Tag: Vikings

Pierre Thomas’ 38-yard screen TD is the Saints Play of the Day

Pierre Thomas was one of the best running backs on screen passes, and his 38-yard TD in the 2009 NFC title game is the Saints Play of the Day:

You could pick almost any play from the 2009 NFC championship game and argue that it deserves a spot in the highlight reel. Between all of the turnovers taken away, lead changes, touchdowns scored, dramatic field goals and yes, the big hits, it remains one of the hardest-fought games in NFL history.

And this 38-yard touchdown from Pierre Thomas stands as one of the best plays in a game full of standout individual efforts. He was always regarded as one of the best running backs on screen passes, and this scoring play was a great example of it. Thomas caught the ball cleanly out of the backfield from Drew Brees and turned up the field to follow his blockers for 38 yards into the end zone.

Of course he didn’t do it alone. Sean Payton designed a great play and  called it at the perfect time, taking advantage of the Minnesota Vikings defense as they misread what was in front of them. Brees threw a great football. But the offensive line made this happen. Blockers got out in front to clear a path for Thomas, including all-star right guard Jahri Evans, who walled off two Vikings defenders during the play. Wide receiver Marques Colston and tight end Jeremy Shockey cleared out the last ten yards with left guard Carl Nicks escorting Thomas to the end zone, untouched.

And the six points he scored proved to be pivotal. The Saints and Vikings traded body blows before going to overtime, where Garrett Hartley sent New Orleans to Super Bowl XLIV with a game-winning field goal. But they wouldn’t have gotten there in the first place if Thomas didn’t put their first points on the scoreboard.

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Garrett Hartley’s iconic 40-yard field goal is the Saints Play of the Day

Garrett Hartley’s iconic 40-yard field goal is the Saints Play of the Day. Here’s the kick that sent the Saints to Super Bowl XLIV:

We’re down to 40 days until the New Orleans Saints kick off their 2024 regular season, and Garrett Hartley’s 40-yard field goal against the Minnesota Vikings is our Saints Play of the Day.

Now, a 40-yard field goal in itself isn’t too exciting. But this kick in particular had the highest stakes of any play in team history. Hartley sent the Saints to Super Bowl XLIV by nailing his field goal in overtime of the NFC championship game. He followed Sean Payton’s advice to aim for the team’s black and gold fleur-de-lis waving on a banner between the uprights.

It was one of the hardest-fought games in recent memory. The score was tied up four times and the Saints defensed hammered the Vikings offense, taking advantage of two Brett Favre interceptions and a three lost fumbles from Adrian Peterson, Percy Harvin, and Bernard Berrian. Minnesota’s ball security proved to be their downfall when Favre threw his second interception in the final seconds of regulation; Tracy Porter picked it off, setting the stage for his iconic pick-six off of Peyton Manning in the Super Bowl.

As for Hartley? His season to this point was wild. He’d been suspended for the first four games and was inactive during the next seven contests before getting called in to replace John Carney. He went 9-of-11 on field goals and 10-of-11 on extra points in the team’s last five regular season games, but he kicked things into gear in the playoffs. Hartley was perfect on each of his field goals (including three of them in the Super Bowl from distances of 46, 44, and 47 yards) and all 12 of his extra point tries.

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Jordan Addison tries to regain discipline and focus with Vikings

Jordan Addison has to straighten up in Minnesota.

Jordan Addison was the Minnesota Vikings’ 23rd pick in the 2023 NFL draft. He had one of the best NFL rookie seasons last year, per Pro Football Reference, he racked up 911 yards on 70 receptions and 11 touchdowns.

According to ESPN sports analytics writer Seth Walder, Jordan Addison will be the biggest X-factor for the Minnesota Vikings going into the 2024-25 season.

He was solid as a rookie, with 1.6 yards per route run and a 54 overall score in the receiver tracking metrics. In order to truly form a dangerous one-two combination with Justin Jefferson and support rookie QB J.J. McCarthy, the Vikings need more out of Addison in Year 2.

The problem with Addison: Off-field behavior. He was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of DUI. It’s the second time he has had an incident behind the wheel. Addison is not showing the professionalism off the field the Vikings expect. On the field, Addison continues to show promise, but it won’t matter if he keeps getting in trouble.

