Tag: rivalry

Michigan State, Michigan rivalry game snubbed by college basketball analyst

According to one analyst, MSU vs UM is not a top ten rivalry in college basketball:

Andy Katz is known for his work as one of the top analysts in college basketball. Katz, a reporter directly for the NCAA and the Big Ten Network, polarizes the community with some of his lists and he has done it once again.

While ranking the top ten rivalries in college basketball, Katz did not include the rivalry between Michigan State and Michigan, which has been one of the sports best.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on X @Cory_Linsner

Former Saints DB signs with Panthers, says ‘I got smoke’ for the front office

Former Saints DB Lonnie Johnson Jr. signed with the Carolina Panthers, and he’s eager for Week 1. He says ‘I got smoke’ for the Saints front office:

It’s safe to say former New Orleans Saints defensive back Lonnie Johnson Jr. is eager for Week 1. Johnson aired his grievances with the Saints front office after signing with the Carolina Panthers on Wednesday, saying that he’s ready to prove them wrong for not re-signing him.

This comes after Johnson completed a one-year stint with the Saints in 2023 in which a knee injury limited him to playing 12 of 17 games. He wound up not re-signing with the Saints this offseason, instead opting to return to his former team, the Houston Texans. But Houston opted to release him before the roster cut-down deadline. This led to Johnson signing with the Panthers Wednesday, the Saints’ rival and Week 1 opponent.

Johnson and the Saints seemed to have a mutual interest in him returning at one point, based on his tweet before signing with the Texans stating;

Johnson will now be trying to catch on with the Panthers’ roster, and if he ends up sticking in the lineup come Week 1, may have his chance to play the Saints in New Orleans and prove they should have signed him when they had the chance.

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A.T. Perry’s big touchdown on A.J. Terrell is the Saints Play of the Day

The Falcons just paid A.J. Terrell $81 million. A.T. Perry’s touchdown against him is our pick for the Saints Play of Day 17:

Congratulations are in order for A.J. Terrell. The Atlanta Falcons are paying their star cornerback $81 million on a new four-year deal, which includes more than $65 million in guarantees, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

And we’re choosing to celebrate this occasion by looking back at A.T. Perry’s 18-yard touchdown catch against Terrell in the 2023 regular season finale. This game-tying score is our pick for the New Orleans Saints Play of the Day, with the same number of days to go to the 2024 season kickoff as the number Perry wears on his jersey (17).

The Falcons jumped out with an early lead in this game, but Perry’s score on top of their best defender evened the odds. Then it became a rout. Perry scored again later as the Saints poured it on, and New Orleans eventually called it a day after going up 48-17. Atlanta has spent big this offseason to rebuild their credibility after that embarrassment, including this extension with Terrell. We’ll see if that results in more wins when the season starts in September.

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Jalen Saunders’ 99-yard kick return is the Saints Play of the Day

Jalen Saunders’ 99-yard kick return is the Saints Play of Day 18. Here’s the best play he made in the No. 18 jersey:

There are 18 days to go until the New Orleans Saints kick off their 2024 regular season, so here’s the best play that Jalen Saunders made in the No. 18 jersey. Saunders returned the opening kickoff against the Atlanta Falcons for 99 yards back in 2014, which you can watch here.

Good blocking created a lot of room for Saunders to work with, and he dashed past a couple of too-slow Falcons defenders in the open field. But he slowed down too soon and was cut off at the goal line, losing the football on his way to the ground. Fortunately he was ruled down by contact and his teammate Mark Ingram punched in a touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage.

It was still a great moment for Saunders to start his pro career. He had a tough go of it while spending time with several different teams after turning pro out of Oklahoma, and the Saints actually traded him to the New England Patriots a few months later. But highlights like this are what everyone looks back on most fondly, and Saunders deserves some credit for all the good things he did in this big play in a big-time rivalry game.

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Kurt Benkert has a delusional opinion about Saints fans

Former Falcons quarterback Kurt Benkert derides Saints fans for saying their team is a Super Bowl contender, but it’s tough to find many who share that take:

Former pro quarterback Kurt Benkert not only feels the New Orleans Saints are a bottom-three team in the NFL. He derides Saints fans believe they’re Super Bowl contenders.

It begs the question. Who are these Saints fans making that argument?

