Sean Payton pleased with Taysom Hill’s progress, even if ‘he runs like Barney Rubble’

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton credited Taysom Hill for integrating the Saints passing attack, even if he doesn’t look pretty doing it

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Don’t look now, but New Orleans Saints quarterback Taysom Hill has turned into a real weapon in Sean Payton’s passing game. Hill finished the 2019 season tied with wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith in receiving yards (234) and one more touchdown catch (6, against Smith’s 5). He and Smith were tied for the sixth-most receiving yards on the team, while Hill’s receiving touchdowns placed third-best (wide receiver Michael Thomas and tight end Jared Cook tied for first, with 9 scoring grabs).

As Payton explains it, Hill’s growth into a legitimate receiving threat wasn’t really part of the plan. It was just a natural evolution from his success on special teams and bit-part on offense.

Payton said, “Yeah, I think it’s just continued to expand. I think that we’ve seen him in special teams. We’ve seen him block on offense. We’ve seen him run down the field vertically and each week it’s just expanded relative to his role. I think he’s handled it well. He has a lot of hats.”

When asked how the other receivers react to Hill’s continued development, all Payton could do was chuckle.

“We give them a hard time because sometimes he runs like Barney Rubble, but he runs fast,” Payton joked, referencing the caveman from old “The Flintstones” cartoons. Hill may be athletic, but he’s rarely aesthetic. His rumbling, tumbling style of running doesn’t look as pretty as the smooth track-and-field speed Smith or Ted Ginn Jr. may enjoy, but there’s no questioning his effectiveness. Payton continued, “I think he has real good sense and awareness of coverage. He’s smart, he understands how to set up routes and I think he had a big play yesterday but, but I think he has real good football intelligence.”

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Has Alvin Kamara regressed? Sean Payton doesn’t think so

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton contextualized the struggles running back Alvin Kamara has faced and gave his star a vote of confidence

It’s been a frustrating season for New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara, despite his team’s success. On top of a handful of knee and ankle injuries that sidelined him midway through, he’s struggled to get into the end zone, scoring just two touchdowns all year (both in Week 3’s huge game with the Seattle Seahawks). Considering Kamara scored 14 touchdowns in 2017 and 18 touchdowns in 2018, that’s a huge drop-off.

But it doesn’t tell the whole story. While he hasn’t gotten many opportunities inside the red zone (meaning the opponent’s 20-yard line, which is prime scoring position), logging 29 touches in 11 games this year (2.63 combined runs and targets per game) after getting 110 looks in his previous 31 regular season games (3.55 per game). In addition to that context, Kamara’s efficiency stats are lining up well against what he accomplished just last season. He’s only averaged three rushing yards and five receiving yards less per game:

2018: 58.9 rushing yards per game, 47.3 receiving yards per game
2019: 55.6 rushing yards per game, 42.0 receiving yards per game

However, that’s not going to be very compelling to many fans after Kamara gained a combined 43 yards from scrimmage in the biggest game of the year last week, against the San Francisco 49ers. 17 of those yards came on one carry; without it, Kamara averaged an outlandish 0.61 yards per rushing attempt, including several negative runs.

Maybe Kamara’s lacking his signature lower-body explosive ability due to those injuries, and isn’t breaking tackles as often because of it — after shedding 27 tacklers in the first five weeks, he’s only broken 7 tackles since, per Sports Radar. Something is clearly not right with him. While still a fine asset, he’s not been playing like the cornerstone on offense fans have gotten used to.

However, Saints coach Sean Payton gave Kamara a strong vote of confidence, stressing the need for patience and reminding fans of the adversity Kamara’s dealt with this season in his weekly media availability:

“This is always one of those topics where he will have those games where he jumps out and we’ll call it a breakout game. Part of it is the way the games have unfolded,” Payton said. “There have been good opponents, he was injured for a few weeks there, there was some time when Drew (Brees) missed and Latavius has jumped in. Each week, there’s a different way that it unfolds.”