According to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, Addison feels like he’s worked on his game and taken it “to the next level” this summer in minicamps. According to head coach Kevin O’Connell, some of that “next level” comes from Addison getting physically stronger:

“Jordan Addison had as good of an offseason program as really you can ask for,” “[He is] a guy that had a ton of success in Year 1. And really, from a standpoint of getting a little stronger, getting a little bit more comfortable playing through contact and still playing with that great burst and transition that he has, you saw some real growth there [this spring].”

Head coach Kevin O’Connell has already singled out the talented young wide receiver for praise. He deemed the start of Addison’s offseason program to be as good as anyone could “ask for.” That’s bad news for opposing defensive backs who want to shut down Minnesota’s aerial attack this season.

The Vikings having two Pro Bowl wideouts in Addison and Justin Jefferson. Pair that with T.J Hockenson at tight end, that could be enough to help Minnesota compete for a postseason berth with Sam Darnold or JJ McCarthy at quarterback.

Again, however: Addison needs to straighten up and fly right. It’s time for more discipline and maturity.

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Former USC receiver Jordan Addison raises concerns for Vikings

The Vikings need Jordan Addison to be a better leader.

Former USC wide receiver and current Minnesota Vikings star Jordan Addison was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after being caught asleep at the wheel near LAX, authorities said Sunday. The Vikings are rightly concerned about this development. Some context is warranted.

On Friday night at 11:06 p.m., California Highway Patrol officers were dispatched to a report a disabled vehicle was blocking lanes from the westbound Glen Anderson (105) Freeway to northbound Sepulveda Boulevard, according to an arrest report obtained by the Southern California News Group.

Addison was arrested at approximately 11:36 p.m. following a DUI investigation, per the report. He was released at 1:36 a.m. Saturday.

“We are aware of Jordan Addison’s arrest this past Friday and are currently gathering more information regarding the incident,” the Vikings said in a statement.

Last summer in Minnesota, Addison was pulled over and cited for speeding and reckless driving after driving 140 miles per hour in a 55-mph zone. Per that police report, Addison said he was driving at such a speed due to an emergency regarding his dog.

He was not arrested for the prior incident but later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor speeding charge and paid a fine. Addison, 22, was a first-round pick out of USC last year. He registered 70 receptions for 911 yards and 10 touchdowns in his rookie season.

Vikings rookies report to training camp July 21. Veterans report July 23. The NFL franchise has to wonder if its young receiver can make more sensible decisions.

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B/R’s Marshon Lattimore trade offer shouldn’t interest Saints

Marshon Lattimore showing up to Saints minicamp hasn’t stopped media from putting him in trade talks. But Bleacher Report’s offer is still too weak:

The Marshon Lattimore trade talk hasn’t been completely silenced despite all parties affirming his commitment to the New Orleans Saints. Bleacher Report’s Ryan Fowler brought the conversation back with a hypothetical trade moving the cornerback from New Orleans to the Minnesota Vikings.

Fowler looked for trades that would shake up the NFL landscape. We’ve already seen some stars move during the offseason. Stefon Diggs to the Texans and L’Jarius Sneed to the Titans are two of the biggest moves that have the ability to change the league.

The latter is a good reference point for a hypothetical Lattimore trade. The Chiefs received a 2025 third-round pick and swapped seventh-round picks with the Tennessee Titans in the trade for their lead cornerback.

Sneed received a new contract with an annual average of $19.1 million. That’s less than Lattimore, who signed his contract three years prior. These numbers give a gauge on a player’s market.

This ideology is reinforced by Fowler’s trade. New Orleans would get a 2026 third-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round selection from Minnesota in return for Lattimore. This is a better return than Kansas City received for Sneed. The past two seasons have ended in injury for Lattimore. That could bring his value down some, but Fowler still predicted a better return for the Saints star cornerback. It still isn’t a strong enough offer for New Orleans to accept.

Drafting Kool-Aid McKinstry makes an eventual Lattimore trade feel likely, though it may wait until next offseason. With a good, and most importantly healthy, season, more compelling compensation could come back to the Saints if they move on from Lattimore.

