Tag: pick six

3 of the NFL’s active pick-6 leaders have started at QB for Dennis Allen

Dennis Allen might have a type. Three of the NFL’s top-five leaders in interceptions returned for touchdowns have started for him at quarterback:

Does Dennis Allen have a type? Of the top five active quarterbacks in career pick-sixes (interceptions returned for touchdowns), three of them have started games for the New Orleans Saints at quarterback since Allen took over as head coach.

As noted by Nola.com’s Jeff Duncan, Andy Dalton ranks second among active passers with 18 pick-sixes in 169 games. Derek Carr is right behind him with 16 of them in 153 games. Jameis Winston rounds out the top-five with a dozen in 90 games.

Of course they aren’t alone; Kirk Cousins is also in the mix (14 in 150 games) and Matthew Stafford leads everyone with 30 of them in 201 games.

But it’s concerning that so many Saints quarterbacks rank high in this stat since Allen was promoted to head coach. He made the decision to sign Dalton in free agency last year and followed up by starting him for most of the season after Jameis Winston was injured and benched. It was Allen’s choice to recruit Carr to New Orleans this offseason, too.

Defenders typically don’t return an interception all the way to the end zone for a score, so this is more a ball security problem than anything. Carr has a career interceptions rate of 2%, but he’s whittled it down to 1.3% with the Saints this season. That doesn’t excuse his horrible ball placement on an interception against the Atlanta Falcons last week that was returned for a win-sealing touchdown. But we’ve got to acknowledge how critical his turnovers have been when they have occurred. Carr has thrown two pick-sixes this season against Atlanta and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

How does that compare to Dalton and Winston? Last year, Dalton threw an interception on 2.4% of his passes, which is near his career average (2.6%). And like Carr, his mistakes happened at critical times — just look at his two pick-sixes thrown against the Arizona Cardinals in the last two minutes before halftime.

As for Winston: his issues protecting the ball are well-documented, and his performance with the Saints the last two years speaks for itself. His career interceptions rate is 3.4% and he’s been picked off on 4.3% and a staggering 7.1% of his passes in the years since Sean Payton left the team. He’s only attempted 42 throws this year but he’s thrown more interceptions (3) than touchdowns (2) when asked to step in for Carr. He threw a pick-six against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season, too.

Allen’s choices of quarterbacks haven’t exactly meshed with the philosophy of a head coach who wants to run a conservative, run-first offense that can protect the ball and settle for field goals while trusting its defense to win games. Whether they’re not clutch or just unlucky, the Saints quarterbacks — especially Carr, the current unquestioned starter — must play better.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

Derek Carr’s response to pick-six vs. Falcons couldn’t be worse

Rather than practice any accountability for a bad decision on his pick-six against the Falcons, Derek Carr complimented his opponent for making a great play:

Nobody likes to be critical of themselves, but that comes with the territory of being a franchise quarterback in the NFL. As the face of an organization with more responsibility for the performance of the offense than anyone else in the building, it falls on the quarterback to take credit in wins and face criticism in losses.

So it’s concerning to see Derek Carr dodge the issue when discussing his worst play against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. The New Orleans Saints quarterback threw an interception to Falcons safety Jessie Bates III in the red zone that Bates returned 92 yards for a defensive score, giving Atlanta an early lead which they wouldn’t relinquish for the rest of the afternoon.

And rather than accept any accountability for making a bad decision and putting the ball in harm’s way, all Carr had to share after the game was praise for his opponent.

“He was playing single high and he left his responsibility. You don’t expect him to do that,” Carr said. “You don’t plan on that, for that route. I thought (Rashid) Shaheed made a good decision. But Bates is a good player and he made a great play. Very few times have I told someone good job on a bad play, but that was one where I told him, ‘You beat me. You made a great play.’ It is what it is. It sucks to have that happen. But same thing, (passing game coordinator Ronald Curry) on the sideline, he says ‘Bro made a great play. Keep playing, you’re playing great, get going.'”

Carr has not met the expectations the Saints set for him. He’s making mistakes that you’d expect from a rookie quarterback, not someone in his 154th start in the NFL. He isn’t playing like the NFL’s 13th highest-paid quarterback (which he is). He threw more touchdown passes to Falcons players than his Saints teammates in Atlanta on Sunday.

