Tag: New Orleans Saints

Saints offense adds Colorado’s Laviska Shenault Jr. in 2020 mock draft

The New Orleans Saints picked a dynamo in the latest 2020 NFL mock draft, landing versatile Colorado football prospect Laviska Shenault Jr.

The New Orleans Saints offense is paper-thin, and that’s never been more clear than in Sunday’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Despite 13 catches and 152 receiving yards from all-star wide receiver Michael Thomas, they were outplayed and outgunned, which was reflected in the final score of 26-9. The final play of the game was almost a metaphor, with Thomas reeling in a catch and fighting his way to the goal-line, only to be touched down a short away from a score.

Outside of Thomas, every other wide receiver on the team combined for one catch on five targets. Ted Ginn Jr. dropped all three passes sent his way, and Tre’Quan Smith struggled to adjust to off-target looks in his first game back from injury. Backups Krishawn Hogan and Deonte Harris were afterthoughts at best.

New Orleans has top-end talent in the receiving corps (just look at what Thomas can do, and tight end Jared Cook and running back Alvin Kamara are getting back up to speed after missing time with their own injuries). What they don’t have is much they can count on behind their star players. For decades the belief has been that Drew Brees can score touchdowns with anybody; Sunday’s loss proves that theory is outdated. Great as he has been, Brees can’t be expected to put the world on his shoulders anymore.

Fortunately, the Saints will have opportunities to improve in the offseason. The latest 2020 mock draft comes from Trevor Sikkema of The Draft Network, who sees the Saints’ need for more juice on offense and addressed it with one of the most versatile playmakers in college football: Colorado Buffaloes do-it-all athlete Laviska Shenault Jr. Here’s what Sikkema wrote to justify the selection:

It feels like wide receiver Michael Thomas is about to break every NFL record for the position. That’s certainly due to how talented Thomas is, but it also has to do with the fact that the Saints don’t have much outside of Thomas in the passing game.

Shenault joining forces with the creative mind of Sean Payton and a group that already consists of Thomas and Alvin Kamara would be incredible to watch.

Shenault lives up to that billing. He’s racked up 2,038 yards from scrimmage and scored 17 combined touchdowns (9 as a receiver, 7 as a runner) in his career with the Buffaloes, though he’s only been a big part of their offense the last two years. While his junior year numbers aren’t as impressive in volume as what he accomplished as a sophomore, his efficiency has increased (jumping up from 11.8 yards per catch to 13.8, and 6.8 yards per carry to 7.9 this season) as Colorado has learned to spread the ball around more evenly. That’s a combined 11.4 yards per touch from 2018 to 2019, or 103.6 yards from scrimmage per game in the same span.

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, Shenault’s versatility would play well off of what the Saints have done with Kamara and Taysom Hill. All three players are experienced at moving all over the field, playing from different alignments and exploiting athletic mismatches with the defense. Saints coach Sean Payton loves using different personnel packages to put opposing defenses in a bind, and it’s easy to see Shenault’s appeal in New Orleans’ system. If the junior prospect does declare early for the 2020 draft, he’d definitely be worth keeping on the Saints’ radar.

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4 big takeaways from Saints’ 26-9 loss to the Falcons

The New Orleans Saints put up a disappointing performance in their Week 10 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, showing a concerning lack of depth.

There wasn’t much to feel good about for New Orleans Saints fans, after their team got bulldozed by the Atlanta Falcons in a surprising upset on Sunday. Saints quarterback Drew Brees was sacked six times (tying his career-worst total for a single game), and coach Sean Payton frowned in disappointment on the sideline as his team slipped and fell all over themselves throughout the afternoon.

Still, there’s plenty to learn from it. Here’s what we picked up on when reviewing the game, hopefully giving an idea of what the Saints can correct moving forward. Their rematch with Atlanta (in prime time, on Thanksgiving) is just a few weeks away. They don’t exactly have much time to let this one linger, even if it was an embarrassing loss to a division rival.