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Reggie Bush’s 71-yard punt return touchdown is the Saints Play of the Day

Reggie Bush’s 71-yard punt return touchdown against the Vikings back in 2008 is the New Orleans Saints Play of the Day:

It’s often been said that Reggie Bush joined the New Orleans Saints a generation too early. The college football superstar had an inconsistent pro career in black and gold, experiencing terrific highs and frustrating lows as Sean Payton’s coaching staff struggled to figure out how to use him. The role Bush pioneered in New Orleans was later developed by Darren Sproles and perfected by Alvin Kamara, and it’s fair to wonder how things might have gone had he enjoyed the benefits of a more experienced play caller.

But he was always dangerous on special teams. Bush scored four punt return yards in regular season games and a fifth in the playoffs. And when the Minnesota Vikings visited the Saints for a “Monday Night Football” matchup in 2008, Bush turned in his best performance yet with a 71-yard punt return touchdown.

Bush turned on the jets to rally back after the Vikings took an early 20-10 lead, which you can watch here on YouTube. It was the longest punt return of Bush’s NFL career. And while it was just the first of two punts returned for touchdowns he had against the Vikings that night, he nearly had a third, having gotten a favorable angle on the Minnesota coverage team before his cleats caught in the Superdome turf, tripping him up.

The Vikings ended up winning this one after a rough end-of-game sequence (Saints kicker Matt Gramatica missed a 46-yard field goal for the win, and a 42-yard pass interference penalty on safety Kevin Kaesviharn flipped the field to set up a chip-shot kick for Minnesota) but New Orleans got the last laugh. They hosted the next year’s NFC championship game and beat the Vikings in overtime to advance to Super Bowl XLIV. You know what happened next.

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Countdown to Kickoff: Olisaemeka Udoh is the Saints Player of Day 74

Countdown to Kickoff: Olisaemeka Udoh is the New Orleans Saints Player of Day 74. Can the veteran earn a starting job in 2024?

The countdown to the New Orleans Saints 2024 regular season kickoff is underway as we highlight every player who wears  the corresponding jersey number of the day. With now 74 days remaining before the Saints’ Week 1 game against the Carolina Panthers, offensive lineman Olisaemeka Udoh is today’s Saints Player of the Day.

Let’s talk about his objectives for 2024 and how important his play will be in the weeks leading up to the season.

  • Name (Age): Oli Udoh (27)
  • Position: Offensive guard/tackle
  • Height, weight: 6-foot-6, 320 pounds
  • Relative Athletic Score: 8.14
  • 2024 salary cap hit: $2,000,000
  • College: Elon
  • Drafted: 6th round in 2019 (Minnesota Vikings)
  • NFL experience: 6 years

Udoh started 18 games for the Minnesota Vikings over a 5-year period after being selected in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL draft. In 2021, he started 16 games (14 at right guard, two at left tackle) allowing only one sack that season. This would be the same season where new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak spent his lone year calling plays for the Vikings.

As far as his role with the team, Udoh is expected to compete for a starting job, possibly at right tackle along with former first-round pick Trevor Penning. Although the team would much rather prefer Penning to start in terms of their investments, Udoh was brought in to be a guy with starting experience who you can plug in if needed. He’s also a candidate to push Nick Saldiveri at left guard.

If not as a starter, Udoh will likely play the role as the team’s swing tackle/guard. Similar to Andrus Peat’s role last season before he ended up as the teams starter by seasons end. Much of this will be decided during training camp as the team heads to Irvine, Calif. in July. With the uncertainty at the right tackle position still looming, Udoh’s play in these next couple months will be extremely crucial for the outlook of this team.

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No change in Vikings’ quarterback situation with Sam Darnold and J.J. McCarthy

We need to wait until August to learn more about Sam Darnold in Minnesota.

The Minnesota Vikings made a trade in the 2024 NFL draft. They selected national championship-winning quarterback JJ McCarthy with the 10th pick heading into this season. The sky is the limit for the 21-year-old, but head coach Kevin O’Connell has made it clear that former USC Trojan Sam Darnold will be the starter heading into the preseason.

Darnold signed a one-year, $10 million deal with Minnesota following a one-year stint as a backup quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers.

