Tag: Score

Saints were busy scouting dramatic Notre Dame-Florida State matchup

Saints were busy scouting dramatic Notre Dame-Florida State matchup

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Everyone who tuned in Sunday night for the Florida State Seminoles’ prime-time matchup with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish caught a game that set a fiery tone for the 2021 college football season. Two teams swarming with NFL prospects each got their moments to shine, and an unexpected appearance from fan-favorite backup quarterback McKenzie Milton sent it into overdrive, even if Florida State’s overtime comeback bid fell short in their 41-38 loss.

NFL teams were paying close attention. Half the league sent scouts to watch live from the press box, per Irish Sports Daily’s Matt Freeman, and the New Orleans Saints were one of those 16 teams.

That shouldn’t be too surprising. The Saints were in the area just days earlier, having visited West Florida’s campus before the Argos kicked off their Division II title-defending season with McNeese State. And New Orleans has drafted players from both teams in recent years: they picked Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book in 2021 and tight end Alize Mack in 2019, as well as Florida State offensive lineman Rick Leonard in 2018 and defensive back P.J. Williams in 2015.

Now, that doesn’t mean the Saints are going to draft anyone from either of these teams just because one of their scouts was in the stadium. They’ll review the tape to help fill out scouting reports for reference in the spring. But it’s fun to speculate about who may have caught New Orleans’ eye.

Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer had a huge game, catching 9 receptions for 120 receiving yards (including a touchdown). Defensive end Isaiah Foskey was a force with a pair of sacks while safety Kyle Hamilton showed off incredible range on two big-time interceptions. Mayer is just a sophomore, but the others should be early selections next year.

On the other side, Florida State running back Jashaun Corbin looked the part while picking up 144 rushing yards on just 15 carries (averaging an unspectacular 3.9 yards per attempt outside of his 89-yard touchdown sprint). Defensive end Jermaine Johnson had a strong debut after transferring from Georgia, posting a sack and a half (plus 2.5 tackles for loss) with several other pressures. The Seminoles may not be back to churning out first-round picks like they used to, but they’re trending in the right direction.

Anyway: hopefully the Saints’ college scouts learned a lot to help the team make informed personnel decisions later on down the line. They’re headed for a four-month marathon from now to the college football playoffs.

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HALFTIME REPORT: Alabama absolutely dominating Miami at the half-way point

Alabama hasn’t missed a beat, as they DOMINATE Miami at the half.

The Alabama Crimson Tide kicked off their 2021 season with a strong performance against the Miami Hurricanes. Heading into the second half, Alabama leads 27-3.

True sophomore quarterback Bryce Young has looked like a veteran in his debut start for the Crimson Tide. He’s thrown for 201 yards and three touchdowns on 19 completions with 27 passing attempts.

The ground game for Alabama has been limited, with Brian Robinson leading the charge for the Crimson Tide with 53 yards on 10 carries.

Miami’s offense, led by veteran D’Eriq King managed to accumulate 11 completions on 13 attempts for 79 yards and a lost fumble.

Overall, the Hurricanes have only 108 yards of total offense.

Alabama will look to continue scoring on Miami’s secondary, as Young and the wide receivers have not seemed to be slowed down a bit.

As for Alabama’s defense, the defensive line is doing a great job stopping the run, but short-range passes could be an issue in the second half if Rhett Lashlee decides to start giving King more opportunities to throw.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.

New Orleans Saints Preseason Week 2 recap: Everything we know

New Orleans Saints Preseason Week 2 recap: Everything we know

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The New Orleans Saints showed a lot to like in their second preseason game: a high-flying starting offense, a stingy defense, and enough plays on special teams to make a difference. Here’s everything you need to know about New Orleans’ win over the Jacksonville Jaguars:

 

New Orleans Saints Preseason Week 1 recap: Everything we know

New Orleans Saints Preseason Week 1 recap: Everything we know

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The New Orleans Saints had a chance to leave with a win, but nobody’s really tracking wins and losses in the preseason. What did we learn from their 17-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in exhibition?

