Category: NFL

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Saints @ Panthers Week Three Preview; Key Matchups And More

Neither team had the result they wanted in week two. The Saints fell to Tom Brady’s refs…… I mean Bucs and Carolina lost to an average New York Giants squad (Despite what their record says).

That leaves two teams with a lot to prove heading into to week three and a matchup that both teams need to win.

I’m going to highlight 3 key matchups. who’s playing and who’s not? and of course a score prediction for the game.

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Overview

After two games both teams could easily have different records. New Orleans sit at 1-1. If not for a miraculous fourth quarter comeback in week one they’d be 0-2.  If not for a fourth quarter meltdown in week two they very well could be 2-0. 1-1 feels right so far for a team that have struggled to string together more than one consistent quarter of football, where all three sides of the ball play well and complement each other.

The Panthers have lost two games by a total of five points. They nearly produced a Saints like fourth quarter comeback week one against the Browns if not for a late field goal. Then fell to the Giants after being tied for most of the game.

Both Teams need to find an identity, this not unusual early in the season but this is especially true of the Saints. Are they are run first team, that want to hit the play action bombs off of that kind of team? Are they the quick rhythm, short throws and get the ball in your playmaker’s hands kind of team? It doesn’t seem like they know, but they need work it out quickly.

The Saints lead this series three games to one since Matt Rhule has been the Panthers HC. Those games were all of course under the watch of former Saints HC Sean Payton. Can new HC Dennis Allen keep that good form going? Here’s some of the matchups the Saints need to be on the right side off.

Key Matchups

Panther LB Blitz Vs Saints Pass Protection

The first Panthers matchup last season was a shambles for the Saints. Carolina blitzed them over and over, the Saints couldn’t handle it.  So much so former NFL o-lineman and Twitter legend Brian Baldinger was mystified at how the Panthers ran the same blitz three plays in a row because the Saints couldn’t block it.

Brian Baldinger criticizes Saints’ offensive line miscues vs. Panthers (usatoday.com)

Now, why am I bringing up a meaningless game from last season? Well, the Saints have struggled with the Blitz again this year. In both games so far, we’ve seen Winston sacked by blitzing LBs who were not picked up by the Saints o-line. Two examples here:

Atlanta Falcons week 1 SACK compilation | Highlights | Saints vs. Falcons – YouTube (54 seconds in)

Jayden on Twitter: “First sack of the day comes on a perfectly executed coffeehouse stunt by Lavonte David. Ram bites on the fake – sack https://t.co/tN56rOx8iS” / Twitter

Panthers DC Phil Snow has shown he’s willing to attack your weaknesses and keep attacking them until you prove you can stop them. The Saints did improve in this area week two, but it was still a problem and id expect the Panthers to try and exploit it.

This can’t be a consistent problem for the Saints on Sunday; these plays kill drives and kill your QB. Jameis Winston has four fractures in his back and can’t keep taking shots from free rushers running full speed.

McCaffrey Vs Saints LBs

The Saints secondary should match up well against the Panthers WRs and TE’s. Christian McCaffrey is the x factor.

He’s had an unusually quiet start to the season in the passing game through two games he has only eight catches for 50 yards. Compare that to the first two games of last season his usage in this area is way down. At this stage last season, he had over three times the yards (154) and nearly twice the number of catches (15).

In those games last season, the Panthers were 2-0. This year with McCaffrey’s reduced role in the passing game they are 0-2.

You have to think this usage is something they want to rectify as it’s a proven winning formular.

The matchup they want for McCaffrey is against a LB. The Saints do have the LBs that could hold up in this matchup. Per PFF Pete Werner has a 82.4 coverage grade good for 7th in the league among LBs. Demario Davis ranks 13th with a 76.2 grade.

These Saints LB’s will need to continue this good form on Sunday for the Saints to come out on top.

Davenport Vs ‘ICKY’

Will this finally be the week that Davenport takes over a game? I feel like it has to be. He will primarily be lining up against rookie LT Ikem Ekwonu, who, to put it bluntly has not played well so far.

Ewonu is rated as PFF’s 64th LT out of 65 and has given up 3 sacks and 7 total pressures in the 2 games so far. This should be a matchup Davenport can win and win well.

Davenport and the rest of the Saints rush should have enough time to get to the QB this week. Baker Mayfield’s average time to throw per PFF is 2.89 seconds that’s 0.6 seconds slower than Tom Brady last week and ranks him as the 11th slowest thrower in the league.  9th slowest if you only include starters. It may not sound a lot but that is difference between a pressure and a sack.

If Brady didn’t get the ball out so quickly last week, then I think Davenport would have impacted the game a lot more the stats sheet. He had one QB hit and one QB hurry, which isn’t bad considering how quickly Brady got the ball out.

This Is the week for Davenport to announce himself and show he’s a rising star in the league.

