Tag: news

Michael Thomas has more catches than entire Ravens, Eagles WR corps

Michael Thomas has broken more records for the New Orleans Saints, and caught more passes than the Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles.

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New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas has been on fire this season, and he passed several more milestones on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Thomas finished that game with eight catches, giving him 94 receptions on the year so far. He’s the first player in NFL history with 90 or more catches in each of his first four years. And the pace he collected them — catching 94 passes in just 10 games — is the most of any player in NFL history.

What’s really impressive about this is that Thomas is basically doing it alone. He’s commanding attention from opposing defenses and drawing extra coverage, but he still finds ways to win at the catch point and pick up a few extra yards after the catch. He’s almost impossible to guard despite having few teammates who can threaten opponents from the other side of the field.

In other words: Saints wide receivers have amassed 126 receptions this year, and Thomas is credited with 94 (75%) of them. That’s unheard of.

But here’s some added perspective on what Thomas has accomplished. His 94 catches are more than what some teams’ entire wide receiver corps have combined for, putting him ahead of both the Baltimore Ravens (74) and the Philadelphia Eagles (93). Read that again: Thomas has caught more passes this season than all of the wide receivers on two other teams.

He’s certainly living up to his social media handle, backing up the bold statement that you “Can’t Guard Mike.”

Saints favored by 8.5 points over Panthers for Week 12 opening lines

The opening betting line heavily favored the New Orleans Saints over the Carolina Panthers for their Week 12 NFC South rivalry game.

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The New Orleans Saints rebounded in a big way this week, but the Carolina Panthers look like they’ve regressed hard. This always-tough NFC South rivalry series is set to pick up again in Week 12, and the Saints are clearly favored to win.

Per the opening line from BetMGM, the Saints are 8.5-point home favorites over the Panthers. With an over/under set at 47.5, that implies a final score in the neighborhood of Saints 28, Panthers 19. Not too shabby.

With Cam Newton sidelined for the rest of the year, Carolina has had to rely on Kyle Allen, which has produced mixed results. Allen’s initial success trailed off over the last month, and the Panthers’ record has fallen with it. Allen threw seven touchdown passes against zero interceptions in his first four starts, giving Carolina a four-game unbeaten stretch.

Since then, Allen has completed just three touchdown passes against nine interceptions. And the Panthers have lost three of their last four games to put their season on life support at 5-5, with a difficult road trip against the Saints next on their schedule.

If the Saints defense can be as proactive and disruptive against Carolina as they were versus Jameis Winston and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — a game in which they stole four interceptions and sacked Winston twice, hitting him a dozen other times — then they can take advantage of Allen, who’s been prone to making mistakes with the game on his shoulders.

Still, both of these teams received their most recent losses to the bottom-feeding Atlanta Falcons. Both squads know they can’t take anything for granted in the NFL, meaning an intense week of practice and preparation is ahead of them.

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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Saints rule out Josh Hill vs. Buccaneers with concussion

The New Orleans Saints lost backup TE Josh Hill during their game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a concussion, leaving them shorthanded.

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The New Orleans Saints ruled backup tight end Josh Hill out for the rest of their game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team announced Sunday. Hill suffered a concussion during the first half and was not cleared to return by team medical staff.

It’s made the Saints short-handed at the position, with Jared Cook the only active tight end left in the game. Third-year reserve Dan Arnold was a healthy scratch before kickoff, though the Saints can shift do-it-all quarterback Taysom Hill into the tight end spot in a pinch.

One other adjustment the Saints can make in Hill’s absence is the use of extra offensive linemen in heavy personnel packages. They went to that exact look early in the fourth quarter for a short-yardage situation, sending backup blockers Will Clapp and Patrick Omameh out to reinforce the formation — meaning every active offensive lineman was on the field at the same time. Quarterback Drew Brees ended up leaping over the top of the line to pick up a fresh set of downs.

Hopefully Hill won’t be plagued by concussion symptoms in the coming weeks. He was limited in practice throughout the past week with a calf injury, though it obviously didn’t prevent him from suiting up. The Saints lack depth at tight end and haven’t gotten consistent production out of Cook to this point in the season. Still, Hill’s health is what is most important, and he shouldn’t rush to return from this brain injury.

