Tag: Lou Hedley

Saints brought in another Australian punter to compete with Lou Hedley

The Saints are committed to the Aussie punting style. They signed Australian punter Matthew Hayball to compete with Lou Hedley:

The New Orleans Saints are zigging when the rest of the NFL is zagging, at least on special teams. They’re committed to making the Australian style of punting work in the NFL. After signing and starting former Miami punter Lou Hedley (a Mandurah, Australia native) last year, they’ve brought in Vanderbilt punter Matthew Hayball (from Geelong, Australia) to compete with him.

There are some pretty significant differences between the two despite their shared nationality; Hedley is from a smaller town on Australia’s west coast, while Hayball comes from the more populous southern coast 36 hours’ drive away. Hedley is three years Hayball’s senior, too. And as far as their performance on the football field goals, Hayball punts with his left leg, while Hedley uses his right.

What about their performance? Last season, Hedley was criticized for averaging the fewest yards per punt (43.0) and shortest hang time (4.04 seconds) in the NFL. Hayball averaged 47 yards per punt but just 3.88 seconds at Vanderbilt. While he’s been working on increasing his hang time — anything over 4.3 seconds is good, by NFL standards — what matters most is how he’s performed in games. And Hayball will get opportunities to test that training.

But accuracy matters, too. Hedley placed 41.3% of his punts inside the opposing 20-yard line, and only 5.3% of his punts resulted in a touchback. That’s top-10 in each category. Bu just 32% of his punts were fair catches, which was right in line with the league average.

Here’s how Hayball compared at Vanderbilt in 2023: 44.1% of his punts landed inside the 20, 6.7% were touchbacks, and 23.7% were fairly caught. He gave the opposing team more return opportunities, which is probably explained by that poor hangtime.

If Hayball can work on that and continue to work from greater range than Hedley while remaining accurate in his placement, he just might win this job. It says a lot that the Saints guaranteed $35,000 of his contract compared to just $10,000 in the deal Hedley signed last offseason. But the Saints are making a risky gamble with this Aussie style of punting. They’re betting that their coverage unit can get downfield in a shorter time than other teams around the league and limit return opportunities, even if it comes at a sacrifice of yards per punt. That thin margin for error didn’t hurt them too often last year. Let’s see if it pays off again in 2024.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

Saints punter Lou Hedley has chosen a new jersey number

Australian punter Lou Hedley has chosen a new jersey number in his second season with the Saints:

There isn’t a new punter kicking for the New Orleans Saints, but the one they have will be wearing a new number. Second-year pro Lou Hedley has given up his No. 39 jersey to switch to the more-appealing No. 15, per the team website. It’s a new number for him after he wore No. 94 in college at Miami.

So who will be wearing his old jersey number? Right now, that’s been assigned to rookie kicker Charlie Smyth. So the Saints’ Australian punter will be wearing No. 15 and their Irish kicker is using No. 39.

Fans should expect some competition to be brought in for Hedley, though it’s likelier to be a rookie free agent signing than a veteran pickup. While the Saints’ coaching staff were largely pleased with Hedley’s performance in his rookie year, he struggled to give his coverage team much hang time or room to work with. He ranked last in the league in both hang time (4.03 seconds) and yards per punt (43). We rated him with a D in our rookie report cards at the end of the year.

Still, it’s possible Hedley beats his competition again and earns another year in black and gold. If he does overcome that challenge, he’ll be wearing No. 15.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

New Orleans Saints sign international kicker Charlie Smyth from Northern Ireland

The New Orleans Saints are signing international kicker Charlie Smyth from Northern Ireland. He’ll have a great opportunity in black and gold:

Here’s some competition for Blake Grupe. The Athletic’s Kalyn Kahler reports that the New Orleans Saints are signing rookie kicker Charlie Smyth as part of the NFL’s International Pathway Program. Smyth hails from Northern Ireland and previously worked as a goalkeeper for County Down’s Gaelic football team.

He’s only been kicking an NFL football since August, but the 22-year-old is already good from distances of 60 yards in practice. He’ll have a chance to develop with a respected special teams coaching staff and possibly push Grupe. We’ll see if he can perform in a new environment over the summer.

The Saints haven’t shied away from adding international players before. Their punter Lou Hedley is Australian, and special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi values the different skill sets that players from foreign backgrounds can offer.

Because Smyth is joining the Saints as an IPP player, he will not count towards the 90-man offseason roster limit for training camp. Odds are stronger for him to hang on with the team’s practice squad after roster cuts in September than to unseat Grupe altogether, but you never know. Stranger things have happened in the NFL.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

No Saints players led their positions in 2024 Pro Bowl Games fan voting

No current New Orleans Saints players led their positions in fan voting for the 2024 Pro Bowl Games, but two of their former teammates did:

This is tough. No current New Orleans Saints players led their positions in fan voting for the 2024 Pro Bowl Games, but two of their former teammates did while playing for other teams: New York Jets punter Thomas Morstead and Miami Dolphins left tackle Terron Armstead both led the AFC in fan votes at their positions.

Maybe the Saints shouldn’t have let them go. Morstead was teammates with Armstead in Miami last year, but he’s continuing to play at a high level in the years since the Saints cut him to open the door for his successor Blake Gillikin. Gillikin was also released earlier this year in favor of Lou Hedley, who has experienced an up-and-down rookie year in the NFL.