State of the Rosters

It looks like both teams will be close to full strength this week. Despite a lot of Saints players being listed as ‘Limited’ this week, there doesn’t seem to be much concern about them not playing on Sunday.

Saints hope to have training camp MVP Paulson Adebo suit up for first time this season. Allowing Bradley Roby to move into the slot, this was the role the Saints wanted for him after trading C.J. Gardner Johnson. This could be even more important if Marcus Maye can’t play, with Roby in the slot that would free up Justin Evans to cover some of the Maye’s snaps at safety along with P.J. Williams.

Sadly after sustaining a Knee injury in Thursday’s practice rookie Alontae Taylor isn’t going to be able to build on this strong performance last week against Tampa. He is out for Sundays game.

There was a scare earlier in the week for Carolina when McCaffery was added to the report with an Ankle injury. He will play on Sunday per multiple reports and is carrying no injury designation for the game. Donte Jackson was also a concern for Carolina and is questionable but practised full on Friday which is usually a sign he will play.

Score Prediction

This is a big game for both teams, the Panthers must win if they want to have any chance at making the playoffs. The Saints really need a boost before heading off to London for week 4 and really don’t need another division loss on their record.

It should be a get right game for two of New Orleans struggling units. The offensive passing game and the pash rush.

I think we see a better offensive showing this week, but still not perfect. With Winston having a much more consistent game passing with more rhythm. Maybe not consistent for all four quarters as he’s still working his way through his back injury.

The Saints continue where they left off last week and dominate the running game with Alvin Kamara back and leading the charge.

Then the pass rush finally shows some life and registers 3+ sacks on the day.

Score- 26-16 Saints win

I will be previewing and recapping of all the New Orleans Saints games this season on New Orleans Saints – Full10Yards

Please let me know your feedback on this article and the others throughout the season, I’m always looking to improve and add things that people want to read about!

I want to try and create as much of a UK Saints community as possible, so follow me on Twitter @SaintsReportUK, for much more Saints content and discussion.

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5 things to look out for in Week 3

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Bills @ Dolphins, Packers @ Buccaneers headline a stacked third NFL Sunday of 2022

1. Will Miami finally beat Buffalo?

After the Dolphins’ outstanding comeback win over the Baltimore Ravens, they now face perhaps their toughest test all season on Sunday.

Buffalo walked over the Tennessee Titans on MNF, but are depleted with injuries in the secondary.

The Bills have won their last seven straight over the Fins, but with a better team down in South Beach, on top of those missing players, could this be the end of the streak?

2. Raiders and Titans looking for their first win.

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Both of these sides are looking for a lifeline, having both been expected to be a part of the AFC playoff picture late in the year.

Neither quarterback has looked great these past two games, Carr especially having a particularly poor game two weeks ago in Los Angeles.

Who would’ve thought Josh Jacobs, whom many saw as a trade candidate would have more rushing yards than Derrick Henry, who’s only averaging 3.1 ypc.

3. A huge game at home for the Colts against the Chiefs

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Kansas City has looked better than many expected this season, whilst the Indianapolis Colts are very much trending in the other direction, sitting winless after two games.

The Colts have hardly had a difficult schedule either, failing to win against division rivals Houston and Jacksonville, they’ll need to massively up their game to beat one of the best teams in the league in the Chiefs.

Matt Ryan hasn’t been his usual reliable veteran self, throwing three interceptions away to the Jaguars last week, not even Jonathan Taylor has been able to save a heavily fancied team at the start of the year.

4. Brady vs Rodgers for the last time?

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Sunday’s late window sees Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers face off for what could be the last time, certainly in the regular season, FOX did well to get this one!

Brady’s Buccaneers offense could go into the game without Chris Godwin, Mike Evans and Julio Jones, after Evans’ one-week suspension for the fight with Marshon Lattimore.

With similar offensive weaponry on both sides of the ball, this one will be interesting.

5. Will Jimmy and the Niners take care of a struggling Broncos team?

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Who would’ve thought that Jimmy Garoppolo would be starting in Week 3! Trey Lance’s unfortunate injury may be a blessing in disguise for San Francisco, they moved the ball a lot better in the rain on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Russell Wilson and Nathaniel Hackett era in Denver has not started well at all, with the new HC already looking out of depth in his new role.

Any clock mistakes on SNF may escalate the situation even more, they need to sort it out before facing a nationwide audience on primetime.

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Week 2: Rookie Standouts

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Week 2 is now in the books and what a week it was. With last second heroics, head scratching coaching decisions and comebacks galore, it’s time once again to look at three rookies that made big contributions to their teams’ results this week. Let’s get into it. 

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Aidan Hutchinson, Edge – Detroit Lions  

Hutchinson was held to a solitary tackle in his NFL debut against the Philadelphia Eagles but commented afterwards that he had learnt a lot. He’s obviously a quick learner because he exploded against the Washington Commanders. In the first half, he became the first Lion rookie ever to record three sacks in a game and the fourth youngest ever to do so. 

