Tag: progress

Celebrating progress made by Jordan Love and the Packers offense

The 2023 season is about progress, and the Packers offense appeared to make real progress against the Rams.

The Green Bay Packers dominated a backup quarterback — as expected — during a 20-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams. Although the Packers were missing four preferred Week 1 starters and lost Kenny Clark in the first half, the defensive performance is easy to dismiss given the inexperience of Brett Rypien and the drizzly conditions at Lambeau Field.

Was the win fool’s gold? Beating a 3-5 team missing its veteran quarterback at home in poor weather probably won’t be season-changing for the Packers.

The 2023 season is about development and progress. And although the Packers offense had only 10 points through three quarters and finished with just 20, signs of progress were everywhere.

Let’s celebrate some progress made:

— The Packers scored a first half touchdown for the first time since Week 2.

— Jordan Love completed 20 of 26 passes, and one incompletion was a drop and another was a throwaway. His 79.6 completion percentage was a season high.

— Aaron Jones got a season-high 24 touches. Add in 10 touches for A.J. Dillon and the Packers running duo handled the ball 34 times. Overall, Packers running backs gained 185 total yards.

— Packers receivers made a pair of contested catches on a fourth-quarter touchdown drive: a 10-yard catch by Romeo Doubs on 3rd-and-6 and a 37-yard catch by Christian Watson on 3rd-and-12.

— Love completed 12 of 13 passes in the second half.

— Love was under pressure on just seven of 31 dropbacks. He took four sacks, officially, but one was off a backwards lateral out of bounds and another was 100 percent on the quarterback. The offensive pass protected well.

— Tight end Luke Musgrave had two explosive plays — a 25-yard catch setting up a score and a 20-yard touchdown, his first career score.

— Love hit 2-of-3 passes beyond 20 yards and 6-of-8 beyond 10, although one of his misses was an underthrown deep ball that should have been a Christian Watson touchdown.

— Love snapped a five-game streak with an interception. He did not have a turnover worthy play.

— The Packers converted eight third downs or fourth downs and would have finished with 10 or more had Jon Runyan Jr. not been penalized for offsides on back-to-back successful quarterback sneaks on fourth down.

— Rookies Luke Musgrave, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks combined to catch 10 passes on 11 targets for 119 yards and a touchdown.

— Love was consistent and effective operating from clean pockets, and he also made two tough throws against pressure, including an 18-yarder to Wicks and the 37-yarder to Watson.

— Reed created an explosive run play on a well-designed and well-executed end-around. Blocks from Christian Watson, Josiah Deguara and Josh Myers sprung the 21-yard run.

— The Packers had only two three-and-outs over 12 possessions.

The question now: Was this real progress that can be sustained and built upon in the coming weeks, or was it a mirage fueled by playing an opponent that could hardly get a first down? The Packers will soon find out. They’ll play the Steelers, Chargers, Lions and Chiefs in the next four weeks. Sunday’s performance against the Rams was exactly what the Packers offense needed in terms of building confidence entering this stretch, and if success can be sustained, especially over the next four games, the win over the Rams will look like an important turning point for the Packers offense. Progress is a non-linear journey, but at least the Packers took a long-awaited step forward on Sunday.

Saints schedule pre-draft visit with TCU running back Kendre Miller

The Saints are one of several teams to have scheduled visits with former TCU running back Kendre Miller in the weeks ahead of the 2023 draft:

The New Orleans Saints are one of several teams to have scheduled visits with former TCU running back Kendre Miller in the weeks ahead, per KPRC2 NFL insider Aaron Wilson, who adds that Miller is recovering well from a sprained MCL suffered in the college football playoffs on Dec. 31. The Doak Walker Award semifinalist is a potential third- or fourth-round pick if he continues to heal up and interviews well with teams ahead of the 2023 NFL draft.

Miller was one of college football’s leading rushers last season with 1,399 yards on the ground (at 6.2 yards per carry), plus 16 touchdown runs. He doesn’t have much experience on passing downs, however, with just 37 career targets as a receiver and only 70 snaps in pass protection. The Saints like their running backs to help out in both phases, but it remains to be seen how much Miller will be able to show them in position drills while on the mend.

This visit is probably how they hope to find out how he can help their team. Miller weighs in at nearly the same size (5-foot-11 and 215 pounds) as Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram II, so he fits what the Saints are looking for from a physical standpoint. Maybe they’re looking to fill out the rest of his scouting report in this meeting at the team facility.

