Tag: matthew hayball

Demario Davis sees his All-Pro streak snapped at age 35

Demario Davis had made the All-Pro team every year since turning 30. But that streak was broken after five stellar seasons:

Demario Davis has been an ageless wonder for the New Orleans Saints, but nothing lasts forever.

For the first time since 2018, Demario Davis has failed to be named a first- or second-team All-Pro. Outside of J.T. Gray, who made second-team All-Pro, Davis and rookie punter Matthew Hayball were the only Saints to get any All-Pro votes. Two voters put Davis on their first team.

Davis came to the New Orleans Saints from the New York Jets at 29 years old, with no Pro Bowl or All-Pro teams under his belt. When the calendar hit on his 30th birthday, Davis shifted gears into a different mode.

His birthday is in January, and Davis had his season-high in tackles and lone interception of the 2018 season in the playoffs after turning 30 years old.

The following season Davis made first-team All-Pro. It took a little bit longer for the Pro Bowls to start rolling in. From that 2019 season until this year, Davis made five consecutive All-Pro teams. He was a second-team member from 2020-2023.

Davis may have had 136 tackles, a career-high, but he didn’t seem like himself. If you reflect back to last offseason, one of the biggest reasons Davis was being called one of the best linebackers in the NFL was his ability to get behind the line of scrimmage.

Davis recorded a career-high 6.5 sacks in each of the last two seasons. That number dropped to two sacks. Take out his three-game rookie season, Davis’ two quarterback hits are the lowest of his career. Davis only racked up five tackles for loss. He hasn’t dropped under 10 any other season in New Orleans.

Davis blitzed 38 times this year, compared to 39 times in 2023 and 26 times in 2022. The production simply has been different and likely contributed to the snapping of his five-year All-Pro streak.

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NFL special teams tackles leader reps Saints on the All-Pro team

J.T. Gray may not have made the Pro Bowl, but he earned a spot on the AP All-Pro team as one of the best special teams aces in the NFL:


New Orleans Saints captains J.T. Gray and Demario Davis have become overly familiar with inconsistent recognition at the national level. Gray was snubbed from the Pro Bowl, but he was announced as a member of this year’s Associated Press All-Pro team. Gray earned a place on the All-Pro second team.

The same thing happened to Davis his first three years in New Orleans. The linebacker was a first-team All Pro in 2019 and second-team All Pro in 2020 and 2021. In none of these seasons did he make the Pro Bowl.

For Gray, this is the second time he’s made All-Pro without making it to the Pro Bowl. The Pro Bowl is often looked at as a popularity contest, and special teams aces aren’t the most popular players outside of their fanbase. Gray has done really well for himself as a former undrafted free agent out of Mississippi State.

This is Gray’s third appearance on an All-Pro team, and his first one since being first-team All Pro back in 2021. In addition to leading the league in special teams tackles, 22 total with 10 solo, Gray added a blocked punt to his resume and downed a couple of punts deep in enemy territory. He’s a force in the kicking game.

And that nearly won Gray a spot on the All-Pro first team; it was a close call between him and the New England Patriots’ Brenden Schooler. Schooler had one more first-team vote and just five more cumulative points. That slim margin was the difference between Gray and Schooler claiming the title of the best special teams ace in the league.

Davis received six points from two All-Pro votes by the Associated Press, while rookie punter Matthew Hayball also received two votes.

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Former Saints fan-favorite had poignant reaction to Cameron Jordan’s final 2024 home game

Former Saints fan-favorite Thomas Morstead shared a poignant reaction to what may have been Cameron Jordan’s final home game: ‘You never know what the future holds’

Thomas Morstead knows what it’s like to play your last game in front of the home crowd at the Caesars Superdome. The former New Orleans Saints punter was one of the most beloved members of the team during his 12-year career in black and gold, frequently working to help out in the community and often answering tough questions in front of cameras while doing his part to be a good leader.

That didn’t stop him from getting cut in 2021 when the Saints thought they could get younger and cheaper at the position. It’s a position Cameron Jordan could soon find himself in, too. Morstead shared a poignant reaction to videos of Jordan spending hours after what may have been his final home game last Sunday signing autographs and dapping up fans.

“Glad he got to soak it all in with the fans,” Morstead wrote on social media. “You never know what the future holds!”

The Saints were wrong about their gamble in replacing Morstead so easily; while he’s punted for three different teams (the New York Jets, twice, plus the Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons) in the years since his release, the Saints have cycled through just as many replacements. Blake Gillikin, Lou Hedley, and now Matthew Hayball have each had their turn at replacing the former Pro Bowler.

Maybe that calculation has different results when it’s focused on Jordan. The veteran defensive end’s production doesn’t match his pay and there’s a real possibility he’ll be let go this offseason because of it. And if that’s the case, Jordan has indicated he’ll keep playing somewhere else in the NFL, even if he’d rather finish his career where it started. Jordan made sure to enjoy his time with the fans that have supported him all these years, and for his part Morstead was happy to see his old teammate get that opportunity. Not many players know when it’ll be their last time to do so.