The 2nd overall pick has now shown the rest of the NFL that he’s the real deal, and though he may not get three every week, the sacks will likely continue to come as he gains more experience. 

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Jaylen Watson, Cornerback – Kansas City Chiefs 

It’s not often a seventh-round pick gets a spotlight as a rookie, but when you now own the record for the longest go-ahead fourth-quarter touchdown by a rookie, I think it is well deserved. 

Jaylen Watson was thrust into Thursday night’s game after an injury to first-rounder Trent McDuffie and knew he was likely going to have a busy evening as the Los Angeles Chargers would more than likely target his side of the field. That much was true, but Watson would only allow 5 completions from 12 targets before his game-sealing pick 6, and as the dust settled on the Chiefs’ 27-24 win, Watson deservedly won AFC Defensive Player of the Week. 

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Garrett Wilson, Wide Receiver – New York Jets  

As the Browns scored to extend their lead to 30-17 with 1:55 left in the game, Garrett Wilson felt responsible as he had dropped a pass from Joe Flacco that would have been enough for a first down and extended the drive. Had the game petered out after the Browns touchdown, it would have been a bittersweet day for Wilson with his touchdown and 75 yards, but there was more drama to come. 

The last two minutes of this game turned into insanity, and after the onside kick was recovered, Wilson had a chance to make amends. He gladly took the opportunity, catching a 15-yard pass to score his second touchdown of the game and complete the unlikely comeback. 

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F10Y Fantasy Recap – Week 2

By James Fotheringham (@NFLHypeTrain)

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Welcome to the fantasy recap and what a week, week 2 was. This is a little late coming out as I’m still getting my breath back. We had monster scores, horrendous disappointments and crushing injury blows. A number of dynasty leagues will have seen their single week high score record beaten, were you one of them? Let us know who you had (for or against you). Maybe it was a few of these stars.

NB: Scores based on PPR leagues

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Fantasy Stars:

Lamar Jackson (BAL) – 21cmp/318yds/3td + 9rsh/119yds/1td 42pts

Lamar Jackson will have done his contract credentials no harm with this performance. A stellar day both on the ground and in the air… and yet they still managed to lose the game. Astounding.

Amon-Ra St Brown (DET) – 9rec/116yds/2td + 2rsh/68yds 39pts

St Brown broke the record for the most consecutive games with at least 8 receptions. To add to his dominant air display he had 2 big rush plays and hit paydirt twice. Imagine Deebo Samuel but on a team where injuries are less frequent.

Nick Chubb (CLE) – 17rsh/87yds/3td + 3rec/26yds 32pts

Chubb became the first RB with 3tds in a day this season and again he had a dominant performance but ended up on the losing team, but that doesn’t matter for fantasy.

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Surprise Packages:

The Dolphins (MIA) – See below

Tua Tagovailoa – 36cmp/469yds/6td + 1rsh/1yds 39pts

Tyreek Hill – 11rec/190yds/2td 42pts

Jaylen Waddle – 11rec/171yds/2td 40pts

Not only was the comeback victory the stuff of legend, but the fantasy scores were off the charts. If you need proof that you can support 2 superstar fantasy WRs on the same team, this was it.

Garret Wilson (NYJ) – 8rec/102yds/2td + 1rsh/-2yds 30pts

Wilson played a big part in the late game heroics for the Jets and had a monster day despite missing snaps due to being assessed for an injury before being cleared to return. Joe Flacco also deserves a mention here but I can’t be making a habit of claiming whole teams were surprises.

Jaguars DST (JAX) – 1ff/3int/5sck/41tkl 22pts (scoring may vary)

Every league has different scoring on defence but whatever league you are in, if you have DST the Jags are likely to have been a top 3 team as they demolished a previously fancied but already struggling Colts team. This shutout was the biggest shock of the week for me.

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Disappointments:

Matt Ryan (IND) – 16cmp/195yds/3int 1pt

You would expect any game against the Jags to be a guarantee for fantasy points but the Colts clearly were lost without Michael Pittman and with other receivers also unavailable the wheels just fell off.

Rashaad Penny (SEA) – 6rsh/15yds 2pts

With the injury to Ken Walker people expected Penny to dominate the early weeks in Seattle. With Walker back for week 2 that was definitely not the case. A Penny for his thoughts?

Davante Adams – 2rec/12yds/1td 9pts

It’s odd to put a TD scorer in as a failure but Adams was up against a terrible Cardinals defence in a decent scoring game and yet only caught 2 of 7 passes. The narrative was there but the output wasn’t.

