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.
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. My understanding is that he’ll be a gametime decision.
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.
How do you stop Micah Parsons? Landon Young is looking for the answer through studying Parsons’ tendencies
The New Orleans Saints have to deal with one of the NFL’s premier pass rushers, Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons, this week.
Parsons had 13 sacks as a rookie and has added an extra half sack to his season total the following two years. He’s finished top-three in the Defensive Player of the Year each season as well.
With Taliese Fuaga’s back injury, slowing down Parsons may come down to Landon Young and Trevor Penning.
It’s difficult to say something about Parsons that hasn’t already been said, so Young kept it simple. He says Parsons “has all the attributes as what you want as a pass rusher.”
Young sees film study as the most important aspects as he tries to mitigate Parsons’ impact on the game. Young is looking for how Parsons’ varies his approach on a down by down basis. Knowing what he likes to do will help Young anticipate it and hopefully be prepared.
Parsons clearly has the advantage in the matchup, and Young has to look for any advantage, and those advantages must come from exploiting tendencies. Penning should be doing the same.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Penalties might be the Saints’ biggest blemish from Week 1’s big win. Dennis Allen’s team can’t afford so many mistakes against the Cowboys:
It’s tough to find much to complain about after the New Orleans Saints’ dominant win over the Carolina Panthers. A 47-10 landslide is a heck of a way to make a statement in Week 1. The offense was nearly unstoppable and the defense was locked in. But it wasn’t a perfect game.
As head coach Dennis Allen acknowledged afterwards, they can’t afford so many penalties and unforced errors against a better opponent — especially a Super Bowl contender like the Dallas Cowboys, who will play host in Week 2. So just how bad was it, really?
The Saints go into Week 2 with the second-most penalty yards (95) from the third-most fouls (10) among the league’s 32 teams. The offense was flagged five times for 45 yards while the defense drew 3 penalties for another 25 yards; the special teams units were also hit with 25 yards from a couple of infractions.
Here’s the full breakdown:
S J.T. Gray: kick catch interference (15 yards)
C Erik McCoy: unnecessary roughness (15 yards)
DE Payton Turner: unnecessary roughness (15 yards)
That’s three pre-snap penalties (two on offense, one on defense). If there’s a silver lining — there are actually two — this is something the Saints can control. We’ve seen them play disciplined football before. At the same time, their next matchup is with the league leader in penalties. The Cowboys were fouled 11 times last Sunday, costing them 85 yards, which was the fourth-most yardage total of the weekend.
So be prepared for more penalty flags to fly on both teams this Sunday. Cleaning up bad habits doesn’t happen overnight. So long as the Saints put in the work this week and players do a better job keeping their heads, it could be enough to tip the scales in their favor. But you have to think the Cowboys coaches are thinking the exact same thing.
It’s just one game, and it’s just the Carolina Panthers. But Trevor Penning showed what his New Orleans Saints coaches needed to see in Week 1:
Here’s a tip of the hat to Trevor Penning — he’s earned it. The New Orleans Saints right tackle held his own in his first real start. Sure, it’s just one game. Sure, it’s just the Carolina Panthers. But Penning showed head coach Dennis Allen what he needed to see on Sunday.
“I thought it was a big step forward for him. I thought this was going to be a tough challenge going against (Jadeveon) Clowney,” Allen said on WWL Radio Monday evening. “I thought he did a good job there. I thought he was really tough and nasty in the run game.”
That lines up with what Allen said immediately after the game on Sunday: “When you look at the offensive performance and being able to put points up like that, being able to run the football like that – three touchdown passes, is that right? You don’t do those things without your offensive line playing at a high level. I thought they played well.”
Penning was one of three offensive players to stay on the field for all 66 snaps against the Panthers, along with his fellow linemen Taliese Fuaga and Erik McCoy. Pro Football Focus charting dinged him with allowing just one pressure on 26 snaps in pass protection, and the Saints’ runners averaged a solid 2.2 yards per carry before contact when following the right side of the line.
Again, it’s just one game. He’s about to run up against one of the best defenders in the league with Micah Parsons leading the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2. Penning has a long ways to go to fully win over his doubters. But every journey starts with one step, and he took a big step forward in Week 1.
Saints DE Carl Granderson ripped through the Panthers for 10 pressures, 2.0 sacks and a forced fumble in 2023. LT Ikem Ekwonu must keep him at bay in Week 1.
The Carolina Panthers will have to claim a few battles to win the war against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
Here are four key matchups for this weekend’s regular-season opener between the NFC South rivals:
WR Diontae Johnson vs. CB Marshon Lattimore
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Quarterback Bryce Young and the Panthers have a few new toys on offense, including Johnson. The former Pro Bowler, who is one of the best pure separators in football, will serve as the unit’s go-to target and give Young an element of openness he didn’t always have last season.
When it comes to New Orleans, go-to targets go through Lattimore—who was not in uniform the only time Johnson has faced the Saints. That contest came in 2022, when Johnson went for 63 yards on four receptions against Paulson Adebo and Alontae Taylor—the other two featured corners who are still in the secondary.
LT Ikem Ekwonu vs. DE Carl Granderson
Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
For Young to find Johnson and the rest of his pass catchers, he’ll have to avoid Granderson—who was an absolute menace against Carolina in 2023. The 27-year-old accounted for 10 pressures, 2.0 sacks and a forced fumble between their two meetings.
Much of that pressure was charged to Ekwonu. The former sixth overall pick can begin to put a mediocre second campaign behind him with a little redemption at the start of his third.
Panthers OLBs vs. Saints OTs
Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Carolina’s defense is headed into Week 1 with very few, if any answers to their pass-rushing problems. Other than 11th-year veteran Jadeveon Clowney, the Panthers are carrying only three (very inexperienced) outside linebackers on the active roster—DJ Johnson, Eku Leota and Jamie Sheriff.
Luckily for them, the Saints have a little inexperience of their own on the blindside with rookie and 2024 first-round pick Taliese Fuaga. They’ll also be rolling out starting right tackle Trevor Penning, who has had a very rough go in the NFL over his brief two-year career.
Something may (or may not) have to give here.
CB Mike Jackson vs. WR A.T. Perry
Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
In addition to the second edge spot, the Panthers will have to figure out who will step up as the No. 2 cornerback next to Jaycee Horn. Mike Jackson, who was acquired in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks on Aug. 22, will seemingly get the first crack at the job.
He has to make sure Perry, an ascending young talent for New Orleans, doesn’t make himself a smooth criminal on Sunday.
