Tag: Record

Saints announce uniform combo for Week 17 road game vs. Buccaneers

The Saints announced their uniform combo for Week 17’s road game against the Buccaneers: white jerseys and black pants

The New Orleans Saints announced their uniform combo for Week 17’s road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: white jerseys and black pants. It’s been one of their most-common looks while being worn in 72 games since 2006. The Saints have achieved a 43-29 record while waring this uniform.

If you’re superstitious, here’s how that compares to the other kits used since 2006 (not including the controversial gold jerseys used in a loss back in 2003):

Saints must end 3-game losing streak vs. Buccaneers

The Saints haven’t beaten the Buccaneers since promoting Dennis Allen to head coach. They must cut this losing streak off at three games:

You never want to be on the wrong end of a multi-game losing streak, but that’s where the New Orleans Saints put themselves. The Saints haven’t beaten the Tampa Bay Buccaneers since promoting Dennis Allen to head coach. They must cut this off at three games — their playoff hopes are on the line. New Orleans owns the all-time series with Tampa Bay (39-25), but a string of recent losses could chip into that lead.

The Saints lost to the Buccaneers 26-9 earlier this season inside the Caesars Superdome, when quarterback Derek Carr was overwhelmed by their pass rush and gained just 127 yards on 37 pass attempts; Alvin Kamara caught a team-leading 13 receptions for a mere 33 yards when the Tampa Bay defense throttled down and gave him no room to work with.

That can’t happen again this Sunday. Carr must step up and make plays under pressure and keep the Saints in this game. He has to throw a better ball to Rashid Shaheed (who caught 3 of his 7 targets in the last Buccaneers game) and Chris Olave (who went 1-for-6 in that meeting). Kamara has had success against this Bucs team as a receiver in the past, but Carr can’t funnel passes his way with abandon. There has to be some thought and purpose behind those throws.

Allen’s defense has fallen off as of late, and they won’t have star cornerback Marshon Lattimore to help slow down Buccaneers wideout Mike Evans this time. Paulson Adebo, Isaac Yiadom, and Alontae Taylor are going to have their hands full against a Tampa Bay passing attack that’s getting everything it wants. The Saints can’t afford a second consecutive season sweep from the Bucs, by any measure you can think of.

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WATCH: Breakdown of 2023 season shows how Saints benefit from poor schedule

WWL’s Doug Mouton has an excellent of how the Saints have benefitted from a weak schedule and what the results say about New Orleans.

“The Saints are better than the bad, but not as good as the mediocre.”

This viral video breakdown by WWL’s Doug Mouton does an excellent job showcasing how the Saints have benefited from their weak schedule. New Orleans remains in the playoff race without defeating a good team this year. That’s partially due to a weak division as well.

New Orleans has won every game against the scrubs, lost every game against the good teams, and lost all but one matchups against teams in the middle of the pack. So, where does that put the Saints? At the end of the season, the Saints could end with a winning record without having beaten a team worth bragging about.

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West Virginia blue catfish record falls again, keeping streak alive

Michael John Drake becomes the fourth West Virginia angler to establish a blue catfish state record in as many years.

A West Virginia angler has become the latest state-record holder for blue catfish.

Michael John Drake, of St. Albans, was fishing with cut shad at the R.C. Byrd Pool on the Ohio River earlier this month when the giant catfish struck.

The fish weighed 69.45 pounds and measured 50.51 inches. The weight eclipsed the record mark of 67.22 pounds set last year by Steven Price.

According to the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, this is the fourth consecutive year in which a new state record for blue catfish has been established.

For comparison, the all-tackle world record for blue catfish stands at 143 pounds, for a fish caught at Virginia’s Kerr Lake (Buggs Island Lake) in June 2011.

Loss to Rams continues an unfortunate trend in the Dennis Allen era

Right when you begin to believe, the Saints snatch away any optimism. Lack of consistency is the calling card of the Dennis Allen era:

What is the statement win of the Dennis Allen era? It’s hard to point to any one, because every impressive win was followed by a disappointing loss. Maybe you point to the 34-0 shutout of the New England Patriots earlier this season. That was followed by back to back losses where the first half deficiencies of the offense became apparent. Last year, the Saints shut out the Raiders then lost two games in a row as well.

The victory over the New York Giants had a “statement win” feel, but we saw what happened Thursday night. More than statement wins, the Allen era has statement losses. These losses snatch away any momentum the Saints have built. New Orleans has struggled to maintain consistency by taking one step forward followed by two steps back.