On this play, Carr took the snap out of the shotgun and dropped back to pass, locking onto Shaheed right away and throwing the ball a little behind him. Bates correctly read Carr’s intentions and jumped the route for an easy catch with 92 yards of open field ahead of him. It was a great play that showed the safety’s high football IQ, but that’s not the story here. Carr failed to progress through the coverage and find his receivers. Chris Olave had a step on A.J. Terrell in the end zone over the middle of the field. Keith Kirkwood was open running against Dee Alford at the top of the formation. Carr had options.

Maybe a designed pass to Shaheed on a Texas route, sending him to the end zone, was the point of the play. When given an opportunity to explain himself and what the idea was, and most importantly, where he went wrong, Carr instead chose to deflect criticism away and talk up his opponent for getting the better of him. There’s nothing wrong with offering a hat-tip to someone in that situation. But Carr’s reluctance to own up to his mistake on a game-changing play is telling. He’s got to play better than this, and if he isn’t willing to admit as much publicly, it’s worth wondering whether he’s being told that privately.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

A Wisconsin Badger was PFF’s highest-graded cornerback from Week 6

A Wisconsin Badger was PFF’s highest-graded CB in CFB Week 6:

Wisconsin’s 24-13 Week 6 win over Rutgers came with one defining moment.

Rutgers trailed 10-0 nearing halftime and had driven the ball down to Wisconsin’s 6 yard-line. Quarterback Gavin Wimsatt dropped back and airmailed a pass out to the right flat. Wisconsin cornerback Ricardo Hallman was all over the route, intercepted the ball and took the return 95 yards for a pick-six.

The play extended Wisconsin’s lead to 17-0 entering halftime and created an insurmountable deficit for a struggling Rutgers offense.

“We watched a bunch of film on [Rutgers] and knew when they got to the red zone…they like a lot of crossing routes,” Hallman said to 97.3 The Game’s Mike Heller after the game. “So we were manned up and I saw my guy go inside, and the other guy go out. And I was like ‘oh, I can make this play.’ So I saw the chance and jumped right in front of it. And ultimately I was able to take it, I don’t know how far the runback was…I was glad to stop their momentum and give us some points before half.”

Hallman’s pick-six is one of the Badgers’ best moments of the season thus far. That play, plus the rest of his afternoon, was enough to earn Hallman a PFF grade of 89.3 — the highest of any cornerback across Week 6 of college football.

Wisconsin is back in action this Saturday with a pivotal contest against the 5-1 Iowa Hawkeyes.

WATCH: Ricardo Hallman’s 95-yard pick six seals win for Wisconsin

Ricardo Hallman’s pick six defines Wisconsin’s win over Rutgers

Wisconsin defeated Rutgers 24-13 yesterday to improve to 4-1 and 2-0 in Big Ten play.

If you don’t have a Peacock subscription and weren’t able to watch the game, the Badgers dominated for much of the contest yet generally struggled to finish drives.

The Badgers led 10-0 nearing halftime facing a Rutgers 2nd-and-goal from the Wisconsin six-yard line. Their lead should’ve been much larger, though a Braelon Allen red zone fumble was keeping the Scarlet Knights in the game.

That, until Gavin Wimsatt telegraphed a pass to the flat which Wisconsin cornerback Ricardo Hallman intercepted and took to the house.

Here’s the game-changing play, with a terrific alternate angle from field level:

Wisconsin turns to a season-defining contest at home against former Badger QB Deacon Hill and the 5-1 Iowa Hawkeyes.

Simmons with the Air Traffic Control

Former Clemson great Isaiah Simmons showed off his athleticism Thursday night for the Arizona Cardinals. Simmons had a pick six to put the Cardinals up 26-14 over the New Orleans Saints. AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL ✈️ @isaiahsimmons25 x #BirdCityFootball …

Former Clemson great Isaiah Simmons showed off his athleticism Thursday night for the Arizona Cardinals.

Simmons had a pick six to put the Cardinals up 26-14 over the New Orleans Saints.

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!

Watch: Jaguars’ Andre Cisco scores on 59-yard pick six

The Jaguars defense got some points of their own.

The Jacksonville Jaguars got their ninth takeaway of the 2022 season early against the Philadelphia Eagles and turned it into a touchdown.

When Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts tried to force a ball downfield to receiver Zach Pascal, Jaguars cornerback Darious Williams and safety Rayshawn Jenkins converged on the ball. Williams got a hand on it, deflecting it up into the air and straight into the arms of safety Andre Cisco.

Cisco, who recorded his first career interception in Week 2, weaved through a few Eagles players and raced down the sideline for a 59-yard pick six.

Cisco was a third-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, but didn’t see the field much during Urban Meyer’s tenure as head coach. He’s taken over as a full-time starter in Doug Pederson’s first season at the helm.

