Tag: Starting

Falcons return to Desmond Ridder as their starting QB vs. Saints next week

Desmond Ridder is back in the Falcons’ starting lineup. After sitting two games, he’ll be their starting quarterback against the Saints in Week 12:

The Atlanta Falcons have decided Desmond Ridder will be the starting quarterback going forward, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. This takes away the mystery of who the New Orleans Saints need to prepare for in next week’s pivotal NFC South showdown. Both teams have a bye week in Week 11, so they have an extra week to rest.

Ridder started the season under center and remained there until he was sidelined by a concussion in Week 8. Taylor Heinicke finished that game and started the next two weeks. When Heinicke suffered a hamstring injury, Ridder came in to finish the game, and he has now reclaimed his starting position.

His first game back in the starting lineup will be versus New Orleans. Last time Ridder played the Saints was the first start of his career — Atlanta lost that game 21-18 with Ridder going 13-of-26 for just 97 passing yards, taking four sacks, and rushing 6 times for 38 yards. This season he’s 4-4 as a starter while throwing 6 touchdown passes against 6 interceptions, having rushed for 150 yards and 4 touchdown runs. He’s also fumbled 7 times.

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Bears to start backup QB Tyson Bagent against Saints in Week 9

The Bears will start backup QB Tyson Bagent against the Saints in Week 9 while Justin Fields recovers from an injury:

The New Orleans Saints are getting a lucky break against the Chicago Bears this Sunday, with the Bears starting that backup quarterback Tyson Bagent will start, not Justin Fields. Head coach Matt Eberflus announced the news in a Monday afternoon appearance on the Waddle & Silvy Show on ESPN 1000. Fields has been sidelined by an injury to his throwing hand after dislocating his thumb.

Bagent did enough for the Bears to win his first start two weeks ago, but he was limited to just 232 yards with two interceptions by the Los Angeles Chargers this past Sunday. The former college standout at Division-II Shepherd University has looked the part at times but a strong pass defense like the Saints’ squad should challenge him.

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Saints start rookie safety Jordan Howden, not Marcus Maye, vs. Colts

The Saints shook up their secondary by starting rookie safety Jordan Howden, not Marcus Maye, against the Colts. Maye was questionable to play:

This was a little surprising. The New Orleans Saints shook up their secondary by starting rookie safety Jordan Howden, not Marcus Maye, against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. It meant that most of their rookie draft class was active in a game for the first time this season — everyone but fourth-round quarterback Jake Haener, with sixth-round receiver A.T. Perry finally dressing out.

So what went into that decision? Maye was questionable to play after a hamstring injury limited him throughout the week; he was also listed with an illness on Friday’s injury report. So Maye was watching kickoff from the sidelines while Howden started next to Tyrann Mathieu over the top. When the Saints went into dime personnel (where Howden normally goes into games), versatile defensive back Lonnie Johnson Jr. got the nod.

Much like the case with Andrus Peat a few weeks back coming off an injury, the Saints appear willing to play Maye in an emergency, but they’d rather have him on standby while putting other players into the game. But Howden’s emergence as a starting-quality talent shouldn’t be overlooked. Few teams have drafted and developed defensive backs like New Orleans, and more positive plays from Howden will only open up more opportunities for him.

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Saints will start Derek Carr vs. Bucs; QB ‘had no pain’ in injured shoulder

Multiple outlets report the Saints will start Derek Carr on Sunday. NOF’s Nick Underhill says Carr ‘had no pain’ in his injured shoulder leading up to the game:

There it is: NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill both reported Sunday morning that the Saints will start Derek Carr at quarterback against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Underhill adds that Carr “had no pain” in his injured throwing shoulder after participating in Friday’s final practice session, and he’s feeling well enough to play during Sunday’s pregame warmups.

