Tag: Rickey Jackson

Saints DE Cameron Jordan wants to have a lasting impact in New Orleans

“If it’s not about them, then what can it be about?” Saints DE Cam Jordan visits, encourages local high schoolers to hit the next level, via @RossJacksonNOLA:

We hear about “splash plays” in the NFL all of the time. Sacks, forced fumbles, interceptions, the big plays made that shift the stasis of usual game flow. New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan is no stranger to those big moments, and how they create a lasting effect. With 112.5 career sacks, 14 fumbles forced and 2 interceptions including one returned for a touchdown, Jordan has turned “splash plays” into consistent career production.

With legendary former New Orleans Saints linebacker Rickey Jackson’s franchise sack record (123) well within reach, Jordan will leave a long-standing impact on the city for his on-field play. But it is the additional work he does away from the stadium that will further his legacy. For Jordan, making a splash in the community is just as important as making one in the Superdome.

When I asked him about that impact and how he wants to make it, Jordan has a clear vision for what he desires. “It’s events like this,” he told me. “When you’re able to be a part of something like what Old Spice and Walmart are bringing together with the ‘School of Swagger.’ It like, aligns perfectly with what I love to say I’m about.”

As we briefly caught up during his recent appearance at John F. Kennedy High School, located in the Fillmore area of New Orleans, you could see just how much opportunities like this mean to him. This particular event was in concert with Old Spice Big Brothers Big Sisters of America to help encourage students to find mentors and pursue higher education. The day included a career panel on which members of the New Orleans Saints social media staff and others sat and a pep rally which featured an appearance from Jordan in front of several hundred excited students. A press release around the event highlights the importance of these moments:

“Two million students dropped out of high school in 2019 while 30,000 students signed up for a mentor through Big Brothers Big Sisters of America but are still waiting to receive their match. As a part of Old Spice’s 10 year commitment to increasing graduation rates in underrepresented communities and providing support for these students, Old Spice and Saints defensive end Cam Jordan are teaming up to empower and encourage high school students to find mentors and pursue higher education as research shows those who have mentors are 95% more likely to stay engaged in school and participate in positive activities.” 

Much like on the football field, Jordan looks to turn splashes into lasting impact. “When you’re trying to be something like a brief mentor,” Jordan said. “You have this splash in a kid’s life, but that splash can create a tidal wave. And that’s what I’m trying to do.”

He has more than lived up to the words as well. Jordan has not limited himself to simply making appearances. This same week his God Iz Love Foundation donated sneakers to 30 kids from the New Orleans Youth Empowerment Project. The Saints defensive superstar has also partnered with organizations looking to make even larger community impact like Crescent City Corps’ drive to inspire police reform and provide racial equity training to officers.

Whether for the youth of New Orleans or having an impact on every day life, Jordan’s drive to leave a lasting impression on the community is unmatched. The last few words of our brief conversation continue to ring in my memory days letter. In speaking on why looking beyond oneself and giving back is so important, Jordan posed the question, “I mean, if it’s not about them, then what can it be about?”

For a person that many assume could have anything he wants, Jordan’s biggest want turns out to be what he can do for others. A genuine and admirable approach. On the field or off, expect the future Hall of Fame pass rusher to make the splashes that bring tidal waves far beyond his playing career.

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Cameron Jordan out with injury for the first time in his 186-game career

Saints coach Dennis Allen said Friday that Cameron Jordan will be out with an injury this week, for the first time in his 186-game career:

This is tough. New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen announced Friday that defensive end Cameron Jordan will be out with an eye injury for Week 11’s game with the Los Angeles Rams, meaning this is the first time in Jordan’s 186-game career that he’ll be unavailable due to injury.

Jordan missed a game last season after testing positive for COVID-19, but he’s otherwise been a rare ironman even by NFL standards. In addition to those 186 regular season appearances, Jordan has also logged 11 playoff games. That something random like this eye injury (caused by someone gauging at his face in last week’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers; Jordan’s eye was swollen shut, though he tried to play through it) is what ends his streak speaks to how impressive it is he got this far in the first place.

