Tag: landon young

Saints starting third center in three weeks vs. Chiefs

In the last three weeks, the Saints have started Erik McCoy, Shane Lemieux and now Lucas Patrick at center:

Lucas Patrick was the New Orleans Saints’ starting center in Week 5 against t he Kansas City Chiefs. Through the first month of the season, Patrick has started every game at left guard.

This is Patrick’s first time starting at center but not his first time lining up at the position for the Saints. He filled in for Erik McCoy after McCoy injured his groin against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Saints opted to move him back to left guard the next week against the Atlanta Falcons. Shane Lemieux was signed to the active roster from the practice squad to start at center. Unfortunately, Lemieux suffered an injury that landed him next to McCoy on injured reserve.

Because of this injury, the Saints have turned back to Patrick. Nick Saldiveri will replace Patrick at left guard. Saldiveri is making the first start of his career. Landon Young is filling in for Cesar Ruiz for the second week in a row.

The Saints offensive line has been a mixture of shuffling parts on the interior due to injuries. Taliese Fuaga and Trevor Penning have started every game this season, on the bright side.

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NFL Next Gen Stats: Falcons defense had a season-high pressure rate vs. Saints

NFL Next Gen Stats found the Falcons defense had a season-high pressure rate against the Saints, even though Derek Carr had his fastest windup to throw this year:

Everyone knew the New Orleans Saints offensive line was going to be at a disadvantage against the Atlanta Falcons. They were working without two injured starters in Erik McCoy and Cesar Ruiz, and offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak tried to coach around those absences by speeding up Derek Carr’s windup. It worked, for a time, but ultimately the backups blocking for him fell apart.

Here’s what Week 4’s newsletter from NFL Next Gen Stats and Zebra Technologies had to say about the game:

“The Falcons defense generated a season-high 28.9% pressure rate despite Derek Carr averaging just 2.39 seconds to throw. Entering Sunday, the Falcons generated pressure on only 20.0% of dropbacks, the lowest rate in the NFL.”

Carr averaged 2.64 seconds to throw in Week 3, 2.81 seconds in Week 2, and 2.83 seconds in Week 1. So he was taking the snap, dropping back, reading the field and winding up to throw almost half a second faster in Week 4 than in the season opener. No wonder he wasn’t able to get off his first or second read very often.

Everyone’s hands are dirty here. Carr needs to both make better decisions with the ball and throw better passes, even if he’s facing more pressure than usual. That’s why he’s paid the big bucks. At the same time his offensive line needs to do a better job keeping him clean, even if guys like Shane Lemieux and Landon Young are normally spectators on gameday, not starters. And inexperienced starters like Trevor Penning must keep improving, too. The unit did some things well as a whole on Sunday. Connecting those positive moments and sustaining success is going to be their challenge moving forward.

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Taliese Fuaga will play vs. Cowboys in Week 2

Taliese Fuaga continued to deal with back tightness throughout the week. After testing it out pregame, the rookie will play in Saints vs. Cowboys:

Taliese Fuaga played every snap in the New Orleans Saints’ season opener with the Carolina Panthers, and they’ll have in the lineup again for Sunday’s Week 2 game against the Dallas Cowboys. Fuaga was a limited participant during the first day of practice this week and it was the last time he practiced at all. He was out the ensuing two days and listed was seen as a game-time decision.

Fuaga is dealing with back tightness similar to what he managing during training camp. Saints head coach Dennis Allen doesn’t believe the injury is a major issue, and Fuaga was cleared to play after testing out his back before the game.

With Micah Parsons playing host, Trevor Penning will have to be on top of things Sunday. Parsons likes to rush against the right tackle but he’ll get reps against Fuaga, too. Penning may get the brunt of the high-profile matchup, but Fuaga doesn’t have it easy. Parsons is a dynamic pass rusher, and the rookie will still have to deal with Parsons at times. Even when Parsons is in front of Penning, DeMarcus Lawrence is a formidable threat.

Lawrence is a strong run defender who can derail the Saints’ main objective to dominate the run game. The Saints offensive tackles will have their hands full on both sides.

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Taliese Fuaga traveled to Dallas, will be a game-time decision vs. Cowboys

Taliese Fuaga traveled to Dallas while dealing with back tightness that has kept him out of practice. He’ll be a game-time decision against the Cowboys:

Taliese Fuaga traveled to Dallas for Sunday’s Saints game, per New Orleans.Football’s Nick Underhill, but his status will be a game-time decision ahead of kickoff with the Cowboys. Dennis Allen wasn’t concerned that the injury would be a major issue, but he never said Fuaga would play this week. He didn’t shut the door on that possibility, either.