Still, at the end of the day Payton expects Kamara to reassert himself as a premier talent in the NFL, adding: “He’s too talented a player. I’m seeing everything in practice, the way he prepares. His best football this season’s ahead of him.”

So maybe Kamara is still knocking off some rust from his early-season injuries. Payton isn’t going to stop giving him opportunities to go be great any time soon, even if Kamara turns in a bad performance or two. Fans just has to hope he gets his mojo back before the playoffs start in a few weeks.

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NFC West roundup: Rams defeat Seahawks, 49ers take division lead back

Week 14 was not kind to the Seattle Seahawks, as they lost to the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers beat the New Orleans Saints.

Week 14 was not a good week for the Seattle Seahawks (10-3). They suffered a demoralizing 28-12 road loss to the Los Angeles Rams (8-5) who remain in the postseason race, and the San Francisco 49ers (11-2) reclaimed the lead in the NFC West by defeating the New Orleans Saints (10-3) on the road in one of the most exciting games of the season. The Arizona Cardinals (3-9-1) are already eliminated from playoff contention and lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers (8-5). Let’s jump into the game summaries.

San Francisco 49ers 48 – New Orleans Saints 46

The 49ers and Saints exchanged blows throughout the entire game and culminated in a fitting finish – a game-winning field goal by Robbie Gould. The key play on San Francisco’s final drive was a fourth-down conversion by tight end George Kittle that put the 49ers in range for Gould’s kick to ice the game.

The two signal-callers turned in monster performances as both offenses tried to outdo the other. Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 349 passing yards, four touchdown passes and an interception for a 131.7 passer rating. Saints quarterback Drew Brees threw five touchdowns and rushed for another as San Francisco’s defense had trouble containing the Saints offense. Fortunately for the visitors, they did enough and won the game at the last second.

This was just the third game in NFL history in the past 55 years in which both teams had at least 27 points before halftime, as the 49ers led 28-27 at the intermission. San Francisco retook possession of the No. 1 seed in the NFC along with the division lead and now controls their own destiny. The 49ers will play the Falcons (4-9) at home in Week 15.

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Drew Brees overtakes Tom Brady in search of Peyton Manning’s record

The race for Peyton Manning’s career touchdowns record is heating up between New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees and Patriots passer Tom Brady.

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New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees turned in a vintage performance against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, lobbing five touchdown passes and turning in another one on a goal-line leap over the top. It was enough to raise his career total to 537 touchdown passes, putting him ahead of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (536) as both living legends compete for the record Peyton Manning set (539) before his 2016 retirement.

Brees has to throw three touchdowns in his final three games to break Manning’s record, while Brady has to complete four scoring throws in his three games. Here’s who each quarterback will play to close out the regular season:

Drew Brees’ final opponents

Week 15 vs. Indianapolis Colts
Week 16 at Tennessee Titans
Week 17 at Carolina Panthers

Tom Brady’s final opponents

Week 15 at Cincinnati Bengals
Week 16 vs. Buffalo Bills
Week 17 vs. Miami Dolphins

While Brady’s receiving corps has been horrific this season — so bad that he couldn’t even build a significant lead on Brees in the five games he missed with a thumb injury earlier this year — he could absolutely break the record against the Bengals on Sunday. What’s curious is that Brees is in position to break that record during Monday night’s game with the Colts. Would the NFL stop the Patriots-Bengals game to recognize Brady’s accomplishment (as they did when Brees broke Manning’s career passing yards record last year) and then do the same a day later? Godspeed to the NFL game day operations crew.

