Tag: reacts

Former Saints safety Marcus Williams reacts to his Ravens teammates’ big game

Former Saints safety Marcus Williams reacts to his Ravens teammates’ big game

Twist the knife, Marcus Williams. The longtime New Orleans Saints safety left in free agency for a lucrative contract with the Baltimore Ravens, and he left without much goodwill from Saints fans — whether it was his missed tackle in the Minneapolis Miracle or other flubs in high-leverage situations, his relationship with New Orleans frayed with time.

So it’s not too surprising to see Williams celebrating his new team’s big win over his old team. With the Ravens rumbling along up 27-6 midway through the fourth quarter, Williams sent out a rare tweet shouting out his Ravens teammates; he’s never been very active on social media, posting once every two weeks or so, so it’s telling that he made time during Monday night’s beatdown.

Williams was inactive for this game while recovering from an early-season wrist injury, but he’s one of several former Saints safeties to have intercepted more passes this season than their old team put together. He didn’t get to return to the Caesars Superdome on Monday but he’ll be back some time this year.

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Watch: Alontae Taylor and his family learn he’ll be drafted by the Saints

Watch: Alontae Taylor and his family learn he’ll be drafted by the Saints

This is just tremendous. The newest member of the New Orleans Saints is former Tennessee Volunteers defensive back Alontae Taylor, a wildly athletic cornerback who figures to play a lot of safety in the NFL. And the moment when Taylor learned he’ll be going to New Orleans is terrific: he was at a draft party surrounded by family and friends, embracing a photo of his late grandmother. When the pick was read off by his new teammate Cameron Jordan, well, we had fireworks. See it for yourself, courtesy of FOX Nashville’s Kaitlin Miller.

You can’t help but root for someone after seeing them vulnerable like this. The Saints have done a really great job drafting and developing defensive backs in the middling rounds, ranging from Vonn Bell and Marcus Williams to Paulson Adebo and C.J. Gardner-Johnson. He’s in a good spot to succeed with good coaches like Dennis Allen and Kris Richard, and clearly a strong support system behind him as he turns pro.

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Lifelong Browns fan CJ McCollum makes Saints recruiting pitch for Jarvis Landry

Pelicans superstar and lifelong Browns fan CJ McCollum made his recruiting pitch for Jarvis Landry to join the Saints:

Filing this under things we love to see: it hasn’t taken New Orleans Pelicans superstar CJ McCollum long to take to his new city, and the lifelong Cleveland Browns fan is already throwing his weight around on Twitter to try and help his next-door neighbors. It’s no secret that the New Orleans Saints need help at wide receiver, which led McCollum to dive into the news of the day that his Browns are releasing five-time Pro Bowler Jarvis Landry.

And McCollum’s advice to Landry: come join him in New Orleans, which happens to be Landry’s own hometown. It’s a sentiment we share with McCollum here at Saints Wire, and the vision of Marquez Callaway and recently-tendered Deonte Harty clearing out defenses while Michael Thomas and Landry take advantage of the free real estate underneath coverage is awful enticing.

Let’s be real, Landry isn’t going to sign with the Saints because McCollum recommended it. But it sure would be fun to see both star players making highlight reel-worthy plays in the Caesars Superdome and Smoothie King Center, shoulder to shoulder. Let’s see if anything develops here.

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Sean Payton, Drew Brees react to Saints’ first win without them

Sean Payton, Drew Brees react to Saints’ first win without them

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Nobody knew what would happen in the New Orleans Saints’ prime-time game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The team has won games this year without Drew Brees under center at quarterback, and they had won before without Sean Payton working the sidelines as head coach — but this was the first time since the 2005 regular season finale that neither of the Saints’ organizational pillars were at the controls.

And New Orleans won anyway. With Payton watching from home and Brees observing at the NBC Sports studio, they throttled Tom Brady’s Buccaneers for four hours Sunday night and handed the so-called greatest of all time the worst defeat he’s ever been dealt. It was the first time in Brady’s career that he had ever been shut out at home in a 9-0 loss.