No, seriously. Where are the bundles of Saints fans Benkert sees who believe their team is going to the Super Bowl? This isn’t to say there is no Saints fan who earnestly believes this, but it is doubtful there’s enough fans believing this to make this the consensus. Most are just hopeful to end the three-year playoff drought.

We’re speaking about a fanbase that is clamoring for Spencer Rattler to overthrow Derek Carr. In that Benkert is in agreement; he says that, “You can’t squint hard enough and watch Carr play and think he’s Drew Brees.”

Once again it begs the question. Who are these Saints fans? Who does Benkert know that sees Carr as the second coming of Brees?

I’m not in the business of immediately taking away credibility from people, but this opinion is questionable enough to look for ulterior motives.

Did you know Benkert used to play for the Atlanta Falcons? That doesn’t strip him from the right to have an opinion. Let’s keep going. He taunted the Saints for missing out on free agent safety Justin Simmons.

If you needed any other reason to not take his opinion on Saints-related matters serious, here goes the simplest disqualification. Yahoo posted Benkert’s comments on social media, and he quoted it by calling the Saints the “Aints.”

Clear bias. Benkert has been ejected for targeting.

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Justin Simmons only intercepted Derek Carr once in 12 games

Justin Simmons only intercepted Saints QB Derek Carr once in a dozen games. He’s looking to improve that total after signing with the Falcons:

Derek Carr and Justin Simmons played against each other a dozen times when they were the faces of two proud AFC West franchises — and Carr’s  Las Vegas Raiders led the series with a 9-3 record in that time. But now they’re set to compete again in the NFC South, with Simmons having signed a one-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons and Carr leading the New Orleans Saints.

A lot can happen in 12 games. Carr threw 355 passes during that span with Simmons lined up against him. As a two-time Pro Bowler with 30 career interceptions, it’s worth asking how many times Simmons picked off Carr. What would be your guess? Two? Four? Eight? More?

It turns out that Simmons only intercepted Carr once in this rivalry series. And you’ve got to see the play to believe it happened:

That was a deflection off the hands of tight end Darren Waller, which Simmons was in position to snatch away. But it shouldn’t be that surprising. Carr has faced a lot of criticism — deservedly — for his first year with the Saints. One thing he’s always done well is protect the football. Carr has never thrown more than 14 interceptions in a single season, and he was picked off just eight times last year. It makes sense that he’d avoid dangerous throws in  twice-a-year division rivalry games.

But his historical success against Simmons and the Broncos is a little encouraging. Carr averaged 254.9 passing yards per game against Simmons’ defenses over the years. That’s an improvement on his averages both with the Raiders (248.0) and the Saints (228.1). Simmons is a player he knows well, and matching up against that old foe could lead to some favorable situations for No. 4. We’ll see.

Some would say it’s disingenuous of us to downplay Atlanta acquiring Simmons, a player we’ve consistently lobbied for New Orleans to sign and who visited the Saints before joining the Falcons. And to that criticism, we’d take refuge in audacity and shamelessly pump up the Saints-Falcons rivalry. Simmons might have been the missing piece Dennis Allen’s defense needed to play winning football. Instead, the Falcons are overpaying a past-his-prime player at a less-valuable position who won’t solve their problems. It’s a waste of their resources, but we’ll see how it plays out for them. Maybe they’ll only give up 84 points in their next two games instead of 85 like in their last two losses. Never break kayfabe.

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Ricky Williams’ 26-yard rushing TD against the Falcons is our Saints Play of the Day

Ricky Williams scored all three of the Saints’ touchdowns to beat the Falcons in 2000. This 26-yard run is our Saints Play of the Day:

There are 26 days standing between us and the start of the New Orleans Saints’ regular season, which makes this 26-yard touchdown run by Ricky Williams our choice for the Saints Play of the Day.

It was a pivotal play back in 2000’s rivalry game with the Atlanta Falcons, which you can find here. Williams took the handoff facing a 13-7 deficit and quickly erased it. Good blocking on the edge gave him plenty of room to work and Williams cut upfield and into the Atlanta defense. He dove into the end zone from four yards out, evading a couple of Falcons defenders, for the equalizer. An extra point try from Doug Brien gave New Orleans the lead and the Saints held on for a 21-19 win at the Georgia Dome.