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Waiver Wire pickups:

QB – Jimmy Garoppolo (SF) – With the horrible news of Trey Lance being out for the season, the 49ers thank their stars that they re-structured Jimmy Garoppolos contract and can use his experience and familiarity to keep their season on track. We know he can work with this offence and while he’s not as dynamic as Lance, he’s a more secure option in 2QB leagues.

Other QB Options – Jared Goff @MIN, Carson Wentz vsPHI, Daniel Jones vsDAL.

RB – J.D. McKissic (WAS) – Another impressive offence in these early weeks of the season has been the Washington Commanders and while they lost to the Lions they have a lot of fantasy relevant pieces. In a week where RB options are somewhat limited, McKissic may be a solid stand-in if required. Logan Thomas at TE could also be a good pickup.

WR – Sterling Shepard (NYG) – Kadarious Toney seems to be massively out of favour in New York and despite a late return from injury, Shepard has had  strong start along with another surprise package Richie James. Both may be interesting pickups in deeper leagues.

DST Options – Saints @CAR, Browns vsPIT, Bears vsHOU, Texans vsCHI.

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Winless teams: should anyone hit the panic button yet?

We’re just two weeks into the fledgling NFL season and seven teams have yet to record a win. I don’t think it’s a hot take to suggest that three of them – the Texans (0-1-1), Panthers (0-2) and Falcons (0-2) – weren’t destined to set the world on fire this year. But the other four are arguably all playoff contenders in the AFC and clearly off to a poorer-than-expected start.

Last year, the Titans were the AFC’s top seed, the Bengals made a miraculous run to the Super Bowl, the Raiders reached the postseason despite the most tumultuous of seasons and the Colts only missed out on January football with an inexplicable loss to the Jaguars – hold that thought – in Week 18.  

With 16 weeks of regular season action still to come, none of these franchises should be freaking out quite yet… or should they? We’ve only seen one team this century – the 2018 Texans – fight back from 0-3 to reach the playoffs so it looks like now is the time to get that elusive W on the board.

Indianapolis Colts (0-1-1)

How are they faring?

Indy have a reputation for starting slow (they began 0-3 last year) and this has been another sluggish opening, with a loss and a tie. Even though they were both on the road, their games at the Texans and Jaguars should have eased the Colts into their campaign with a couple of straightforward divisional scalps. But somehow, they tied 20-apiece in OT with Houston, having overcome a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter, only for Rodrigo Blankenship to miss a 42-yard FG that would’ve sealed the comeback. They then found themselves on the wrong end of an embarrassing 24-0 shutout in Jacksonville – their eighth straight loss there – when they should have been wreaking their revenge for last year. And next up, it’s only the Kansas City Chiefs. Gulp! It’s important to note that three of the four AFC South teams have a sub-.500 record so all is not lost yet. But realistically, from Week 4, they need to start winning.

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What’s going wrong?

In the 24-0 “ass-whupping” (DeForest Buckner’s words, not mine) by the Jaguars, the defence let Trevor Lawrence do what he wanted, but the offence shoulders most of the responsibility. Matt Ryan, supposedly an upgrade from Carson Wentz, went 16-of-30 for 195 yards, 0 TDs and 3 INTs (passer rating: 34.0), while star running back Jonathan Taylor had just nine carries. The offensive linemen and wide receivers are offering nothing either. Yes, injuries to Michael Pittman Jr and Shaquille Leonard have played their part but I bet HC Frank Reich is starting to feel the flames on his derriere when he sits at his desk. The Colts need to show some fight, some urgency, if they’re to stop their season derailing completely before it’s even begun.

Panic-o-meter: Ominous (8 out of 10)

Las Vegas Raiders (0-2)

How are they faring?

On the opening weekend, the Raiders succumbed to the Los Angeles Chargers, losing 24-19. No shame in that, you’d argue. But they then chucked away a 20-point lead at home to the Cardinals, mustering just 48 yards of offence after the break before losing 29-23 in OT. Not so great. With the Chiefs setting an ominous pace, the Raiders are already two games off the top of the AFC West. But at least they stand a chance of turning the ship around this week, when they play the equally winless Tennessee Titans. Something has to give.

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What’s going wrong?

The blame for the slow start in the desert has been spread far and wide. For one thing, they need to get their new star wideout Davante Adams into the game more. He meshed well with his old colleague QB Derek Carr in Week 1 (10 receptions, 141 yards, 1 TD) but Adams went AWOL this weekend. Just two receptions for 12 yards (and a TD) this week is inexcusable. Then there’s the pass rush – or lack of it. A measly one sack in two weeks wasn’t what we expected from Maxx Crosby and the so-far invisible Chandler Jones, signed for $50 million in free agency. Heat is also being thrown the way of head coach Josh McDaniels who, like an anti-King Midas, turned a lead of 20-0 into an L on Sunday. By his own admission, “In the first half, we played the game the way we wanted to. But we lost control in the second half for sure.” They can’t afford for that to happen again or the Black and Silver will start to slip into the brown stuff.

