Tag: yards

Saints should make a big change at cornerback after blowout loss

The Saints must make big changes to end their losing streak. They should start by benching Paulson Adebo for rookie draft pick Kool-Aid McKinstry:

The New Orleans Saints must make big changes to end their four-game losing streak, but where should they start? Head coach Dennis Allen isn’t going anywhere so the changes need to begin on the field. And with starting cornerback Paulson Adebo setting a new career-high in penalty yards, it’s time rookie second-round draft pick Kool-Aid McKinstry get a shot.

Adebo’s 101 penalty yards this season are a career-high, and that’s with two of his penalties being declined (he’s never had multiple fouls declined in a single season before). He gave up 76 penalty yards as a rookie in 2021, 73 penalty yards in 2022, and just 27 penalty yards in 2023, but now he’s fallen back into bad habits. That regression must come with consequences.

And the team can’t afford his boom-or-bust play style. It’s a great thing that Adebo leads the defense with 3 interceptions and 10 pass breakups. On top of the penalties, he’s getting beat in coverage. Pro Football Reference charting has him with 30 receptions and 527 yards allowed. Only one other defender has given up more than 400 yards this year, and that’s Benjamin St-Juste at 402. The gap between Adebo and St-Juste is as wide as that between St-Juste and DeMarvion Overshown, whose yards allowed rank 16th-most.

Let’s check another outlet. Pro Football Focus has Adebo with 33 catches and 426 yards, so they’ve charged some big gains to other players. But Adebo’s 426 yards allowed are still the most in the league. Even if you assign blame to another defender in the secondary here or there, he’s still getting beaten far too often and for too many big gains.

Those mistakes extend to other phases, too. PFF charged Adebo with missing four tackles against the Buccaneers last Sunday, putting him at six misses on the season. PFR was more forgiving and had him with just one missed tackle this year, but there are often disagreements on stats like these. Either way the image of Chris Godwin shoving a stiff arm into Adebo’s face mask so he could pick up 7 more yards from deep inside Tampa Bay territory stands out.

Will McKinstry be a better fit? Maybe, maybe not. It’s worth finding out. Adebo was given a big opportunity to help himself in a contract year, coming off his best season as a pro, but he blew it and the Saints’ season is going down with him. They can’t keep doing what they’re doing after giving up 594 yards from scrimmage and allowing 51 points to be scored on their heads, extending a losing streak to four miserable weeks. The Saints drafted McKinstry for a reason. See if he can hold his own and let Adebo earn back his spot in the lineup after being at fault on so many negative plays.

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Dennis Allen’s Saints rank last in total defense through 6 weeks

The New Orleans Saints currently rank last in yards allowed. They’ve given up 1,000 yards in the last two games, but their issues go further back:

The New Orleans Saints have given up over 1,000 yards over the course of the past two games, and now there’s no team in the NFL who gives up more yards per game. The Kansas City Chiefs game was bad, but the way the Tampa Bay Buccaneers dismantled Dennis Allen’s unit was a special type of beating.

Yardage has been an issue for the Saints’ defense. It was masked by the fact New Orleans played “bend but don’t break” defense. The lack of points scored against the team has held off some criticism. That can no longer be done after seeing 50 points on the scoreboard.

The Philadelphia Eagles game is a perfect example of this. The Eagles regularly drove down the field against the Saints. Nick Sirianni went for it on multiple fourth downs and failed.

New Orleans forced two turnovers, and both were in Saints territory. When you end the game only giving up 15 points and forcing two turnovers, it’s easy to not pay attention to the 460 yards.

The defense hasn’t been stonewalling teams, and now they’re allowing points on top of that. Turnovers couldn’t save them this week. They forced multiple interceptions, but still gave up over 500 yards and 50 points.

Defense used to be the backbone of this team. Now, it’s a hindrance.

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Saints’ defense must recover quickly after giving up 1,000 yards in one week

The New Orleans Saints defense gave up 1,000 yards this week. They’ve got just four days to clean it up before their next test:

The New Orleans Saints offense wasn’t the only problem on Sunday. In fact, it was far from it.