Too many turnovers, to start. They gave the ball away six times as a team with all three quarterbacks tossing an interception. Three different running backs fumbled. That simply can’t happen, and Sean Payton is likely to make it a priority during practice in the upcoming week. But the defense played well enough throughout the game to keep the Saints in it.

Here’s everything you need to know:

WATCH: Wisconsin legend Frank Kaminsky scores his first NBA Finals points

Wisconsin legend Frank Kaminsky just scored in the NBA Finals

For the first time in 14 years, a former Wisconsin Badger has scored in the NBA Finals.

Michael Finley did it with the San Antonio Spurs back in 2007. But this time, it’s Frank Kaminsky getting on the board with the Phoenix Suns.

For Bucks fans, this won’t be a highlight that brings as much joy as it normally would. But the long drought of no Wisconsin impact on the NBA Finals is officially over.

With tonight already being Game 3, we’ll see how much longer we get to watch Kaminsky play on this stage. Or with that, focus can turn to who will have the next shot at this accomplishment.

Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion and analysis.

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Too many self-inflicted hits squander Drew Brees’ likely-final Saints season

The New Orleans Saints were eliminated from the playoffs by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after Drew Brees threw three interceptions.

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Drew Brees is leaving the Superdome, probably for the last time, after a loss. The longtime New Orleans Saints quarterback is said to be retiring after his 2020 season has concluded, which the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ensured with a 30-20 playoffs win on Sunday night.

Let’s be clear about this: the Buccaneers didn’t defeat the Saints because New Orleans beat them twice earlier this season. Tampa Bay didn’t do anything differently from those past matchups. If anything, they committed many of the same errors that cost them before, like running too often on early downs and forcing Tom Brady into trying too many difficult passes to the perimeter.

The Saints beat themselves, fair and square. Giveaways from the Saints offense — several poorly-thrown interceptions by Brees and a fumble jarred out of tight end Jared Cook’s mitt — allowed Brady to set up shop in New Orleans territory for a couple of quick drives to score each of Tampa Bay’s touchdowns. The Saints defense performed admirably, but Brees and the offense sold them out with those short fields.

Brees’ limitations were on display on a variety of passes. He couldn’t put enough air beneath his touch passes to Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas, allowing the Buccaneers defenders to undercut routes and snatch the ball in flight. Brees remains as intelligent a passer as the NFL has ever seen, but his regressed arm strength eventually made his margin for error too thin to overcome.

It’s tough to see him go out like this. He carried the team for a decade while paired with some of the worst defenses in NFL history, the likes of which Brady and their peers have never known were possible. And when the Saints finally devoted time and resources into overhauling their defense to complement Brees, it was too late.

So that’s his legacy. The Saints have won more games over the last four years than in any other four-year stretch in franchise history, but they’ve got no postseason success to show for it. They’ve only reached one conference title game, and have watched every Super Bowl in that span from home.

And now they’re entering the wilderness without the face of their franchise. There are kids in high school who have never known a Saints team not led by Brees. Where things go next is anyone’s guess, but it’s not the end for New Orleans. They’re still plenty talented on both sides of the ball, and they should be back in the playoff picture for years to come. It’s just such a shame they won’t have Brees in front with them along the way.

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Matt Nagy: Bears tried, failed to prepare for C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s trash talk

Matt Nagy was angry that his Chicago Bears tried and failed to prepare for trash talk from New Orleans Saints safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

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Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy was, well, frustrated that another one of his wide receivers got themselves thrown out of a game with the New Orleans Saints after losing their cool. This time it was Anthony Miller, who watched Saints safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson irritate his teammate Javon Wims just a few months ago into tossing a punch at the defensive back, hurting his team by both getting ejected and yielding previous penalty yards.

Nagy told ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson after the game that the Bears offense devoted time this week specifically studying Gardner-Johnson’s on-field disruptions to prepare the receiving corps for what they were up against. He didn’t want to see his players create a mistake in a big playoff game, and it happened anyway. So it’s understandable that he’d be heated about it following the 21-9 loss.

It’s also kind of hilarious that the Bears put so much energy into keeping Gardner-Johnson from goading them (which didn’t work, which makes it more entertaining). Gardner-Johnson is a legendary trash talker just two years into his NFL career, joining the ranks of other NFC South icons like Steve Smith and Roddy White. It’s great to have one of those elite chirpers in black and gold for once. Here’s hoping he avoids hurting his own team by taking it too far occasionally, though.