Fuaga making the trip is the first step in the right direction. That keeps hope alive he could play. He’s currently dealing with back tightness, so that’s a tricky one. The injury kept the rookie out of practice for the majority of the week. He’ll have an opportunity to warm up on the field at AT&T Stadium and see how his back is feeling.

If Fuaga can’t play, Landon Young would join Trevor Penning as the starting tackles. Young filled in for Fuaga at practice during the week. Like Fuaga, Young shifted from the right side of the offensive line to the left this offseason. Olisaemeka Udoh is another option but he’s been focused on backing up Penning on the right side as of late.

The offensive line still has questions to answer and doing it without Fuaga will be a more difficult task. Fuaga will workout in pregame warm ups. It isn’t until then we’ll know whether he can go. It’s a long season and the Saints may not want to jeopardize their standout left tackle in Week 2.

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Landon Young on the key to stopping Micah Parsons

How do you stop Micah Parsons? Landon Young is looking for the answer through studying Parsons’ tendencies

The New Orleans Saints have to deal with one of the NFL’s premier pass rushers, Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons, this week.

Parsons had 13 sacks as a rookie and has added an extra half sack to his season total the following two years. He’s finished top-three in the Defensive Player of the Year each season as well.

With Taliese Fuaga’s back injury, slowing down Parsons may come down to Landon Young and Trevor Penning.

It’s difficult to say something about Parsons that hasn’t already been said, so Young kept it simple. He says Parsons “has all the attributes as what you want as a pass rusher.”

Young sees film study as the most important aspects as he tries to mitigate Parsons’ impact on the game. Young is looking for how Parsons’ varies his approach on a down by down basis. Knowing what he likes to do will help Young anticipate it and hopefully be prepared.

Parsons clearly has the advantage in the matchup, and Young has to look for any advantage, and those advantages must come from exploiting tendencies. Penning should be doing the same.

Landon Young on the difference between playing left guard and tackle

Landon Young came in for Lucas Patrick at left guard vs. the Panthers, and he may have to fill in for Taliese Fuaga vs. the Cowboys

Landon Young came in for Lucas Patrick at left guard against the Carolina Panthers, and there is a chance he may have to fill in for Taliese Fuaga against the Dallas Cowboys this week.

The New Orleans Saints drafted Young as an offensive tackle. This year he became more versatile by adding guard to his repertoire. That has come in handy just a week into the season.

This week in practice he’s gone from guard to tackle and he discussed the difficulties of it: “It has its challenges. It’s a little bit easier to go from outside to inside than inside to outside.”

Unfortunately for Young, the Saints are asking him to take the harder route. Being a natural tackle may make his transition easier. The most important and beneficial thing for Young is getting reps at the position he’ll end up playing.

Adjusting to different players on your own team and opposing teams is a huge difference Young pointed out. He goes from blocking smaller, agile players on the edge to bigger, powerful players on the interior.

There’s also the chemistry factor of understanding the tendencies of the center or the guard next to you. This understanding is crucial as you pass off defenders to teammates.

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How Taliese Fuaga’s potential absence could impact Week 2

Taliese Fuaga was a DNP on Thursday. His absence would put the Saints in a bad spot against Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence:

Taliese Fuaga was downgraded on the New Orleans Saints injury report. The rookie left tackle was a limited participant at Wednesday’s practice due to a back injury, which led to him missing practice entirely on Thursday. Fuaga didn’t miss a snap while playing very well in Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers so it’s tough to say how serious this injury may be.

It’s too soon to project whether or not Fuaga will miss the Saints’ contest with the Dallas Cowboys, but it isn’t too soon to look at the implications of his absence.

Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence are two really good defensive ends. One of them will be in front of the left tackle. Running Trevor Penning and Landon Young out there to stop this duo doesn’t inspire confidence.

Lawrence is a strong run defender who offers a pass-rush element. That isn’t the prototype that gets the discussions flowing, but it certainly can disrupt a game. Meanwhile, Parsons is on the short list of the best pure pass rushers and most dynamic defenders in the NFL.

Fuaga dealt with back tightness in the preseason. We viewed how important his presence was at that time and this is the type of game we were worried about. This was before he turned offseason hype into a strong debut. Even in the preseason, it was clear he would be a valuable asset on the left side of the offensive line. Stay tuned for Friday’s final injury report and and update on his status for this Cowboys game.

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Saints starting left guard Lucas Patrick exits Panthers game with toe injury

New Orleans Saints starting left guard Lucas Patrick exited the Panthers game with a toe injury. He won’t return after initially being ruled questionable:

The New Orleans Saints have an offensive line injury in Week 1, with starting left guard Lucas Patrick being removed from the game with a toe injury. He was replaced, intriguingly enough, by Landon Young rather than Nick Saldiveri for the last few drives. Saldiveri opened training camp as the starter but was sidelined for the rest of the summer with an injury of his own.

