Tag: rashid shaheed

Two Saints defenders make PFF’s midseason All-Pro Team

Two Saints defenders made the midseason All-Pro Team at Pro Football Focus. Demario Davis and Paulson Adebo are performing at a very high level:

This is cool: two New Orleans Saints defenders were recognized on the midseason All-Pro Team from Pro Football Focus, with veteran linebacker Demario Davis continuing to play at a high level while cornerback Paulson Adebo emerged as one of the team’s breakout stars through the first half of the season.

Here’s what PFF analyst Gordon McGuinness had to say about Davis through nine games, slotting him ahead of New York Jets linebacker Quincy Williams on the first team:

Davis continues to shine later in his career, ranking fifth at the position in PFF run-defense grade and 10th in PFF coverage grade. He has also missed just 3.3% of his tackle attempts this season.

And here’s the scoop on Adebo, who got the first team nod ahead of Jets superstar Sauce Gardner:

Adebo is quietly turning in an impressive season for the Saints, trailing only the Bears’ Jaylon Johnson in PFF grade at the position. He has yet to allow a touchdown in coverage and has four interceptions and five pass breakups to his name.

But there’s one questionable omission from PFF’s list: Rashid Shaheed. The Saints’ return specialist was snubbed in favor of Kavontae Turpin (Dallas Cowboys) and Charlie Jones (Cincinnati Bengals). Here’s how they compare to Shaheed in the return game:

  • Turpin: 10 punt returns for 68 yards (6.8 yards per return), 6 kickoff returns for 190 yards (31.7)
  • Jones: 8 punt returns for 150 yards (18.8) and a touchdown, no kickoff returns
  • Shaheed: 15 punt returns for 231 yards (15.4) and a touchdown, 14 kickoff returns for 289 yards (20.6)

Turpin may be returning kickoffs at a better clip than Shaheed but his smaller sample size skews the numbers, and 63 of his 190 yards came on a single return. Jones has an edge in yards per punt return but again, he’s fielded half as many punts as Shaheed. PFF got this one wrong. Hopefully the Associated Press will get it right when they vote on All-Pro teams at the end of the season.

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Dennis Allen’s decision to punt reaches ‘99.5th percentile of cowardly punts’

Dennis Allen’s decision at the end of the third quarter reached the ‘99.5th percentile of cowardly punts’ during the 2023 season, per this metric:

Yeesh. Dennis Allen earned some boos from New Orleans Saints fans late in the third quarter during Sunday’s game with the Chicago Bears, choosing to punt on fourth-and-5 from the Chicago 40-yard line. The score was tied up 17-17.

And the decision drew criticism from the Surrender Index. A metric devised to rate punt decisions based on distance, field position, game score and clock timing, the Surrender Index is used to rate punts around the league based off how aggressive or cowardly they were. And Allen’s choice to punt in this situation hit the 99.5th percentile in the 2023 season, and the 98th percentile dating back to 1999.

It’s right in line for Allen, who would rather put the opposing offense in a tough spot and trust his defense to get a stop than risk a turnover on downs by his offense. Last season he graded out as one of the NFL’s most-cowardly decision-maker on fourth down.

But things worked out this time. Allen’s defense rallied to force their first punt of the afternoon and Rashid Shaheed returned it up to the Chicago 47-yard line. A couple of nice runs by Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill got the Saints into scoring position, and Hill capped the drive by a touchdown pass to Juwan Johnson to take the lead. Allen’s decisions have gotten him burned before, but his conservative call worked out well this time.

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Saints show resolve, overcome 10-point deficit in rare comeback under Dennis Allen

The Saints showed some resolve, overcoming a 10-point deficit in a rare comeback under Dennis Allen. They were 1-8 in this situation going into Sunday’s game:

It’s easy to lose faith in the New Orleans Saints these days. Fans have seen their team collapse under adversity far too often in recent years — and Sunday’s game with the Indianapolis Colts was primed for another letdown.

Since Dennis Allen was named head coach, the Saints have fallen behind by 10 or more points in the second quarter in 10 of his 25 games, dating back to the start of the 2022 season. And they’ve lost 8 of those matchups. Sunday’s comeback win over the Colts was just the second time the Saints have rallied in these circumstances under Allen’s management of the team.

They finally showed some backbone. Look at the sequence in the second quarter after the Colts went up 17-7. The offense drove downfield on a long scoring drive capped by an electrifying Taysom Hill touchdown run (from 20 yards out!) and the defense responded by forcing a quick three-and-out. Rashid Shaheed put the offense in favorable position with a 14-yard punt return, and then he caught the long ball on a 58-yard touchdown pass to retake the lead. How’s that for some moxie?

It’s exactly what we haven’t seen enough of out of the Saints since Allen took over from Sean Payton. When going down by multiple scores like this, too often they’ve folded. But on Sunday the offense finally took what help the defense and special teams units was giving them to control the game. After taking that lead, they never gave it back.

This was arguably the best win of Allen’s tenure. Sure, he’s won blowouts over the miserable Las Vegas Raiders last year and New England Patriots earlier this season, but neither of those squads were competitive. This was a game against an opponent with a talented roster and competent coaching staff who were throwing everything they had at New Orleans.