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Jameis Winston says he’s ready to play ‘when my number is called’

Saints QB Jameis Winston says he’s ready to play ‘when my number is called’, and that being benched due to injury ‘hurts my soul’

Has Jameis Winston already thrown his last pass in a New Orleans Saints uniform? Saints coach Dennis Allen considered his options this week after Andy Dalton managed just 13 and 10 points in their last two games, but ultimately chose to stick with Dalton as his starting quarterback.

Allen cited Winston’s health as a factor, noting that he isn’t “100% healthy” after suffering back and ankle injuries earlier this season, and that Winston won’t return to full health this year. It’s a reversal from his initial claim when Allen named Dalton the starter, having said that performance was the main motivation in making a change.

But Winston feels like he’s ready to play again despite those ailments. He’s practiced fully in recent weeks without limitations or treatment from the medical staff, and he’s eager to get back on the field as soon as his team needs him.

“I know how I see it, I just know I’m ready to go,” Winston told local media on Friday. “When my number is called I’ll be ready.”

Winston spoke at greater length about his injuries and his relationship with Allen in a wide-reaching interview with NewOrleans.Football’s Mike Triplett, taking responsibility for having tried to play through injury early this season. He acknowledged that he still isn’t healthy, but he feels well enough to play if needed, and deferred to Allen’s judgment on why he isn’t playing right now.

“It hurts my soul,” Winston added Friday, when asked about Allen benching him for Dalton, “I lost my job due to injury, and the policy has always been you don’t lose your job because of injury.”

It’s really unfortunate that each of Winston’s two years as the starter have been derailed by injury. A dirty hit tore up his knee last year. A growing list of ailments wore him down this season. It’s unfair that things out of his control have kept him off the field, but that’s football. At the same time, Winston hasn’t played well enough to keep this from being a decision anyone has to make. If he’d outplayed Dalton by a large margin (either in 2021 or 2022) he’d be starting as soon as the team would allow it. But that hasn’t been the case, and it’s beginning to feel like neither of them will be in New Orleans come 2023.

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Alvin Kamara eager to get back on the field, says he’s ‘ready to roll’ vs. Seahawks

Alvin Kamara is eager to get back on the field. The Saints’ Pro Bowl running back says he’s ‘ready to roll’ after resting a rib injury:

We can debate how effectively the Drew Brees-less versions of the New Orleans Saints offense has weaponized Alvin Kamara, but there’s no doubting they miss him. Kamara has missed six games due to injuries since 2021, and the Saints have lost every one of them — including last week’s 28-25 heartbreaker against the Minnesota Vikings in London. But there’s no time for dwelling on that. All eyes are centered on their upcoming homestand with the Seattle Seahawks (in Week 6) and the Cincinnati Bengals (in Week 7), and Kamara is eager to get back to work.

“This week I’m feeling great, healthy, ready to roll,” Kamara told reporters after Wednesday’s practice session. “So I’m going to be out there.”

Kamara explained that the rib injury he’s been managing is kind of unique — there isn’t much to be done as far as treatment, though he’s been diligent in following the rehab plan for promoting healing, and some days the pain and discomfort is more aggressive than others. After trying to gut it out in Week 3, Kamara acknowledged that his early return may have been a bit premature, but he’s in a better place now.

At this point, he and the team’s medical staff are ready for him to get back on the field, though he’s being careful to wear some extra padding as a precaution. He told ESPN’s Katherine Terrell that the goal is to “Just protect it, be on the safe side rather than not and end up with another injury. We’re going to protect it and we’ll be good.”

New Orleans could use him. They’ve struggled to run with consistency throughout the season, and Kamara is the kind of constant big-play threat can really tune up their offense. He’s also a premiere asset around the league on passing downs, having caught 5.4 passes per game through his first four years as a pro. Jameis Winston struggled to establish a connection with him in their time together (though Kamara did catch 10 receptions against this Seahawks team last year, with Winston throwing to him) early this year, but Andy Dalton may be a better fit with his quick release and more-decisive style of play.

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Watch: Michael Thomas sprinting at Saints practice facility

Watch: Michael Thomas shares update on injury recovery, now running at Saints practice facility in video

Don’t look now, but Michael Thomas is picking up speed. The New Orleans Saints wide receiver shared a video update to his recovery from a complicated ankle injury and subsequent surgeries. Having spent most of the offseason recovering from a surgical setback in Southern California, Thomas is now back in New Orleans — working with and receiving treatment from the Saints’ training staff.