While that side of the ball put up 27 points, the most the Saints have seen since Sept. 15, the defense allowed some 51 points to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, allowing the visitors to go on an absolute tear after New Orleans held the lead at halftime.

The Saints have allowed more than 1,000 yards to opposing offenses this week, between the 460 yards allowed to the Kansas City Chiefs on Mondaay night and the 594 yards surrendered to the Bucs.

The time of possession battle is one thing this type of misfortune boils down to. The Bucs possessed the ball for 34 minutes and two seconds on Sunday — and last week, the Chiefs had it for even longer.

Patrick Mahomes and company held onto the ball for nearly 40 minutes. Looking at that from the perspective that quarters in NFL football last for 15 minutes each, we’re looking at nearly three quarters of possession for both of these teams.

That also means New Orleans has had possession of the bank for just over 48 minutes of the last 120 minutes of football the team has played. Dennis Allen’s defense is exhausted, and they look like it.

Despite the promising start to the season, it’s clear the Saints have a lot of fixing to do — and fast — as they now ride a four-game losing streak.

New Orleans will desperately seek to get back on the right track as it faces the Denver Broncos just four days from now in Thursday night action at the Caesars Superdome at 7:15 p.m. CT.

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Saints nearly set a franchise record in worst of ways in Week 6 loss

The New Orleans Saints nearly set a franchise record in Sunday’s 51-27 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It happened in the worst of ways:

The New Orleans Saints nearly set a franchise record in Sunday’s 51-27 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and it wasn’t a good one, either. The Saints came up just shy of the most yards they’ve ever allowed in a single game, with a total of 594 yards gifted to quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Bucs.

That’s the second-most in franchise history. The previous record was 605 yards of total offense surrendered to Daunte Culpepper and the Minnesota Vikings back in 2004.

Mayfield was allowed to have an absolute day on the stat sheet outside of some picks thrown, completing 24 of his 36 passing attempts for 325 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions.

The 51 points the Saints gave up to the Bucs was by far the most they’ve allowed an opponent to score all season long, with the second-most coming nowhere close as they allowed both the Atlanta Falcons and the Kansas City Chiefs 26 points each. Sunday’s amount is a mere one point away from doubling that.

The offense, however, showed more signs of life than it has in a while with backup quarterback Spencer Rattler at the helm. The 27 points they put up were the most the Saints have scored since they totaled 44 points in the win over the Dallas Cowboys back on Sept. 15.

Playing complementary football will undoubtedly be a large emphasis as the Saints look to snap a now-abysmal four-game losing streak.

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Big Ten running backs ranked by rushing yards after Week 4 of 2024 season

An updated look at the production from all of the Big Ten’s best running backs entering Week 5:

Week 4 of the Big Ten football season saw continued dominance from some of the conference’s top running backs.

Backs were the best players on the field for both Michigan and Iowa in their statement victories. For Michigan, RB Kalel Mullings took 17 carries for 159 yards and two touchdowns to lead the team to a 27-24 victory over USC. For Iowa, Kaleb Johnson recorded 206 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries as the Hawkeyes dominated Minnesota 31-17.

Related: Big Ten Power Rankings after Week 4: Michigan is alive

Significantly, Michigan QB Alex Orji and Iowa QB Cade McNamara combined for only 94 passing yards in the two wins. Each team’s offense was driven entirely by the dominance of the running backs.

Old-school Big Ten football still wins in the current age of high-powered passing offense. That is seen by the production of running backs across the conference. With the conference schedule heating up, here are the top 20 Big Ten RBs ranked by rushing production, listed with each of their national rankings:

Rushing Yards: 200 (No. 122 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: N/A (BYE)

Season Stats: 46 carries, 200 rushing yards, 4.3 yards per carry, 3 touchdowns

Rushing Yards: 201 (No. 119 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 14 carries, 67 rushing yards, 4.8 yards per carry, 1 touchdown

Season Stats: 50 carries, 201 rushing yards, 4.0 yards per carry, 2 touchdowns

Rushing Yards: 207 (No. 111 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 9 carries, 9 rushing yards, 1.0 yards per carry

Season Stats: 47 carries, 207 rushing yards, 4.4 yards per carry, 1 touchdown

Get more (Michigan State) news, analysis and opinions on Spartans Wire

Rushing Yards: 207 (No. 111 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 6 carries, 76 rushing yards, 12.7 yards per carry, 2 touchdowns

Season Stats: 24 carries, 207 rushing yards, 8.6 yards per carry, 4 touchdowns

Note: Henderson and Carter are tied in total yards. Henderson is ranked higher due to a higher yards-per-carry average.