So it’ll be Carr under center at the Caesars Superdome, not his backup Jameis Winston. This all lines up with what the team said throughout the week: so long as Carr could manage the pain in his shoulder while throwing without mechanical limitations, he’ll be good to go. That’s the case in the final hours leading up to the game, so he’s going to play.

Hopefully he can help the team. The Saints go into Week 4 tied with the Bucs on top of the NFC South, with the Atlanta Falcons facing a 10-point deficit to the Jacksonville Jaguars overseas in England. If that lead holds and the Falcons fall to 2-2, Carr and the Saints could take an early lead on the division by knocking the Bucs down a peg.

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Seahawks rookies thrown into action, ‘learning at the fire line’

The Seattle Seahawks have started a number of rookies this season, which coach Pete Carroll referred to as “learning at the fire line.”

The Seattle Seahawks retooled their roster in a number of ways this season, from promoting veteran backup Geno Smith into the starting quarterback position to throwing a number of rookies directly into the fire on gamedays.

Coach Pete Carroll was asked specifically about the learning curve of the first-year players during his Monday press conference.

“These guys are going to gain the comfort of being in these moments in these games and these settings,” Carroll explained. “And it’s going to help them as they make their decisions and the choices they make under pressure and under the speed of the game and all that. They’re just going to continue to get better.

“As we press them into play, the sooner they will be acclimated.”

A rarity, Seattle started two rookies at both tackle spots this year – Charles Cross on the left side and Abe Lucas on the right. Both have gotten a heavy workload so far.

“We’re all but overdoing it with the tackles,” Carroll said. “They’re out there and living with it. They’re learning at the fire line so it’s going to really help us. But there’s some growing pains in there. I never go that route. I’m not going to spend any time on that. That’s part of the process, but it’s going to be worth it.”

The Seahawks rookie and veterans return to practice on Wednesday to prepare to face the Falcons at home this Sunday.

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CBS Sports predicts 3 games where Mac Jones could become Patriots starting QB

Former Alabama quarterback Mac Jones could be the New England Patriots starting QB at some point in his rookie season …

Former Alabama quarterback Mac Jones became a controversial topic of discussion prior to the 2021 NFL draft. Instead of going No. 3 overall, he slid all the way to No. 15 to the New England Patriots.

The Patriots currently have Cam Newton as their incumbent starting quarterback. After playing the 2020 season in New England on a one-year deal, the team signed him to another single-season contract through 2021.

Other than Newton and Jones, former Auburn quarterback, Jarrett Stidham, is also in the quarterback room. However, Stidham is seen as QB3 on the projected depth chart.

Is Jones destined to sit on the sidelines and wait his turn, or is he bound to become the Patriots starter at some point in his rookie season?

CBS Sports’ Tyler Sullivan predicts there are three games on New England’s schedule where Jones could overtake Newton for the job.

  1. Week 5: Patriots @ Texans
  2. Week 12: Patriots vs. Titans
  3. Week 15: Patriots @ Colts

There’s no telling what the coaching staff has in store for Jones, or if they would even consider giving him the opportunity to start as the season progresses.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Mac Jones through his rookie season in the NFL with the New England Patriots.

Bruce Arians: RB Leonard Fournette to start vs. Saints

Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians named RB Leonard Fournette his starter for their playoff game with the New Orleans Saints.

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be turning to one of their late-offseason additions to start against the New Orleans Saints in the playoffs, with Bucs coach Bruce Arians naming Leonard Fournette his lead running back on Friday. Fournette has mostly played behind Ronald Jones II for much of the season, but a quad injury to Jones has his status in doubt for Sunday’s game.

Fournette, 25, was the fourth overall pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2017 NFL draft. He totaled just 6 carries for 5 rushing yards and 7 catches for 55 receiving yards in two games with his hometown Saints during the regular season, with New Orleans effectively shutting down the Buccaneers running game before he could make much of an impact.