In the video, originally posted on Thomas’ official Instagram account and shared by NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill, the 2019 Offensive Player of the Year can be seen running at speed from the Saints’ indoor practice facility in Metairie. It’s a far cry from putting on pads and drawing double-digit targets in a playoff game, but this is real progress for a player who has experienced a lot of frustration over the last two years.

Getting Thomas back to his old self for 2022 would be monumental. He was the linchpin of New Orleans’ success in Drew Brees’ final years under center, and the Saints passing game fell apart without him last season. With Thomas sidelined by injury, the team’s lack of depth at wide receiver was exposed on a weekly basis, giving Jameis Winston little to work with.

But now Thomas is on the right path to remind everyone just how impactful he is. And he won’t be doing it alone after the Saints moved to draft Chris Olave and sign Jarvis Landry earlier this spring. Even if it takes some time for Thomas to fully return to form, having him on top of the depth is huge for everyone around him. If everything goes as hoped, maybe he ends up in the conversation for 2022’s Comeback Player of the Year.

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Chiefs HC Andy Reid on Le’Veon Bell’s progress in Kansas City: ‘He’s been tremendous’

Andy Reid gave an update on Le’Veon Bell’s progress with the Chiefs on Wednesday.

It has been seven weeks since Le’Veon Bell first suited up to play a game for the Kansas City Chiefs. Since that first game, he’s recorded 41 carries for 162 yards and one touchdown, adding 11 receptions on 13 targets for 76 yards.

It has been an adjustment for Bell in Kansas City, he’s no longer the bell-cow running back that he was with the Pittsburgh Steelers or even the New York Jets. He’s sharing the backfield with rookie RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire and veteran RB Darrel Williams. Bell has persevered in his new situation and he’s progressing in the Chiefs’ system nicely. He seemingly has earned a new fan — Chiefs coach Andy Reid.

“I love that kid,” Reid said of Bell. “It’s a weird situation because he’s a heck of a football player … and he’s highly intelligent, but you have to actually get in there and get to know your offensive linemen, get to know the run schemes. Because they’re a little bit different than maybe what he’s been doing.”

Bell is still learning the nuances in the Kansas City run game, but he’s making strides on a weekly basis. In Week 14, Bell averaged over 10 yards per attempt on limited carries. Had the game gone differently, it’s possible the Chiefs would have seen an even greater helping of Bell running the ball.

“I thought last week, boy, he had a couple of very sweet runs, and just how things worked out, it didn’t work out where he had enough carries,” Reid said. “That’s not because we’re disappointed in him at all. I mean, he’s been tremendous.”

Bell is carving out an important role on the offense and so long as he stays diligent, he’ll have more opportunities to make an impact. What he’s accomplished so far has Reid wishing the team could have landed him back when he was a free agent ahead of the 2019 season.

“I wish we would’ve had him earlier, but I’m glad we have him now,” Reid said. “He’s top-notch, and I’m a big fan of his.”

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Chiefs CB coach Sam Madison details DeAndre Baker’s progress

An update on the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad cornerback.

It has been nearly a full month since the Kansas City Chiefs have signed ex-Giants CB DeAndre Baker to the practice squad. The plan, at the time, was to get Baker up to speed and eventually elevate him to the 53-man roster. Naturally, fans who were excited about his arrival have been a bit impatient, with many wondering why the former first-round draft pick has yet to join the active roster.

Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo commented on Baker’s situation ahead of the Week 12 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He wouldn’t, at the time, predict any sort of timeline for his arrival on the 53-man roster. He also explained why they’re taking things slowly with Baker.

“Yeah, I’ll be honest with you, I won’t even go down that road,” Spagnuolo said. “That’s really hard. I will tell you this, I just grabbed him coming off the field to say how’d your first week go. He said probably the right thing, he said, ‘Coach, it got a little bit better every day.’ Listen, we’ve got to remember that this young man has not played football this year. It’s different than bringing somebody else out from a practice squad or from another team. We kind of threw him in the fire early on the very first day. I’m saying it myself; I don’t know if that’s really fair. It’s going to take a little bit to get up to speed and I think just his body getting ready to play the speed of football, so we’ll take it slow.”

The team has thrown him into the mix from the get-go, simultaneously they’re taking things slowly with Baker, knowing that when he joined Kansas City it’d been nearly a full calendar year since he last played football. Spagnuolo and the rest of the coaching staff have the luxury of depth at the cornerback position. They don’t need to rush Baker into the lineup before his body and mind are ready.

