Tag: Jamaal Williams

Dennis Allen has already lost the Saints locker room

It’s bizarre to say this after a blowout win, but the lack of respect between Dennis Allen and his players makes it clear: he’s lost this locker room

This is an atrocious look for Dennis Allen: the New Orleans Saints head coach led his team to a blowout win over the division-rival Atlanta Falcons on Sunday to end the 2023 regular season, but he undercut himself afterwards by apologizing for all the fun his team was having. Instead of reveling in a victory of a hated nemesis, Allen was busy apologizing to his opponents and calling out his players for insubordination.

Respect is a two-way street. It has to be earned. When Jameis Winston and the Saints offensive line chose to override Allen’s directive to kneel out the clock and get their teammate his first touchdown of the year, it’s a direct reflection on the lack of respect they have for Allen — and how little he’s done to earn their respect in turn.

This is a wildly revealing moment. As former Saints tight end Benjamin Watson observed on social media, “If your players or assistant coaches don’t run the plays you call, you’ve already lost your team. If you’re comfortable enough to tell the world about it, there’s no turning back.”

Maybe Allen believes he’ll recover that lost standing in the offseason by cutting vocal players like Winston and Michael Thomas while trading Marshon Lattimore (and, maybe, Alvin Kamara). But it’s all just a delaying action. They know who he is. He’s going to get exposed next year against a tougher schedule. Other players are going to speak up and challenge him and the cycle will repeat until there isn’t anyone left. There’s a vacuum of leadership at the top of this organization.

Leave it to Dennis Allen to spoil what should have been a celebratory blowout win to usher in the offseason.

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Saints players changed the play call to score late touchdown vs. Falcons

Saints players changed the play call to score a late touchdown for their teammate Jamaal Williams:

Sunday’s New Orleans Saints game stumbled into some late-afternoon dramatics when Jameis Winston and his teammates agreed to change the team’s play call. As head coach Dennis Allen said after the game, they wanted to score a late touchdown for their teammate Jamaal Williams.

It’s a nice gesture, but it undermined their coaches, and it goes to show little respect there is for Allen in the locker room — as well as how weak his grasp on what’s important to his players is. They first asked Allen if they could call a run for Williams, but were shut down, at which point they chose to take matters into their own hands.

Quarterback Jameis Winston and the offensive line agreed to audible into a run instead of the kneel-down as called. Right guard Cesar Ruiz shared his perspective to Nola.com’s Rod Walker, saying “I couldn’t go home without getting him one. Whatever heat that comes with that, put that on the O-line.”

Winston told ESPN’s Katherine Terrell that he apologized to Allen after the game for undermining his authority, though not all of his teammates felt the same way. To Walker, Winston said “We made a collective decision.”

It was a popular decision for some players like Cameron Jordan, who questioned the pushback when speaking with Terrell: “What do you mean? I loved it! I was mad Tyrann took so long to decide whether he wanted to score or not. Then we wouldn’t have had the little ‘How dare you score on us.’ It’s Atlanta Saints hate week”

It’s disappointing that Allen has had his job for two years — and spent much longer than that in the organization and in the city of New Orleans — and he still is so far off from being on the same page as the players and coaches. He’s out of touch. What the consequences of that may be are unclear. For now, Allen can take some solace in the fact that he’s finally ended a season with a winning record after five years as NFL head coach.

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Falcons head coach Arthur Smith unamused by Saints running up the score

Falcons head coach Arthur Smith unamused by the Saints running up the score, confronts Dennis Allen at midfield:

Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith didn’t exactly shake hands with  his New Orleans Saints counterpart Dennis Allen after coming up short in Sunday’s 48-17 loss, storming up to the Saints head coach at midfield. Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu returned an interception 74 yards to set up a Jamaal Williams touchdown run in the game’s final minutes when New Orleans was already leading by 24 points.

“What was that?” Smith snapped. The pair exchanged words as a hot mic picked up Smith’s complaints. “That was (expletive)ing bull(expletive).”

Allen responded with “I understand that” before they parted ways, though Smith continued to look over his shoulders and stare daggers at his counterpart.

Sure, Allen choosing to run up the score when the game was no longer in doubt is a little classless. It could be seen as improper or an affront to good sportsmanship. Smith certainly took offense to it. But you’re supposed to compete and if Smith didn’t want the Saints to score his defense should have gotten a stop. And when you’re playing a heated rivalry game like this, everything is on the table.

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Report: Alvin Kamara (ankle) won’t play vs. Falcons in Week 18

NOF’s Nick Underhill reports that Alvin Kamara (ankle) won’t play against the Falcons in Week 18, but Kendre Miller is going to be active:

This is huge: the New Orleans Saints will be without star running back Alvin Kamara for Sunday’s final regular season game with the Atlanta Falcons, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill, who adds that rookie backup Kendre Miller will be active for the first time since his Nov. 5 ankle injury.

Kamara is dealing with an ankle injury of his own that knocked him out of last week’s road win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Saints rested him during practice all week before making this decision, but he was still seen as a long-shot to play all along.