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Nick Easton gets the start at left guard for the Saints

The New Orleans Saints started veteran left guard Nick Easton in relief of injured starter Andrus Peat against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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The New Orleans Saints are without starting left guard Andrus Peat for about six weeks following surgery on his broken arm, so they turned to veteran Nick Easton to fill in for him. It’s a surprising decision only in the sense that Easton hasn’t taken a single snap on offense since the Saints signed him to a four-year, $22.5 million contract earlier this year. Before Sunday’s game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Easton was a healthy scratch in six of the Saints’ first nine games.

Instead, New Orleans has preferred to activate backups Will Clapp and Patrick Omameh. That’s probably due to Clapp’s upside in overloaded offensive line sets, putting him out on the edge next to left tackle Terron Armstead or right tackle Ryan Ramczyk. Omameh can play both guard and tackle, making him a go-to reserve. That lack of versatility (Easton has only played center and left guard in the NFL) may help explain the decision to keep an expensive free agent on the bench after younger players like Peat and rookie center Erik McCoy won starting jobs ahead of him.

So now Easton is in the lineup, and he’s done a good job of avoiding mistakes early in the game against Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers have a decent pass rush that’s improved with the addition of Jason Pierre-Paul, so he’ll have his work cut out for him as the afternoon continues.

It’s a big opportunity for Easton outside of the immediate playing-time he’s getting in relief of Peat. Peat is a free agent in the spring and likely going to earn a contract near the top of the market; if Easton plays well, he has to be the favorite to take Peat’s spot at left guard in the long-term. His contract features just $4 million in guarantees, making it a much more affordable deal for New Orleans than the totals may suggest. How he performs over the next six weeks could end up being even more important than it appears at first glance. He’s playing for his future.

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New Orleans Saints inactive report for Week 11 at Buccaneers

The New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers reported their inactive players for Week 11, including Deonte Harris and Marshon Lattimore.

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The New Orleans Saints are going to be without multiple key players during their game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with starters like Marshon Lattimore (hamstring) and Andrus Peat (broken arm) preemptively ruled out for Sunday on the final injury report. Rookie returns specialist Deonte Harris (also managing a hamstring issue) joined them. This could be the first look fans have at free agent guard Nick Easton, who signed a four-year, $22.5 million contract in the offseason but has only played a handful of special teams snaps this year behind Peat and backup Will Clapp.

However, the Buccaneers are also banged up. They cut their leader in snaps played at cornerback (Vernon Hargreaves III) earlier this week, and they’ll also have to sit their third corner, M.J. Stewart, who is battling a knee injury. The cornerback ranked second on the depth chart behind Hargreaves, Carlton Davis, was listed as questionable to play but Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians said will suit up. Tampa Bay is also without two outside linebackers in Anthony Nelson and Carl Nassib.

Here’s the full list of players who are inactive for this game:

From the Saints

  • CB Marshon Lattimore
  • OL Andrus Peat
  • WR Deonte Harris
  • DE Carl Granderson
  • OL Ethan Greenidge
  • TE Dan Arnold
  • WR Austin Carr

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From the Buccaneers

  • CB M.J. Stewart
  • LB Anthony Nelson
  • LB Carl Nassib
  • CB Mazzi Wilkins
  • OL Aaron Stinnie
  • OL Jerald Hawkins
  • TE Jordan Leggett

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Two Saints players fined $21,054 for fouls against the Falcons

The NFL issued $10,527 fines to New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas and DB J.T. Gray for unnecessary roughness against the Atlanta Falcons.

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New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas committed a rare mistake against the Atlanta Falcons last week, and it ended up costing him $10,527 in a fine from the league office. Amie Just of Nola.com reported Saturday that Thomas received a fine for unnecessary roughness after being fouled for grabbing the face mask of an opponent during the second quarter.

It was an uncharacteristic penalty from one of the Saints’ most-dependable players, and one he’s unlikely to repeat. The good news is that Thomas can afford it easily enough — he inked a five-year, $96.25 million contract extension this offseason that pays out roughly $96,943 per game this season.

