Tag: Taliese Fuaga

Saints’ win over the Cowboys displays a major shift for New Orleans

The Saints’ win over the Cowboys showcased real growth. Dennis Allen beat a good team, and Klint Kubiak has completely renovated this offense:

The 2024 rendition of the New Orleans Saints have already succeeded where last year’s team failed. They’ve defeated a good team by knocking out the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

When the Saints finally started to put it together at the end of 2023, they defeated the lowly Carolina Panthers and New York Giants. The following game was against the Los Angeles Rams, and everyone wanted to see the Saints find success against a better opponent. Sound familiar?

This was the same sentiment expressed before visiting the Cowboys. But this time they passed the test. Alvin Kamara built on top of a strong Week 1 performance, Derek Carr’s connection to Rashid Shaheed proved to still  be dangerous, and it’s safe to say Klint Kubiak has completely renovated this offense.

The offensive line stalled the Cowboys’ pass rush, and that was the place where it seemed Dallas had the biggest advantage on paper. Trevor Penning and Taliese Fuaga kept Carr clean against an elite pass rusher in Micah Parsons.

Rising to the occasion this week answered a lot of questions about the Saints, and it drew a clear line between this team and last year’s squad. The 2024 Saints can beat good teams. The sky just might be the limit for New Orleans.

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Taliese Fuaga will play vs. Cowboys in Week 2

Taliese Fuaga continued to deal with back tightness throughout the week. After testing it out pregame, the rookie will play in Saints vs. Cowboys:

Taliese Fuaga played every snap in the New Orleans Saints’ season opener with the Carolina Panthers, and they’ll have in the lineup again for Sunday’s Week 2 game against the Dallas Cowboys. Fuaga was a limited participant during the first day of practice this week and it was the last time he practiced at all. He was out the ensuing two days and listed was seen as a game-time decision.

Fuaga is dealing with back tightness similar to what he managing during training camp. Saints head coach Dennis Allen doesn’t believe the injury is a major issue, and Fuaga was cleared to play after testing out his back before the game.

With Micah Parsons playing host, Trevor Penning will have to be on top of things Sunday. Parsons likes to rush against the right tackle but he’ll get reps against Fuaga, too. Penning may get the brunt of the high-profile matchup, but Fuaga doesn’t have it easy. Parsons is a dynamic pass rusher, and the rookie will still have to deal with Parsons at times. Even when Parsons is in front of Penning, DeMarcus Lawrence is a formidable threat.

Lawrence is a strong run defender who can derail the Saints’ main objective to dominate the run game. The Saints offensive tackles will have their hands full on both sides.

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Saints announce inactive players for Week 2 game vs. Cowboys

The New Orleans Saints announced their list of inactive players for Week 2’s game with the Dallas Cowboys:

The New Orleans Saints are looking for their second victory in a row and start 2-0 for the second consecutive season. After knocking off the Carolina Panthers, the Saints take on a bigger challenge in the Dallas Cowboys.

Bryan Bresee, Taliese Fuaga and Marshon Lattimore were prominent players who were listed as questionable. Bresee and Fuaga will play but Lattimore is inactive. The Saints ruled out two other players for the contest earlier in the week

Spencer Rattler will continue to be the third emergency quarterback. He’ll be dressed out, but he won’t count as an active player. He only comes into the game if Derek Carr and Jake Haener are injured.

Here are the inactive list from each team:

New Orleans Saints inactive players:

  • LB D’Marco Jackson (calf)
  • LB Jaylan Ford (hamstring)
  • DT Khalen Saunders (calf)
  • QB Spencer Rattler (emergency third quarterback)
  • LB Jaylan Ford (hamstring)
  • TE Dallin Holker (ankle)
  • WR A.T. Perry (hand)

Dallas Cowboys inactive players:

  • TE John Stephens (hamstring)
  • TE Jake Ferguson (knee)
  • QB Trey Lance (emergency third quarterback)
  • CB Andrew Booth
  • LB Buddy Johnson
  • WR Ryan Flournoy
  • OT Matt Waletzko

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Taliese Fuaga traveled to Dallas, will be a game-time decision vs. Cowboys

Taliese Fuaga traveled to Dallas while dealing with back tightness that has kept him out of practice. He’ll be a game-time decision against the Cowboys:

Taliese Fuaga traveled to Dallas for Sunday’s Saints game, per New Orleans.Football’s Nick Underhill, but his status will be a game-time decision ahead of kickoff with the Cowboys. Dennis Allen wasn’t concerned that the injury would be a major issue, but he never said Fuaga would play this week. He didn’t shut the door on that possibility, either.

