super Bowl season while Davis added his “prowl, kill, eat” mantra.

On Thursday before their game with the Atlanta Falcons, Brees and Davis made things topical by acknowledging the Thanksgiving holiday, and made note of what they’re thankful for.

“Today we are thankful,” Davis shouted to his huddled teammates. Drew Brees picked up where Davis left off, saying, “We came here to get a win. We ain’t leaving until we get it.”

It’s easy to see why the Saints believe they  can rally around this kind of leadership. See the whole speech for yourself:

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Lamar Jackson’s tape from Rams game has us asking: How do you stop him?

The Ravens’ Lamar Jackson finished with five touchdowns, but that doesn’t tell the full story of his dominance over the Rams.

The Baltimore Ravens took apart the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football, winning 45-6 in a game that didn’t even feel that close, if that’s possible.

Lamar Jackson was all but unstoppable. The Ravens quarterback finished with five TDs on 15-20 passing. He only had 169 yards in the air, but it was all he needed, as he also had 8 carries for 95 yards. The threat of Jackson also opened up the running game — the Ravens finished with 285 yards on the ground from five rushers, led by Mark Ingram with 111 yards.

I’m just … I’m not sure what you’re supposed to do with Jackson right now. He can make all the throws, and if you somehow cover the Ravens receivers, he can just turn the corner on your edge rusher and pick up eight yards on the ground, always, forever and ever. He’s like a cheat code right now.

Watch his highlights from the game last night. They’re flabbergasting.

Looking at that tape, again, I’m just not sure what you’re supposed to do with him. No linebacker can keep up with him, so if you spy him, you’re still dead. Go all out blitz he’s good enough to find the open receiver. Sit deep in coverage, he’ll just hang out in the pocket until someone is open, or wait until the rush gets too far up the field and run for a first down.

My favorite moment from the highlights above is at the 3:02 mark where the camera cuts to Wade Phillips on the Rams sideline and he blinks a few times, and you can just see the hope escaping. This is a man with no answers. Just puzzled, and broken.

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WATCH: Highlights from Broncos’ game against Bills

Click here to view highlights from the Broncos’ game against the Bills in Week 12 of the NFL season.

The Broncos were defeated by the Bills 20-3 on the road in Week 12. Here are highlights from the game, courtesy of the NFL:

Up next for Denver is a home game against the Chargers in Week 13.

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Watch: Tre’Quan Smith extends the lead with wide-open TD catch

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith benefited from the perfect play call to catch a touchdown against the Carolina Panthers.

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Running back Latavius Murray put the New Orleans Saints on the board early against the Carolina Panthers with a 26-yard touchdown run, and wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith stepped up with his own scoring play to extend that lead on a 13-yard touchdown catch. The Saints dialed up a great play in scoring position that asked quarterback Drew Brees to drop back after faking the initial hand-off.

That play-action fooled the entire Panthers defense which bit on what looked like a run play, allowing Smith to jog untouched into the end zone. Brees lobbed the ball his way for one of the Saints’ easiest scoring plays this year. Panthers safety Eric Reid and linebacker Shaq Thompson tried to recover and chase Smith down, but there just wasn’t enough field left for them to cover before he trotted into the end zone.

It was the perfect play in that situation for what Carolina’s defense was showing the Saints, likely the result of tedious film study by Saints coach Sean Payton and his staff. We’ll be sure to double back and see which tendencies they picked up on to get this favorable of a look. In the meantime, check out the scoring play for yourself:

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Watch: Latavius Murray scores the first opening-drive Saints TD in 17 games

New Orleans Saints running back Latavius Murray ended a 17-game drought against the Carolina Panthers, scoring a 26-yard touchdown run.

The New Orleans Saints offense had their best opening drive of the year, if not longer. Drew Brees and company strung together a series of big gains through the air before running back Latavius Murray was given a huge block by new tight end Jason Vander Laan, recently called up from the practice squad. Vander Laan’s block cleared out a running lane that Murray took deep into the Carolina Panthers defense, adjusting his angle to sprint into the end zone and set the Panthers defenders up to where they couldn’t catch him.

Murray scored from 26 yards out to give the Saints an early lead over their NFC South division rival. See it for yourself in the video embedded below, or by following this link:

 

It’s the first opening-drive touchdown scored by the Saints offense since last year’s game with the Atlanta Falcons on Thanksgiving, ending a 17-game drought; since then, the offense has ended those scripted drives with nine punts, four field goal tries (making three of them), and four interceptions, including the playoffs.

The long scoring run was the second such play for Murray this year. He scored New Orleans’ first touchdown of the year back in Week 1, sprinting 30 yards through the Houston Texans defense to reach the end zone. Murray proved he can make plays in the Saints offense during a two-week stint in the starting job while Alvin Kamara rehabbed knee and ankle injuries, and now Murray almost looks too good at times to take off the field.