Get more (Ohio State) news, analysis and opinions on Buckeyes Wire

Rushing Yards: 222 (No. 92 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 10 carries, 34 rushing yards, 3.4 yards per carry

Season Stats: 35 carries, 222 rushing yards, 6.3 yards per carry, 3 touchdowns

Rushing Yards: 224 (No. 90 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 14 carries, 74 rushing yards, 5.3 yards per carry, 1 touchdown

Season Stats: 50 carries, 224 rushing yards, 4.5 yards per carry, 2 touchdowns

Get more (Michigan) news, analysis and opinions on Wolverines Wire

Rushing Yards: 234 (No. 84 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 15 carries, 77 rushing yards, 5.1 yards per carry, 1 touchdown

Season Stats: 44 carries, 234 rushing yards, 5.3 yards per carry, 3 touchdowns

Rushing Yards: 242 (No. 80 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 12 carries, 69 rushing yards, 5.8 yards per carry

Season Stats: 54 carries, 242 rushing yards, 4.5 yards per carry, 3 touchdowns

Rushing Yards: 256 (No. 70 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 20 carries, 72 rushing yards, 3.6 yards per carry

Season Stats: 51 carries, 256 rushing yards, 5.0 yards per carry, 3 touchdowns

Get more (Nebraska) news, analysis and opinions on Cornhuskers Wire

Rushing Yards: 271 (No. 57 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 15 carries, 61 rushing yards, 4.1 yards per carry

Season Stats: 49 carries, 271 rushing yards, 5.5 yards per carry, 1 touchdown

Get more (Michigan State) news, analysis and opinions on Spartans Wire

Rushing Yards: 271 (No. 57 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 13 carries, 100 rushing yards, 7.7 yards per carry

Season Stats: 42 carries, 271 rushing yards, 6.5 yards per carry, 3 touchdowns

Note: Marks and Lynch-Adams are tied in total yards. Marks is ranked higher due to a higher yards-per-carry average.

Get more (USC) news, analysis and opinions on Trojans Wire

Rushing Yards: 276 (No. 54 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 16 carries, 168 rushing yards, 10.5 yards per carry, 1 touchdown

Season Stats: 36 carries, 276 rushing yards, 7.7 yards per carry, 1 touchdown

Rushing Yards: 283 (No. 51 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: N/A (BYE)

Season Stats: 44 carries, 283 rushing yards, 6.4 yards per carry, 3 touchdowns

Get more (Oregon) news, analysis and opinions on Ducks Wire

Rushing Yards: 290 (No. 44 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 9 carries, 58 rushing yards, 6.4 yards per carry, 1 touchdown

Season Stats: 38 carries, 290 rushing yards, 7.6 yards per carry, 4 touchdowns

Rushing Yards: 314 (No. 40 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 11 carries, 81 rushing yards, 7.4 yards per carry

Season Stats: 37 carries, 314 rushing yards, 8.5 yards per carry, 2 touchdowns

Get more (Penn State) news, analysis and opinions on Nittany Lions Wire

Rushing Yards: 336 (No. 35 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 14 carries, 173 rushing yards, 12.4 yards per carry, 2 touchdowns

Season Stats: 36 carries, 336 rushing yards, 9.3 yards per carry, 5 touchdowns

Get more (Ohio State) news, analysis and opinions on Buckeyes Wire

Rushing Yards: 373 (No. 25 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 15 carries, 67 rushing yards, 4.5 yards per carry, 1 touchdown