Earlier this week, we listed Cisco as a player to watch against the explosive Eagles offense. He got the Jaguars off to a great start and a 7-0 lead on Sunday.

LOOK: Twitter reacts to Will Anderson’s epic interception returned for TD

Will Anderson came down with the interception and managed to take it to the house!

Alabama and Louisiana Monroe are quarrying off in a Week 3 showdown in Bryant-Denny Stadium. Though the game is young, it has not fared well for the visiting Warhawks.

The Crimson Tide opened the game by receiving the kickoff, and that’s where things went south for Louisiana Monroe.

The opening drive ended with a Crimson Tide touchdown pass from Young to Traeshon Holden.  The very next offensive drive for Alabama saw Young through his first interception of the season.

The interception was a bit rough, but that didn’t slow down the Crimson Tide defense. When Louisiana Monroe took the field, Will Anderson decided to wreak havoc. The edge rusher picked the ball off and returned it over 20 yards to the house.

Here’s what Twitter had to say.

Remembering former Chiefs CB Brandon Flowers’ iconic pick-six vs. Raiders

Brandon Flowers recently broke down one of his most iconic plays made in a #Chiefs uniform — his pick-six against the #Raiders in 2011.

The Kansas City Chiefs recently signed CB Brandon Flowers to a one-day contract to retire with the team.

A former second-round 2008 NFL draft pick out of Virginia Tech, Flowers would spend six seasons in Kansas City. He racked up 17 interceptions during his career with the Chiefs, which is tied for 21st in franchise history with Eric Harris and Jim Lynch.

One of Flowers’ most iconic interceptions was a pick-six made back in 2011 against the then-Oakland Raiders. Flowers recently joined Chiefs team reporter Matt McMullen and announcer Mitch Holthus on their “Defending The Kingdom” podcast, revealing this to be his favorite play. He broke down the interception and what made it so special to him.

“That was one of my favorite — it has to be my favorite play,” Flowers said of the pick-six. “In uniform, just on the road. Whenever a player plays on the road, it’s just something special about hearing boos and when you make a play, how the crowd just has to look at you. But doing it against the Oakland Raiders? It was just so surreal.”

The game was on October 23, 2011, in the O.co Coliseum in Oakland, California. The Chiefs were dominating their rival Raiders, up 21-0 by the fourth quarter after a pick-six by Kendrick Lewis, a 1-yard rushing score by Le’Ron McLain, and a 7-yard wildcat play to former DB and return specialist Javier Arenas. With just under 15 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Flowers would jump a pass from Raiders QB Carson Palmer and take it to the house.

“I pictured that interception, just all in the pregame,” Flowers continued. “Because it was on that play, I knew, when they came in this formation, when they ran this route, I was gone with it. Just to see it all come to fruition (was special). When I got to the endzone, the night before I’m like, ‘Listen, get this interception. I’m definitely standing on the football and I’m going to flex into the black hole, man.’ Just to see the Raiders’ reaction when I did that, I know it stung them deep.”

Flowers’ pick all but sealed the deal on the game, which would conclude as a 28-0 shutout over the team’s most bitter rival. Flowers would have two interceptions during that game and the Chiefs’ defense would combine for six total interceptions on the day.

[listicle id=130653]

Cowboys UDFA Markquese Bell turns in play of day with pick-six at Wednesday’s practice

The safety intercepted a Cooper Rush pass and returned it for an apparent 98-yard TD; it’s just the latest instance of Bell impressing. | From @ToddBrock24f7

He may not have heard his name called during the NFL draft, but Markquese Bell wasted no time in making sure his Cowboys teammates knew who he was at the team’s second practice session.

The safety out of Florida A&M was one of the team’s official 30 visitors before the draft, but managed to slip through all seven rounds without having his card turned in. The Cowboys pounced on bringing him in as an undrafted free agent, perhaps the most highly-touted of the entire class of 20 college players.

Bell quickly demonstrated that he may have a leg up on making the final roster by delivering the highlight of Wednesday’s voluntary practice. Several Cowboys reporters called him out for jumping a 4th-down-and-1 pass thrown by backup quarterback Cooper Rush.

On the final play of the two-minute drill that closed out the day’s work, Bell took the pick 98 yards down the sideline for a touchdown.

Maybe.

“I think he was out of bounds there,” head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters with a smile at a post-practice press conference. “But it was a great moment.”