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Saints’ special teams was a tale of two halves vs. Giants

Special teams had their worst half of the season against the GIants, as described by Darren Rizzi. Then, they made the play of the day to close out the game:

Special teams is Darren Rizzi’s bread and butter, and it stood out for the majority of the New Orleans Saints’ Week 14 matchup against New York Giants. But the game’s third phase was in the spotlight for both good and bad reasons.

The two most notable moments on special teams were Rizzi letting loose on Matthew Hayball and Bryan Bresee leaping over the Giants’ blockers to block a game-tying field goals.

The stark contradiction between those moments is a good representation in the difference between each half of play.

Rizzi was extremely disappointed in the way his unit performed at the beginning of the game. “Our special teams had one of, maybe the worst half of the year in the first half.”

Things changed in quarters three and four. “We turned around and made some plays there in the second half. It’s kind of ironic that we ended up winning the game on a special teams play because we were having one of our worst days in recent memory.”

That improvement is highlighted by Bresee’s phenomenal play, but Hayball redeemed himself with two, much more successful, punts later in the game.

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Surprising Saints rookie leads his position group in NFC Pro Bowl votes

After the first week of Pro Bowl voting, it’s New Orleans Saints rookie punter Matthew Hayball ahead of his peers in the NFC:

With the start of the 2025 Pro Bowl voting starting officially just week ago, we have received our first update on the current leaders of each position group in the league. You can cast your vote here.

As the New Orleans Saints have fallen apart with many injuries sustained over the course of the year, it was highly unlikely that they’d have any Pro Bowl players let alone a top vote-getter.

Turns out, that just might not be the case. Undrafted rookie punter Matthew Hayball currently leads the NFC in Pro Bowl votes at his position. Quite a pleasant surprise, isn’t it?

For those who may not know, Hayball is currently first in the NFC with 29 punts pinned inside the 20. That’s eight more than the next-closest player.

Diving a little bit deeper into the statistics, one may say that Hayball has punted 50 times this season tying him for third most the conference. However, in comparison to the punters’ ahead of him in this category, Hayball has been far more efficient in terms of forcing opponents into poor field position.

Hayball also ranks in the top five in total punt yardage and touchbacks but for the most part is somewhere between average and the bottom of the conference elsewhere. This is likely indicative of Hayball not having the biggest leg but makes up for it with his ability to accurately place his kicks.

Credit to special teams guru, now head coach Darren Rizzi, as well as the teams scouting department for locating Hayball this offseason. The Saints potentially have their long term solution at the punter position, after years of searching for Thomas Morstead replacement, a former franchise hero and Super Bowl XLIV champion.

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Saints rookie has been one of the best punters in this key stat

There isn’t a punter who has placed more tries inside the 20-yard line than Matthew Hayball through 11 games. The Saints rookie has been one of the NFL’s best in this stat:

In his first year in the league, New Orleans Saints punter Matthew Hayball has been an extremely effective weapon for the Saints. You actually would like to never see your punter.

Unfortunately for the Saints, they’ve seen Hayball frequently. Fortunately for the Saints, however, Hayball frequently delivers. Punts aren’t typically highlight plays unless it’s a punt return, but Hayball has put the opposing offense in tough situation on a regular basis.

Hayball has placed 27 punts inside the opposing 20-yard line. No other punter has done it more times through 11 games. What’s more impressive is the percentage of punts he places inside the 20-yard line. 57% of Hayball’s punts have been inside the 20.

If you hyper focus on yards per punt, you may think Hayball has struggled. He ranks 31st in the NFL in what can be a misleading stat. You don’t want a 55-yard punt when you’re just outside of field goal range. Judging a punter solely on how far he punts on average is flawed because a punter doesn’t always use his full leg. Accuracy is what’s most important in that situation.

Punts landing inside the 20-yard line also doesn’t tell the full story, but it’s a better metric to measure effectiveness. But even if he’s effective, let’s hope we see less of Hayball through the final six weeks — that would mean the Saints are ending more drives with points than punts.

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The Saints had more punting yards than offensive yards against the Chargers

The Saints had more punting yards than offensive yards gained in their Week 8 loss to the Chargers. Klint Kubiak has some explaining to do:

The New Orleans Saints find themselves sitting with a 2-6 record after eight weeks, and their offense has been pretty much useless without Pro Bowl  center Erik McCoy for six of those weeks. This became an even more obvious issue in their Week 8 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers when they managed to have more total punt yards than total yards of offense during the course of the game. They ended with 366 total yards during the course of the game, which is not horrendous but not good at all either.

As for punting yards, rookie punter Matthew Hayball got 9 attempts to punt and made the most of them as he racked up 437 yards (48.6 per punt). He also put five of his punts inside the opposing 20-yard line and had only two go for a touchback in what was a pretty masterful game for the rookie punter. The Saints were averaging only 162.3 punt yards per game entering Week 8, the 22nd-most in the NFL, which shows how much of an outlier this truly is.