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The Celtics-Clippers game lived up to the hype (and more) with OT-thriller ending

The Clippers were at full strength with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on the court, and took in the Celtics in a game that went to overtime. See all the highlights.

It’s fun when a hyped-up game comes out and exceeds expectations.

The Boston Celtics traveled to Los Angeles to take on the Clippers on Wednesday night, who finally had their full-look roster with Paul George returning from injury and Kawhi Leonard on the court.

The Clippers looked good. The Celtics also looked good! It went to overtime, a deserved result as for the entire game it felt like neither team could pull away. This wasn’t a game of big runs. They just traded baskets and stops all night.

The game went to overtime after Jayson Tatum went and broke George’s ankles and drained a huge three to tie the game late, but the Clippers went on a nice run in OT and were able to hang on and win 107-104, thanks in part to a fantastic last-second block from Leonard.

If you had to ask: No, Leonard didn’t celebrate at all, because he’s Kawhi Leonard.

It was a bit of a wonky game because it’s clear that George and Leonard are still figuring things out. It’s wild to say that, considering George finished with 25-5-8 and Leonard finished with 17-6-3, but Leonard especially was a little more deferential than we usually see him. It was also a bit wonky in that the Celtics’ Kemba Walker had an uncharacteristic off night, finishing with 13 points on 4 of 17 shooting.

Tatum had 30 though, and backup point guard Brad Wanamaker came hot off the bench and got 14 points.

Potential finals matchup? Maybe. Sure. We’d do that.

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Tennessee rolls past Alabama State

Tennessee rolls past Alabama State.

KNOXVILLE — The Tennessee men’s basketball team extended their Division I-leading home winning streak to 29 games after defeating the Alabama State Hornets on Wednesday night, 76-41.

The Hornets jumped out to a three point lead on the opening possession, but the Vols answered back and tied the score just one minute into the game; UT took the lead on their next possession and held it for the rest of the game. Their largest lead of 37 came at the 1:01 mark of the second half after a late-game surge, and Alabama State managed to sink a couple of free throws in the final minute to clinch the ending score.

Tennessee was led by Jordan Bowden, who notched 16 points to pace the Vols, while adding a couple of rebounds and an assist. Three other starters also posted double-digit points, with Lamonte Turner adding 13 of his own along with six dimes, Yves Pons adding 11 with five rebounds, and John Fulkerson scoring 10 points with three rebounds in support. Guard Josiah-Jordan James pulled down 13 boards and dished out five assists.

The Vols hit 46 percent of their shots from the field, though that includes a sub-par 29 percent mark from beyond the arc. They only shot 64 percent from the charity stripe on 25 attempts, which could stand for some improvement. Tennessee’s 12 turnovers to ASU’s 19 is a respectable margin, and the team total of eight blocks is encouraging.

The Vols’ next game is on November 25 against the Chattanooga Mocs at Thompson-Boling Arena. Tip-off is schedule for 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcasted on SEC Network+.

Marcus Williams remaining humble despite recent success

New Orleans Saints safety Marcus Williams is tied for third place in interceptions, but he’s focused on helping his team get to the playoffs

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New Orleans Saints free safety Marcus Williams has had a career filled with more ups and downs than most. He had a great rookie year in 2017 that climaxed with one of the worst moments in recent sports history; that was followed up by an intense training camp but quiet sophomore year, in which Williams spent too much time second-guessing himself.

But now he’s back to his old self, if not playing at a higher level. Williams is tied for third in the NFL in interceptions (4), matching the mark set by cornerbacks Janoris Jenkins and Marcus Peters. It’s a tight race for the league title, with Minkah Fitzpatrick and Devin McCourty narrowly sharing the lead (5 each).

It’s even more impressive for Williams because it’s taken him just 10 games to match the number he put up in 16 games as a rookie. The sky might be the limit for him now that he’s fully acclimated to the game and moved on from some early mistakes. When asked whether he feels like he’s in something of a groove with interceptions in back-to-back games, including a win-clenching pick-six against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Williams downplayed his achievements.

“I just feel like I am in the same groove I’ve always been in. [I’m] just doing my job for the team,” Williams said during a conference call with New Orleans media. “Whatever I can do to help our team out. That’s just what I pride myself on, just doing what I can to help my team.”

However, Williams did take time to credit his success to diligent film study. He noticed Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston putting too much air underneath passes to the area of the field he was defending, and knew it would create an opportunity to go make a big play: “They’ve been doing that on film so I saw what was going to happen. [We] talked about it in the back end and just dissected the play. I just went and did my assignment and if you do your assignment, the play will come your way. That’s what happened yesterday.”

And he’s exactly what the Saints need right now. Williams, who celebrated his 23rd birthday back in September, has the talent to go out and make game-changing plays but the self-awareness to remain focused and continue putting in work behind the scenes. He’s a great role model to his teammates and someone who should be a core player for New Orleans for a long time.

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