But Thomas wasn’t the only one to get a letter from the NFL. Just also reported that backup safety and special teams ace J.T. Gray was also fined $10,527 due to a roughing the kicker penalty in the same game, in which he fell into Falcons punter Ryan Allen’s planted leg during the fourth quarter. And unlike Thomas, Gray is still playing on his rookie contract — meaning almost a third of his $33,529 weekly game check will go towards paying for this mistake.

Unfortunately, these sorts of mental errors and sloppy mistakes were common a week ago. Self-inflicted penalties like these (and a series of fouls for hands to the face from four different defenders) hurt the Saints, wiping out big gains and nullifying defensive stops on third down. The Saints know they can’t repeat that kind of messy performance, and while they don’t need added motivation, these hits to their wallets certainly won’t keep them from remembering that.

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Saints reveal jersey-pants combination for Week 11 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The New Orleans Saints will pair white jerseys with white pants for the third time, in their Week 11 game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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Send prayers and kind thoughts for the New Orleans Saints equipment staff, because the team is pairing their white away jerseys with matching white pants for the third time this season. They’ll square up with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the turf at Raymond James Stadium in their all-white uniform combination, which is sure to be a nightmare for grass stains. Good luck to them.

It sure appears that the Saints are phasing out the “gold” pants (honestly the color is closer to khaki) they’ve often worn in the past, preferring black pants in most of their recent games. They haven’t worn the gold pants with their white road jerseys since the 2017 regular-season finale, which happened to also come against the Buccaneers in Tampa. These white pants are sharp, if a little bland. A simple stripe or maybe a small fleur-de-lis on the outer leg panel would do a lot to improve them.

The Saints are undefeated in the white-on-white combination this season, having defeated both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Chicago Bears while wearing it in consecutive road games earlier this year. Here’s the win/loss record for each of the different uniforms the Saints have used since Sean Payton was hired to coach the team back in 2006, including the playoffs:

  • White jerseys, white pants: 2-0 (1.000)
  • Color Rush alternates: 5-2 (.714)
  • Black and Gold throwbacks: 2-1 (.667)
  • Black jerseys, gold pants: 23-13 (.639)
  • White jerseys, black pants: 38-25 (.603)
  • Black jerseys, black pants: 39-26 (.600)
  • White jerseys, gold pants: 31-24 (.564)

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UT News: November 15, 2019

UT News: November 15, 2019

It is finally Friday, and a slow one at that, as the Tennessee Volunteers football team head into a bye weekend before embarking to Columbia, Mo. to face the Missouri Tigers. In the meantime, the Lady Vols basketball team trounced Tennessee State last night, while the men gear up to take on the No. 20-ranked Washington Huskies on Saturday. But Tennessee athletics is more than just the major sports, and the others are the focus of today’s UT News.

Men’s golf team signs two

Tennessee men’s golf coach Brennan Webb announced the signing of two players to the team on Thursday.

Jackson Skeen, a Jonesboro, Tenn. native, is a top-150 ranked player in the 2020 class according to Junior Golf Scoreboard. He had a successful amateur career so far, including the 2018 TSSAA Class AAA Individual Championship as well as All-State honors in 2016 and 2018.

“Jackson (Skeen) has had a very successful career competing at the highest levels of junior golf and we are thrilled to add another Tennessee junior golfer to our roster,” Coach Webb said.

George Saunders comes from across the pond in Southampton, England, arriving in Knoxville after back-to-back top-20 finishes at the English Men’s Amateur. His addition to the program follows a long lineage of Vol golfers who hail from the UK.

“George will bring a wealth of experience to our roster, which will be important as we will lose eight upperclassmen in the next two years,” Coach Webb said. “He has had a tremendous amount of success in amateur golf around the world, as well as college golf the last two years at Midland.”

The two are promising additions to a storied program and will get their chance to contribute next season.

NEXT: Women’s golf also announces two signings

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

Justin Wren, Rafael Lovato Jr. and special guest Rayden Overbay at Bellator 233

Justin Wren, Rafael Lovato Jr. and special guest Rayden Overbay at Bellator 233

Justin Wren, Rafael Lovato Jr. and special guest Rayden Overbay at Bellator 233