Still, it’s unfortunate. And Jordan will have to wait another week to resume his pursuit of the franchise sacks record. He’s closing in on the mark set by Pro Football Hall of Famer Rickey Jackson (115 sacks) with 112.5 sacks of his own. Between that ambition and his longevity in the NFL, Jordan is building his own case for joining Jackson in the Hall of Fame some day. That mission is just paused this Sunday. Hopefully he can pick it back up soon.

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Saints honoring Sam Mills’ Hall of Fame induction with ‘Dome Patrol’ poster for fans

Saints honoring Sam Mills’ Hall of Fame induction with ‘Dome Patrol’ poster for fans at Monday night game vs. Ravens; will you be in that number?

Now this is cool. Remember that iconic poster every teenaged New Orleans Saints fan had hanging in their room of the “Dome Patrol” linebackers standing tall in matching fatigues and gold wraparound sunglasses? Replica posters will be handed out to fans in attendance for Monday night’s home game with the Baltimore Ravens at the Caesars Superdome this week, featuring the legendary Rickey Jackson, Sam Mills, Vaughan Johnson, and Pat Swilling.

It’s a very appropriate commemoration for Mills’ long-awaited induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame earlier this year, where a bronze bust in his likeness joined Jackson for time immemorial. Mills died of cancer in 2005 but his family and supporters kept his Hall of Fame campaign going, finally finding success when he was inducted as part of the Class of 2022.

So you can bet it’s going to be a joyous occasion celebrating this achievement with Mills’ family, friends, and old teammates. Will you be in that number?

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WATCH: Cameron Jordan closing in on Saints franchise sacks record

WATCH: Cameron Jordan gets two sacks, closing in on Saints franchise record

Another one. Cameron Jordan sacked Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith for a loss of 9 yards on Sunday, but the wider impact of that play goes beyond its immediate ramification (to force a Seattle punt). Jordan is closer to making New Orleans Saints history with 109.5 career sacks after bringing Smith down in the first half. And he did it against standout rookie right tackle Abraham Lucas, who hadn’t yielded a single sack through his first four starts.

Only Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Rickey Jackson sacked quarterbacks more often in a Saints jersey. Jackson’s official career total is 115, though he has an unofficial career-high of 123 in a Saints uniform — sacks were not tracked until his second year in the league, but Pro Football Reference film study found he bagged 8 sacks as a rookie in 1981.

The NFL recognizes that 115 number, so it’s what we’ll be working with in tracking Jordan’s progress. Either way, Jordan is continuing to close the gap between them. We’ll see if he can sustain it throughout the full season, and it’s anyone’s guess as to whether Jordan has done enough right now to join Jackson in the Hall of Fame someday, but it’s an impressive start to the seven-time Pro Bowler’s 12th year in the NFL.

Update: Jordan later sacked Smith again in the fourth quarter, splitting it with linebacker Demario Davis and putting his career total at 110. He needs 5.5 more sacks to reach 115.5 and break Jackson’s all-time record.

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Saints legend Sam Mills inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Finally: Saints legend Sam Mills has been inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame

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This is huge: legendary New Orleans Saints linebacker Sam Mills was selected for induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame during his final year of eligibility as a modern-era candidate, joining his all-time great teammate Rickey Jackson among the best to ever do it. And Jackson had the honor of announcing that Mills will be enshrined as part of the Class of 2022.

It’s just such a shame that the Mills family had to wait so long for this. A “Dome Patrol” icon, Mills died of cancer in 2005 and left a tremendous legacy behind. Between his impressive play across nine years in New Orleans and his efforts in getting the expansion-team Carolina Panthers off the ground, Mills remains a beloved figure in two rival fanbases. Not many players have ever been able to pull that off.

And now he’ll be enshrined forever alongside other Saints greats like Jackson, Morten Andersen, and Willie Roaf. In just a few years, their number should grow with Drew Brees getting into the Hall of Fame — and maybe Sean Payton winds up there sooner or later, too.

