Tag: production

Dennis Allen won’t blame Saints’ red zone problems on Derek Carr

Dennis Allen won’t blame the New Orleans Saints’ red zone problems on Derek Carr. It’s a bad look when he doesn’t hesitate to criticize other players:

This isn’t a good look for Dennis Allen. The New Orleans Saints head coach was asked Wednesday about the team’s red zone struggles, and how much blame his handpicked quarterback Derek Carr deserves for them.

“We’re not really in the business of blame game. We’re in the business of production,” Allen told NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. When asked what Carr can do to improve in that phase, Allen responded, “To try to single him out is not the right way to go.”

But Carr is one of the worst quarterbacks in the league this season when the offense gets inside the opposing 20-yard line. 18 quarterbacks have attempted 40 or more passes in the red zone this season, and out of that group Carr ranks 17th in completion percentage (44.7%) and 18th in touchdown passes (8). He’s struggling where other players are thriving.

Even players on his own team: Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill are a combined 5-of-6 in the red zone with 3 touchdown passes. Obviously that’s a dramatically smaller sample size (and teams guard those quarterbacks differently from Carr), but it highlights his unique struggles. It’s not something Allen should be deflecting from. His handpicked quarterback is underperforming. There may be other factors at play like Pete Carmichael’s play calling and dropped passes by his receivers, but Carr is the common denominator. He’s paid more than anyone else on the team because he’s responsible for more of their failures or success than anyone else.

And what’s concerning is Allen’s willingness to call out other players this season — like Chris Olave. The second-year wide receiver was blamed by Allen for incorrectly running his route on an incomplete pass back in Week 7, saying that, “Chris didn’t run that route the way that it needs to be run. That’s what happened and we ended up having a throw-away there.”

Except that’s not what happened. Michael Thomas pointed out publicly online that Olave wasn’t part of the progression on the play, which was designed for him to clear out space for Taysom Hill. When the throw to Hill wasn’t there, Carr should have switched to Rashid Shaheed or Thomas himself, who were next in the progression. Carr threw the ball away instead and went after his teammate after the play, and Allen endorsed him for it.

It’s easy to understand why Allen is giving Carr special treatment: his future with the team is tied to Carr’s performance, and he badly needs the quarterback to thrive after convincing the front office to overpay Carr so steeply. A failure for Carr is a direct reflection on Allen. Carr is here because Allen believed he was an upgrade over Jameis Winston and Andy Dalton and the other quarterbacks the Saints have tried to lean on in life after Drew Brees, but at this point there isn’t an appreciable difference between Carr’s execution of the offense and what we’ve seen from guys like Trevor Siemian — except that Allen is making excuses for him every week.

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Chiefs DT Chris Jones on production in 2023: ‘I don’t get frustrated with my numbers’

#Chiefs DT Chris Jones told the media that he isn’t worried about his production in 2023.

Chris Jones is the cornerstone of the Kansas City Chiefs defense and has proven to be one of the best players in the NFL since entering the league in 2016.

Although stats and numbers are what most players focus on, Jones puts more emphasis on team success and seeing the guys around him perform to the best of their abilities.

“As a player, it’s not what you do, I think it’s more so how you make players around you better,” Jones said. “Making sure George [Karlaftis] has a career year, making sure Mike [Danna] has a career year – that gives me excitement – I feel like I contribute to that a lot. I invest a lot in those guys, so to see those guys succeed brings joy to me.”

Jones was asked if he has been frustrated by not producing sacks the last few weeks, but the 29-year-old defensive tackle is confident in his play regardless if he is ‘putting up numbers’ or not.

“I don’t get frustrated with my numbers, I’m going to hit my numbers,” Jones continued. “I’m going to hit my numbers, regardless. So, I never [worry] about numbers.”

The star pass rusher continued to emphasize the importance of opening things up for his teammates and valuing their success more than his production.

“It’s hard with all the attention I get, it gets harder, but when you have guys around succeeding, it makes it easier for you,” Jones said. “Frustration can creep in when you feel like your numbers matter, but for me, I don’t give a damn about numbers, honestly. In my head, whatever I want is still ahead of me. Still, eight games left, another half of a season left.”