And it was almost all thanks to Williams, who scored all three of the Saints’ touchdowns in this game. He totaled 156 rushing yards on the afternoon (also tacking on 37 receiving yards) and looked exactly like the player former Saints head coach Mike Ditka had traded a king’s ransom to acquire. Ditka had since been replaced by Jim Haslett, who guided the team to a 10-6 record and their first playoff win later that season.

Williams played a big part in their success while accounting for 1,000 of the team’s 2,068 rushing yards. His Saints career didn’t meet the lofty expectations it had been saddled with, but he still came through and made some big plays in big moments like this one.

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Chiefs rival receives grim update about injury to star QB

#Chargers QB Justin Herbert is set to miss time in the preseason after he sustained an injury during practice this week

The Kansas City Chiefs and teams around the NFL have been hard at work during their training camps, and as players start their preparations for the new season, injuries are an all-too-common occurrence at August practices.

Kansas City had a potential starter go down during their workouts on Friday, but their problems have been relatively minor compared to those of the Los Angeles Chargers, who were given a grim update about their starting quarterback this week.

According to a report from Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Justin Herbert suffered a plantar fascia injury which will require him to wear a boot for the next two weeks.

The injury could keep Herbert away from Chargers training camp, which could prove to be catastrophic for head coach Jim Harbaugh’s new regime in Los Angeles.

Stay tuned to Chargers Wire to keep up to date on Herbert’s progress as the NFL preseason kicks off next week.

WATCH: EA Sports College Football 25 has actors recreate Wisconsin winning Paul Bunyan’s Axe

EA Sports College Football 25 is focusing on the important parts of the sport:

EA Sports College Football 25 is certainly focusing on the sport’s important details.

Its latest teaser includes a deep dive into the sights and sounds of the soon-to-be-released video game, and how the game’s artists recreated college football’s most important traditions.

Related: Projecting EA College Football 25 player ratings for Wisconsin Badgers

Among that long list of traditions is Wisconsin and Minnesota’s battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe, and the winning team “chopping down” the opposing goalposts.

The Badgers won this honor in 2023 with a 28-14 road win over the Gophers. As is custom, departing upperclassmen Tanner Mordecai, Braelon Allen and others took turns “chopping down” the goalposts at Huntington Bank Stadium.

EA Sports was sure to include that tradition in the video game. It even hired actors to mimic the actions, seen specifically in its latest video on X:

July 19 is the release date for the much-anticipated video game. I’d bet on EA Sports staying in the news until that date, especially with its recent ranking of the toughest places to play in college football.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion.

New Orleans Saints game previews: Week 4 at Atlanta Falcons

The New Orleans Saints will visit the divisional-rival Atlanta Falcons led by Kirk Cousins for the first time in Week 4:

Our New Orleans Saints game previews continue with a trip to Georgia for the first showdown against the Kirk Cousins-led Atlanta Falcons. Does the addition of Cousins make the Falcons as good as some believe? This will be the Saints first opportunity to dispel the narrative.

Not only will the Falcons add a new quarterback, Raheem Morris is also taking over as head coach from Arthur Smith. Smith’s final experience was being blown out by the Saints and getting mad at Dennis Allen about it. Morris comes over from the Los Angeles Rams with a defensive pedigree. He developed the Rams into an efficient red zone defense over the past 3 seasons.

Outside of the signing of Cousins, Atlanta has been very quiet this offseason. The Falcons’ second most attention-grabbing move was drafting Cousins’ replacement, Michael Penix. Signing wide receiver Darnell Moody could a solid, under-the-radar addition on the other side of Drake London. This lends itself to the biggest question of the matchups, will the Saints secondary neutralize the Falcons receiving threats?

The Falcons averaged the 11th-fewest passing yards per game in the NFL (207) in 2024. Drake London didn’t cross the century mark and Kyle Pitts still hasn’t reached the ceiling many projected for him. That’s all expected to change with the quarterback change. Bijan Robinson did meet expectations. Pairing him with an improved passing attack has many believing in Atlanta.

The rivalry’s all-time record remains tied 55-55 after splitting last year’s matchups. Fun fact: Atlanta hasn’t defeated New Orleans in consecutive games since a 3-game winning streak from 2016 to 2017. Last time a Saints victory didn’t lead to at least a 2-game winning streak in the series was 2004. The Saints won the last face-off of 2023. Do with that what you will.

  • Game information: New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons
  • Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Ga.
  • Date: Sept. 29
  • Time: Noon CT / 1p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: FOX

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