Tag: Lance Moore

Jonathan Vilma shares his painful take on the best-ever Saints team

Jonathan Vilma shared his take on the best-ever Saints team, acknowledging that ‘I don’t think about that season as a success’ in an interview with his old teammate Lance Moore

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Here’s a great interview from former New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who recently talked shop with his former teammate Lance Moore for Boot Krewe Media. When asked to share his take on the best-ever Saints team regardless of the season’s result, Vilma took a painful trip down memory lane.

“2011, it’s 2011,” Vilma said. “Bro, to be very frank for everyone that’s watching us, we felt like that season was a disappointment when we lost — especially the way we lost — to San Francisco. Like we were supposed to run all the way back to the Super Bowl. It still hurts to this day when I think about that season. I don’t think about that season as a success. All the records you guys broke offensively, we were humming on defense. And then we literally just s— the bed with a minute left in the damn game.”

Vilma grimaced, adding, “God knows how we let Alex Smith score a touchdown on us.”

That 2011 Saints team is the stuff of legend, rebounding from a stunning upset loss to the winless Rams in Week 8 to claim victory in each of the eight games left on their regular season schedule — including a 49-24 dismantling of the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants. Drew Brees broke Dan Marino’s single-season passing yards record, and four different players racked up 900 or more scrimmage yards while scoring six or more touchdowns:

  • Darren Sproles: 1,313 scrimmage yards and 10 touchdowns (7 receiving, 2 rushing, 1 punt return)
  • Jimmy Graham: 1,310 scrimmage yards, 11 touchdown catches
  • Marques Colston: 1,143 scrimmage yards, 8 touchdown catches
  • Pierre Thomas: 987 scrimmage yards, 6 touchdowns (5 rushing, 1 receiving)

But as Vilma said, it all came undone when Smith led a miraculous comeback in the playoffs. That Saints-49ers divisional-round matchup is widely considered one of the best playoff games of all time. The game featured four lead changes in the final four minutes, including touchdown catches of 44 yards and 66 yards by Sproles and Graham, respectively. But it came down to a 28-yard touchdown by Smith and a 14-yard scoring pass to Vernon Davis in the closing seconds to wipe that all away.

It’s a shame. If the Saints had won that game, they’d have hosted the same Giants team they ran off the field at midseason, and then all that stood in their way was a vulnerable New England Patriots squad. As Vilma said, it’s the one that got away.

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Every 1,000-yard receiver in New Orleans Saints history

Marques Colston, Michael Thomas, and Joe Horn have the most 1,000-yard seasons in Saints history. Overall, there have been 27 such seasons. | @southexclusives

In the Drew Brees-Sean Payton era, the New Orleans Saints became known for their high powered offense and gaudy passing yards. That era from 2006-2020 alone produced 15 of the 27 1,000 yard receiving seasons in team history. Those years were highlighted by the leading receiver in team history, Marques Colston, the only receiving threat with multiple First Team All Pro selections, Michael Thomas, and one of the best tight ends in the league, Jimmy Graham. The Saints finished with two 1,000 yard receivers in 2011 (Colston, Graham), 2012 (Colston, Lance Moore), and 2016 (Brandin Cooks, Thomas.)

Prior to this era, Saints wide receivers were highlighted by Joe Horn and Eric Martin. Horn hit the ground running with three consecutive seasons over 1,250 yards upon his arrival in New Orleans in 2000. Martin was the lead receiver from the late 1980’s to early 1990’s.

The first Saints 1,000 yard receiver was Danny Abramowicz and the latest is Chris Olave. Here is a breakdown of those two and every receiver to cross the century mark in the Black & Gold.

Best New Orleans Saints undrafted free agent signings since 2006

We’re recapping the best New Orleans Saints undrafted free agent signings since 2006, from Pierre Thomas to Rashid Shaheed and everyone in-between:

The New Orleans Saints have a proud history of finding diamonds in the rough during undrafted free agency, signing rookies who weren’t fortunate to be picked during the selection event. It’s something that they’ve always valued with Mickey Loomis as general manager, but which really took off as a point of emphasis once Sean Payton took over as head coach. With the next wave of undrafted rookies looking to make their mark, it’s a great time to look back on the players who came before them.

We’re only counting players who signed with the Saints as rookie free agents — so guys like Delvin Breaux (who played in Canada) and Lance Moore (who started out in NFL Europe) were not included, even if they’re similar success stories who did not hear their names called from the stage on draft day. That’s also the case for former undrafted free agents like Chase Daniel and Brian De La Puente who landed in New Orleans after getting their pro starts elsewhere around the league.

Aaron Rodgers’ touchdown dance goes viral, but Lance Moore did it better

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers danced the “Hingle McCringleberry” against the Buccaneers, which Saints WRs Lance Moore and Kenny Stills debuted.

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Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers briefly made waves for his touchdown-scoring run against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, followed up by a celebratory dance referencing a scene from the “Key & Peele Show.” The classic “Hingle McCringleberry Dance” skit is always worth bringing back, but nothing went Rodgers’ way after he evoked it.

He was ruled down at the one-yard line, short of scoring a touchdown. And he threw a pair of interceptions on the following possessions, one of them returned by the Buccaneers defense for a score. Rodgers floundered under pressure and sent his team into halftime down 28-10.

It’s a far cry from how things went for New Orleans Saints wide receivers Lance Moore and Kenny Stills back in 2013, when they first brought the “Hingle McCringleberry” to the NFL. Moore danced (as he often did after hitting paydirt for the Saints) and Stills played the part of the skit’s referee, who fouled McCringleberry for it.

“And we BOTH got fined!!!” Moore wrote from his official Twitter account, reflecting on the event after Rodgers made his own take. They were also each penalized for Stills using his hand towel as a prop, mimicking a flag, but Rodgers escaped any penalties (and probably any fines).

At least the Saints wideouts still have their bragging rights. They won their game that day (also against the Buccaneers, coincidentally) with a score of 42-17. Compare their effort for yourself:

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Reggie Wayne blew off chance to ‘work out’ for the Lions in 2015

Wayne got cut by the Patriots later that summer and never played again

Reggie Wayne was a free agent after the 2014 NFL season, the final year of a fantastic career in Indianapolis for the perennial Pro Bowl wide receiver. The Detroit Lions, then led by GM Martin Mayhew and head coach Jim Caldwell, came calling to Wayne in hopes of luring him to join the team.

Wayne told NFL Network host Dan Hellie that the Lions approached him that offseason about coming to Detroit. But Wayne told the “Helliepod” podcast that the Lions wanted him to work out before offering him a deal.

“I said, ‘Work out? You the Detroit Lions. Wait. Work out? I’m good.’ Like, I can give you — I got 14 years of working out that you can see,” Wayne said. “So I was like, ‘Nah, I’m cool.’”

Wayne, then 37, had no such reservation in working out for the New England Patriots. As he explained,

“Before I get there, Bill Belichick says, ‘Hey, Reg, you got to work out,’ ” Wayne said. “So I said, ‘All right. You Bill Belichick, all right, I’ll work out for you. Y’all New England. OK, I’ll work out for New England.’

At that point, the Patriots were coming off a Super Bowl victory. The Lions had finished 11-5 in 2014 but lost in the first round of the playoffs and didn’t boast anything close to the sustained success of New England.

Wayne wound up signing a 2-year contract with the Patriots, but he was cut before the season and never played in the NFL again. The Lions opted to sign Lance Moore instead. Moore caught 29 passes for 337 yards and four TDs in his one year in Detroit, the final season of his career.