Season Stats: 56 carries, 373 rushing yards, 6.7 yards per carry, 4 touchdowns

Get more (Washington) news, analysis and opinions on Huskies Wire

Rushing Yards: 429 (No. 12 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 17 carries, 159 rushing yards, 9.4 yards per carry, 2 touchdowns

Season Stats: 53 carries, 429 rushing yards, 8.1 yards per carry, 4 touchdowns

Get more (Michigan) news, analysis and opinions on Wolverines Wire

Rushing Yards: 457 (No. 5 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 26 carries, 84 rushing yards, 3.2 yards per carry, 1 touchdown

Season Stats: 72 carries, 457 rushing yards, 6.3 yards per carry, 5 touchdowns

Rushing Yards: 685 (No. 1 nationally)

Week 4 Stats: 21 carries, 206 rushing yards, 9.8 yards per carry, 3 touchdowns

Season Stats: 82 carries, 685 rushing yards, 8.4 yards per carry, 9 touchdowns

Get more (Iowa) news, analysis and opinions on Hawkeyes Wire

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PFF: Chiefs DB L’Jarius Sneed has allowed just 10 catches, 87 yards since Week 15

According to Pro Football Focus, #Chiefs DB L’Jarius Sneed has been supremely stingy in coverage since Week 15

The Kansas City Chiefs have relied on exceptional play from their defensive backs to keep opposing offenses in check this season, and L’Jarius Sneed has been a key part of the team’s game plans against star wide receivers.

His dominance this season is well documented, but the experts at Pro Football Focus shined a spotlight on Sneed’s recent tear of superb performances ahead of Kansas City’s matchup against the Buffalo Bills this weekend.

According to PFF, Sneed has allowed just 10 receptions and 87 yards since Week 15 and still hasn’t allowed a touchdown this season.

While the veteran defensive back wasn’t part of the Associated Press All-Pro roster or a Pro Bowl selection, Sneed’s tenacity has helped keep the Chiefs afloat in a season where Kansas City needed its defensive stars to step up as its offense plateaued.

Expect Sneed’s matchups against Bill receiver Stefon Diggs to steal the spotlight in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs this weekend.

Saints had their worst offensive performance in a win since Mike Ditka was their coach

The Saints did beat the Panthers, but it was their worst offensive performance in a win since Mike Ditka was their coach:

The New Orleans Saints had their struggles against the Carolina Panthers but were able to sneak away with a victory. You could tell it was an ordeal for them to move the ball simply based on the eye test. Numbers really put the struggles into perspective, however.

And here’s a telling stat from NFL Research: the Saints ended the game with a mere 207 total yards, the lowest total yardage in a victory since their 1997 win over the Seattle Seahawks. That was 26 years ago, when Mike Ditka was their head coach.

Now 207 total yards is low, period, but most times it would lead to losses.  Since the NFL merger in 1970, teams are 25-175 when gaining fewer than 207 yards. This season, New Orleans has only amassed fewer than 207 yards once, against the Buccaneers, when the offense totaled 197 yards and 9 points.

As much as Derek Carr has been criticized, he passed for more than 207 yards in nearly every game he hasn’t left due to injury. That should put the Week 14 struggles into perspective. This was a bad performance that luckily resulted in a victory. Carr and the Saints must improve if they’re going to beat better opponents than the one-win Panthers.

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Saints posted their highest net passing yards in a win since Drew Brees was their QB

The Saints posted their highest net passing yards in a win since Drew Brees was their QB. The offense finally looks like itself with Derek Carr under center:

This is a good sign. The New Orleans Saints finished their Week 1 win over the Tennessee Titans with 282 net passing yards — Derek Carr threw for 305 yards but lost 23 yards to sacks. Why is that number important? It’s the highest net passing yards total the Saints have posted in a win since Drew Brees was their quarterback. Their offense is finally starting to look like itself again.

To be specific, the Saints haven’t had more net passing yards in a win since Dec. 25, 2020 (when they had 319). Their highest number last year was 235. It was 271 a year earlier. Yards lost on sacks really shouldn’t count against passing yards (they’re otherwise counted as rushing plays), but net yards do give us an idea of teams’ positive and negative passing plays.