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Saints beat the Panthers, sweep the NFC South for the first time in division history

The New Orleans Saints took care of business against the Carolina Panthers, sweeping the NFC South for the first time in division history.

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They’ve done it: the New Orleans Saints improved to 12-4 on the 2020 season with a win over the Carolina Panthers, who lost at home 33-7. Even without offensive superstars Michael Thomas (on injured reserve) and Alvin Kamara (on COVID-19 reserve), Drew Brees and his supporting cast racked up over 300 yards of offense, averaging nearly six yards per carry as a team.

The performance was powered by a big day from the Saints defense, which intercepted the Panthers quarterbacks five times while allowing just one conversion on third down. It was an impressive day all around after they knocked off some rust early on.

But here’s what’s most impressive: the Saints have now gone 6-0 against their NFC South rivals, sweeping the division for the first time since its founding way back in 2002. No other team has pulled that off: not the Panthers, not the Atlanta Falcons, and not the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Each team has come close before with 5-1 records against their divisional opponents:

  • Atlanta Falcons: 2010 and 2016
  • Carolina Panthers: 2003, 2013, and 2015
  • New Orleans Saints: 2011 and 2019
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 2005 and 2007

But they’ve got bigger fish to fry. The Saints are advancing to the playoffs as NFC South champions, while the Buccaneers control the top wild-card seed. Carolina and Atlanta are faced with a long offseason of retooling and introspection before they’ll get a chance to compete again.

Here’s how the NFC South standings finalized for the 2020 season:

  1. 12-4 New Orleans Saints
  2. 11-5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  3. 5-11 Carolina Panthers
  4. 4-12 Atlanta Falcons

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Drew Brees says Alvin Kamara’s huge game won his son’s fantasy league

New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees reports that RB Alvin Kamara’s 6-touchdown game against the Vikings won his son a fantasy football title.

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Take a bow, Baylen Brees. Drew Brees opened his Week 17 media availability by breaking some huge news, thanking his New Orleans Saints teammate Alvin Kamara for scoring six touchdowns in their Christmas Day game with the Minnesota Vikings. Beyond all the playoff implications and the iconic highlights for Kamara, the performance was enough to power the Brees’ son to a fantasy football league championship.

“So Baylen was in the finals going into this week, and I guess six touchdowns get you 56 fantasy points, and that turns out to be pretty good,” Brees grinned.

It’s great to see a moment of brevity for Brees and his family amid all the chaos of the 2020 season. It’s also very relatable for someone close to him to be celebrating Kamara’s huge game, which obviously yielded tremendous value in the fantasy football sphere. Enjoy your victory lap, Kamara fantasy owners.

But with the regular season winding down and the playoffs on the horizon, this is probably the last time Brees or Kamara want to be concerned about fantasy football. It’s time to buckle up and focus on the games that really matter.

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Drew Brees says Alvin Kamara’s huge game won his son’s fantasy league

New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees reports that RB Alvin Kamara’s 6-touchdown game against the Vikings won his son a fantasy football title.

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Take a bow, Baylen Brees. Drew Brees opened his Week 17 media availability by breaking some huge news, thanking his New Orleans Saints teammate Alvin Kamara for scoring six touchdowns in their Christmas Day game with the Minnesota Vikings. Beyond all the playoff implications and the iconic highlights for Kamara, the performance was enough to power the Brees’ son to a fantasy football league championship.

“So Baylen was in the finals going into this week, and I guess six touchdowns get you 56 fantasy points, and that turns out to be pretty good,” Brees grinned.

It’s great to see a moment of brevity for Brees and his family amid all the chaos of the 2020 season. It’s also very relatable for someone close to him to be celebrating Kamara’s huge game, which obviously yielded tremendous value in the fantasy football sphere. Enjoy your victory lap, Kamara fantasy owners.

But with the regular season winding down and the playoffs on the horizon, this is probably the last time Brees or Kamara want to be concerned about fantasy football. It’s time to buckle up and focus on the games that really matter.

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