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Saints Ring of Honor to induct the late Sam Mills in Week 13 vs. Cowboys

Saints Ring of Honor to induct the late Sam Mills in Week 13 vs. Cowboys

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One member of the legendary Dome Patrol will soon be enshrined at the Caesars Superdome, where he and his teammates left their mark on NFL history. Sam Mills will be inducted to the New Orleans Saints Ring of Honor on Dec. 2, during halftime of the team’s game with the visiting Dallas Cowboys.

Mills, who died of cancer in 2005, is survived by his wife Melanie and their four children. After nine outstanding years with the Saints he joined the expansion-franchise Carolina Panthers first as a player and then a coach, endearing himself to the community so strongly that a bronze statue in his likeness stands outside their stadium to this day.

Hopefully some day soon Mills and his old Dome Patrol teammates will be memorialized outside the Superdome, too. Of the four-man linebacker corps only Pro Football Hall of Famer Rickey Jackson and Pat Swilling are still living, after Vaughan Johnson’s death in 2019. There’s a lot to be said for giving people their flowers while they’re still here to enjoy them.

Still, it’s going to be great to see Mills’ name in lights. The Saints Ring of Honor was established in 2013 and currently includes Jackson, his Pro Football Hall of Fame peers Morten Andersen and Willie Roaf, Archie Manning, and the late Will Smith and Tom Benson. That’s fine company for Mills to join, and we’ll be sure to celebrate it.

Updated sacks totals extends Rickey Jackson’s lead on Saints record

Cameron Jordan is still chasing Rickey Jackson for the Saints sacks record, but new research may put it out of reach:

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Here’s some big news for NFL stat heads: the team at Pro Football Reference announced that they have gone back to log sacks before they were officially recorded in 1982, giving a more comprehensive history of pro football’s greatest pass rushers. But it’s a tough break for New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan, who finds himself a bit further behind Rickey Jackson in his quest for the franchise sacks record.

The PFR researchers found that Jackson bagged 8.0 sacks in his 1981 rookie year, raising his career total with the Saints to 123.0. That means Jordan  (94.5 career sacks) needs 28.5 more takedowns for New Orleans to tie the Hall of Famer for first place, or 29.0 sacks to win the title.

It’s a tall order, but Jordan has gotten this far. He’s averaged 0.59 sacks per game in 160 appearances for New Orleans compared to Jackson’s 0.63 sacks per game in 195 outings; at that rate, he would have to play in 49 more games, or a little under three years, to claim the top spot. If he does go the distance and total 209 games with the Saints, that would rank second-most in team history behind Drew Brees (228), ahead of Morten Andersen (196), Jackson (195), and Thomas Morstead (190).

But Jordan’s contract is set to expire after the 2023 season, which is the end of this projected 49-game sequence for him to take Jackson’s spot. And he’ll be 34 then. If his down year in 2020 (just 7.5 sacks, tying the second-lowest total of his career) is the beginning of a slump, he could very well come up short. That’s very possible considering the Saints drafted Payton Turner in the first round this year as part of a contingency plan should the team move on from him or Marcus Davenport in the near future.

Will Jordan reach the mountaintop before his time in black and gold runs out? We’ll just have to wait and see. But the stakes couldn’t be higher for the 6-time Pro Bowler (the same number of all-star game appearances Jackson earned, by the way). If anything, it goes to show just how special Jackson was that the best Saints defender of his generation is still chasing him.

And Jackson benefited in the all-time rankings from PFR’s new research, too, not just for his spot in New Orleans’ record books. He’s now tied with Jared Allen for the 16th-most sacks in NFL history (136.0) despite having started playing in an era when teams were passing 5% less often than they would in Allen’s day. Jordan is enjoying an epoch where almost half the league is throwing on 60% or more of downs, but it might not be enough for him to catch up. It really puts into perspective how rare talents like the Dome Patrol’s best player really are.