The plan to use Alvin Kamara wasn’t up to snuff

The good news: Kamara went 8-for-10 as a receiver, picking up 50 yards. The bad news: his worst rep of the day came on the opening drive, in which Kamara slipped and fell on the Superdome turf. It was a designed pass to him on a route out of the backfield and the right call against Atlanta’s defense — the closest defender was in poor position to stop him before Kamara would have reached the end zone. Instead, Brees had to take a sack on third down and force New Orleans to settle for three points instead of seven.

There’s no way the Saints were going to ask Kamara to handle fifteen or more rushing attempts in his first game back from injury, but four carries (and 11 as a team) was pitiful. The Saints have run too well lately to call 51 dropbacks for Brees against just 11 runs. This was an example of Payton at his worst, allowing himself to get one-dimensional and over-reliant on his passing attack in a game that was close for three quarters. There’s no excuse for him to have abandoned the run so early.

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How will the Saints respond to Marshon Lattimore’s hamstring injury?

The New Orleans Saints lost CB Marshon Lattimore to a hamstring injury against the Atlanta Falcons, and he’ll reportedly be out a few weeks.

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The New Orleans Saints secondary took a big hit on Sunday, in addition to the passes Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan sent soaring over their heads. Per a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, top cornerback Marshon Lattimore strained his hamstring and is recovering with treatment from the team’s athletic staff. He’s considered “week-to-week,” so his availability is in doubt at least for the near future.

Hamstring injuries plagued Lattimore in college at Ohio State, though he’s managed them very well since the Saints drafted him. This would be his first extended absence since his 2017 rookie year when he missed three games with a concussion and ankle injury.

In his place, the Saints promoted slot corner P.J. Williams to Lattimore’s spot on the boundary and brought rookie defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson back onto the field to fill in for Williams. Williams did well in the pinch-hitting role, helping limit Falcons star receiver Julio Jones to three receptions on nine targets — though one of those catches was the biggest play of the game, a 54-yard grab-and-go in which a late tackle by free safety Marcus Williams stopped what would have been a touchdown.

With Lattimore sidelined, the Saints are going to stress the definition of “bend but don’t break” defense. He’s their most impactful defender, able to shift the entire defense schematically when playing at his best. But New Orleans can’t assume he’ll be ready for next week’s game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and their talented receiving duo of Chris Godwin and Mike Evans.

So expect the Saints to sign a veteran cornerback. Backup Ken Crawley was waived two weeks ago, opening the door for several experienced tryouts including Kayvon Webster (who spent the summer on New Orleans’ 90-man roster), Captain Munnerlyn, and Johnson Bademosi. Bademosi’s experience on special teams gave him the edge, and he’s already played 33 snaps on the punt and kickoff coverage units in two games.

The Saints need added depth at the position with Lattimore out, even if they don’t expect to start any new faces. Williams, Gardner-Johnson, and Eli Apple should remain the starting rotation, though backup Patrick Robinson could get on the field once he’s recovered from his own hamstring injury. They were fortunate that this wasn’t a season-threatening injury for Lattimore, and fans should have some optimism that he’ll return to the lineup sooner rather than later.

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Falcons rookie CB Kendall Sheffield shines in win over Saints

Entering Sunday’s game against the Saints, the Falcons secondary looked to be in bad shape with top corner Desmond Trufant set to miss his fourth straight game.

Entering Sunday’s game against the Saints, the Falcons secondary looked to be in bad shape with top corner Desmond Trufant set to miss his fourth straight game.

Apparently, something clicked for this team during the bye week, however, and Atlanta would play its best defensive game all season, beating a 7-1 New Orleans team on the road.

The Falcons recorded six sacks of Saints QB Drew Brees, while the secondary played with confidence for the first time in weeks. Rookie Kendall Sheffield more than held his own in Week 10 — being targeted seven times and allowing just five catches for 28 yards.