Hopefully Miller can step up in his absence. The first-year pro has dealt with a ton of adversity over the last 12 months — he declared for the NFL draft after his college career ended with a knee injury before TCU’s national championship bid, costing him much of the offseason with the Saints. Then a preseason hamstring injury slowed him down. And when he did return, a midseason ankle sprain sidelined him.

With Kamara out and Miller in, the Saints’ depth chart at running back will include Jamaal Williams and practice squad call-up Jordan Mims along with Miller. Kamara accounted for 69 rushing yards and 50 receiving yards in New Orleans’ loss to Atlanta earlier this season; Williams, the only other Saints running back active for the game, totaled 10 yards from scrimmage.

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Juwan Johnson returns to practice, but no Alvin Kamara on Saints injury report

Juwan Johnson returns to practice, but no Alvin Kamara on Saints injury report for Week 18 vs. Falcons

Let’s focus on the positives for the New Orleans Saints injury report. Tight end Juwan Johnson (chest) returned to practice on a limited basis Thursday after he missed Wednesday’s session, putting him on track to play against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

But that’s the only positive development. A number of players still aren’t practicing because of injuries, including star running back Alvin Kamara (ankle). If Kamara can’t go, the Saints would have to ask backups Jamaal Williams and Kendre Miller to step up in his absence, and neither of them have really lit up the scoreboard this season. Both running backs are going into Week 18 without having scored a single touchdown in a Saints uniform.

Here’s the complete injury report from both teams on Thursday:

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Report: Alvin Kamara, Lou Hedley will play through illness vs. Buccaneers

NOF’s Nick Underhill reports that running back Alvin Kamara and punter Lou Hedley will play against the Bucs despite being questionable with illness:

There’s no quit in this New Orleans Saints team. Several players were listed on the injury report after either missing practice or being limited participants due to an illness going around — running back Alvin Kamara and punter Lou Hedley were both listed as questionable for Sunday’s game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers because of it. But NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill reports that both of them will suit up on Sunday afternoon at Raymond James Stadium.

That’s good news. The Saints didn’t have an alternative to Hedley as a punter, and he has a heavy workload: Hedley’s 65 attempts this season are 14th-most among punters around the league. The rookie from Australia has had a rough season (his 4.02 seconds of average hang time are lowest in the league) but the team will need him against the Bucs.

As for Kamara: he’s been New Orleans’ only viable running back for much of the year with Jamaal Williams (73 carries for 222 yards) and Kendre Miller (28 rushes for 83 yards) both looking like massive disappointments after an overhyped offseason. Taysom Hill has been the team’s second-best rusher with 73 attempts for 349 yards on the ground, though a foot injury has slowed him down in recent weeks.

Kamara missed three games with a suspension and still ranks second on the team in receptions (73) and third in yards (462), though too many of his touches have been panicked checkdowns from Derek Carr as opposed to well-designed screens and big-play wheel routes like we’ve seen in the past. Hopefully Kamara can make a greater impact in Tampa Bay against a defense that has limited him to 84, 37, and 31 scrimmage yards in their last three meetings.

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Saints list Chris Olave (ankle) as questionable on Week 15 injury repot vs. Giants

The Saints listed wide receiver Chris Olave (ankle) as questionable to play on Week 15’s final injury repot. Two rookies were ruled out against the Giants:

We’ve had a look at the final New Orleans Saints injury repot going into Week 15’s game with the New York Giants, and it’s a mixed bag: three players are questionable for Sunday’s game including star wide receiver Chris Olave (ankle), starting right tackle Ryan Ramczyk (knee), and veteran running back Jamaal Williams (groin). Olave is a game-time decision after not practicing all week.

A few other Saints players have been pre-emptively ruled out including rookie draft picks Isaiah Foskey (quadricep) and Kendre Miller (ankle), who have missed a lot of time as of late. So is defensive end Payton Turner (toe) who was designated to return from injured reserve after dislocating two toes in Week 1 and undergoing a lengthy recovery.

But three other Saints who received treatment this week are all getting the green light to play on Sunday: quarterback Taysom Hill (foot/left hand) and wider receiver Rashid Shaheed (thigh), both of whom were inactive a week ago, as well as defensive end Cameron Jordan (ankle).

Here’s the full injury report from each team:

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Saints expected to sign veteran RB James Robinson to their practice squad

The New Orleans Saints are signing veteran running back James Robinson to their practice squad after a group tryout, pending a physical:

This is worth monitoring. Veteran running back James Robinson plans to sign with the New Orleans Saints practice squad after a physical, as first reported by NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill.

Underhill adds that Robinson is one of several running backs who tried out for the Saints this week, along with Jerrion Ealy, John Lovett, and old friend Ty Montgomery. Robinson ran well for the Jacksonville Jaguars early in his career but has since bounced around the league, making stops with the New York Jets, New England Patriots, New York Giants, and Green Bay Packers.

The Saints are shorthanded at the position with Alvin Kamara and Jamaal Williams alone on top of the depth chart; rookie draft pick Kendre Miller hasn’t practiced since a Nov. 5 ankle injury, and Jordan Mims has only played special teams when coming up from the practice squad.