Fuaga making the trip is the first step in the right direction. That keeps hope alive he could play. He’s currently dealing with back tightness, so that’s a tricky one. The injury kept the rookie out of practice for the majority of the week. He’ll have an opportunity to warm up on the field at AT&T Stadium and see how his back is feeling.

If Fuaga can’t play, Landon Young would join Trevor Penning as the starting tackles. Young filled in for Fuaga at practice during the week. Like Fuaga, Young shifted from the right side of the offensive line to the left this offseason. Olisaemeka Udoh is another option but he’s been focused on backing up Penning on the right side as of late.

The offensive line still has questions to answer and doing it without Fuaga will be a more difficult task. Fuaga will workout in pregame warm ups. It isn’t until then we’ll know whether he can go. It’s a long season and the Saints may not want to jeopardize their standout left tackle in Week 2.

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Landon Young on the difference between playing left guard and tackle

Landon Young came in for Lucas Patrick at left guard vs. the Panthers, and he may have to fill in for Taliese Fuaga vs. the Cowboys

Landon Young came in for Lucas Patrick at left guard against the Carolina Panthers, and there is a chance he may have to fill in for Taliese Fuaga against the Dallas Cowboys this week.

The New Orleans Saints drafted Young as an offensive tackle. This year he became more versatile by adding guard to his repertoire. That has come in handy just a week into the season.

This week in practice he’s gone from guard to tackle and he discussed the difficulties of it: “It has its challenges. It’s a little bit easier to go from outside to inside than inside to outside.”

Unfortunately for Young, the Saints are asking him to take the harder route. Being a natural tackle may make his transition easier. The most important and beneficial thing for Young is getting reps at the position he’ll end up playing.

Adjusting to different players on your own team and opposing teams is a huge difference Young pointed out. He goes from blocking smaller, agile players on the edge to bigger, powerful players on the interior.

There’s also the chemistry factor of understanding the tendencies of the center or the guard next to you. This understanding is crucial as you pass off defenders to teammates.

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Saints rule out two, but say five are questionable on final Week 2 injury report

The New Orleans Saints ruled out two players against the Cowboys, but they say five are questionable on the final Week 2 injury report:

The New Orleans Saints released their final Week 2 injury report ahead of Sunday’s game with the Dallas Cowboys, but we’ll have to wait until Sunday morning for confirmation on several key playmakers.

Just two players were ruled out for this game by New Orleans, in defensive tackle Khalen Saunders and linebacker D’Marco Jackson. Both of them are dealing with calf injuries.

What’s complicated is the group of five players who are questionable to suit up. That group includes keystones like left tackle Taliese Fuaga (back) and cornerback Marshon Lattimore (hamstring), plus young defensive linemen Bryan Bresee (illness) and Isaiah Foskey (back). Rookie linebacker Jaylan Ford (hamstring) is also questionable for Sunday.

As far as Dallas is concerned? They’ve already ruled out backup tight end John Stephens (hamstring), but the starter Jake Ferguson (knee) is doubtful to play after getting banged up in Week 1. Being so shorthanded at tight end could limit what the Cowboys offense can do on Sunday, but at the end of the day what it really comes down to is whether the Saints can contain dynamic slot receiver CeeDee Lamb.

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Dennis Allen leaves the door open for Taliese Fuaga to play vs. Cowboys

Taliese Fuaga has missed the last two days of practice, but Dennis Allen is leaving the door open for the rookie to play against the Cowboys:

https://twitter.com/miketriplett/status/1834660609998090676?s=46&t=_U0UBmCWxF2s5xLnGQ2rFQ

After Friday’s practice, Dennis Allen discussed the Taliese Fuaga injury with the media, and he doesn’t seem worried about this being a long term ailment. Fuaga missed the last two days of practice after being limited on Wednesday.

Allen said Fuaga’s injury as “a little back tightness.” Allen also described it as “not a whole lot different than what Fuaga dealt with in training camp.” He emphasized that he feels good about where Fuaga is at. The rookie was phenomenal in his first career start last week against the Carolina Panthers, even if this back tightness is nagging him.

The Saints face the Dallas Cowboys this Sunday and will have to deal with the duo of DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons. This isn’t a game you want to go into down any offensive linemen, especially not a left tackle.