As for Armstead: the Saints’ uncertainty at left tackle speaks for itself, though his situation was more complicated. On top of the serious salary cap implications involved, Armstead’s injury history made it tough to justify re-signing him. Even if they had kept Armstead, they would need an expensive insurance policy. Injuries have limited him to just 9 games this season for the Dolphins.

Fan voting is just one part of the process — coaches and the players themselves will also have ballots, so it’s possible some Saints players end up making the cut. And there’s always the possibility they can get in as alternates should starters opt out or are unavailable while playing in the Super Bowl. The NFL announced positional leaders in fan votes on Wednesday, with the AFC and NFC player rosters scheduled for release at 7 p.m. CT on NFL Network and NFL+.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

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.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

Saints release backup kicker Austin Seibert, giving Blake Grupe the green light

Saints release backup kicker Austin Seibert, giving Blake Grupe the green light to continue kicking in black and gold:

Here’s a good sign for Blake Grupe moving forward. The New Orleans Saints released backup kicker Austin Seibert from the practice squad this week, giving Grupe the green light to continue kicking in black and gold.

Seibert was signed after a group tryout last week in the wake of Grupe’s groin injury. He’s been limited in practice but made all of his kicks (four extra point attempts and five kickoffs, two of which were touchbacks) last Sunday against the Detroit Lions. He’ll be up again for this week’s game with the Carolina Panthers.

Hopefully Grupe’s injury issues are behind him. The rookie has had an up-and-down NFL debut — he’s connected on 24 of 30 field goal tries for a success rate of 80%, which ranks 23rd among 34 qualifying kickers. On the upside, he’s hit all 23 point-after attempts. Grupe is one of 10 kickers who have scored 100% of their extra points this season. And 53 of his 62 kickoffs have been touchbacks (85.5%, which ranks 9th-best).

He just needs to be show more consistency on field goals. Some of Grupe’s misses have been due to a poor setup by his holder, rookie punter Lou Hedley, but he’s missed from a variety of distances. If he can bounce back from this injury and nail that down, the Saints decision-makers who have stuck by him — Dennis Allen and Mickey Loomis — will be feeling vindicated.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

Rookie report card: Grading the Saints 2023 draft class at midseason

Rookie report card: How do you grade the New Orleans Saints 2023 draft class at midseason? Have Bryan Bresee and his peers met expectations?

So much hype is built up for the annual NFL draft class, but it isn’t always fair to put such high expectations on rookie players. In many cases there are well-established veteran players in place ahead of them who they need to outwork for snaps in practice, much less in games. And that’s before other inhibiting factors like injuries and suspensions get in the way of their development.

Keep that in mind as we go through our New Orleans Saints rookie report card. The Saints’ 2024 draft class hasn’t had many opportunities to distinguish itself going up to the Week 11 bye, and the seven remaining games in the regular season are going to be critical for many of them. Here’s how we grade each first-year pro’s performance at midseason:

What went right, what went wrong in Saints’ Week 7 loss to Jaguars

Instant analysis from Saints’ Week 7 loss to Jaguars: What went right, what went wrong, and what’s the bottom line?

The New Orleans Saints played just well enough to give fans hope before things fell apart in Thursday night’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. But these things happen when a legit playoff team matches up with a squad that isn’t quite ready for prime time.

So what can we learn from Week 7’s game? What went right for the Saints? What went wrong? And what’s the bottom line? Let’s break it down:

Former Saints punter Blake Gillikin signs with the Cardinals

Blake Gillikin signed with the Cardinals, replacing another former Saints punter:

The Arizona Cardinals are swapping one former New Orleans Saints punter for another. Per the latest update to the daily NFL transactions wire, the Cardinals have signed Blake Gillikin — opening a spot on their roster by waiving Nolan Cooney.

Gillikin was released by the Saints after they chose to go with rookie punter Lou Hedley this summer, following a training camp battle. Ironically, Gillikin himself beat Cooney (a former Saints undrafted free agent out of Syracuse) for the job two summers ago.

Good luck to him in the desert. Hedley hasn’t performed as well as the Saints hoped when they went with him at punter, but Gillikin has tried out for a couple of different teams before finding the right opportunity. That this is all happening while Thomas Morstead continues to punt well for the New York Jets adds another layer of frustration for Saints faithful.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

Recently-released Saints punter Blake Gillikin tries out for Eagles

Recently-released Saints punter Blake Gillikin tried out for the Eagles alongside several other free agents | @DillySanders

Recently-released New Orleans Saints punter Blake Gillikin is in search for his next opportunity, and he didn’t have to wait long — he was invited to try out for the Philadelphia Eagles’ open job. The Saints overhauled their special teams unit this season, moving on from Gillikin and longtime kicker Wil Lutz in favor of undrafted rookies Lou Hedley and Blake Grupe.

Lutz was traded to the Denver Broncos with no worry of finding a new team, but Gillikin is still out on the open market searching for his next chance. He tried out alongside NFL punters Pat O’Donnell and Colby Wadman, per the daily NFL transactions wire.

Gillikin appeared in 34 games for the Saints over two years, averaging 47 yards per punt and landing 38.1% of his tries within the 20-yard line. He’s got the biggest leg and the best accuracy out of the three tryout specialists, but a lack of consistency cost him his job in New Orleans.

O’Donnell spent the first eight years of his career with the Chicago Bears before going turncoat and signing with the Green Bay Packers last season; he’s averaged 45.1 yards per punt while placing 36.4% of them inside the 20.

Wadman hasn’t punted in the NFL since 2019, where he averaged 44.5 yards per punt and put 35.7% of his punts inside the opposing 20. He spent the last two years in the USFL.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]