While these updated numbers haven’t been vetted by the Saints or the NFL, defensive stats are, well, historically played with fast and loose. Here is how the unofficial top-20 from PFR shakes out, with Jackson among them:

Unofficial Leaders Table
Rank Player Sk Years
1 Bruce Smith+ 200.0 1985-2003
2 Reggie White+ 198.0 1985-2000
3 Deacon Jones+ 173.5 1961-1974
4 Kevin Greene+ 160.0 1985-1999
5 Julius Peppers 159.5 2002-2018
6 Jack Youngblood+ 151.5 1971-1984
7 Chris Doleman+ 150.5 1985-1999
8 Alan Page+ 148.5 1967-1981
9 Lawrence Taylor+ 142.0 1981-1993
10 Michael Strahan+ 141.5 1993-2007
11 Jason Taylor+ 139.5 1997-2011
12 Terrell Suggs 139.0 2003-2019
13 DeMarcus Ware 138.5 2005-2016
14 Richard Dent+ 137.5 1983-1997
John Randle+ 137.5 1990-2003
16 Jared Allen 136.0 2004-2015
Rickey Jackson+ 136.0 1981-1995
18 John Abraham 133.5 2000-2014
Carl Eller+ 133.5 1964-1979
20 Leslie O’Neal 132.5 1986-1999

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Saints mainstays Brees, Jordan, Morstead climbing higher in team record books

The New Orleans Saints have seen Drew Brees, Cameron Jordan, and Thomas Morstead represent them in more games than nearly any other players

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Who has played the most games wearing a New Orleans Saints jersey?

Drew Brees, of course. The Hall of Fame-bound quarterback has taken the field 221 times in black and gold, and counting. He’s both the all-time leader and actively extending his lead, having passed legendary pass rusher Rickey Jackson (195) to claim that team record. You can find the full list at Pro Football Reference, sorted by games played (descending).

But they aren’t alone at the top. Saints punter Thomas Morstead is steadily climbing higher week by week, with 179 games behind him. Four more and he’ll tie the great Jim Wilks for the fifth-most games played for New Orleans. If he sees the 2020 season to its conclusion, Morstead will finish the year with 190 games played — trailing only Brees and Jackson, having passed up Wilks (183), Stan Brock (186), and Frank Warren (189).

Cameron Jordan is another name to watch. The defensive end is on his way to joining Brees and Morstead near the top, though he’s currently tied 1980’s cornerback Dave Waymer at 149 games. Jordan quietly surpassed the always-underrated Marques Colston (146) earlier this year. If he plays in every game this year, he’ll overtake Waymer, Jim Dombrowski (151), and Zach Strief (158).

Jordan is making headway in another category, too: all-time sacks. Jackson owns that record (115) but Jordan is gaining on him with 88.5 sacks so far. With teammates Trey Hendrickson and Marcus Davenport demanding attention opposite him, Jordan’s production should continue to tick up after he bagged just 1.5 sacks in his first five games.

But those three players are on an island. Brees, Morstead, and Jordan are the only active members of the team to play more than 112 games (the equivalent of seven full seasons) in New Orleans, though tight end Josh Hill is close. He’s their only teammate with 100-plus Saints games to his credit, having tied kicker John Carney and running back Dalton Hilliard with 108 games so far. Former Saints running back Mark Ingram appeared in 106 games before signing with the Baltimore Ravens in free agency last year.

You have to dig deep to find the next-most active players. Left tackle Terron Armstead has played 80 games for the Saints (passing up Jimmy Graham’s 78 games). Defensive backs Patrick Robinson (78) and Malcolm Jenkins (77) are close despite having spent years away from the team. Kicker Wil Lutz and guard Andrus Peat have both played 69 games.

Linebacker Craig Robertson (67) and wide receiver Michael Thomas (64) are the only active Saints to appear in 60-plus games, while Sheldon Rankins (56), Ryan Ramczyk (52), P.J. Williams and Marcus Williams (51 each), and Alvin Kamara (50) can each join them by finishing out this season. None of their teammates have played 50 or more games in black and gold.