Whoever ends up winning this record before Brees and Brady both retire will probably hold onto it for a decade. Either of them could retire at any time and not really shock anyone, and the active quarterbacks behind them have so much ground to make up that it could reasonably take six or seven years to even challenge the new high-water mark. Here’s what the standings look like among the NFL’s top ten quarterbacks in career passing touchdowns:

Drew Brees, 537
Tom Brady, 536
Philip Rivers, 394
Ben Roethlisberger, 363
Eli Manning, 361
Aaron Rodgers, 361
Matt Ryan, 317
Matthew Stafford, 256
Russell Wilson, 222
Joe Flacco, 218

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Tom Brady breaks tie with Drew Brees in loss, closes in on Peyton Manning’s record

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New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady couldn’t get it done against the Houston Texans in his team’s 28-22 loss on Sunday Night Football, but he did pad his personal stats in pursuit of NFL history with three touchdown passes. That helped his career total rise to 535, breaking a tie with New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees at 532. They both trail retired all-time great Peyton Manning (539), and each passer has a shot at surpassing him before the regular season winds down.

It was just the third time this year in which Brady lobbed three or more touchdown passes; he had previously scored just 15 times through the air in his first 11 games. When Brees missed five games with an injury to his throwing hand, Brady struggled to take advantage of the opportunity, allowing Brees to tie everything up last week. Now it’s up to Brees to keep up the pace down the stretch.

There’s a lot of pressure for each quarterback to go out on top, because the winner will own bragging rights for most of the next decade. Their youngest, closest competition (36-year-old Aaron Rodgers, and almost-35-year-old Matt Ryan) would need to make big improvements for the next five or six years to seriously challenge them.

Here’s how the standings among active quarterbacks look in all-time touchdown passes:

Tom Brady, 535
Drew Brees, 532
Philip Rivers, 391
Ben Roethlisberger, 363
Eli Manning, 362
Aaron Rodgers, 360
Matt Ryan, 315

We’ll see whether Brees can continue making up for lost time in the final quarter of the regular season. Brady was visibly frustrated with his receiving corps for much of Sunday’s game against the Texans, while Brees and the Saints have someone they can lean on in Michael Thomas, an MVP candidate. If someone can start to consistently make plays opposite Thomas (this is your time, Jared Cook) then Brees could very well claim that record first.

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Drew Brees, Tom Brady tied behind Peyton Manning’s record in touchdown passes

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is locked in a tie with New England Patriots passer Tom Brady for Peyton Manning’s all-time record

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Peyton Manning retired after the 2015 season on his own terms, having clinched the second Super Bowl victory that eluded him (and that New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees had a hand in denying him, back in 2009) as well as the NFL’s record for career touchdown passes, with 539.

But that record won’t remain his forever. Brees is hot on his heels after lobbing a scoring pass to backup Saints quarterback Taysom Hill last Thursday against the Atlanta Falcons, putting him at 532 in his NFL career. That ties the mark for second-best set by New England Patriots legend Tom Brady, who will play the Houston Texans on Sunday Night Football.

That means Brady will have a chance to break his tie with Brees and gain further ground on Manning’s all-time lead. However, he’ll hardly have an easy go of it; flu season has hit New England hard, with 17 players listed as questionable to suit up in Houston. The Patriots even chartered a second airplane to travel cross-country and avoid further contamination between sick players and their (so far) healthy teammates.

Among Brady’s top receiving options, three will be dealing with injuries or the flu if they play at all. The list includes wide receivers Julian Edelman (shoulder), Phillip Dorsett (concussion), and Mohamed Sanu (ankle). With just five games left in the regular season, Brady has to score eight more touchdown passes to break Manning’s record — a rate of 1.6 per game. He’s averaged just 1.36 through his first 11 games, which opens the door for Brees to overtake him and possibly break the record first.

New Orleans only has four games left in the regular season, meaning Brees must average 2.0 touchdown passes per game to break the record. His five-game stint on the sidelines with an injury notwithstanding, the Saints quarterback has averaged 1.7 through seven starts this year. Take out his early exit against the Los Angeles Rams and that average rises to 2.0 per game, meaning the record is well within reach.

Whoever ends up setting this record before the other retires will likely hold onto it for quite some time. The only other active quarterbacks behind them are a gaggle of fringe Hall of Famers like Philip Rivers (389), Ben Roethlisberger (363), Eli Manning (362), Aaron Rodgers (356), and Matt Ryan (315), and each of them is closer to retirement than their prime.

