Tag: Stats

Deonte Harris already outperforming his All-Pro rookie year

New Orleans Saints returns specialist Deonte Harris has taken on a larger role on offense while remaining effective on special teams.

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Deonte Harris was sensational for the New Orleans Saints in his rookie season, leading the NFL in punt returns (36) and punt return yards (338) before earning recognition on the All-Pro list and a trip to the Pro Bowl. And he’s gotten even better in his second season.

First, let’s focus on the return game. Teams haven’t given Harris many opportunities to field punts (not helped the Saints defense being mediocre on third down), but he’s still averaging 26.5 punt return yards per game. That’s a step up from 2019, when he averaged 24.1. As the Saints improve on defense and force teams to punt more often, Harris should only get more chances to make a play in the kicking game. He’s on pace to rack up 424 punt return yards over 16 games.

Still, right now he has the second-most punt return yards in the NFL (106), behind Buffalo Bills return man Andre Roberts (124). He’s tenth in kick return yards (156), but Harris and Roberts (104) are the only NFL players with 100-plus return yards on both punts and kicks.

Harris has been more pedestrian on kickoffs, averaging 26.0 yards a pop on 6 kicks returned through the first four weeks. Last year, he averaged just 26.8 yards per kick return. But that isn’t a huge difference and could swing upwards with just one long return.

But the really impressive story here is on offense. Last season, Harris totaled just 55 yards from scrimmage during the regular season. He’s already eclipsed that with 85 scrimmage yards after four games in 2020. That projects to a total of 340 yards of offense, extrapolated over a 16-game season.

The Saints are still finding ways to get him the ball. Harris has been thrown to a few times on conventional wide receiver routes, but he’s also handled a few sweeps, pitches, and screens. Like Alvin Kamara, he’s patient with the ball in his hands and has a talent for anticipating how the play will develop. But Harris has enough muscle on his 5-foot-6, 170-pound frame to move the pile and enough agility to force a missed tackle for extra yards.

He did exit Week 4’s win over the Detroit Lions late with an injury, but The Athletic’s Katherine Terrell reported that it isn’t believed to be a serious issue. The Saints will have an extra day of rest before they play the Los Angeles Chargers on “Monday Night Football” before their bye week, so he should be expected to make more plays when the Saints return to the Superdome.

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Saints still lead the NFL in penalty yards through 4 weeks

The New Orleans Saints lead the NFL in penalty yards through their first four games, mostly due to defensive pass interference fouls.

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With the majority of NFL teams having played four games to start the 2020 season, and the New Orleans Saints are still an outlier when it comes to penalties. While they were fouled just four times for 67 yards in their win over the Detroit Lions, the Saints still lead the league in total penalty yardage (398), averaging nearly 100 yards per game.

Most of that can be attributed to defensive penalties; their offense has yielded just 70 penalty yards, the twelfth-fewest number in the NFL. The defense leads the league with 328 penalty yards. About 61.3% of that yardage has come from defensive pass interference fouls alone, where New Orleans has given up nearly as many yards (244) as the next three teams combined (252 from the Indianapolis Colts, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and New England Patriots, who have played just three games so far).

Things will continue to normalize as the sample size grows with more games being played. This week, the New York Jets and Chicago Bears each racked up more than 100 penalty yards, helping to close the gap between the Saints and the rest of the NFL. But that’s not company the Saints want to keep, and even now they are an outlier among outliers — the NFL average for defensive penalty yards per game is just 113.4. The Saints have nearly tripled that.

Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders called out the NFL’s officiating after Week 3’s loss to the Green Bay Packers, publicly asking why opposing defenders were allowed to get away with penalty-worthy moves that earned flags for his Saints teammates. Through four weeks, the Saints have been the beneficiary of just 19 penalties, the seventh-fewest in the league (tying with the Patriots, who play Monday night).

And there were moments when the referees took aim at the Saints for fouls in coverage against Detroit. Linebacker Alex Anzalone was flagged twice, once for DPI and again for illegal contact, on moves that didn’t appear very egregious but still helped lead to Lions touchdowns. Free safety Marcus Williams was also penalized for competing on a contested catch, despite having turned his head around to look for the ball.

Maybe the NFL’s officiating brotherhood is still stinging from last year’s rebuke, when Saints coach Sean Payton helped introduce a new rule making pass interference subject to replay review (it didn’t take; the rule was ineffective and criticized for slowing down game flow, and abandoned after one year). That was a big affront to their authority and it’s easy to explain this trend away as them looking for any reason to penalize Payton’s team. But you’d think they could be better professionals and not stoop to that.