It says a lot about the makeup of this team. There aren’t many long-timers around outside the trio of Brees, Morstead, and Jordan, and Brees and Morstead are probably on their way out the door in the next year or two. That would leave Jordan as the elder statesmen of the team, with veterans like Hill, Armstead, and Jenkins around to show the youngsters the ropes.

And it falls on keystone players such as Kamara, Thomas, and Ramczyk to keep the offense going once Brees isn’t under center anymore. They’ll be critical pieces to the engine that keeps things moving for years to come. And maybe someday they’ll start to climb high in these all-time rankings themselves.

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Rookie Saints linebacker Zack Baun changes his jersey number again

New Orleans Saints LB Zack Baun, a 2020 NFL Draft pick out of Wisconsin, has changed his jersey number after the Saints signed Nigel Bradham

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Good news, everyone!

Zack Baun, the New Orleans Saints third-round draft pick out of Wisconsin, has again changed his jersey number. Having worn No. 56 for the Badgers, he didn’t have many options when he first went pro — initially picking No. 40, which is a terrible, no-good look for a linebacker.

However, he switched to No. 53 after some consideration. And that’s a fine choice; A.J. Klein wore it well for the Saints the last few years, and before that it was repped proudly by Ramon Humber, the special teams ace who endeared himself to fans as “the Humberjack.”

But when the Saints signed former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nigel Bradham, the rookie was quick to oblige the veteran. Baun gave Bradham No. 53, which Bradham used in previous stops with the Eagles and Buffalo Bills.

So what number will Baun be wearing now? He’s listed on the official Saints website’s roster as No. 57, which Rickey Jackson made great for the Saints while building his Pro Football Hall of Fame resume. That’s a bold choice, but not a new one; Baun wasn’t able to pick it at first because defensive end Noah Spence held it, but Spence suffered a season-ending ACL injury while training over the summer.

There’s a compelling argument to be made that Jackson’s No. 57 should be retired and hung in the Superdome rafters. He was the first player to wear black and gold and be inducted to the Hall of Fame, the brightest star of the legendary Dome Patrol defenses, and still holds the franchise record for career sacks (though Cameron Jordan gets a little closer every year).

Unfortunately, the decision to retire jersey numbers is above our pay grade. In the meantime, we’ll be the first to admit that No. 57 is a great number for Baun, Maybe some of Jackson’s greatness is still attached to it.

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Watch: Remembering the late Sam Mills on his 61st birthday

Former New Orleans Saints linebacker Sam Mills, a key piece of the Dome Patrol defense, was featured in an episode of “A Football Life.”

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The New Orleans Saints are honoring the life of famed “Dome Patrol” linebacker Sam Mills, who rose to prominence while teaming up with Pat Swilling, Vaughan Johnson, and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Rickey Jackson to form one of the NFL’s greatest defenses. They combined for 18 Pro Bowl appearances from 1986 to 1992, making NFL history by sending all four linebackers to the 1992 all-star game.

Mills died in 2005; Wednesday, June 3rd, would have been his 61st birthday. He joined the expansion-team Carolina Panthers after a prolific career with the Saints, coining the NFC South-rival’s motto of “Keep Pounding” and earning a bronze statue in his remembrance outside their home stadium in Charlotte.

To celebrate the occasion, the Saints shared a video highlighting Mills’ legacy in New Orleans from their official Twitter account — you can see it where we’ve embedded it above. It’s sampled from an episode centering on Mills from “A Football Life;” the full video can be found here, though it requires an NFL Game Pass subscription. Fortunately, a free trial is currently available through July.

Mills and his teammates set the standard for the Saints for decades to come, and it’s great to see that he’s still remembered and respected so well. Hopefully the Hall of Fame voters will one day agree that he’s deserving of a bust in Canton not too far from Jackson’s. Or maybe the Saints could get their own memorial up in front of the Superdome someday immortalizing all four members of the Dome Patrol.

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