Tag: reaction

Falcons have great Twitter response after Saints come up short of the perfect score

The Atlanta Falcons were anxious about the prospects of a 28-3 win for the New Orleans Saints, but the Chicago Bears helped avoid that.

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We were so close to greatness. When Drew Brees leapt over the top on fourth-and-goal for a would-be touchdown, the New Orleans Saints were a film confirmation and extra-point try away from beating the Chicago Bears by a score of 28-3.

Instead, the official review ruled Brees short, and the Bears raced downfield to put up some points in garbage time, losing instead by 21-9. And the Atlanta Falcons shared a very opportune reaction video on Twitter to breathe a sigh of relief, meaning no more fodder for jokes from Saints fans, their hated rivals.

The Falcons, of course, were up 28-3 over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI, signaling an all-but-certain championship title for Atlanta — which would have been the franchise’s first. Instead, they choked in a big spot, and the Patriots went on to earn their glory.

And Saints fans have enjoyed the reference ever since, wearing the 28-3 scoreboard on hats and shirts, waving it from rooftops on banners and handmade signs at festivals around New Orleans and even during Saints games. It would have been sweet to add more fuel to that fire, but we’ll take the playoff victory instead.

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Alvin Kamara had the best reaction to possible Christmas Day uniform violations fine

New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara is expecting a uniform violations fine from the NFL office for his festive Christmas Day cleats.

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Alvin Kamara reminded the football world that he’s one of the best players in the NFL by dashing for 155 rushing yards and six touchdown carries on Christmas day against the Minnesota Vikings. The New Orleans Saints star was the first person to achieve that many scoring runs since the NFL-AFL merger, joining an exclusive group of athletes to do so in pro football’s history.

So the Pro Football Hall of Fame is expected to ring Kamara soon, likely to put his festive red-and-green cleats on display in Canton, Ohio. But Kamara is expected the NFL’s strict uniform policy to hit him with a fine for violating the approved footwear rules first.

“Oh, they’re probably going to fine me,” Kamara shrugged during his postgame media availability. “If they fine me, whatever it is, I’ll just match it and donate it to charity. You know that the Grinch always tries to steal Christmas.”

Meanwhile, his teammate Cameron Jordan offered another suggestion after the record-setting performance: “Well, when the Hall of Fame calls to come get the cleats, now he’s just got to charge them,” Jordan smirked, “So he can break even.”

First-offense fines for violating the league uniform policy clock in at $5,000; subsequent violations total $10,000. Fines paid out for these violations are collected into foundations that benefit former players, so they’ll go to good to use. And as Kamara said, he plans to match any potential fine with his own charitable donation. After signing a $75 million contract extension earlier this year (which arguably still leaves him underpaid relative to his performance), Kamara can afford it.

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Social media reaction to the Lions hiring Chris Spielman is overwhelmingly positive

Hiring Spielman has been a very popular move for the Lions

The news spread like wildfire across social media. So did the enthusiasm for the Detroit Lions and their decision to hire franchise legend Chris Spielman to lead the search for the new GM and head coach of the team.

It was genuinely hard to find anyone in the professional media ranks or the Lions fans base who doesn’t applaud the move by new Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp and team president Rod Wood, who will work with Spielman.

The fans seem to love it too:

And from my friend Neal, my son’s old 8th grade football coach,

Demario Davis reacts to Walter Payton Man of the Year nomination

New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis thanked the team for his Walter Payton Man of the Year Award nomination during a difficult year.

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Demario Davis was nominated for the 2020 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award this week, and the New Orleans Saints linebacker took time to thank the team for that recognition from his official Twitter account.

Between his efforts on the field — which earned him an All-Pro nod and a three-year contract extension this offseason — and his leadership in advocating for civil rights and criminal justice reform off of it, Davis has had a busy year and proven how much he means to his community.

The award’s winner will be announced in January; here’s how you can support Davis in the weeks ahead.

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Terron Armstead confirms positive COVID-19 test, says ‘Everyone stay safe’

New Orleans Saints left tackle Terron Armstead confirmed his positive COVID-19 test result, which will sideline him for Week 12 vs. Broncos.

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Multiple reports on Saturday named New Orleans Saints left tackle Terron Armstead as the player who tested positive for COVID-19, which Armstead himself confirmed from his official Twitter account. He’s as bummed as anyone to miss this week’s game with the Denver Broncos, but he understands the bigger issue of everyone doing their best to stay safe.

Armstead said that he is not experiencing symptoms of an infection, which suggests he could be on track to return sooner rather than later. If he continues to not exhibit symptoms and can test negative twice, with a window of 24 hours between tests, he can be cleared to join his teammates for next week’s game with the Atlanta Falcons.

Still, the Saints will be feeling his loss in the short-term, even if it ends up being just one game. Armstead has played like one of the best left tackles in the NFL this season. Here’s hoping backup left tackle James Hurst can hold it down in his absence, however long it ends up lasting.

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Saints specialists pulling for Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller

New Orleans Saints Wil Lutz and Thomas Morstead are rooting for Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller, the first woman to play at the FBS level.

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Several New Orleans Saints will be watching this week’s college football games unfold closely, but for once they aren’t watching their Alma maters. Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller is set to make history as the first woman to take the field in a Power 5 football game after successfully trying out for the team this week once several Commodores specialists were placed in quarantine due to COVID-19.