And the Saints were finally able to weather that storm and leave the field without any doubts. Let’s hope it’s the start of a new trend for them.

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8 takeaways from Saints’ 38-27 win over the Colts

Our 8 biggest takeaways from the New Orleans Saints’ 38-27 win over Indianapolis Colts center on their offensive scoring output:

Our eight biggest takeaways from the New Orleans Saints’ 38-27 win over Indianapolis Colts center on their offensive scoring output, but there’s a lot to say about this team at the season’s midpoint. Here are our notes and observations after Week 8’s victory:

Studs and Duds from Saints’ 38-27 win over the Colts

Highlighting the Studs and Duds from Saints’ 38-27 win over the Colts

That’s more like it: the New Orleans Saints cut off their two-game losing skid with a win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. The Saints left Lucas Oil Stadium with a 38-27 victory to their credit.

But who made a difference on Sunday afternoon — for good or bad? Who stood out for positive and negative reasons? Let’s break down this week’s Studs and Duds:

Rashid Shaheed nearly broke his own all-purpose yards mark vs. Colts

Rashid Shaheed nearly broke his own all-purpose yards mark against the Colts. The second-year pro is making a big impact in multiple phases:

Have a day, Rashid Shaheed. The New Orleans Saints wide receiver went off against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday to the tune of 199 all-purpose yards — racking up 153 receiving yards while gaining 46 return yards on special teams. That’s the second-highest single game total of his career in pro football. Shaheed put up 216 all-purpose yards in this year’s season-opening win over the Tennessee Titans.

And he did it the hard way. Shaheed only caught three receptions but they were all deep shots downfield with defenders closing in, if not fighting to wrestle the ball out of his arms. And he returned four punts to gain those yards in the kicking game and help set the offense up in favorable starting field position. It’s not like he was running free on kick returns or catching a ton of passes short of the sticks.

Still, he has a ways to go in chasing the Saints franchise record. Michael Lewis set that bar high back in 2002 with 356 all-purpose yards when he returned five kicks for 203 yards, also gaining 70 yards on two receptions. Lewis scored twice on a 90-yard kickoff return and later on an 83-yard punt return.

So props to Shaheed for a great game against the Colts. The Saints will need more highlights from him to get where they want to go this season and not just qualify, but make some noise in the playoffs.

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WATCH: Rashid Shaheed blazes past Colts defenders for 58-yard touchdown

WATCH: Rashid Shaheed blazes past Colts defenders for 58-yard touchdown

The New Orleans Saints kept the offense rolling in the first half against the Indianapolis Colts as Derek Carr connected with Rashid Shaheed to take the top off the Colts defense for a 58-yard touchdown catch.

Carr had a much needed bounce-back performance in the first half. He was 9-12 for 174 yards with two touchdown passes against to start things off against the Colts as the Saints went into the locker room up 21-20.

Shaheed is up to three receiving touchdowns on the year and four overall with his punt return touchdown included. The former undrafted receiver is having a nice sophomore season as he constantly shows off his speed. He has grown into a crucial piece of the Saints offense.

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5 Saints players who could cause problems for the Jaguars in Week 7

Here are five Saints players the Jaguars will need to watch out for Thursday night:

Just like that, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ short week is over, and they’ll be playing the New Orleans Saints on Thursday night.

The Jaguars have been playing their best football of the season, while the Saints have been up and down. Jacksonville has won its past three games, but New Orleans lost three of its last four games.

Despite their difference in recent fortune, the Saints will still be a tough matchup. New Orleans has talent up and down its roster, it just hasn’t fully meshed as a unit yet.

Here are five Saints players who could cause problems for the Jaguars in their Week 7 meeting:

WATCH: Rashid Shaheed steals ball back from defender for a huge gain

WATCH: Rashid Shaheed steals ball back from defender for a huge gain

In what has been another disappointing day for the New Orleans Saints offense against the Houston Texans, sophomore receiver Rashid Shaheed comes through with a huge catch to flip field position.

In just his second catch of the day, Shaheed goes over the top of Steven Nelson to steal the ball out of his hands for a 51-yard gain. The play was almost an interception, instead it breathed some life into the game. Shaheed is up to 85 yards on the day after this catch and added 18-yards on the ground as well.

The Saints have been able to move the ball down the field well in this one, but have fallen apart once they get deep into Houston territory almost every time. Blake Grupe has missed two field goals in this one and New Orleans has fallen to a turnover on downs as well.

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WATCH: Rashid Shaheed scores on 34-yard touchdown catch vs. Texans

WATCH: Rashid Shaheed scores on 34-yard touchdown catch vs. Texans

Now that’s what we’re talking about. The Houston Texans defense gave the New Orleans Saints offense some issues early in Sunday’s matchup, but they struck back on a 34-yard touchdown pass to Rashid Shaheed. The second-year wide receiver broke free of coverage on a skinny post route that split the corner covering him from the safety helping out over the top, and a well-placed throw from Derek Carr hit him in the end zone for six points.

It’s exactly what the offense needed after a lackluster start. Hopefully they can keep it up in the second half.

Shaheed is responsible for each of the team’s two longest scoring plays this season between this 34-yard touchdown catch and a 76-yard punt return for a touchdown back in Week 3. He’s an important playmaker for this team and it’s important they keep him involved.

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