Right when you start to feel positive about the Saints, a game like Thursday night happens. New Orleans can put it together, but they can’t keep it together. That’s the true issue over the last two seasons. It’s why Allen has a 14-18 record as their head coach.

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Saints now in a must-win scenario against Tampa Bay Buccaneers after TNF loss

After losing to the Rams, the Saints must defeat Tampa Bay to keep divisional title hopes alive and avoid another losing season:

Is it too soon to move on from the New Orleans Saints’ loss to the Los Angeles Rams? After a performance like the Saints put up on Thursday night, looking forward to next week doesn’t seem like such a bad idea. And after losing to Los Angeles, New Orleans enters a must-win game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This matchup could dash their playoff hopes.

It was imperative for the Saints to, at the worst, split their Week 16 and 17 games. There’s only one way to achieve that now. The Bucs game is must-win regardless of what happens with Tampa Bay on Sunday. Losing to the Buccaneers eliminates the Saints from contention for the NFC South title.

In a three-way tie with Atlanta, New Orleans would still have the worst divisional record and head-to-head losses to Tampa Bay. There are too many moving parts to say it would remove New Orleans from the playoffs as a long-shot seventh seed, but it would lead to the Saints relying on other teams. Postseason aspirations aside, a loss next week would cement a second consecutive losing season. That’s a complete failure given the team’s mission statement as a squad that belongs in the playoffs.

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Report: Dennis Allen ‘is in a good spot’ after 14-18 start with Saints

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that Dennis Allen ‘is in a good spot’ with the Saints despite his 14-18 start as their head coach. He isn’t on the hot seat:

There’s no rational explanation for the New Orleans Saints to stand by Dennis Allen as their head coach, but general manager Mickey Loomis and team president Dennis Lauscha appear to be manufacturing one anyway. All they have to show team owner Gayle Benson is another losing record after investing $150 million in quarterback Derek Carr to support Allen’s vision for the team. There are two games left to play against NFC South rivals that soundly beat Allen’s team earlier this season.

But change isn’t on the horizon, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Rapoport’s sources have found little to complain about Allen during his 14-18 run as Saints head coach through two years.

“My understanding is that Dennis Allen is in a good spot,” Rapoport said. “Obviously if it goes horrific at the end of the year, this is always subject to change, life is subject to change, but that is where it stands right now.”

This news come off the heels of the Saints’ inept performance in a Thursday night loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Both teams may have entered the game with matching 7-7 records, but the Rams left no doubt that they were the better team. The Saints didn’t lead on the scoreboard for a single minute in their 30-22 loss, which wasn’t as close as that final tally would imply.

So why stick by Allen? What does he bring to the table when his handcrafted defense is allowing a 95-yard touchdown drive? Rapoport’s explanation reeks of the sunk cost fallacy.

Rapoport continued, “One of the reasons is they’re not getting out of where they are any time soon. Derek Carr is fully guaranteed for next year. Could they move on, I don’t think they want to, it’s expensive if they decide to. You have a roster that’s getting a little older, getting a little slower, it’s still really expensive. Off the edge it’s not as fast or twitchy as you’d like.”

Loomis invested a ton of draft picks in Allen’s vision for the team, with little to show for it. He was fleeced in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles aimed at getting left tackle Trevor Penning last year and Penning has hardly played since getting benched early this season. Loomis traded up for both of the Saints’ picks in the fourth round this year (offensive lineman Nick Saldiveri and quarterback Jake Haener), and those two players have combined for 18 snaps across 15 games.

The cupboard is looking awfully bare. With a complicated salary cap situation and few draft picks to spend on young talent, the Saints are stuck with the roster they’ve built for themselves — and for Allen. He got his quarterback, who hasn’t met expectations, and the defense he’s spent years cultivating is withering. So is there a light at the end of the tunnel if Allen and this group are returning for 2024?

“If they’re going to rebuild, they’re going to have to actually rebuild, and it just doesn’t feel like that’s something you do with a completely new coach,” Rapoport mused. “And you can’t do it next year basically anyway, so it does seem primed for a reboot in New Orleans.”