Fuller, a goalkeeper for Vanderbilt’s SEC championship-winning women’s soccer team, could join Katie Hnida (New Mexico) and April Goss (Kent State) as the only women to play at the FBS level. It would be a groundbreaking accomplishment, and it’s put Saints specialists Wil Lutz and Thomas Morstead on notice. The two NFL Pro Bowlers wrote well-wishes to Fuller before she and the Commodores kick off at noon ET Saturday on SEC Network:

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Roddy White bemoans Taysom Hill “playing backyard football and beating us”

New Orleans Saints backup Taysom Hill quarterbacked his way to a win over the Atlanta Falcons, bumming out retired wide receiver Roddy White

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Roddy White played the role of an antagonist in the New Orleans Saints’ rivalry with the Atlanta Falcons during his 11-year NFL career, often chirping with everyone from fans in the stands to Saints coach Sean Payton in games at the Superdome.

Considering the Saints were the only NFC South team he had a losing record against (going 7-15 over the years), it makes sense that he still feels some enmity towards a team he could never quite get the better of.

And as luck would have it, White spent the last week talking up how badly he was looking forwards to a Falcons upset in New Orleans. When reports came out Friday declaring Taysom Hill the starter in relief of Drew Brees, White took a preemptive victory lap.

Hill and the Saints got the last laugh, though. White spent much of the second half complaining about Hill’s play style proving difficult for his Falcons to defend and cheering on his old teammate Matt Ryan, who threw two interceptions and was sacked eight times on the afternoon.

And when the Saints sealed their 24-9 victory, Payton himself took time to celebrate by sharing one of White’s boisterous tweets to his own followers. It’s the sort of pettiness you love to see:

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LOOK: Twitter reacts to Kira Lewis Jr. being drafted to Pelicans

Former Alabama guard Kira Lewis Jr. was selected No. 13 overall by the New Orleans Pelicans, the internet reacts to the pick.

Former Alabama guard Kira Lewis Jr. has been drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans with the No. 13 overall selection.

Lewis will join former No. 1 overall pick from the 2019 draft and Duke product Zion Williamson, as well as Lonzo Ball in New Orleans.

This selection marks the third time a Crimson Tide product was selected in the first round of an NBA draft since 2001.

Alabama fans and the internet have reacted happily to the news. Here’s what they had to say:

It’s not official until Woj let’s us know.

Rothstein calls the Alabama product a “lottery sleeper.”

University of Alabama Athletics Director Greg Byrne shows his support.

The speed, athleticism and flash is all over the place in this group!

Avery Johnson recruited Kira, and now he’s letting the people know.

Fits right in with the style of play New Orleans is looking for.

Can’t confirm this, but can confirm he was at one point the youngest in ollege basketball as a 17-year old freshman.

Tears of joy, I presume.

The two meet in the Bayou.

Rookie of the year crazy?

A scary sight.

 

WATCH: Saints share the perfect Twitter response to NFL expert doubters

The New Orleans Saints had the perfect rebuttal to doubters who picked the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to defeat them in Week 10 of the NFL season.

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Only 15% of experts around the NFL’s orbit picked the New Orleans Saints to defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9, which looks awful in hindsight. But no one came out of this looking worse than the on-air personalities who crowded pregame panels and sports talk radio in the hours leading up to kickoff.

“We’re in trouble, though,” said NBC Sports analyst Chris Simms on Sunday night after he and all of his colleagues turned in unanimous picks for Tampa Bay to win. “We’re gonna get trolled by New Orleans if things don’t happen this way.”

And he was right — the Saints put together a supercut of that TV spot and several others after winning 38-3 in Tampa Bay, set to the iconic outro tune from “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” the Larry David vehicle specializing in awkward social mishaps. It’s a great social media jab from New Orleans.

But it wasn’t received well by Simms and his NBC Sports colleague Mike Florio. Simms and Florio spent a substantial chunk of their Monday morning-after NFL coverage criticizing the Saints for singling them out, putting on a great display of self-seriousness.

“I understand players use motivation, whatever. But this is not a motivational tactic, and I’m with you (Florio), I’m sick of it,” Simms bemoaned. As one of NFL media’s most notorious hot take artists, it sounds like the kitchen got a little too heated for him this time. Maybe he should take a break.

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Could WR-needy Saints ask Wil Lutz to run routes? Kicker has hilarious reaction

New Orleans Saints kicker Wil Lutz wants to help his team win games, but he also wants it known that he’s not eager to play wide receiver.

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Wil Lutz is willing to do a lot to help the New Orleans Saints win football games. Kick field goals from 60 yards out? He’s your man. Execute an onside kick? He’s game. Lining up at the X-receiver spot and running a deep corner route? Maybe call up someone else.

The Saints have been hit hard by injuries and COVID-19 absences to the wide receiver corps, taking out three of their top five options for Sunday’s road game with the Chicago Bears: starters Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders are unavailable, as is breakout rookie Marquez Callaway. So when a fan jokingly suggested it’s time for Lutz to try out in a big spot, he quickly shot the suggestion down.

Lutz referenced a botched trick play against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in 2017, his own rookie year, when the Saints called him for to take off and run after a faked field goal. He was stopped short on 4th-and-5 by Buccaneers linebacker Kwon Alexander, which made for a painful collision between the specialist and a defender with 30 or 40 pounds on him and a full head of steam.

So that’s one option down. Fortunately, the Saints have plenty of other weapons to call on against Chicago, like Offensive Player of the Year candidate Alvin Kamara. If Lutz has his way, he’ll be kicking a number of extra-point attempts after a series of Kamara touchdowns on Sunday.

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