Approaching Week 14, Chiefs cornerbacks coach Sam Madison provided us with an update. The team is still throwing everything they can at Baker and he’s accepted the challenge, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s ready. He’s still learning to do things the “Kansas City Chiefs way” as Madison would call it.

“He’s moving along, he’s been coming in here early mornings getting a lot of different coaching points and understanding the defense and throwing a lot of different things at him,” Madison said on Thursday. “[We] put him out there against our number one wide receivers by being that he’s on the practice squad and he’s answered the call. Just trying to make sure that he’s on the same page, and like I told you guys before trying to do it our way, the Kansas City Chiefs way and he’s responding. So we’re just going to keep repping him and getting him work, getting his legs back up under because a lot of these guys have a number of weeks on him, because he was out so long.”

Baker is in the process of getting caught up to his teammates, learning the terminology and defensive scheme. That comes on top of the general growing pains of a second-year player in the NFL. Baker is working exclusively on the scout team, facing off with guys like Tyreek Hill and Mecole Hardman on a daily basis. He’s met that challenge and is showing off some of his natural ability. He’s also shown what he’s been able to pick up so far.

“He has some skills, he has some tools, so I see why he was a first-rounder and why people rated him the way he did coming out of college,” Madison continued. “But we’re just going to keep working at him and (Brett) Veach as well as Coach (Andy) Reid they’re doing a very good job with him as well as Coach Spags (Steve Spagnuolo).”

It’d seem that Baker still has a ways to go, but thankfully the Chiefs can elevate him and give him a shot at any given time. For now, the Chiefs Kingdom will just need to trust the process and hope that he continues to show up in practice.

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Chiefs DB Juan Thornhill discusses progress in return from ACL injury

Thornhill continues to make progress each and every week for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Kansas City Chiefs DB Juan Thornhill is closer to feeling like himself again following the Week 3 win over the Baltimore Ravens.

Thornhill tore his ACL in the final regular-season game of the 2019 NFL season against the Los Angeles Chargers. He trained tirelessly throughout the unique offseason impacted by COVID-19 to be able to have a chance to be ready to start the 2020 NFL season.

While Thornhill was out there in Week 1, through the first two weeks of the NFL season, the difference was noticeable. His range wasn’t quite what fans had seen during his dominant rookie season. His tackling wasn’t as precise and vicious as we’d previously seen. Despite the differences, he has stayed diligent and continued to work, knowing that everything would eventually come together.

“Well, first of all, I just like to say thanks to my coaches because with the game I had the second game, I missed a lot of tackles,” Thornhill told reporters on Wednesday. “Most of the time, some coaches they just give up on you and just try to take you out of the run game since I missed so many tackles, but they had faith in me, they still kept me in there and allow me to go in and redeem myself and actually put me in there and those runs to make those plays to show that I’m still there. I definitely feel like I’m getting back to where I was, it’s just all about confidence, making those plays just showing myself that I could do it.”

It’s not just the physical aspect of returning from injury for Thornhill, but the mental aspect too. He needs to have the confidence that he can stick his leg in the ground and drive. He needs that in the addition to the ability to physically do so. In Week 3, we saw a different player than we did in the first two weeks of the season.

Thornhill had a near-sack on Lamar Jackson in the first offensive drive for the Ravens. His range was shown off on a play that didn’t count in the second quarter. Thornhill would’ve notched a tackle for loss on Baltimore TE Nick Boyle, but a defensive holding penalty on L’Jarius Sneed nullified the play.

“Yeah, I mean talking to Tyrann (Mathieu) about it [ACL injuries] and everything, he’s been through it two times, and he told me there’s going to be sometimes I would be so close to making a play but I’m going to be a little short just because of the fact that I’m not comfortable and I’m not where I was,” Thornhill explained. “And like you said, I just have to remind myself like, ‘it’s going to come, just be confident’ because that’s the main thing. If you’re not confident in your ability, you’re not going to make any plays at all. So, I just see myself getting better each week and just pushing myself even harder each week in practice and hopefully, I’ll start making more plays.”

Mathieu has been someone that Thornhill has leaned on throughout this injury recovery and he provided solid advice here. While Thornhill is anxious to start intercepting passes, the goal is to get 1% better each and every day. He knows that at any given moment it could be his time to shine.