Allen may not characterize this as a major injury, but that is not a statement Fuaga will play. The team still has to evaluate him over the next couple of days. This is an indication Fuaga’s absence isn’t purely precautionary.

Allen called the decision on whether to play a player who hasn’t had the opportunity to practice a “challenge.” Fuaga’s uncommon maturity as a young player, however, makes it an easier decision. If Fuaga can play, he will go despite not practicing much. This should be expected to be a game-time decision.

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How Taliese Fuaga’s potential absence could impact Week 2

Taliese Fuaga was a DNP on Thursday. His absence would put the Saints in a bad spot against Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence:

Taliese Fuaga was downgraded on the New Orleans Saints injury report. The rookie left tackle was a limited participant at Wednesday’s practice due to a back injury, which led to him missing practice entirely on Thursday. Fuaga didn’t miss a snap while playing very well in Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers so it’s tough to say how serious this injury may be.

It’s too soon to project whether or not Fuaga will miss the Saints’ contest with the Dallas Cowboys, but it isn’t too soon to look at the implications of his absence.

Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence are two really good defensive ends. One of them will be in front of the left tackle. Running Trevor Penning and Landon Young out there to stop this duo doesn’t inspire confidence.

Lawrence is a strong run defender who offers a pass-rush element. That isn’t the prototype that gets the discussions flowing, but it certainly can disrupt a game. Meanwhile, Parsons is on the short list of the best pure pass rushers and most dynamic defenders in the NFL.

Fuaga dealt with back tightness in the preseason. We viewed how important his presence was at that time and this is the type of game we were worried about. This was before he turned offseason hype into a strong debut. Even in the preseason, it was clear he would be a valuable asset on the left side of the offensive line. Stay tuned for Friday’s final injury report and and update on his status for this Cowboys game.

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Taliese Fuaga downgraded on Week 2 Saints injury report vs. Cowboys

This is worth watching. Saints rookie left tackle Taliese Fuaga (back) didn’t practice on Thursday ahead of Week 2’s road game with the Cowboys:

This is worth watching. New Orleans Saints rookie left tackle Taliese Fuaga (back) didn’t practice on Thursday, putting his status in jeopardy ahead of Week 2’s road game with the Dallas Cowboys. If he can’t go it would likely be veteran backup Landon Young or Olisaemeka Udoh starting in his place against DeMarcus Lawrence, Micah Parsons, and the talented Cowboys defensive line.

We’ll have to wait for final word on Fuaga’s condition later this week. He’s been managing this back injury with lighter practice days but this is the first session he’s missed since training camp. He didn’t miss a snap in the season opener and more than held his own, so there should be some optimism that he can go on Sunday. At the same time, it’s a long season, and this is only the second game of his NFL career. The Saints could choose to protect Fuaga by giving him more time to rest.

Other updates from the injury report: Marshon Lattimore (hamstring) missed a second day of practice which would put rookie draft pick Kool-Aid McKinstry in the starting lineup at cornerback. Veterans Tyrann Mathieu (heel) and Lucas Patrick (toe) returned to practice on a limited basis at safety and left guard, respectively, while tight ends Dallin Holker (ankle) and Foster Moreau (concussion) were upgraded to full reps. We’ll know more about everyone after Friday’s final injury report is released with travel plans becoming clear on Saturday.

Here’s the full injury report following Thursday’s practice:

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Taliese Fuaga ranks as the second best rookie after Week 1

Taliese Fuaga followed up on offseason hype with a strong Saints debut. He ranks inside the top-five from B/R’s rookie rankings:

The 2024 NFL draft was headlined by the surplus of quarterbacks drafted in the front half of the first round. After the first week, it isn’t the quarterbacks making at the top of Bleacher Report’s rankings. Instead, it’s primarily players on the offensive and defensive line.

New Orleans Saints offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga comes in at second only to Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy. Fuaga wasn’t able to punch in two touchdowns, but it was still quite the debut.

It’s hard to craft a better debut than Fuaga had on Sunday. Erik McCoy has spent the offseason accelerating the hype train. After the game, McCoy should thank the rookie for making him look like a genius.

You’ll see a litany of clips on social media of Fuaga from his debut. His transition to the Saints scheme was expected to be smooth because of his experience in a wide zone system in college.

Fuaga comfortably sealed off defenders and climbed to the second level as the backside blocker. Fuaga is credited with 94% pass block win rate was good for 15th among all tackles. There is no rookie even close. He’ll have a much taller task in Week 2.

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