Bell will be looking to string together several more of those moments, making it that much easier for the coaching staff to keep his name on the roster once cuts are due.

“He’s been impressive,” McCarthy continued. “He jumped out at the rookie camp. He was very impressive in the Zoom calls leading up to coming in here. To me, that’s all about young guys who keep stacking success. And then to start making plays like that, that definitely helps.”

The Cowboys currently have Donovan Wilson, Jayron Kearse, Malik Hooker, Tyler Coyle, and Israel Mukuamu at the position. Georgia Tech’s Juanyeh Thomas also plays safety and, like Bell, is an undrafted free agent looking to make the 2022 squad.

[listicle id=698022]

[listicle id=698000]

[listicle id=695600]

[lawrence-newsletter]

‘I still got it:’ DeMarcus Lawrence’s pick-six wows Cowboys teammates

Lawrence’s second career interception added to the team’s locker room bet, but also calls into question the veteran’s Madden ratings. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The Cowboys defense came in to their Week 16 game leading the offense by two in their much-ballyhooed turnovers-to-touchdowns intrasquad bet. Trevon Diggs’s interception on Washington’s first play from scrimmage extended the lead to three.

But when two first-quarter scoring passes from quarterback Dak Prescott brought things a little too close for comfort, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence took matters- and a Taylor Heinicke throw- into his own hands for one of the plays of the night in a 56-14 Dallas romp.

“In all honesty, the quarterback just threw the ball right in my direction,” Lawrence told reporters following his fourth game back after a two-and-a-half-month absence with a broken foot. “I was lucky enough to get my hands on the ball and make it into the end zone. I don’t know how I made it into the end zone; I just made it.”

The interception itself was impressive, to be sure. The 40-yard return for a touchdown, though, is what had the Cowboys locker room talking.

“D-Law’s been extraordinary since his return,” rookie linebacker Micah Parsons said. “He just creates a lot of opportunities for everyone, he’s so effective in the pass game and the run game. He’s just a force when he’s out there. I told him, ‘You’ve got a little bit more juice than I thought you had left.'”

“He’s fire,” cornerback and league interception leader Trevon Diggs raved. “Like, he’s really fast. Madden needs to stop changing his ratings, too. I think they’ve got him at, like, an 80-something. He’s definitely a 90 speed on Madden. Need to fix that.”

The eight-year veteran agreed once it was brought to his attention.

“Yeah, you know, Madden has been slacking the last couple years on my speed and stuff,” Lawrence said. “I feel like they got the picture tonight.”

“I’ve got to show the young boys that I still got it,” the 29-year-old said with a smile.

Lawrence’s second career pick- and his first touchdown- made an impression on his offensive counterparts, too.

“Nothing was more impressive than D-Law’s pick-six today,” running back Ezekiel Elliott gushed. “I was impressed with the stiff-arm, the high knees, making the last guy miss on the sideline… he looked like he’s been playing offense his whole life. I think he said was an all-state tight end on the sideline, so you saw that today.”

But Prescott was quick to point out that Lawrence’s brilliant play still only counts as one turnover in the bet.

“That doesn’t double up the points, by any means,” Prescott joked in his postgame press conference. “It was impressive. If anything, I thought that maybe we need to get him in over there at the jumbo-Y position and maybe get him a pass.”

“Well, I’ll say what was echoed on the sideline: we probably need to find a wrinkle or two for him,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy concurred. “Just a great play by DeMarcus. If you look, he had the double-[team] on the rush, and the way he came off and played the quarterback’s eyes, just a phenomenal play.”

And just the latest phenomenal play in what has been a remarkable season for the Cowboys defense, its first under coordinator Dan Quinn. The unit now leads the league with 33 takeaways, 10 more than they logged in all of 2020, and still with two games to go.

As for the bet, Lawrence’s pick didn’t provide quite enough pad for the defense on a night when Prescott and the offense got its groove back to the tune of six trips to the end zone. They take a plus-two lead into Week 17, even if Lawrence thinks his pick-six should carry bonus points.

“Offense be cheating, bro. They only gave us the turnover, not the touchdown,” he told reporters. “They won the battle today, but we’re coming back strong next week.”

Despite earning the praise of his teammates for providing the athletic highlight of the night, Lawrence almost certainly won’t be lining up as a receiver for a trick play in the red zone anytime soon.

No way is he adding to the offense’s touchdown totals. He’s got a bet- and maybe much more- to win with the Cowboys’ reinvented defense.

[vertical-gallery id=689080]

[listicle id=688253]

[lawrence-newsletter]