It reflects a competent passing game. Too many passing yards in losses reflect garbage time and desperation heaves when the game is already out of reach. When the Saints win and pick up a lot of passing yardage, it means the aerial assault is effective and moving on schedule. And that’s what we saw on Sunday. Carr connected on gains of 20-plus yards with Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Michael Thomas, and Juwan Johnson. That’s exactly the kind of versatile, dynamic attack the Saints ran with Brees. It’s what was missing in the halting and hiccupping version of the offense with Jameis Winston under center, or the defanged and talent-poor units led by Andy Dalton and Trevor Siemian in recent years.

That’s not to say everything is great. They need to do a lot of work on their protection plan, specifically on the left side of the offensive line. Trevor Penning was outmatched by pro defensive ends at left tackle and James Hurst was at fault on several pressures when the Titans used stunts to work around him. They retooled things late in the fourth quarter and helped Penning out with chip blocks by tight ends and help from the fullback, but it was very nearly too little too late.

And the red-zone offense was miserable to watch. Carr struggled to throw clean passes under pressure and he twice missed Michael Thomas in the end zone on their opening possession. His interception was a terrible decision that gave his receiver no shot at working back to the football. This has been a major criticism of his game throughout his pro career and it’s discouraging to see him continue to wilt in scoring position.

But it’s a long season. The Saints have the weapons to elevate Carr’s game in this important phase, and they have time to work on it in practice. It’s very possible they improve. It’s also possible they won’t. Coming off a win, we’ll exercise some optimism and hope for the best.

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Chargers’ 2022 season-in-review: Assessing the play of Los Angeles’ quarterbacks

The Chargers are in great shape at the quarterback position.

The quarterback position has never been as important as it is now across the NFL, and the Chargers have secured themselves a true franchise signal-caller in Justin Herbert.

His expert play in his third season as a professional football player helped Los Angeles achieve their first playoff berth since 2018 this season, though the outcome of their Wild Card matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars left something to be desired.

For his part, though, Herbert’s performance was exceptional. Throughout the regular season, he threw for over 4,700 yards and 25 touchdowns while only being intercepted ten times. He was also the team’s third-leading rusher by yardage but could not find the end zone on the ground.

While he might not have lit up the stat sheet as he did in his first two seasons, Herbert still put the team in a position to win weekly, despite dealing with fractured rib cartilage for most of the season, missing multiple starters throughout the year, and being hamstrung by an offensive scheme that did not tailor to his strengths. Nevertheless, Herbert did take a massive leap as a leader of the team and solidified himself as the face of the franchise.

Behind Herbert on Los Angeles’ depth chart is journeyman backup Chase Daniel, who has carved out quite a career since 2010. Daniel did not make a start this season but made four appearances, throwing for 52 yards and a touchdown on 12 attempts, mostly in garbage time.

This output from their quarterbacks should enable the Chargers to focus on other areas of their roster in the offseason as they look to assemble a team that can be a legitimate contender in next year’s playoffs.

They will need to extend Herbert at some point shortly to ensure his place in Los Angeles for the long term. Still, outside of that piece of housekeeping, the Chargers are set at the most crucial offensive position except for his backup, which will need to be addressed, given Daniel and Easton Stick are set to be free agents.

Chris Olave joins rare company in Saints’ 1,000-yard club

Chris Olave made the Saints’ 1,000 yards club. Michael Thomas and Marques Colston are the only other rookie receivers to reach that milestone in team history, via @DillySanders:

With his impressive touchdown against the Carolina Panthers in Week 18, Chris Olave has become just the third rookie in New Orleans Saints history to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards (he’s up to 1,029 yards going into halftime). Marques Colston and Michael Thomas were the other two to do it in their first year, very impressive names in Saints history for Olave to join.

He is just the 13th player in franchise history to reach the number. Colston is the record holder with six 1,000-yard seasons in his career. Getting one in his first season, Olave now has eyes on him to move up the ranks in franchise record books in the coming years. He has been one of the best rookies in the  league, and one of the few bright spots on the Saints offense this season.

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