Whatever the case, the Saints must continue to clean up their act. Giving up so many free yards to opposing teams has put them in too many tight spots this season. Whether it’s changes in coaching instruction or play style, the Saints have to keep tweaking things to limit the impact penalties can have on their games. It’s tough enough to beat one opponent, much less two.

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Chargers expected to play Saints without top RB Austin Ekeler

The New Orleans Saints may not see the Los Angeles Chargers at their best after top running back Austin Ekeler went down with a leg injury.

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The New Orleans Saints won’t be facing the Los Angeles Chargers at their best in next week’s matchup on “Monday Night Football.” Chargers running back Austin Ekeler was carted out of Week 4’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a serious leg issue, which was reported after the game to be a hyperextended knee and hamstring injury.

Ekeler has been L.A.’s best running back, averaging 78.7 rushing yards per game through the first three weeks. Going into this game with the Buccaneers, he also tied for the second-most receptions among Chargers players (16). His presence had been huge for rookie quarterback Justin Herbert, so it’ll be fascinating to see how Los Angeles adjusts to life without him.

It bodes well for the Saints run defense, which has gone 47 consecutive games without allowing a 100-yard rusher. Ekeler may have threatened that streak, but it’s tough to imagine either of his backups — Justin Jackson and Joshua Kelley — achieving such a feat against New Orleans. Hopefully their pass defense will be ready.

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Stingy Saints run defense approaching historic NFL territory

The Saints defense takes pride in their ability to stop opposing running backs in their tracks, and that was no different on Sunday.

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To their credit, the Detroit Lions didn’t stop trying to run on the New Orleans Saints. they kept up the pressure with 22 carries (against 31 pass attempts), and that stubbornness helped accomplish their own downfall by running out the clock late in the game. The Saints won 35-29 with too little time left for Detroit to try a comeback.

That’s according to plan. The Saints defense takes pride in their ability to stop opposing running backs in their tracks, and that was no different on Sunday. The Lions’ leading rusher was Adrian Peterson, who gained just 36 yards on the ground. As a team, Detroit ran for 90 yards, and their longest play was a 12-yard scramble by quarterback Matthew Stafford.

It extends the Saints’ streak of games played without allowing a 100-yard rusher to 47 games. And that’s approaching an NFL record, held by the Philadelphia Eagles from 1989 to 1992. Led by the legendary Reggie White, those Eagles teams played 53 consecutive games without allowing an opposing runner to reach the 100-yard threshold.

And that broke an even older record set by Deacon Jones and the Los Angeles Rams, who went 51 games from 1965 to 1968 without allowing a 100-yard rusher. Third place belonged to Ray Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens, who didn’t give up 100 yards to a single rusher in 46 games from 1998 to 2001.

Well, third place used to belong to Baltimore. Now it’s been claimed by Demario Davis and the Saints, who surpassed the Ravens with their 47th game. They need to keep it up through the next seven games to break the NFL’s record. Here’s how many yards each of their upcoming opponents’ leading rusher has averaged through the first three weeks of 2020 (but keep in mind that many of them are dealing with injuries):

  • Los Angeles Chargers: Austin Ekeler, 78.7
  • Carolina Panthers: Christian McCaffrey, 78.0
  • Chicago Bears: David Montgomery, 63.7
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Ronald Jones, 47.3
  • San Francisco 49ers: Raheem Mostert, 74.0
  • Atlanta Falcons: Todd Gurley, 65.7
  • Denver Broncos: Melvin Gordon, 70.3

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Saints handle their business against the Lions, improve to 2-2

The New Orleans Saints defeated the Detroit Lions thanks to an efficient offense that created plenty of big plays through the air.

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Things looked rough early on, but it didn’t take the New Orleans Saints very long to rally back against the Detroit Lions. After an opening play pass from Drew Brees was deflected and intercepted, setting up a Lions touchdown to go up 14-0, the Saints kept their cool and went to work.

They scored 35 unanswered points, and cut the Lions rally off short of a comeback. The final score was 35-29, but it wasn’t nearly that close for most of the afternoon.

First, the good: the Saints offense finally got into gear with several big gains through the air, including pickups of 29 yards (to Alvin Kamara), 25 yards (to Emmanuel Sanders), and 20 yards (to Tre’Quan Smith, who scored two touchdown receptions). New Orleans also ran the ball well all day, with Kamara averaging 4.4 yards per carry while backup running back Latavius Murray averaged 4.6 yards per attempt.

The Saints defense also logged three sacks and had a pair of interceptions in the end zone, but one was wiped out by a weak illegal contact penalty on the other side of the field. They played better than anyone could have expected without starting cornerbacks Marshon Lattimore and Janoris Jenkins.

