Tag: restrictions

Saints among NFL leaders in player vaccination rates

The MMQB’s Albert Breer reports the New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins were the first NFL teams to vaccinate a majority of their players.

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There will be competitive advantages for NFL teams that vaccinate a majority of their rosters against COVID-19 this season, and the New Orleans Saints are on the forefront of achieving that. The MMQB’s Albert Breer reported last week that the Saints and Miami Dolphins were the first two teams to cross the 85% threshold for player vaccination, outpacing many of their peers.

And their aggressive approach to the vaccine extends beyond the locker room; Sean Payton said earlier this month that all of New Orleans’ personnel within Tiers 1 and 2 (those who work either directly with or in close proximity to the players, like coaches and equipment staff) had reached 100% vaccination status.

But how does it help the Saints to get out in front of this? It puts them on track for a relatively normal training camp: players can work out in the weight room, study tape together in the film room, and share tables in the cafeteria. For all intents and purposes, it’s back to business as usual for them. While other teams around the league will still be working under the NFL’s COVID-19 restrictions and managing unvaccinated players, the Saints will be clicking right along and bypassing those hurdles.

And as far as qualify of life privileges go, they won’t be tested daily, won’t have to wear masks around the practice facility, and won’t have to practice physical distancing from their teammates. They can accept sponsorships and spend time with vaccinated friends and family away from the team. There are plenty of incentives beyond the competitive advantage.

It’s great to see the Saints aggressively pursuing those vaccination goals after their negligence last season brought multiple fines down on Payton and the organization, to say nothing of Alvin Kamara’s late-season absence and the loss of a future draft pick. New Orleans is back on track following those missteps, and it’s a good sign for what’s ahead of them in 2021.

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Sean Payton jokes about deploying vuvuzelas to improve Superdome crowd noise

Saints coach Sean Payton shared his latest joking suggestion to improve homefield advantage at the Superdome during COVID-19 restrictions.

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How can the New Orleans Saints upgrade their home field advantage with depressed crowd numbers due to COVID-19 restrictions? One idea Saints coach Sean Payton floated on Friday was to gift the 3,500 spectators in attendance with individual vuvuzela horns to bray throughout their upcoming playoff game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Vuvuzelas rose to prominence during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with South African soccer fans droning on as an endless bass tone buzzing beneath tournament broadcasts. Unfortunately, artificial noise makers of any kind remain banned per most NFL fan conduct policies.

It’s not the first far-fetched idea Payton has suggested to juice up the home crowd in this odd season. He also joked about quarantining 50,000 volunteers in hotels around the New Orleans area, though the logistics aren’t feasible for that plan. He’ll just have to make do like everyone else and find new ways to keep his team energized and ready for whatever Tom Brady’s squad throws at them on Sunday.

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