Tampa Bay will be counting on him to step up and take pressure off of Tom Brady in this next matchup, but he has his work cut out for him against a stout Saints run defense. Not to mention the loss of starting guard Alex Cappa to a fractured ankle in their Wild-Card Round win over the Washington Football Team.

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Report: Taysom Hill to start at quarterback for Saints vs. Falcons

ESPN reports that the New Orleans Saints will start Taysom Hill, not Jameis Winston, against the Atlanta Falcons in relief of Drew Brees.

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Here we go: ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Friday that the New Orleans Saints will start Taysom Hill at quarterback for Sunday’s matchup against the Atlanta Falcons, with Jameis Winston remaining his backup. Both are getting bumped up the depth chart in relief of injured starter Drew Brees.

Earlier reports said that Hill was given starter’s snaps in Saints practice throughout the week, but this is the first time it’s been said definitively that Hill will get the starting nod.

Schefter’s ESPN colleague Dianna Russini added that this will be a big test for Hill to determine if he truly is the starting-caliber franchise quarterback the Saints coaching staff has been talking him up as in recent years. Russini also said via Schefter that the Saints do not have any packages featuring cameos for Winston in the works.

If nothing else, it makes for must-see TV. Hill, who turned 30 in August, has completed 11 of his 20 career pass attempts (including the playoffs) to gain 255 yards, though he’s still pursuing his first touchdown pass.

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Chiefs OL Nick Allegretti notches first career start

Allegretti gets the start at left guard for the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7.

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The Kansas City Chiefs have a new starter at left guard this Sunday with second-year offensive lineman Nick Allegretti earning his first career start.

Last week, Allegretti played 65 snaps at LG after an injury to Mitchell Schwartz forced Mike Remmers to fill in at RT. Now, with Schwartz being made inactive for the first time in his career, Allegretti has coincidently earned the opportunity to make a start at LG.

The Chiefs drafted Allegretti out of the University of Illinois in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He played sparingly in his first season in Kansas City, with most of his snaps coming on special teams. In the few games that he did earn an offensive snap, it was as an extra blocker on heavy formations. In fact, Allegretti’s first offensive snap came in Denver, back in 2019.

“Yeah, my first snap up in Denver, that was definitely a good time,” Allegretti told reporters on Thursday. “But I don’t know, just kind of the way I was raised growing up playing football—if you’re going to make a mistake, make it flying around, make it fast, make it physical. So, mistakes are going to happen throughout a football game, there’s a lot of snaps. The one thing I can control is my effort, my physicality, so that’s what I have. The rest, preparation and all that, that comes as I continue to grow. But I know that I can play as hard as I want, or as hard as I can, and be as physical as I can, so that’s what I have.”

One thing that Chiefs OL coach Andy Heck has preached to his unit is preparation. Allegretti has taken that to heart and his preparation has him feeling confident now that he’s out there on the field. Part of that confidence comes from going against the talented Chiefs defensive line group during practice.

“I think that just, the D-line that we have here, an incredibly talented group, so being able to go up against them day in and day out at practice and competing with them,” Allegretti said. “Chris (Jones) is an incredible player and Derrick Nnadi is an incredible player, so being able to get those reps against them and slowly getting to have some success or learn some things from them has been huge.”

Allegretti overcame some butterflies last week and was mostly operating on auto-pilot. This week he’ll have a chance to learn from his Week 6 tape and make some improvements as he faces a talented Broncos defensive front.

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Big 12 Football: Ranking the 10 starting running backs

This season, some of the best running backs in the country reside in the conference. Here are each team’s starting running backs ranked.

Despite being known for the passing game more than the running game, the Big 12 is loaded at the running back position this year. Great NFL players such as Adrian Peterson, Ricky Williams, and Cedric Benson have all come from this particular conference.

Several of the best running backs in the country reside in the conference this season. Although there will be a few fresh faces, experienced players will be carrying the ball for the majority of teams this season in the Big 12.

Here is our ranking of each team’s starting running backs:

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