Panic-o-meter: Concerning (7 out of 10)

Tennessee Titans (0-2)

How are they faring?

Despite being just one game back from the table-topping Jaguars, the 0-2 Titans look a shadow of the team that romped to the top of the AFC rankings last season. No one would have expected victory at the rampant Buffalo Bills, even though the 41-7 scoreline will have raised a few eyebrows, but it only piled on the misery after the opening week’s 21-20 loss at home to the New York Giants, which ended with kicker Randy Bullock missing a 47-yarder as time expired.     

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What’s going wrong?

Offensively, their big weapon – RB Derrick Henry – has yet to hit his stride, and the big man slumped to just 25 yards and a TD from 13 rushes (1.9 yards per carry) against Buffalo on MNF. QB Ryan Tannehill hasn’t faired much better and was actually benched in favour of rookie Malik Willis late in the third quarter at Orchard Park, having completed 11 of 20 for 117 yards and 2 INTs, one of which went back for six. Of their 11 possessions on Monday night, six ended with punts, three with turnovers and one, at the end of the first half, saw them let the clock run out with a minute and two timeouts up their sleeve. I’m not entirely sure what HC Mike Vrabel was thinking there. And rookie Kyle Phillips muffed a punt return for a second week in a row, which is never great.

While this is the Titans’ first 0-2 start for a decade, the season is still young and the whole AFC Conference is still wide open. With just three teams starting 2-0, there’s still everything to play for, especially with the similarly winless Raiders up next, but falling to 0-3 is not an option.

Panic-o-meter: Troubling (7 out of 10)

Cincinnati Bengals (0-2)

How are they faring?

The losing finalists of the previous season’s Super Bowl rarely set the world on fire but the Bengals are looking especially wobbly so far. They have lost two close games to walk-off field goals – a 23-20 OT loss to the Steelers (largely due to missed kicks hindered by a tight end standing in when the long snapper got injured) and a 20-17 defeat to the Cowboys. So on paper, they’re not that far away. Luckily, their AFC North rivals all lost this weekend too so they’re only a game behind the field. That means this week’s tilt against the Jets isn’t quite a “must-win” game. But it’s closer to being one than they’d like it to be, especially with the likes of the free-scoring Dolphins, Bills and Chiefs on the schedule. If they lose three straight to the likes to Mitchell Trubisky, Cooper Rush and Joe Flacco, then heaven help them when Allen, Mahomes and co. pitch up.

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What’s going wrong?

Cincy fans are at a loss to exactly what’s going on, probably because there are several factors at play in their sub-par start. Having failed to play a snap during the pre-season, the revamped O-line has yet to gel, which means the running game is stagnant and Joe Burrow is running for his life once again. After sustaining 70 sacks last year, he’s already been taken down 13 times in two games, which will put him on a similar path to Andrew Luck if he’s not careful, and he threw four interceptions in Week 1 against Pittsburgh. But it’s not all down to his lack of protection; Joey B’s also hanging on to the ball too long. Teams are also stopping the long, explosive plays that defined the Bengals’ high-octane offence in 2021, leaving Burrow to dink and dunk more than he’d like. Zac Taylor is also under fire for his highly predictable, ultra-vanilla play-calling and his seat is starting to warm up. It’s time to get creative, ZT!

Panic-o-meter: Unsettling (6 out of 10)

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Five Things: Week 2 – Carolina Panthers at New York Giants

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For the first time since 2016, the Giants have started the season 2-0! It was by no means pretty, but a win is a win. Here are five things that stood out.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

When you win a game most of the time, you can assume it was because your team was a well-oiled machine and that all of the offense, defense, and special teams contributed. Well, for the Giants, that is not the case at all.

Watching the offence overall was not enjoyable outside of the touchdown drive. In the first half, the Giants had a total of 60 yards offensively, of which they had 0 rushing yards, and it could have been worse as a poor Daniel Jones pass went straight to Panthers Linebacker Frankie Luvu, who thankfully was unable to secure the catch. Luckily, in the second half, they flashed a few promising signs, including an 8-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that was the perfect response to Carolina’s own touchdown drive.

The defence did play well but were aided by Baker Mayfield’s erratic and often off-target throws. Outside of the touchdown drive and the three field goals, the Giants held the Panthers to an average of 12.6 yards per drive and an abysmal 2 conversions off 12 attempts on third down, but more about that later.

Field Goals? It’s Gano Problem

When your offence struggles, you need to take advantage of any and every opportunity you can get for points, and luckily for us, we have Graham Gano. Across the previous two years that he has been with the Giants, he has a 92.3% field goal conversion rate on 65 attempts and a 95.1% extra point conversion rate on 41 attempts.