Entering week 11, Jones has 5.5 sacks, nine solo tackles, eight assisted tackles, and three passes defended. Those may appear as underwhelming numbers, but Jones’ impact on this defense cannot be measured by stats alone.

WATCH: Tavius Robinson’s best highlights from Ole Miss

Robinson was an impact player on Ole Miss’ defense last year and should fit in well with the Ravens in 2023

Tavius Robinson was among Ole Miss’ most productive players last season, and enters his career with the Baltimore Ravens as a fourth-round pick in their 2023 draft class. Robinson might not have showed enough to be drafted on the first or second day of the annual selection meeting, but his talent is undeniable.

After sorting out their issues on offense on Day 1, the Ravens seemed to favor the defensive side of the ball last night, and stayed on that same course today. Check out Robinson’s best college highlights below to get more familiar with his skillset ahead of the 2023 season:

 

 

 

Amari Cooper has fit the bill of No. 1 wideout since joining Cowboys

Amari Cooper has proven that the Dallas Cowboys were smart for giving up a first-round pick for him in 2018.

Entering the 2018 season, someone in the Dallas Cowboys front office decided that a receiving corps of Cole Beasley, Allen Hurns and Tavon Austin was enough to compete with the best teams in the league. Nearly midway through the year the club was sitting at 3-4 and in desperate need of a spark to fire up a course correction. During the bye week, the team decided to trade a first-round pick to then-Oakland Raiders for wide receiver Amari Cooper, giving the team a legit number one receiving option for Dak Prescott.

Once the hoopla of any big business move in the NFL wears off, things come down to whether that player gets it done on the field, and since his arrival Cooper has been one of the most consistent guys on the Cowboys roster.

Cooper scored a touchdown in his first game, albeit in a losing effort against the Tennessee Titans. He barely had over 100 yards in the next two games, but then proceeded to go on a tear. He had 473 yards over a three-game stretch that included 180 receiving yard and 217 receiving-yard performances. He finished his half-season with Dallas with 53 receptions for 725 and six touchdowns in nine games and was one of the main reasons they won the NFC East for the third time in five seasons.

In 2019 the Cowboys struggled as a team, going 8-8 and missing the playoffs. However, they flourished offensively under first-year coordinator Kellen Moore, and Cooper was one of the biggest beneficiaries. He set career highs in yards (1,189), touchdowns (8), and yards per catch (15.1) in his first full season in Dallas, which also happened to be a contract year.

By this time Cooper had four 1,000-yard seasons and four Pro Bowl selections in five years on his resume, which would force any team to empty the piggy with such a valuable commodity. In March of 2020, Cooper signed a five-year, $100 million deal with $60 million in guaranteed money, putting new expectations on the former Alabama standout.

With his long-term financial security intact, Cooper got off to the hottest start of his career last season. In the first four games, he amassed 401 yards on 37 receptions, but then disaster struck.

Dak Prescott suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 5, and the Cowboys would use three other quarterbacks throughout the rest of the season. Also, offensive linemen Tyron Smith and La’el Collins were gone for the season with injuries, as was No. 1 TE Blake Jarwin.

Although his chances at being effective dropped significantly after this, Cooper proved his worth. He set a career-high in receptions with 92 and had his second consecutive campaign over 1,100 yards.

He’s been steadily productive with the Cowboys but Copper, believe it or not, could have his best season yet in 2021. Michael Gallup is in a contract year, so his motivation to play well speaks for itself. Rookie CeeDee Lamb nearly had 1,000 yards even with the quarterback carousel from a year ago, and will undoubtedly better in year two. With those two causing defenses fits, Cooper will have plenty of his own opportunities to use his route-running wizardry in one-on-one situations where defenses have to pick their poison on every play. Cooper’s been known to make highlight reels out of defensive backs in these situations.

America’s Team hasn’t had much on the field success during the last three seasons. Nonetheless, they’ve got plenty of return on their investment in Cooper.

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