Tag: Jalen Saunders

Jalen Saunders’ 99-yard kick return is the Saints Play of the Day

Jalen Saunders’ 99-yard kick return is the Saints Play of Day 18. Here’s the best play he made in the No. 18 jersey:

There are 18 days to go until the New Orleans Saints kick off their 2024 regular season, so here’s the best play that Jalen Saunders made in the No. 18 jersey. Saunders returned the opening kickoff against the Atlanta Falcons for 99 yards back in 2014, which you can watch here.

Good blocking created a lot of room for Saunders to work with, and he dashed past a couple of too-slow Falcons defenders in the open field. But he slowed down too soon and was cut off at the goal line, losing the football on his way to the ground. Fortunately he was ruled down by contact and his teammate Mark Ingram punched in a touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage.

It was still a great moment for Saunders to start his pro career. He had a tough go of it while spending time with several different teams after turning pro out of Oklahoma, and the Saints actually traded him to the New England Patriots a few months later. But highlights like this are what everyone looks back on most fondly, and Saunders deserves some credit for all the good things he did in this big play in a big-time rivalry game.

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Nic Anderson continues to show what he can be going forward for the Oklahoma Sooners

Nic Anderson was plagued by injuries a year ago but now he’s making the most of every opportunity.

For only the second time in program history, the Oklahoma Sooners had three 100-yard receivers in a game. [autotag]Nic Anderson[/autotag], [autotag]Jalil Farooq[/autotag] and [autotag]Andrel Anthony[/autotag] all went over 100 yards vs. the [autotag]Tulsa Golden Hurricane[/autotag].

The only other time this has been done was Bedlam in 2012. That was an overtime thriller in Norman the Sooners eventually won when [autotag]Jalen Saunders[/autotag], [autotag]Kenny Stills[/autotag] and [autotag]Justin Brown[/autotag] all surpassed 100 yards.

Hearing Anthony and Farooq went over the century mark shouldn’t be a surprise. They are both starters and a pair of players many thought would have an important role in the offense.

Anderson however is a backup but someone who has a lot of potential. He was hit with the injury bug in his first season, but is healthy and rolling. He talked to reporters after practice on Tuesday about his performance.

“I just trusted in my teammates and the coaches’ plan,” Anderson said. “The gameplan was great. Lebby was really trying to air it out that game and everybody got a chance to touch the ball.”

Anderson channeled his inner Randy Moss with three catches for 120 yards and three touchdowns. All three of the touchdowns showed something different.

The first one showed his great speed as he ran past the defender. The second one showed his route running to come back to the ball and then his ability after the catch with a nice stiff arm, which freed him up to take it to the house. The third one showed the speed but also the strength, as he basically carried the Golden Hurricane defender about 10 yards to the endzone.

The Sooners traditionally play three wide receivers at all times. It’s hard to take Anthony, Stoops, or Farooq off the field. But if Anderson continues to play like this, they are going to have to find ways to get him on the field more.

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The Idzik 12: With Quincy Enunwa hurt, only 1 of Jets’ 2014 picks remains active

Here’s an updated look at the infamous ‘Idzik 12,’ now that Quincy Enunwa’s Jets career is in jeopardy.

John Idzik’s infamous 2014 draft class is no longer represented on the Jets roster.

New York had 12 picks in the 2014 NFL Draft, the most of any team. The draft was a disaster though, as Idzik and the Jets wound up with one of the worst classes in franchise history. It’s a big reason why the Jets have the least amount of homegrown players in the NFL.

The one diamond in the rough? A sixth-round pick out of the University of Nebraska by the name of Quincy Enunwa. However, Enunwa is set to miss yet another season with yet another neck injury, which means there won’t be a single member of the Idzik 12 on New York’s active roster in 2020. Even worse, only one member of that draft class remains on any team’s active roster.

With Enunwa on the PUP list, we thought it was time to revisit Idzik’s horrid dozen picks.

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