Pro Football Focus gave Sheffield an impressive grade of 89.9 for his performance on Sunday:

The Falcons have asked a lot of their rookie fourth-round pick this season, and although there have been some bumps in the road, Sheffield has exceeded expectations in 2019.

The team may have lucked into another building block if the former Ohio State standout can keep it up.

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Falcons TE Austin Hooper to have MRI on knee, expected to miss time

The Falcons may have lost two of their starters during the game, but still managed to pull off an upset win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

The Falcons may have lost two of their starters during the game, but still managed to pull off an upset win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

Tight end Austin Hooper hurt his knee and running back Devonta Freeman went down with a foot injury. Both players will have MRIs on Monday to determine the severity of their injuries, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Atlanta hasn’t gotten a ton out of Freeman this season, while the running game as a whole has struggled to find room behind the team’s new-look offensive line.

Backup Ito Smith was just placed on the injured reserve last weekend, so keep your eyes on Brian Hill and Kenjon Barner to get some extra work.

Hooper, on the other hand, was having a breakout year. Through nine games, he was on a career-best pace with 56 catches, 608 yards and 6 touchdowns. Even if the injury causes him to miss time, he is probably on his way to a earning a hefty new contract with the Falcons or someone else in the very near future.

Hopefully, Atlanta won’t be without its star tight end for very long as he’s been one of the few bright spots this season.

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NFC South Week 10 review: Falcons flip the script, stun Saints

Here’s our review of what happened around the division this week.

The Saints have been the team to beat in the NFC South for the last two and a half seasons. On Sunday though they suffered a huge collapse at home against the Falcons. So, maybe they aren’t quite as indestructible as everyone had thought.

Here’s our review of what happened around the division this week.

Saints (7-2) lost to Falcons (2-7), 26-9

Nobody saw this one coming. New Orleans had a six-game win streak going coming into Week 10 and Atlanta appeared to be dead in the water. The Falcons defense flipped the script, holding the Saints to just nine points in a stunning upset. They were dominated in the trenches – a normally flawless offensive line allowed Drew Brees to get sacked six times and Latavius Murray and Alvin Kamara combined for just 36 yards on the ground. The division leaders also saw Marshon Lattimore suffer a hamstring injury. The Saints will try to rebound at Tampa Bay next week.

Panthers (5-4) lost to Packers (8-2), 24-16

The Saints’ surprise loss gave Carolina a golden opportunity to close ground in the NFC South race. The Panthers squandered it, though. Two turnovers by Kyle Allen certainly didn’t help, but it was more excruciating run defense that truly lost this matchup. With defensive tackle Kawann Short on IR and unavailable, Ron Rivera needs to consider taking drastic measures to turn things around, including abandoning his new 3-4 scheme.

Buccaneers (3-6) beat Cardinals (3-6-1), 30, 27

Kyler Murray and Jameis Winston put on a show Sunday, combining for 682 total passing yards. Winston’s threw two more interceptions, though and wasn’t nearly as efficient as the No. 1 overall pick. Nevertheless, the Bucs came out on top, boosted by a second consecutive big game from Ronald Jones II. He totaled 106 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. Beating Arizona and their awful defense at home is nothing special, though. Call us when they get a secondary.

Falcons (2-7) find a spark vs. Saints (7-2), 26-9

Dan Quinn finally made a real change this week: he switched up his coaching staff and abandoned defensive play-calling duties in favor of linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich. The impact was immediate. Atlanta’s defense played better than it has in a long time, especially their front seven. Grady Jarrett remains the centerpiece, but Vic Beasley finally stepped up and produced. Together, they totaled four sacks and seven quarterback hits. The Falcons’ victory came at a cost, though. Devonta Freeman and Austin Hooper both suffered injuries and could be out a while. They’ll visit the Panthers next.

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NFC playoff picture: Where the Eagles stand after Cowboys loss on Sunday night

NFC Playoff picture and where the Eagles stand after Cowboys loss

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The Philadelphia Eagles have finished up a much-needed bye week as the team sits at 5-4, with the New England Patriots visiting the Linc this week.