“We haven’t had to put out a depth chart or anything like that,” O’Connell said according to ESPN, “but yeah, I would say Sam would be the guy I would look to based upon the spring he’s had, and really where he’s at in his career and his quarterback journey, and what he’s been able to do coming in and [hitting] the ground running and taking advantage of a competitive situation.”

The idea, going intro training camp with two strong arms, was to create a “competitive situation,” O’Connell told reporters Wednesday.

Darnold and McCarthy will replace longtime Vikings starter Kirk Cousins, who is now an Atlanta Falcon. Three other players started at quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings last season after Cousins got hurt.

McCarthy has been throwing behind Darnold and veteran backup Nick Mullens. Jaren Hall, a 2023 fifth-round pick out of BYU, is also in the mix.

The Vikings’ season opener against the Giants on Sept. 8.

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Saints on the wrong side of these top-10 NFL playoff moments

The Saints were on the wrong side of a couple of these top-10 NFL playoff moments, but there’s no mention of their heroics in actually winning a Super Bowl:

It isn’t always nice to take a stroll down memory lane. The 33rd Team’s Marcus Mosher ranked the 10 best playoff moments in NFL history, and the New Orleans Saints were on the wrong side of several of his picks — but there’s no mention of their heroics in actually winning a Super Bowl, which neither of the teams Mosher highlighted accomplished.

Mosher’s premise specifies that “For this piece, we are focusing on singular plays that everyone remembers. The greater the stage, the higher the ranking.

“Lasting impact matters, too, so expect plays that alter NFL history to appear higher on the list.”

So it’s tough to see how Marshawn Lynch’s “Beast Quake” run qualifies. Sure, it was a fun play (for Seahawks fans and neutral observers), and the defending-champ Saints did get bounced out of the playoffs because of it. But Seattle joined them on the couch just a week later after getting blown out 35-24 by the Chicago Bears. It didn’t have a lasting impact outside of NFL highlight reels and ad campaigns, but Mosher ranked  it No. 9 on his list.

But that wasn’t the only time the Saints were victimized here. Despite acknowledging that it “might have only been the Divisional Round,” Mosher clocked Stefon Diggs’ walkoff touchdown from the “Minneapolis Miracle” at No. 7. Again, yeah, it’s a memorable play. But the Vikings didn’t carry any momentum from it into the NFC Championship Game. They went and got embarrassed by the Philadelphia Eagles in a 38-7 loss. Minnesota hasn’t won a home playoff game since.

So what is the lasting impact from these plays? Which big stages did they happen on? Neither of these plays won a Super Bowl trophy or even a conference championship. They’re something fun for fans of those teams to look back on, but they’re far from meaningful when you check the scoreboard.

It’s disappointing that the Saints’ efforts to win Super Bowl XLIV were overlooked in this list. Those plays actually mattered and brought home a banner to hang for as long as pro football is played in America. Tracy Porter’s win-sealing pick-six off of Peyton Manning is an all-timer. Pierre Thomas scoring from 16 yards out on a screen play is teach tape for young offensive linemen and running backs everywhere. Lance Moore managing to score a two-point conversion while upside-down in midair remains impressive. Any of these plays mattered more than what Lynch or Diggs did years later in games that won no trophies, so it’s a shame to see them on the sidelines. But we’re happy to talk about them if no one else is.

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Notre Dame football great retires after 12 years in NFL

Congrats to a Notre Dame great on an outstanding NFL career!

One of the most talented tight ends to ever play at Notre Dame (aka Tight End U) is calling it a career.

Veteran tight end [autotag]Kyle Rudolph[/autotag] who starred at Notre Dame from 2008-2010 announced his retirement on Monday.  Rudolph was drafted in the second round of the 2011 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings and played 10 seasons with them before spending a year each with the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Rudolph’s career ends with 482 receptions for 4,773 yards and 50 touchdowns.  He was also the 98th and final different player to catch a touchdown pass from Tom Brady.

As great as Rudolph was as a player, many will remember him for his charitable work in the community.  He was a finalist for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award multiple times in his career for his fundraising efforts and volunteer work with children’s hospitals.

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Take a look at Rudolph through the years below as one of the best ever from Tight End U calls it a career.