It’s possible the Saints just wanted more reliable depth in the backfield, but they could be considering shutting down Miller so he can attack the offseason at full health. We’ll get a better idea when the injury report drops on Wednesday afternoon, so stay tuned.

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NFL Network analyst predicts Alvin Kamara will catch 20 passes vs. Lions

Maurice Jones-Drew’s Week 13 bold prediction is Alvin Kamara will be the third NFL player to ever catch 20 passes in a game.

Former NFL running back and current NFL Network analyst Maurice Jones-Drew predicted New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara will catch 20 passes on Sunday against the Detroit Lions. This was a part of the network’s Week 13 bold predictions and that is definitely a bold call.

Only two players in league history have ever reached 20 catches in a game (Terrell Owens set the single-game record with 20 against the Bears in 2000; Brandon Marshall broke that record with 21 in a loss to the Colts in 2009). This likely won’t happen if only because Kamara will still be tasked with also running the ball.

Kamara’s career-high in catches and combined touches are 15 and 31. He’d have to eclipse that to make Jones-Drew’s bold prediction come true. Whether it comes true aside, his prediction speaks to the workload Kamara might have to see on Sunday. He caught 13 and 12 passes in games earlier this season, and injuries at wide receiver might force Derek Carr to funnel even more targets Kamara’s way.

Jamaal Williams hasn’t seen much work since returning from injured reserve and the Saints are down some receivers. 20 catches might be extreme, but the offense very well could run through Alvin Kamara versus the Lions.

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The best fantasy football gamble of Week 8

Will this touchdown machine get his lost season back on track in Week 8?

Every week, at least one player becomes my fascination of whether he’s worthy of a fantasy football start as a streamer. The decision can be a mental wrestling match, but for the purpose of brevity, only one player can be chosen as my favorite fantasy football gamble of the week.

The players chosen in this series are meant to be fliers for fantasy owners in desperate situations or willing to take an intentional risk. No player is intended to be a lineup lock for guaranteed results, hence the name of the series.

The best fantasy football gamble for Week 8

Tracking my 2023 predictions: 1-6-0
All-time record: 19-37-3

Win: Player produces ≥ 75% of projected fantasy points
Loss: Player produces >75% of projected fantasy points
Tie: Player is ejected, leaves with an injury, or is ruled out after publishing

This year, we’ll also track the accuracy on a percentage basis to show relative results, since sometimes calling a player a loss doesn’t actually hurt gamers. An example would be if a projection narrowly falls short of the 75 percent threshold, the player is still of use in a lineup.

Wk 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
% 55% 74.7% 41.7% 20.8% 150.3% 66.5% 16.1%
Grade E C F- F- A+ D F-

And here I thought Week 4 was rock bottom!

In Week 7, New York Giants wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson caught one of his two targets for 22 yards and that was it all she wrote. Darren Waller and Jalin Hyatt led the aerial game in targets, and Robinson posted his worst fantasy stat line since this rookie debut … just the way I drew it up.

My overall success rate of 32.2% would be a respectable MLB career hitting average, but it’s far too low for my liking when it comes to weekly fantasy prognostication, even on total flier calls. This week, the need to take a gamble is much lower with no teams on vacation, and the lack of byes means this recommendation is best utilized for daily fantasy action. However, if you’re in a bind or willing to risk a flex spot, there is merit to such a move.

New Orleans Saints RB Jamaal Williams at Indianapolis Colts

Williams suffered a hamstring injury in Week 2 that caused him to go on the Reserve/Injured list and cost the veteran four contests before returning in Week 7. He faced a quality Jacksonville defense last Sunday but failed to do much of anything, rushing just five times for 14 yards. He was on the field for a mere 22.2% of the offensive snaps and rushed once in the red zone but not at all inside of the 10-yard line. Williams wasn’t targeted for the second time in three outings.

He heads to Indianapolis for a date with one of the weakest defenses of the running back position, and we can view last week’s limited showing as the 28-year-old shaking off the rust.

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Alvin Kamara overcame a midweek illness but is coming off three straight showings with a 3.6 yards-per-carry average, which is quite a bit below the league average. Now, that’s not all his fault as the offensive line has battled some injuries and tough enough opponents to depress his numbers.

Kamara has seen no fewer than 25 utilizations in each game back from his suspension, and that’s just not a wise floor to maintain. New Orleans needs to get Williams more involved and compartmentalize their respective roles to a greater degree. Game flow, however, plays a pivotal role in that coming to fruition.

The Colts are not likely to put the Saints in an early hole that requires an abandonment of the running game, and that’s going to work in Williams’ favor. As long as this game is within, say, 10 points on the board at any time entering the fourth, New Orleans will pound the ball.

Indianapolis has surrendered massive numbers to running backs, especially in the last five weeks. This is the sixth-easiest opponent to face for rushing yardage per game since Week 2 ended, and only the Carolina Panthers have yielded touchdowns at a higher rate in relation to number of carries faced. One in every 18.6 attempts has found paydirt, and that has come against the fourth-most rushes per game. Six backs have posted at least 15.1 PPR points, and three of them a have scored multiple times on the ground.

My projection: 14 carries, 52 yards, 2 TDs, 1 target, 1 reception, 6 yards (18.8 PPR points)