“You know, football things happen all the time,” Thornhill said. “I mean guys get hurt, guys get into trouble, anything could possibly happen but the thing is, we always have that next guy up mentality. So Coach (Dave) Merritt, you’re always talking about how everyone’s a star in our defense because you never know when your time is going to come like with (L’Jarius) Sneed going down this week, we have other guys that have to step up and be ready to play those snaps that he had and be ready to make those plays that come their way.”

His patience will be tested, but until Thornhill’s time comes, he’ll steadily grind toward getting back to where he was before his injury in 2019.

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Sean Payton hopeful Marcus Davenport can suit up for Week 4 at Lions

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton expressed hope that starting defensive end Marcus Davenport will be available against the Detroit Lions

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There was some hope that New Orleans Saints defensive end Marcus Davenport would make his 2020 debut on Sunday night against the Green Bay Packers after missing the first two games with an elbow injury, but the Saints remained patient with him. Davenport practiced just twice — on a limited basis — last week, and watched the Saints and Packers play in a tracksuit.

With star defensive end Cameron Jordan being outplayed by Davenport’s backup, Trey Hendrickson, the Saints could use all the help they can get. And Saints coach Sean Payton is optimistic they’ll get a boost soon.

“Hopefully we have Davenport back this week,” Payton said in his Monday morning conference call.

Davenport’s return would be useful. The Saints have only made seven sacks on the year so far, tied with a crowd of teams for the 11th-most in the NFL. But they haven’t taken over a possession with their pass rush except for a Las Vegas Raiders drive in the first quarter, when they sacked Derek Carr twice on subsequent downs. Las Vegas kept him clean for the next 47 minutes of regulation.

New Orleans brought down Aaron Rodgers just once in Week 3, when he failed to adjust the protection to a blitzing Demario Davis. It simply isn’t good enough production for a defense stocked with so much talent.

So we’ll be hoping right along with Payton, and keeping an eye on this week’s injury report. If Davenport can turn in three full days of practice and get back in the lineup, he could make a huge difference. There’s no doubting his talent, and his coaches raved on the progress he made as a technician in training camp; his only real flaw at this stage in his career is availability.

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The clock is ticking louder for the Saints and Marcus Davenport

The New Orleans Saints could really use help from Marcus Davenport, their top 2018 draft pick who has been stuck on the injury report.

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Will Marcus Davenport return to practice with the New Orleans Saints on Thursday?

That’s the question on the minds of many fans. Davenport has not appeared in a game through the first two weeks after suffering an elbow injury late in training camp, which followed repeated praise from coaches, teammates, and reporters on the ground after a strong summer of work.

It’s disappointing to be sure. The big defensive end was sidelined by foot injuries in each of his first two seasons (turf toe in 2017, a Lisfranc issue in 2018), so this elbow problem is something new and unrelated. Stamping him as an injury-prone player wouldn’t be accurate.

Calling him a draft bust wouldn’t be right, either. Davenport has been effective when healthy; he’s seven sacks away from ranking among the top-20 Saints players of all time. He’s a good player, but he hasn’t been available often enough (and blaming him for it is pointless. He’s not trying to get hurt).

We’ll see what Thursday’s injury report looks like. The Saints released an estimate from the training staff on Wednesday, having not held a practice session after traveling back from Las Vegas on a short week. And they played it conservative in listing Davenport as a DNP, which makes sense. Guessing that he may have practiced before downgrading him after the team actually gets to work would look much worse than the opposite.

Hopefully he returns on Thursday and can play on Sunday in some capacity. If not, the Saints have serious questions to answer about how they’ve handled this, at least internally. The only reason he shouldn’t have started the year on injured reserve was if he was expected back in a week or two (in 2020, players are allowed to return after three weeks on the list). If he misses this third game, it means the Saints misdiagnosed his injury and how long it would take him to recover.

Earlier this month, Saints coach Sean Payton preached patience with Davenport, describing it as an injury that would only get worse if he were rushed into action. But we’re approaching the limits of the initial recovery timeline, and drawing things out with Davenport has had a ripple effect on the rest of the depth chart.

The Saints choosing to keep him on the roster meant that veteran Margus Hunt had to be promoted twice from the practice squad in Davenport’s place on game days, which they will not be able to do again unless Hunt is signed to the roster full-time. Because Davenport was on the roster but inactive, they’ve lost some roster flexibility later in the season.

And they could certainly use the help. All-Pro defensive end Cameron Jordan has looked stiff (possibly due to offseason surgery), and he hasn’t had a sack in the first two games. As a team, the Saints have logged just six sacks. That’s not good enough.

We’ll know more once the injury report is published. Stay tuned for updates.

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