The ex-Carolina Panther walked out five times to try and score points against his previous team, and not once was there any doubt that he would make every kick count. After the Panthers coughed up two fumbles to begin the game, Gano would make it 6-0 to the Giants after making kicks from the 33 and 36-yard lines. He would then make his lone extra point attempt in the third quarter before rounding out his perfect day with two field goals in the fourth quarter, one from 51 yards and what would be the game winner from 56 yards.

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Third Down Defense

As mentioned in the first point, the Giants’ defence held the Panthers to a lowly 2 conversions off 12 attempts, and the biggest reason why is Wink Martindale’s aggression, which was mostly executed perfectly by the personnel on the field, and bear in mind that this is a unit without standout Edge rushers Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari.

The Giants swarmed Baker Mayfield time and time again, giving him little time to think and forcing him to panic. Of the ten attempts that the Panthers failed on, they had one penalty, one fumble, one sack, two short of the first down marker, and five incompletions. These were mostly caused by the constant blitzing from Wink, which at one point saw four safeties on the field, three of them on the line of scrimmage.

X-Factor Ximines

Oshane Ximines started his Giants career relatively well, recording 4.5 sacks, but he quickly fell out of favour with both the Pat Shurmur and Joe Judge regimes and was touted as a probable cut candidate throughout the offseason. However, Brian Daboll allowed him a fresh start and took advice from Wink Martindale and Drew Wilkins, who were both impressed with his work.

Ximines impressed them both so much that, due to the injuries to Thibodeaux and Ojulari, he was listed as a starter on the depth chart for the season opener, and he hasn’t looked out of place. He started the season against the Tennessee Titans by continuing his preseason success, and he’s followed it up with a stellar showing against the Panthers that has earned him a game ball.

He finished the game with a stat line of two tackles, one tackle for a loss, 1 pass defended, 1 Quarterback hit, and 1 sack, but in real time he seemed to be everywhere.

Big Play Rookies

When Dane Belton fractured his clavicle making an interception during preseason practise, there was an audible sigh from the Giants fanbase. The rookie safety had impressed both coaches and fans alike, but now he could be on the sidelines for up to eight weeks. Belton took to the field for his first ever NFL play seven weeks and a day later and walked off with the ball after recovering the fumbled kickoff that was caused by Carter Coughlin.

Belton wasn’t the only rookie that had a big contribution in the game, though. After not registering a catch in his first ever NFL game a week ago, Daniel Bellinger finally got his first one during the game against the Panthers. With the Giants needing to answer the Panthers’ third quarter touchdown, Bellinger secured the pass from Daniel Jones, sprinted towards the endzone and dove in to tie the game once again.

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Bucs @Saints Week 2 Recap

The Saints fall in the home opener 20-10 against the Bucs. Brady still didn’t do much. The refs were terrible, Winston played with a broken back and the Saints offense gave this game away. Let break down the loss quarter by quarter.

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First Quarter

The Saints offense started this game well, there was much more rhythm and rushed the ball really well with Ingram.  Peat was a pulling guard monster on the opening drive.

The Saints showed a different look with Taysom Hill at QB, wasn’t the conventional QB power. Looked to have a pass option out wide to Deonte Harty, with the option if Taysom didn’t like the pass, to run, he did and ran for a good gain.

The drive stalled and ended in a 31-yard field, disappointing to not get a TD, but it was promising to see the Saints offense have some rhythm, on the ground at least.

Brady and the Bucs started in the worst way possible for them, another Brady turnover against the Saints. Brady fumbled a 4th and 1 snap that was recovered by Demario Davis on the Saints 26. The Saints had a huge chance to put a stamp on the game here, with any points, especially a TD.

Unfortunately, the drive stalled the Saints were on the right side of an unnecessary roughness penalty after the Bucs blitz got home on 3rd down, which kept the drive alive. Before finally, a Taysom Hill run didn’t work, forcing a Saints punt.

An unusual poor punt from Gillikin, he had a real chance to pin the Bucs deep. Instead, the Bucs started with the ball at their own 23.

Second Quarter

Tampa started the 2nd quarter with a 3rd and 6 after a Fournette run and Incomplete pass ended the first quarter.

Tampa dialled up an excellent play to get Evans matched up in the slot against Justin Evans. Evans ran a kind of wheel route from the slot and the Saints defender got caught up in a rub, designed to get Evans clear. It was a really well drawn up play, with the Bucs now in business after the 41-yard completion.

The Bucs were now up to the Saints 30, then the 17 after an excellent run up the middle by Fournette, which turned out to be Fournette’s longest of the game (13 yards).

4th and 1 on the Saints 9-yard line concluded this drive, with Kentavius Street somehow getting into the backfield unblocked and disrupting the run. Leading to Carl Granderson standing tall and stopping Fournette for a loss. Allowing the Saints to take over inside their own 10, with again a chance for the offense to take the bull by the horns.