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Things seemed cloudy on Sunday with the San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints, Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, and Green Bay Packers all playing so well. It was assumed that the NFC East might only get one team into the playoffs with Philadelphia or Dallas representing the division in the postseason.

After Sunday’s wild and crazy action, culminating with the Cowboys’ huge loss at home to the Vikings, the NFC is now wide open.

Here are your current NFC standings:

National Football Conference

San Francisco 49ers 8-0
Green Bay Packers 8-2
New Orleans Saints 8-2
Seattle Seahawks 7-2
Minnesota Vikings 7-3
Dallas Cowboys 5-4
LA Rams 5-4
Philadelphia Eagles 5-4
Carolina Panthers 5-4
Chicago Bears 4-5
Detroit Lions 3-5-1

Even with the Eagles Week 10 bye,  six of the eight teams currently ahead of them in the playoff picture all did battle with one another on Sunday, with the Panthers losing to the Packers, the Cowboys losing to the Vikings at home, and the 49ers hosting the Seahawks on Monday Night Football.

The Eagles will host the Patriots this week and Seahawks and the Seahawks next Sunday, before playing four of their remaining five games against teams that are a combined 4-22. After the two home matchups, the Eagles will travel to Miami to face the Dolphins, then they’ll host the Giants, travel to Washington, host Dallas and then finish the regular season on the road at MetLife Stadium against the Giants.

After the crushing loss to the Vikings, Dallas will face the Lions, Patriots, Bills, Eagles, and Rams over the next five weeks in a scenario that will make the Week 16 showdown in Philadelphia for the NFC East title.

Ravens hitting their stride at the right time

The Ravens are hitting the point of the season where championship-caliber teams differentiate themselves, and they’re only getting better.

The Baltimore Ravens were supposed to beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 10. With Cincinnati winless and having a rookie quarterback getting his first NFL start, it seemed obvious that Baltimore was going to move to 7-2. But the beating the Ravens put on the Bengals proves they’re hitting their stride at the best possible time.

Before kickoff, I noted that this could be a trap game for Baltimore. While they were clearly the superior team on paper, we’ve seen the Ravens embarrass themselves previously under similar circumstances. In fact, it’s a familiar hole they’d fallen into too many times under coach John Harbaugh right as they looked to be on a roll and near the top of the league. But not this week and not this season apparently.

Baltimore’s offense got off to a quick start and never relented, finding room on the ground and through the air against the hapless Bengals. Quarterback Lamar Jackson had another brilliant game, going 15-of-17 for 223 yards, three passing touchdowns and a perfect 158.3 passer rating. He also torched Cincinnati on the ground to the tune of 65 yards and a touchdown, including his highlight-reel 47-yard run. It was a finely tuned game from the starting offense that saw them hang five total touchdowns before putting in backups in the fourth quarter.

The defense got in on the action as well, shutting down the Bengals offense. They pressured quarterback Ryan Finley, largely held running back Joe Mixon down and made two big plays, returning an interception and a fumble for touchdowns. What had been the worst unit on the team earlier this season has quickly turned around into an explosive and dangerous defense.

And that’s really the look of the entire team right now. They’ve gotten better with each and every game. They’re stronger than they were in Week 3 and far more dynamic both on offense and defense. They’ve beaten up on the top teams in the league and are now destroying the teams they should be beating. For as easy as that sounds in theory, look at how the Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills, New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs all lost in Week 10 to teams with no better than a .500 record.

This is the point where championship-caliber teams start to differentiate themselves. Injuries have piled up on all 32 teams, and there’s more than enough game film to establish weaknesses and mismatches. Yet Baltimore is the only team actually getting better right now.

With everything coming together on defense and opponents having no answer for Jackson and this unique offense, Baltimore is unquestionably one of the best teams in the league right now. And considering they’re built for cold-weather football, the Ravens are looking really scary. If they can keep this level of play up, there’s no reason to think Baltimore shouldn’t be a front-runner for the Super Bowl.