So of course Payton and Brees were ecstatic. The Saints coach (away from the team after testing positive for COVID-19) celebrated on Twitter, while Brees offered a callback to his earlier ribbing against all the experts picking Tampa Bay to beat New Orleans last year — something he moved to rectify in the “Football Night in America” pregame show, going against the grain to pick the Saints while everyone else on the panel liked the Buccaneers. See for yourself:

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NFL Twitter in uproar over bogus, drive-killing blindside block penalty on Saints

NFL Twitter in uproar over bogus, drive-killing blindside block penalty on Saints

What in the world? NFL referee Brad Rogers and his crew spiked a critical New Orleans Saints possession to open the second half of their game against the Dallas Cowboys with a bogus foul for a blindside block on tight end Garrett Griffin, wiping out a first down version and moving the Saints offense back from their own 21 yard line to their own 10, facing a first down with 21 yards to go. They punted three plays later.

The reaction was immediate and furious: Griffin and his opponent, defensive back Jayron Kearse, were eye to eye with each other as he initiated the block and shoved Kearse to the ground to protect his quarterback. And that turned out to be a game-changing decision with Cowboys running back Tony Pollard scampering 58 yards for a touchdown run.

Sean Payton was still barking at Rogers and the other officials minutes later while fans crowding the Caesars Superdome chanted with gusto at the bad call. And responses on social media echoed the sentiment:

Fans aren’t happy about overzealous foul that erased Saints interception, led to Titans TD

Fans aren’t happy about overzealous foul that erased Saints interception, led to Titans TD

The NFL’s overzealous officiating has struck again. Veteran referee Jerome Boger took away Marcus Williams’ extremely clutch end zone interception of Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill by claiming that New Orleans Saints linebacker Kaden Elliss committed a personal foul in roughing the passer, which both kept the ball in Tennessee possession and helped move them up into scoring position. A few plays later Tannehill dove into the end zone to put his team ahead.

It was, well, controversial to say the least. CBS rules expert Gene Steratore said on the game broadcast that no penalty should have been called; Elliss should have tried to atomize himself and teleport through Tannehill rather than collide with him incidentally, I guess. And NFL fans on social media weren’t happy with the game-changing decision:

NFL fans aren’t thrilled to see the Saints start Trevor Siemian this week

NFL fans aren’t thrilled to see the Saints start Trevor Siemian this week

NFL fans weren’t exactly thrilled to wake up Friday and learn that the New Orleans Saints are expected to start Trevor Siemian against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 9, rather than Taysom Hill, following Jameis Winston’s season-ending knee injury.

Whether it’s due to the impact this has on their fantasy team, their weird obsession with salary cap mechanics, or just plain pettiness, reactions on social media were often far from positive.

Well, except for the Saints fans who have chosen to ride this season out and see where it takes them. Fun, bad, or maybe, chaotically, both, we’re in for a couple more lurches on this roller coaster. Here’s what fans had to say on Twitter:

Support pours in for Jameis Winston after injury vs. Buccaneers

Support pours in for Jameis Winston after injury vs. Buccaneers

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New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston suffered an injury against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that forced him to be driven off of the field on a trainer’s cart. And, upon further evaluation, the Saints ruled him out for the game entirely.

The number of Saints teammates accompanying Winston in the trainers’ tent and helping him to the cart speaks for how respected he is. And reactions on social media flooded in for support of Winston after what looked like a very serious knee injury. He’s worked hard to earn the opportunity to start for New Orleans, and no one wants to see a player hurt like this. Here’s what fans and observers had to say on Twitter:

Alvin Kamara is thrilled to play with Mark Ingram again, but Brandin Cooks isn’t happy to see him go

Alvin Kamara is thrilled to play with Mark Ingram again, but Brandin Cooks isn’t happy to see him go

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New Orleans Saints fans and players on Twitter, including Alvin Kamara, were thrilled to see Mark Ingram return in a trade with the Houston Texans. But one of Ingram’s Texans teammates wasn’t excited to see him go — wide receiver Brandin Cooks, who was also a former first-round draft pick by New Orleans. Here’s the range of reactions from social media: