Tag: Juwan Johnson

Spencer Rattler weighs in on what went wrong during Saints’ two-point try

Spencer Rattler voiced his thoughts on the Saints going for two points, and what went wrong in the pivotal attempt:

Spencer Rattler and the New Orleans Saints did not get the outcome they were after when they faced the Washington Commanders, falling 20-19 at the Caesars Superdome on Sunday afternoon.

One of the biggest talking points after a game that was much more closely contested than it was originally expected to be was the insane way it ended. Rattler and the Saints scored a touchdown with no time remaining to defy the odds in a comeback effort.

But, some may say interim coach Darren Rizzi got a little too greedy there at the end, which would have likely otherwise been termed “playing to win” if things had worked out.

The aggressive effort to go for two points and the win instead of kicking the extra point and sending the game to overtime did not pay off. And, of course it yielded some criticism. That’s how these things go.

Rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler, who took over for a benched Jake Haener after roughly two quarters of action, gave his thoughts on the mentality behind going for it all at the end of the game.

“We knew before the drive. We wanted to go down there and win the game. I think that’s the mindset our whole team had,” Rattler told reporters after the game. “I’m proud of the team, nobody flinched that whole game.”

He didn’t have any quibble with it and made clear that this wasn’t a last-minute decision, but rather one that the Saints went into the possession having made up already.

After the Foster Moreau touchdown, Rattler was unable to locate an open target in the end zone, and a fastball to Juwan Johnson fell incomplete when the tight end dropped the ball.

“I thought Juwan got held,” Rattler added, “but there are good players in this league. It is tough to make those plays. I liked the aggression. I liked what we did there.”

Something to watch as the Saints head down the final stretch of the schedule is if they will roll with Rattler permanently until Carr is able to return from injury. Rizzi has not given any clear indication as to who will be taking  snaps for the Saints moving forward.

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Saints share good news on final injury report vs. Washington Commanders

The New Orleans Saints shared good news on Alvin Kamara with their final injury report for Week 15’s game against the Washington Commanders:

Here we go. The New Orleans Saints shared good news on Alvin Kamara with their final injury report for Week 15’s game against the Washington Commanders. Kamara missed the first two days of practice recovering from an illness, but the star running back worked out fully on Friday and has no game status listed for Sunday’s kickoff — he’ll be leading the charge like he has all year.

A couple of Saints players were listed with game statuses worth watching, though. Starting quarterback Derek Carr (left hand/concussion) is doubtful to play after missing practice this week. Veteran defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon (Achilles) has been working his way back from the physically unable to perform list (PUP) and is officially questionable for Sunday’s game. Rookie wide receiver Bub Means (ankle), who is on injured reserve, has been ruled out along with backup linebacker D’Marco Jackson (ankle).

As for the other side? Former Saints Pro Bowl cornerback Marshon Lattimore (hamstring) is expected to play and make his Washington Commanders debut after missing the last month with that soft-tissue injury, having been dealt at the NFL trade deadline. Of course he’s debuting against his former team. Additionally, Commanders wide receiver Noah Brown (kidney) has been ruled out, and three of his teammates are questionable: defensive tackle Daron Payne (back), wide receiver Jamison Crowder (calf), and kicker Zane Gonzalez (left foot).

Here is the final injury report from both teams:

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Saints share first injury report ahead of Week 15 game vs. Commanders

The Saints shared their first injury report ahead of Week 15’s game with the Washington Commanders. Here’s the latest on Alvin Kamara, Derek Carr, and Marshon Lattimore:

The New Orleans Saints started off the week with a positive injury report leading into their matchup against the Washington Commanders. There were only six players on the Saints injury report, and three of them were designated as not participating.

You knew Derek Carr (hand) would be one of those players. Darren Rizzi didn’t place the quarterback on injured reserve, so Carr will remain on the injury report until he returns, if he returns at all.

Seeing Alvin Kamara’s name on the report may give you a slight pause, but his inclusion was merely due to an illness opposed to an injury. We see these on a regular basis throughout the season. Often, a player returns as a full participant before the end of the week. Stay tuned for updates on him.

Juwan Johnson was probably the biggest inclusion on the injury report. Johnson is coming off his best game of the season. He was limited with a foot injury. Hopefully he’s able to go because the offense is beginning to use the tight ends more.

As for the other side? Former Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore hasn’t played for the Commanders since Washington acquired him from the Saints at the trade deadline back on Nov. 2, but he practiced fully on Wednesday and is on track to make his debut with his new team. Of course he’s playing against his former team in what was his home stadium.

Here’s the initial injury report from each team:

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Saints have begun using their tight ends again under Darren Rizzi

The Saints tight ends have stepped up after injuries decimated the wide receiver corps. It’s a positive trend from Darren Rizzi’s time as interim head coach:

The promotion of Darren Rizzi to interim head coach has had its ups and downs, but ultimately the New Orleans Saints are 3-1 and the team has been able to close out most of their games. And that’s happened despite some real adversity challenging them.

With the injury to Chris Olave and previous injuries to Bub Means and Rashid Shaheed, the offense has had to find a variety of ways to succeed in the passing game, and in the last four games, that has meant heavy involvement of the tight ends in the receiving game. Juwan Johnson, Foster Moreau, and even Dallin Holker have each stepped into larger roles offensively.

Since Rizzi has taken over, here are the receiving stat lines for the tight ends in each game (including Taysom Hill):

  • Vs. Atlanta Falcons: 4 receptions on 7 targets for 58 yards
  • Vs. Cleveland Browns: 14 receptions on 17 targets for 130 yards and 1 touchdown
  • Vs. Los Angeles Rams: 12 receptions on 18 targets for 79 yards
  • At New York Giants: 7 receptions on 8 targets for 100 yards and 1 touchdown

The average over this span is approximately 9 receptions on 12 targets for 92 receiving yards and a touchdown every other game. In the last three of those games, two of the top three Saints receivers in yards have been tight ends as well, which was most certainly not the case pre-Rizzi promotion and Olave injury. We will see how things shake out and if this remains the case long-term, but for now they have been the focal point of the receiving game in recent matchups.

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Saints won’t abandon the Taysom Hill package even without Hill

Taysom Hill is out for the season, but the Saints plan to continue using plays designed for him with a committee in his absence:

There’s a reason they call Taysom Hill a Swiss army knife. He contributed to the New Orleans Saints offense in a variety of ways before going down with a season ending injury last week.

How do you replace someone like that? Despite not having Hill for the remainder of the season, Darren Rizzi doesn’t plan on abandoning the Taysom Hill game plan even without Taysom Hill.

The difference will be how the Saints approach that portion of the playbook. You’ll never find a replica of Hill. As Rizzi said, “I don’t know if there’s another guy in the league who can do what he does.”

New Orleans is going with a committee approach. We’ve seen this before when Hill was injured, with guys like Alvin Kamara, Juwan Johnson, and Adam Prentice doing different things he’d normally be responsible for. Rizzi continued, “All the plays and different packages and things we run are going to have to be distributed differently.”

The most unique aspect of Hill’s game is his ability to run from a direct snap. New Orleans has no plans to discard this aspect of the offense either. Rizzi put it plainly: “We’re going to have that stuff still in the game plan.”

Rizzi didn’t want to disclose much, but he did reveal they’re trying out a few players in that role and “take a look at how it looks this week.”

Replacing Hill is no easy feat. How New Orleans replaces him will be one of the more interesting storylines to close out the season.

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WATCH: Juwan Johnson snags touchdown near the edge of the endzone

WATCH: Juwan Johnson snags the Saints’ fourth touchdown of the day at the edge of the endzone

The New Orleans Saints were in a back-and-forth battle with the Cleveland Browns for most of their matchup, however, they began to pull away with a touchdown pass from Derek Carr to Juwan Johnson that put them ahead 28-14. Johnson was able to get just open enough near the right edge of the endzone, and Carr placed it where he could catch it and still get his feet down in bounds before he fell out.

This was Johnson’s second touchdown of the year in somewhat of a down season so far, but hopefully with another touchdown to his name and some production to get the Saints further ahead in this game, he can come around and make some more plays down the stretch.

Saints offensive starter avoided a concussion vs. Chargers

Juwan Johnson exited late in Week 8’s Chargers game to be evaluated for a concussion. Dennis Allen announced he is good to go against the Panthers:

Dennis Allen announced starting tight end Juwan Johnson is good to go ahead of the New Orleans Saints divisional matchup versus the Carolina Panthers.