With all due respect to Hayball, the punter should never be the teammate having the best day, and he certainly shouldn’t be outgaining his own offense. Klint Kubiak has some explaining to do. Losing McCoy for so long has given him plenty of time to adjust but no changes have been forthcoming. He hasn’t recovered from that loss even with so many other starters and key contributors returning from injury. The clock is ticking louder as Kubiak’s offense continues to stall out. Something must change, and soon.

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Broncos worked out a left-footed punter on Tuesday

The Broncos worked out left-footed punter Brock Miller on Tuesday ahead of their TNF showdown with Saints lefty Matthew Hayball.

Sean Payton’s doing everything he can to gain an advantage going into a Thursday Night Football clash with the New Orleans Saints this week.

The Denver Broncos worked out punter Brock Miller on Tuesday, according to a report from KPRC-TV’s Aaron Wilson. Miller’s workout is not necessarily a bad sign for current punter Riley Dixon. Rather, it’s a sign that Denver is preparing its returners for Thursday’s game in New Orleans.

Dixon, like the majority of NFL punters, is right-footed. So returners Marvin Mims and Tremon Smith are used to fielding right-footed punts each week in practice and in most games during the season.

This week, the Broncos will face Saints punter Matthew Hayball, who is a lefty. Presumably to prepare Mims and Smith for catching left-footed punts, Denver brought in Miller for Tuesday’s practice.

Miller, 33, has spent time with three NFL teams and he’s played in the UFL, USFL and XFL.

If the workout went well, Miller could also be considered down the road if the Broncos are ever in need of a fill-in punter. This week, though, he was likely brought in to emulate Hayball at practice.

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At least the Saints’ punter had a good game vs. Chiefs

In the midst of an all-around poor performance by the Saints, rookie punter Matthew Hayball was a bright spot against the Chiefs. At least he had a good game:

The New Orleans Saints didn’t do well against the Kansas City Chiefs in many categories, but rookie punter Matthew Hayball was a bright spot on the day. The first-year pro from Vanderbilt has quietly put together a solid start to the season.

Offensive deficiencies gave Hayball the chance to showcase himself. After Derek Carr’s interception, the Saints punted in back-to-back possessions. Over half of the Saints first half possessions ended in a Hayball punt. His total number of punts would have been higher if the Saints weren’t in four down territory the majority of the fourth quarter.

Hayball averaged 49.8 yards per punt on four punts. That is his highest average of the season. His shortest punt on the night traveled 48 yards, and his long was 53 yards. It was a very consistent and effective night by the rookie punter.

He has gotten close to this average one time. He averaged 49 yards per punt against the Dallas Cowboys, but that was only on one punt. Hayball’s four punts against Kansas City are a larger sample size and more impressive.

Hayball has done a good job of placing the ball inside the 20 this year. His opportunities of doing this were limited against Kansas City because of where he was punting from. Still he put two punts inside the 20 with one of them being returned just outside of the 20-yard line. At least someone wearing a black and gold jersey had a good game.

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Saints work out two punters despite Matthew Hayball winning initial position battle

Saints work out two punters in lieu of Matthew Hayball winning the initial position battle

The New Orleans Saints have had a significant burst of workouts Monday evening, including both receivers and punters. As for the punting side of things, they worked out Trenton Gill and Corliss Waitman, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. These workouts come only days after undrafted rookie Matthew Hayball won the initial starting position battle at punter over incumbent from 2023 Lou Hedley.

Neither player has had an exceptional start to their NFL career, however, both have starting experience at one point or another. Gill moved to the NFL in the 2022 NFL draft after spending four seasons at North Carolina State, where he would receive First-team All-ACC honors in 2021 and Third-team All-ACC honors in 2019. After being drafted in the seventh round at pick 255 by the Chicago Bears, he would end up as the starter in both 2022 and 2023. He accrued 133 punts there for 5,163 yards (46.1 average) and 38 inside the 20-yard line (28.6%). It is worth noting that his career long was a 76 yarder, which may be why the Saints took a look into him.

Waitman has had a much different football career, going undrafted in 2020 and being picked up by the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he would reside on their practice squad before being waived. He would then bounce around from the Las Vegas Raiders to the New England Patriots before coming back to Pittsburgh to get two games worth of opportunity, where he would punt 7 times for 365 yards (52.1 average) with only 1 inside the 20. In 2022 he ended up with the Denver Broncos where he would start the whole season, putting up 96 punts (most in the NFL that season) for 4,470 yards (46.6 average) and 30 inside the 20-yard line (31.3%). His career long is a 63 yarder, however he has not played in a regular season game since that season, as he would go to the practice squad of the New England Patriots for 2023 and Chicago Bears for 2024.

Ultimately, both may just be in consideration for pickups down the road pending the performance of Hayball. Or, maybe they want to retain one on the practice squad just in case of injury. We will see in the coming days if they want to make another addition at the position or if this was just for research. But at this time, neither has been signed, also per Nick Underhill.