But there was some bad: the Saints were terrible on critical downs, going 7-for-14 on third down and allowed the Lions to convert all three of their fourth down attempts (plus a two-point conversion). New Orleans also drew four flags for 67 yards, maintaining their lead on the NFL’s most penalty yards this season. Some of those fouls were botched calls by the NFL’s officials, but the Saints do clearly have some areas to clean up.

But now they’re 2-2, and positioned for a big game against the Los Angeles Chargers on “Monday Night Football” next week. The Saints are a game behind the 3-1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (who won a shootout with those same Chargers), and could really use another win before their Week 6 bye.

Saints trust rookie tight end Adam Trautman to step up for Jared Cook

The New Orleans Saints will lean harder on rookie draft pick Adam Trautman in Week 4 against the Detroit Lions with TE Jared Cook injured.

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The injury bug has struck the New Orleans Saints in a hurry, with starting tight end Jared Cook its latest victim. Cook exited Week 3’s loss to the Green Bay Packers with a groin muscle issue, and it’s kept him out of the team’s first two practice sessions before they hit the road for Week 4.

That’s a problem. Cook ranks second in targets (15) through three games behind Alvin Kamara (31), having converted a first down on 6 of his 9 catches. He’s also been the team’s only reliable vertical weapon, averaging 9.9 yards per target when thrown to. If he can’t play against the Detroit Lions, the Saints would have to lean on rookie tight end Adam Trautman.

But his position coach wants it known that the team trusts Trautman should it come to that. Dan Campbell appeared on WWL Radio earlier this week and expressed strong faith in Trautman’s skills, saying: “When that injury happened with Cook, I didn’t hesitate to put him into that role. I think that says a lot about that kid.”

Trautman ended up playing 32 snaps on offense against Green Bay, compared to 21 snaps for Cook and 20 for co-starter Josh Hill. While Hill has mainly made contributions as a blocker, Trautman’s collegiate success as a pass-catcher (he caught 171 passes for 2,295 yards and 31 touchdowns at Dayton) positions him to fill in well for Cook.

Campbell continued, “I think we all like the kid and where he’s going.”

It’s a small sample size to be sure, but the early returns are encouraging for Trautman. He’s caught all three passes sent his way for 34 yards, converting a pair of first downs, and he has an easier matchup than most this week against a Lions defense that hasn’t guarded tight ends well. As a team, they have given up a combined 9 receptions for 89 yards and two touchdowns to a group including former Saints tight ends Jimmy Graham (with the Chicago Bears) and Dan Arnold (for the Arizona Cardinals).

On paper, it’s a matchup the Saints can win. But just how many opportunities they’ll give a rookie from a small school in his first start remains to be seen. Campbell’s confidence in Trautman suggests strong expectations.

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Adrian Peterson has one big regret from his stint with the Saints

Detroit Lions running back Adrian Peterson misses one important thing from his time with the New Orleans Saints back in 2017: fresh beignets

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Adrian Peterson spent a summer and four regular season games with the New Orleans Saints before being quietly traded away to the Arizona Cardinals; Alvin Kamara’s breakout rookie season kind of pushed him out of the rotation behind Mark Ingram.

But there’s just one thing Peterson truly regrets from his time in New Orleans: not eating enough beignets when he had the chance.

And who can blame him? The powdered sugar-coated dessert is a New Orleans icon, served hot and fresh out of the deep fryer with a cup of simple black chicory coffee. When there isn’t a public health crisis slowing things down, the line of tourists at Cafe Du Monde runs deep at Jackson Square (though locals know better: Cafe Beignet’s spots at Decatur Street or Royal Street are the way to go near the French Quarter, but the New Orleans Coffee & Beignet Co. on St. Charles might be the best in the city).

Peterson only saw 27 carries in New Orleans, a result of the three-deep backfield, though his ability to stick around in the NFL three years later shows he still has something left in the tank. He took 22 attempts for 75 yards last week, and is expected to start against the Saints this Sunday. Peterson may not be able to threaten the Saints’ streak of 46 games played without allowing a 100-yard rusher, but you never know. He’s surprised people before.

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Saints favored by more than a field goal over the Lions

The New Orleans Saints are favored to defeat the Detroit Lions on the road in Week 4, with BetMGM Sportsbook giving an edge to the visitors.

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A couple of ugly losses aren’t enough to deter the oddsmakers from favoring the New Orleans Saints again in Week 4. The BetMGM Sportsbook likes the Saints as road favorites over the Detroit Lions at Ford Field this Sunday, currently listing the Lions as 4-point underdogs in their own building. The over/under is set at 54.5, which implies a final total in the range of Saints 29, Lions 25.