As the youngest members on that list, Rodgers (who turns 36 on Monday) would need to average 2.3 touchdown passes per game for the next five years to break Manning’s record, while Ryan (who will be 35 in May) would have to average 2.34 for six years. Rodgers is only scoring 1.6 touchdown passes per game this season, and Ryan is scoring at a clip of 1.81 per game.

Those are some long odds, which only raises the pressure on Brees and Brady. Whoever ends up owning this record will have bragging rights that last nearly a decade.

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Where do Tom Brady, Drew Brees rank in race for Peyton Manning’s crown?

New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees and New England Patriots QB Tom Brady are in tight competition for Peyton Manning’s passing touchown record

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Peyton Manning retired from the NFL in 2016 as the league’s all-time leader in touchdown passes, having scored 539 times through the air in his lengthy career. That put him ahead of the former record-holder, Brett Favre (who set the previous high-water mark with 508, ahead of Dan Marino’s 420), by a sizable margin.

But records are meant to be broken. And two Hall of Fame-bound quarterbacks have Manning’s accomplishment in their sights: New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and New England Patriots passer Tom Brady.

Here’s how the top five shapes up right now, though only Brees and Brady remain active:

Peyton Manning (539)
Tom Brady (531)
Drew Brees (528)
Brett Favre (508)
Dan Marino (420)

With just six games left to play in the 2019 regular season, both Brees and Brady may be hard-pressed to match Manning. Brees obviously missed out during his five-week recovery from thumb surgery, but Brady didn’t take advantage of the opportunity to put himself further ahead. The Patriots quarterback threw just seven touchdowns during the five games Brees sat out, and the Philadelphia Eagles defense held him without a touchdown pass in New England’s most recent win.

In order to break Manning’s record, Brady needs to throw nine touchdown passes in his next six games — an average of 1.5 per game. That may sound easy enough, but Brady has been limited to one touchdown pass or fewer in half the games he’s played this year. Brees has to connect on twelve throws into the end zone to do the same, a rate of two per game. He’s gone scoreless in two of his five starts this year. If they both come up short, well, there’s always next year.

When quarterbacks have accomplished as much as Brees and Brady have, it can be difficult to keep up with all of the records they’ve broken and those that are still up for grabs. But this is one competition fans can keep track of on a weekly basis, and it’s well worth watching. When Brees and Brady eventually hang up their cleats and start writing their Hall of Fame inductions speeches, all-time great records like this one are what fans will be using to debate for years to come.

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Chris Carson is a double-edged sword for the Seahawks this season

Seattle Seahawks running back Chris Carson has been a double-edged sword for the team this season with high production but multiple fumbles.

Chris Carson has been a bit of a double-edged sword for the Seattle Seahawks this season. The third-year running back out of Oklahoma State has rushed for 853 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games in 2019, while chipping in 189 receiving yards for two additional scores.

However, he already has a career-high six fumbles on the season doubling his previous career-high in 2018. This could become a real concern moving forward despite Seattle’s 8-2 record.

The Seahawks may be a high-ranking team in the NFC right now, but they have had to fight for almost every one of their victories. Carson has contributed greatly to the team’s success and is their best running back by a country mile, but his ball security issues are still noticeable.

Coach Pete Carroll repeatedly preaches protecting the football, something the Seahawks were not able to do in their narrow overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Monday. Carson had a fumble himself, but he also provided 101 total yards and a touchdown in the matchup.

Carson’s issues began early, when he fumbled in each of the first three games of the season. After that, Carson did not fumble in his next five outings. He then proceeded to fumble twice against Tampa Bay in a contest Seattle escaped by the skin of its teeth with a win.

Carson has been one of the most important players on the Seahawks’ roster and is crucial to their offensive success. His positive contributions far outweigh the negative, but he must continue to work on his ball security to help his team win even more, especially with the tough schedule the Seahawks have over the final six weeks of the regular season.

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