Johnson caught a pass late in the New Orleans Saints’ contest against the Los Angeles Chargers, immediately left the game and didn’t return. It looked like Johnson took a slight hit to the head or his head went straight to the ground as he made the catch.

You may not have noticed because it was late in the game. This was on the final possession right before the two-minute warning. Johnson was then ruled out for the remainder of the game while being evaluated for a concussion.

Allen announcing Johnson is good to go on Monday means Johnson didn’t suffer a concussion and doesn’t have to go through the steps of concussion protocol.

Johnson has been more involved in the offense lately after a slow start. With the limited amount of wide receivers at the Saints’ disposal, Johnson should continue to be featured.

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Saints must continue prioritizing their tight ends amid WR injuries

The Saints finally found their tight ends against the Buccaneers. They need to continue targeting them versus the Broncos and beyond:

The New Orleans Saints got tight ends more involved against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and that should become a trend, especially against the Denver Broncos after injuries laid waste to the receiving corps.

Foster Moreau and Juwan Johnson were non-factors in the offense through five weeks. Their production leaped when the Saints took on the Buccaneers. Moreau and Johnson combined for 59 yards through the first 5 weeks. Moreau had 54 by himself against the Buccaneers.

Part of that change had to do with Spencer Rattler being at the helm and the type of plays Klint Kubiak was calling for Rattler. Another reason was health concerns.

Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed are injured, so tight ends may be more involved this week out of necessity. It shouldn’t stop there, however. Health aside, targeting the tight ends started on the first play of the game last week. Rattler rolled out and hit Juwan Johnson for his longest reception of the season. At that time, Olave and Shaheed were on the field.

Rattler continued to target tight ends along the middle of the field. This feels like a section of the field the Saints don’t hit enough. The tight ends can be unlocked. We’ve been looking for it all season, and last week showed it was a possibility.

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Saints have to prioritize getting Spencer Rattler out of the pocket

Spencer Rattler was effective throwing outside of the pocket, until the Buccaneers adjusted. Klint Kubiak must make his own changes this week:

New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler showed potential in his NFL debut, especially in the first half. Things began to go downhill in the second half after Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles adjusted his pressure packages to send more exotic blitzes after the first-year pro. But the connection between Rattler’s success and struggles is his ability to work outside of the pocket.

Rattler completed 7 of 12 attempts for 111 yards when he was throwing from outside the pocket, per Next Gen Stats.

Against the Denver Broncos, Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has to come up with a better plan to get Rattler on the move and outside of the pocket more consistently. Vance Joseph is a good defensive coordinator and he’ll likely use some of the principles Bowles and the Buccaneers used to keep Rattler in the pocket.

In the first half, Rattler looked in control of the offense. He rolled out on the first play of the game and delivered a 27-yard pass to Juwan Johnson. The formula of rolling out and allowing Rattler to read multiple levels of the field was effective until Tampa Bay adjusted.

They began flaring their defensive ends out to stop Rattler’s ability to get outside. It’s no coincidence the offense stalled because that was New Orleans’ best offensive strategy.

The injuries on the offensive line make it difficult to run and consistently keep a clean pocket. Moving the pocket was clearly effective. Kubiak has to find a way to adjust and keep that as a positive aspect in the offense.

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WATCH: Spencer Rattler’s first pass in the NFL goes for 27 yards

Spencer Rattler’s first pass in the NFL went for 27 yards. It would mean the world if the rookie can make some big plays and keep the Saints in games:

That’s a nice way to start your NFL career. Rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler took the field for the New Orleans Saints and made an immediate impact, throwing a dart to tight end Juwan Johnson downfield. Johnson made some moves after the catch and gained 27 yards on the play.

It’s good to see Rattler throwing to his big tight end early and often. Johnson went into Week 6’s game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers having totaled just 9 receptions for 70 yards; that’s an average of 7.8 yards per catch and only 14 yards per game. That’s a far cry from his breakout 2022 season or his strong finish in 2023. Offseason foot surgery had slowed him down but it’s not like Derek Carr was looking his way often, either.

The Saints are desperate for Rattler to make a spark. Carr is on the mend with an oblique muscle injury and the team is preparing for their rookie to start three or four games until he’s back. It would mean the world if Rattler can make some big plays and keep them in games, but if nothing else his success could keep fans engaged amid a tough-to-watch losing streak.

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