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Buccaneers-Saints early odds: New Orleans road favorite vs. Tampa Bay

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are home dogs when they host the New Orleans Saints in Week 11.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-6) host the New Orleans Saints (7-2) in a NFL Week 11 matchup Sunday, Nov. 17th, at 1:00 p.m. ET at Raymond James Stadium. The game can be watched on FOX and NFL Redzone. The Saints, coming off their second loss of the year, enter as the solid favorite, according to odds from BetMGM.

The Saints (-250) are favored by 5.5 (-115) points against the spread (ATS) over the Bucs. New to sports betting? With a spread of -5.5, that means the Saints need to not only beat the Buccaneers, but they need to win by at least six points for an ATS wager on them to cash. That half-point is referred to as a hook.

Looking to place a bet on this game or others? Get some action in the game at BetMGM. Sign up and bet at BetMGM now!

Feeling a upset? A $10 wager on the Buccaneers (+185) would pay $18.50 in profit should they win outright. Meanwhile, a $10 wager on the Saints to win outright returns a profit of just $4.00.

The Over/Under on the Saints/Buccaneers game has been set at 51.5, which is one of the higher early lines of the week. Both sides of the O/U are -110 for this Week 11 NFL matchup.

Want to get some action on this game? Place a sports bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting picks and tips, access SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Sean Payton doesn’t excuse Falcons loss with lopsided officiating

New Orleans Saints HC Sean Payton didn’t blame officiating in his team’s 26-9 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, pointing to their own mistakes.

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Few viewers expected the New Orleans Saints to get trounced by the Atlanta Falcons — coming out of the bye week, inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, in a year where the Saints have been nearly undefeated and the Falcons have gone nearly winless. But that’s not what happened, when Atlanta’s defense swarmed Drew Brees and the Saints offense, leaving town with a 26-9 win on their shoulders.

Some fans would point to the game’s officiating as a culprit in the upset. Whenever the Saints defense seemed to win on a crucial down, it seemed like someone was flagged for an illegal use of hands penalty; giving up five yards and an automatic first down. Saints defenders were penalized for that on four different occasions on Sunday, twice on third downs which would have forced an Atlanta punt. In total, New Orleans drew a dozen penalty flags and ceded 90 yards. The Falcons were flagged seven times, giving up 48 yards. That’s about as lopsided as it gets in the NFL.

But Saints coach Sean Payton doesn’t buy that as an easy explanation for his team’s loss. He rebuffed that notion during his postgame press conference, saying, “No, I thought the officiating was pretty good in this game. That had nothing to do with this game.”

Rather, Payton wants his team to look at their own mistakes and miscues. Excessive penalties are often a sign of poor execution and botched on-field decisions, and he looked back on the game as a big learning opportunity for just about everyone.

“Yes, absolutely, there’s a lot of corrections (to be made),” Payton continued, hammering his point home. “A lot of corrections. Look, it’s a good group here and they understand that tomorrow will be tough to watch it. It’ll go down. But shame on us if we can’t get those corrections made. That won’t be a problem. It’s much easier to come in and watch tape after you win, but that’s one of the things about this game that creates a little bit of toughness and grit.”

This Saints team has enjoyed plenty of success in recent years, having been built around a largely-intact core of players going back to the 2017 season opener; they’ve won 33 of their last 45 games together, and know what must be done to rebound from a poor outing like this one.

Still, knowing what to do and putting it into practice are two different things. And the Saints have a critical four-game stretch ahead of them, featuring three more NFC South divisional games (peaking with a prime-time rematch in Atlanta on Thanksgiving) and then a home game in the Superdome against the San Francisco 49ers. If Payton and the Saints can right the ship and handle their business, they could be in position to lock up the division title and maybe a top-two playoff seed by the end of it. But that’s easier said than done in a league where any team can win on any given Sunday.

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