That’s not the most inspiring message, but it’s the reality the team is in. Rather than bring in a new coach with fresh ideas who can try to rally the group they have, they’re looking to ride it out with Allen and Carr through 2024 and then consider wholesale changes when it’s more affordable. That isn’t going to be a popular move with a fanbase that has already had its fill of Allen and Carr, but that’s the course Loomis and Lauscha must feel is best for their team. They’ve been wrong on almost every decision since hiring Allen so far. Maybe they’re due for getting something right.

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The 2023 Saints are now 1-6 against teams at or over .500

The 2023 Saints are now 1-6 against teams at or over .500. Dennis Allen’s squad can’t beat opponents who have a backbone:

This is brutal. The New Orleans Saints sold fans a vision of false hope with recent wins over the Carolina Panthers and New York Giants, but they fell crashing back to Earth on Thursday night in a loss to the Los Angeles Rams. And the numbers tell the story.

Having taken the field with the same 7-7 record as the Rams, you’d think the Saints were competing on equal footing; but they weren’t. New Orleans came up short against a quality opponent in what’s become a pattern this year. Head coach Dennis Allen’s team has a 7-8 record now, having gone 1-6 against opponents that went into Week 16 at or over .500 themselves.

In other words, the Saints caught the 8-6 Indianapolis Colts at a bad time and escaped with a win, but didn’t enjoy the same luck in losses to the 8-7 Rams, 10-4 Detroit Lions, 8-6 Houston Texans, 8-6 Jacksonville Jaguars, 7-7 Minnesota Vikings, and 7-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Saints have lost to teams with a combined record of 60-53 (.531).

Instead, the Saints have padded out their schedule by beating up on teams with losing records. The teams they have beaten are a combined 30-68 (.306) going into Week 16’s games, with just a single win over a team that’s at least .500. Allen hasn’t shown he has any answers when going up against opponents with a cohesive gameplan, competent coaching, and playoffs experience.

And that’s disappointing. What more does team management need to see to determine that this isn’t the answer? That there isn’t a path forward here? It’s much the same as it was last year when Allen struggled to lead the Saints to a 7-10 finish. With a winning record nearly out of reach this season, it sure feels like time isn’t on his side.

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Saints will be wearing their gold helmets, not black alternates, against the Rams

The Saints will be wearing their gold helmets, not black alternates, and Color Rush jerseys against the Rams on Thursday night:

There’s confirmation: the New Orleans Saints have put their alternate black helmets on the shelf and packed their signature gold lids for Thursday night’s prime-time game against the Los Angeles Rams. We already knew the Saints would be wearing their popular “Color Rush” jerseys in this matchup, based off previous announcements, and they’ve now clarified the choice in headgear.

It’s a good decision. The “Color Rush” uniforms and gold helmets made for the best look in the NFL after it was debuted, but the mismatched black helmets just didn’t work out. There’s certainly room for an alternate black helmet in the team’s wardrobe. They just need to spend a little more time in the lab pairing it with the right uniform variant.

The Saints achieved a 9-5 record in their “Color Rush” uniforms from 2016 to 2021, but they were winless in their black helmets across the 2022 season and this year’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons (going 0-3). Hopefully switching back to gold helmets with the alternate jerseys helps them find their mojo again.

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Sean McVay is one of the NFL’s toughest coaches to play on a short week

Sean McVay is one of the NFL’s toughest coaches to play on a short week. The Saints have a big challenge in front of them on Thursday night:

The New Orleans Saints are working on a short week as they prepare to take on the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night. As luck would have it, Rams head coach Sean McVay is one of the toughest coaches to play in the NFL under these circumstances.

McVay has a 6-1 record in games where the Rams have short weeks, going 3-0 at home in those contests. That includes the matchup last season against Derek Carr and the Las Vegas Raiders, in which Baker Mayfield came in and won the game despite being on the team for just a short time. That game really spelled the end for Carr’s time in Los Angeles, so he might have a chip on his shoulder going into this rematch.

On the opposite side of that stat, the Saints have struggled on Thursday nights in the past few seasons. New Orleans hasn’t won a Thursday night game since they beat the Atlanta Falcons in 2019. That makes four straight Thursday night losses to the Jacksonville Jaguars (earlier this season), Arizona Cardinals (2022), Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills (both in 2021).

Of course, both the New Orleans Saints and Derek Carr will be looking to change recent trends on Thursday night. This is biggest game of the year for Carr and Saints head coach Dennis Allen. Maybe they can be the first opponents to catch McVay off-guard.

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