They didn’t and the offense went 3 and out quickly. This was a ‘what could have been’ drive. Winston looked to have Olave deep down the right sideline. Winston overthrow him on third down ending the drive there.

Getting no yards, also meant the Saints were losing the field position battle (a trend that continued for much of the game). Especially with Gillikin not on top form, the Bucs started again with good field position at the 50. They couldn’t take advantage gaining 1 yard on 3 plays. Mainly because of Pete Werner, Werner had another great game. He was excellent against the run all game and made at least 2 really good plays in pass coverage one on this drive and had a PBU on the Bucs first drive of the game. He has quickly become a key piece to the Saints defense.

Neither offense could do anything to end the half. There were signs on both Saints drives that Winston’s back was limiting him more than we were being told. He had a chance twice to scramble on third down, on he had a real chance to get the first both times but chose to keep his eyes downfield which nearly cost them. As he was stripped from behind on one of the plays, luckily James Hurst fell on it.

The Saints opted not to kick a 57-yard field goal with 28 seconds left and instead punted back to the Bucs. I understand the thought process at the time, up 3 and a miss would have given the Bucs good  field position to try and end the half with some points.  I think Allen needed to show some aggression here and trust Lutz. Points were at a premium in this game.

Brady Knelt, after the punt to end the half.

Third Quarter

Bucs started with the ball in the second half and didn’t do much again. They could get anything going on the ground and it wasn’t much better through the air. You could see Brady getting more and more frustrated with what the Saints were doing in coverage, so much so, Brady broke another tablet on the sideline.

Unfortunately, the Saints offense still couldn’t respond with more failed deep shots to Olave forcing an immediate three and out. What’s most frustrating about these attempts is it looked like Olave had a step on the defender most times, the play was there to be made. Winston just could connect.

Gillikin had another poor punt giving the Bucs another short field to work with. This was a huge factor in this game the Bucs were regularly starting past their 30-yard line, this was very rarely the case for the Saints.

Finally, the Saints defense caved just enough. Brady and the Bucs had finally broken the drought against the Saints and scored their first point in 7 quarters.

 After a very nice rub route concept again got Breshad Perriman open to keep the Bucs offense alive on a third down and long. The Bucs only gained 28-yards on this drive but again because of their field position that was enough to get them into FG range.

Next is where it all started to unravel for the Saints. The offense found rhythm that we hadn’t seen since the very first drive of the game, great runs by Ingram and Dwayne Washington. With some nice completions mixed in from Jameis leading the team all the way down to the Redzone. Until a very nice 9-yard run by Ingram was capped with a killer game-changing fumble. A textbook punch out caused the fumble and, in a game, where any points were like gold dust for the Saints to not punch in a great drive, turned into a huge momentum changer.

Fourth Quarter

The Saints defense came up with another 3rd and short stuff to force a 4th and 1 on the Bucs 19-yard line. When a severely unusual mistake by the Saints special teams kept the drive going, a 12 men on the field penalty, gave Brady another crack.

As was the way Brady still couldn’t move the ball, after a deep attempt to Mike Evans was well covered by Marshon Lattimore as it had been all day. Lattimore had been dominating the matchup again in this one and Brady was frustrated, he marched down the field demanding a flag from the refs and exchanged words with Lattimore.

It was at this point all hell broke loose. Fournette push Lattimore, Lattimore pushed back, nothing unusual nothing to major. Then from the sideline, encouraged by the ‘retired’ former Bucs HC Bruce Arians who for some reason was on the Bucs sideline. Mike Evans came bursting onto the field and flattened Lattimore from Behind. A significant scrum ensued, causing the eyes in the sky in New York, to eject Lattimore and Evans.

This, in my opinion was a joke, Evans came  from the sideline and escalated the whole thing with an unnecessary hit on Lattimore, he and he alone should have been thrown out, with Lattimore and Fournette receiving 15-yard penalties.

This decision from the people who are supposed to be removed from the situation, so they can review footage to get these calls right. As per usual got it wrong, which caused major effects on the game.  See the video below and make up your own mind.

Evans and Lattimore ejected after Bucs, Saints scuffle – ESPN Video

This was where the implosion happened, Winston tried Olave again deep and underthrow him (another sign of the back causing an issue) and was intercepted. Winston went on to be intercepted on the next 2 Saints drives after that. Both were bad throws one was a bad miss to TE Juwan Johnson; the other Winston did not see the Robber (S Mike Edwards) and throw a pick 6. The coverage looked very similar to what the Saints used last season on P.J. Williams’ pick 6 on Brady.

Sprinkle in a Brady touchdown drive in-between aided by some poorly officiated penalties against the Saints and P.J. Williams being in primary coverage for the touchdown when Lattimore would have been if he didn’t get thrown out. That was the end of the contest for the Saints.

The offense did find rhythm to get one TD on the board with nice passes to Mike Thomas and Juwan Johnson and a PI call on another deep shot to Olave, but it was all too little too late.