That’s optimistic, given how poorly the Saints defense has performed this season. And they’ll be squaring off against Matthew Stafford, a veteran quarterback with a big arm who has put up more than 25 points every time he’s faced New Orleans throughout his career (except for a 2011 contest when his offense managed just 17 points in a loss).

Including the postseason, Stafford is 3-4 against the Saints, with his offense humming along at an average of 28.1 points per game. He’s won their only meeting at Ford Field back in 2014, outdueling Drew Brees to a score of 24-23.

Hopefully the Saints can bounce back this week. The Lions are a very beatable team, but New Orleans can’t afford to continue hurting itself with so many penalties and miscues.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

Cameron Jordan says poor defense, too many penalties explain Saints’ struggles

New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan shifted blame from Drew Brees to his defense and team penalties on the Rich Eisen Show.

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What is wrong with the New Orleans Saints? To help hash it out, defensive end Cameron Jordan made an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show to reflect on the disappointing opening weeks of the season and also talk up his new podcast with Mark Ingram (we recapped their first episode with Alvin Kamara here).

When asked if he’s buying into the popular narrative that Drew Brees’ advanced age and receding arm talent is holding the team back, Jordan could only scoff.

“I’d like to say he was his most accurate last year, when the same narrative was around. And the most accurate he’s been in his career,” Jordan said.

When looking for flaws on his team, Jordan is more focused on laying blame at the feet of himself and his teammates on defense: “I mean, we’re talking about three games in, I feel like I’m putting [blame] on the defense more than the offense who just put up 30 points on the board.”

Jordan is right to blame his defense, and himself; he hasn’t had success against increased attention from blockers this year, going sackless in each of the first three games. Other should-be stars of the unit like cornerback Marshon Lattimore haven’t played to their talent level, allowing third-wheel receivers like Allen Lazard to have 100-plus yard games against them. They have to improve and justify all the resources invested into that side of the ball for New Orleans.

“This is something the rest of the team has to get better from,” Jordan continued. “This is something that we’ve sort of self-inflected a lot of our pains, our own wounds from penalties, on ourselves. We’re having 70 to 100 yards on penalties, especially on critical downs, this is something we have to clean up and get better from.”

The Saints currently lead the NFL in penalty yards, both in total but especially on defense. While the offense is tied for the 13th-most penalty yards yielded, the Saints defense ranks dead last, and has given up more free yardage than the next two teams put together.

And when asked what the Saints can do to turn this season around, and what it means to clean up those flaws, Jordan responded with something simple: getting a win against the Detroit Lions this Sunday. Doing the right things and making the right adjustments should get them back in the win column. Here’s hoping Jordan and the Saints are on the right track.

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NFL assigns referee Shawn Smith to work Week 4 Saints-Lions game

The NFL assigned referee Shawn Smith to Week 4’s game between the Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints, who lead the league in penalties.

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Third-year NFL referee Shawn Smith and his crew have been assigned to Week 4’s game between the New Orleans Saints and Detroit Lions at Ford Field, per Football Zebras. Smith has worked two Saints games in this capacity, both wins, after spending his first three seasons as an umpire.

In 2017, Smith refereed a 20-0 Saints win at Wembley Stadium over the Miami Dolphins; New Orleans was fouled 8 times for 71 yards, while Miami drew 11 flags for 90 yards. He also officiated 2019’s Thanksgiving Day win over the Atlanta Falcons, which the Saints won 26-18 despite being flagged 9 times for 121 penalty yards (Atlanta was fouled just 4 times for 18 yards). Three of those Saints penalties were on cornerback Eli Apple, who gave up 62 yards on defensive pass interference fouls.

Unfortunately, DPI penalties have plagued the Saints secondary no matter who’s back there. Through three games, no team has drawn more flags for it than New Orleans (9) or for more yards (183). That’s more DPI yards surrendered than the next two teams combined.

In terms of all penalties across the league, the Saints are tied for the second-most fouls (24) but by far the most penalty yards (331). Most of that is on the defense, which has drawn more penalty yards by itself (261) than, again, the next two teams put together (the New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars). The Saints offense, comparatively, is tied for 13th in penalty yards yielded.

This must be a point of emphasis in practice for the Saints coaching staff. Not addressing it would be a season-threatening failure. Whether defensive backs aren’t turning their head when competing for a catch or hooking opponents’ arms in scoring position, they must make more of an effort to play within the rules, because the NFL’s officials haven’t held them to the same standards as their opponents for quite some time.

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