That could be an interesting subplot to watch in the coming weeks depending on the severity of Patrick’s injury. Patrick was initially questionable to return to the matchup, but the team later downgraded his status and said he would not return.

The offensive line depth for the Saints is definitely a tough spot compared to other positions, as there are quite a few options but not many have a lot of experience at this point. Interior linemen Shane Lemieux and  Kyle Hergel are both on the practice squad and could be called up to the 53-man roster next week if Patrick has to miss extended time.

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Cardinals preseason game is Trevor Penning’s toughest challenge yet

Saturday night’s Cardinals preseason game is Trevor Penning’s toughest challenge yet. He needs a strong start at right tackle:

You don’t think of the first preseason game as a big hurdle for many players, but Saturday night’s matchup with the Arizona Cardinals is the toughest challenge yet for Trevor Penning. He needs a strong start after a rocky first few years — even in this exhibition game.

Penning’s summer has gone reasonably well to this point given his move to a new position, having slid to the right side after almost exclusively playing left tackle. But he’s coming off his worst day of practice at Saints training camp after Chase Young closed team drills by sacking Derek Carr three times in a row, beating Penning each time.

That makes the cautious optimism Dennis Alllen has expressed look a little more questionable in hindsight. It casts doubt on Penning’s own assurances that he’s more comfortable in his new role. If he’s going to rewrite the narrative being spun about his career, it’ll start with a strong performance in Arizona.

Expect him to get a lot of work. Penning was one of seven Saints players to log more than 100 snaps on offense back in 2022 (he ranked fifth on the team with 113 snaps, and he would’ve had more if not for being injured by friendly fire in a collision with Juwan Johnson). He  recorded just 38 snaps during the 2023 preseason, but that’s when he was locked in to start at left tackle. The situation has changed in a big way.

So what if he flounders? The Saints don’t have any great options at replacing him. Olisaemeka Udoh is competing at both right tackle and left guard, but his starting experience has come at mainly at right guard in the NFL. Landon Young is working at both tackle spots and his game tape on the right side isn’t very encouraging. Would the Saints have to move Taliese Fuaga back to right tackle, undoing all of his work this summer on the left side, and put someone else there?

It’s concerning either way. The best outcome is for Penning to gain his footing and play well at right tackle. He’s had some nice moments at training camp. He’s also had some bad days. Let’s see if he can turn things around on Saturday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast on FOX affiliates in and around Louisiana.

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Countdown to Kickoff: Landon Young is the Saints Player of Day 67

Countdown to Kickoff: Landon Young is the Saints Player of Day 67. What does he need to do to make the team in 2024?

We’re on to Day 67 of our countdown to the start of the New Orleans Saints’ 2024 regular season, which makes the current owner of the No. 67 jersey our Saints Player of the Day. So what are realistic goals for Landon Young in 2024? What’s the vision for him to make the team and help out this year? And what’s brought him to this point? Let’s answer each of those questions.

  • Name (Age): Landon Young (26)
  • Position: Offensive tackle/guard
  • Height, weight: 6-foot-7, 321 pounds
  • Relative Athletic Score: 9.18
  • 2024 salary cap hit: $1,097,445
  • College: Kentucky
  • Drafted: Sixth round in 2021 (New Orleans Saints)
  • NFL experience: 4 years

Young played left tackle almost exclusively in college, but he’s cross-trained on the right side during his time with the Saints, and there’s been some speculation that he could join the left guard competition this summer. He’s only started seven games through three years and has dealt with a couple of injuries, so that’s a factor in evaluating him, too.

While he’s logged more snaps at right tackle (257) with the Saints than at left tackle (155), Young was primarily working as Taliese Fuaga’s backup on the left side at minicamp and OTAs this spring. He does have that versatility to plug into either spot, though, so he shouldn’t be seen as limited to one side or the other.

So how can he make the team this year? There are two or three roster spots open for backup offensive linemen behind Fuaga, Erik McCoy, Cesar Ruiz, Trevor Penning, Olisaemeka Udoh, and Nick Saldiveri. Young will be competing with veterans like Shane Lemieux, Lucas Patrick, and Justin Herron as well as rookies or second-year pros in Josiah Ezirim, Mark Evans II, Nouri Nouili, Kyle Hergel, and Sincere Haynesworth. He needs to show real improvement and look the part in a new blocking scheme to win one of those jobs. Young has the athleticism and positional versatility to help his case, now he needs to follow through at training camp.

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