The final very cruel dagger was, finally, a deep shot to Olave worked for 51-yard gain. It could have given the Saints a small window to come back, but the receiver was judged to have fumbled the ball, as he had not been touched down after completing the catch and then fumbling.

From one angle the broadcast showed it looked like Olave’s foot was touched on the way down, therefore meaning the ruling should have been a 51-yard completion. It was hard to tell though.

Conclusion

The Saints should have won this game, the defense stifled Brady again and the Bucs could do nothing in the run game.

But the offense couldn’t capitalise on the fortunate cards they were dealt, it felt like 13 points would have won this game, I really think the defense could have protected that. Ultimately the offense turned it over 5 times and that isn’t going to beat anyone. Let alone the Goat.

I think the offense will get there, the talk all off-season has been that as OC Pete Carmichael has called plays before, so he will be fine. Well, let’s not forget he had Drew Brees when he called plays before, Brees was effectively an OC on the field who could decide how he wanted to play. I think Pete is still trying to figure his offensive identity with no Brees and no Payton.

Brady made enough plays when needed and the Bucs defense, came up big down the stretch.

Finally note on this game, the officials were horrific, not just calls against the Saints but a couple of the call against the Bucs earlier in the game were awful too. The NFL needs to fix its officiating crisis because too much of their incompetence is having an impact on the results of games.

I will be previewing of all and recapping all the New Orleans Saints games this season on New Orleans Saints – Full10Yards

Please let me know your feedback on this article and the rest throughout the season, I’m always looking to improve and add things that people want to read about. I will back later in the week to preview Saints @ Panthers, so please keep an eye out for that.

I want to create as much of a UK Saints community as possible, so follow me on Twitter @SaintsReportUK, for much more Saints content and discussion

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5 things to look out for in Week 2

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Week 1 of the 2022 NFL Season was exactly as predicted, chaos. We saw upsets, injuries, big plays, and massive coverage busts. Now we know a little bit more about the 32 teams in the league, here are five things to look out for in Week 2’s slate of games.

1. Lamar’s big audition?

Sunday’s early window sees Lamar Jackson’s Ravens host the Miami Dolphins. Could this be Lamar’s big audition to the Fins for next year? If Tua Tagovailoa doesn’t improve, then they’re in the market for a QB. Whilst Tua was about average in the win at home to the Patriots, the general consensus is that he’s been much better in TC. This game will come down to which offense can score the most against two top defenses.

2. Chicago looking for their first Lambeau win since 2015.

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Sunday Night Football sees Green Bay welcome the Bears for the first of their two annual matchups. The Packers have won the last six straight in the series. We saw that last year with the iconic “I still own you” from Aaron Rodgers after rushing for a TD at Soldier Field last year. Could that change? GB looked poor in Minnesota, whilst Chicago outfought the 49ers in the rain in their home opener.

3. Will the 49ers right Week 1’s wrongs at home to Seattle?

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7 days ago we expected the home team to be 1-0 coming into this one, and the away coming off a loss. But after Seattle’s surprise win over the Broncos on MNF, and the Niners were washed away in Chicago, this game is suddenly much more interesting. Trey Lance will have to be better to beat Pete Carroll’s defense. His job got a lot easier with the news that safety Jamal Adams won’t be a threat to him in the box.

4. Last year’s #1 seed Titans host Super Bowl favourite Bills on MNF.

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The first of two games on a MNF doubleheader should be a good one. Buffalo are coming into the game fresh off a dominant victory over the Bills, whilst Tennessee blew a fourth-quarter lead vs the Giants. Von Miller made the Bills’ defensive front look scary, the area that was lacking last year, destroying Matt Stafford’s protection. Derrick Henry will need to average more than 3.9 yards per carry if the Titans want to win this game.

5. Justin Jefferson to haunt the Eagles on MNF?

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Philadelphia really screwed up by taking Jalen Reagor over JJ in the 2020 draft, he’ll be looking to haunt them again, this time alongside Reagor, after he was acquired by trade in training camp. The Eagles’ offense moved the ball really well against the Lions last week, AJ Brown being a big factor in that. If they can do the same against their NFC North rivals then this Eagles team could be on for a perfect start. They’ll have to tighten up to stop this Vikings offense though

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Week 1: Rookie Standouts

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For the upcoming season, I’m going to be looking at three rookies each week who either made a considerable contribution or flashed some brilliance that changed a game.

Normally I would plan for this to come out either Tuesday or Wednesday, but it’s a touch late as I’ve been in sunny Orlando getting my theme park fix. In fact, I’m writing this whilst waiting for my delayed flight, so here we go:

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Cade York, Kicker – Cleveland Browns

I feel I have to start this article off with some love for a rookie kicker, especially when the kicker in question made a game-winning 58-yard field goal in the dying embers of the game, fending off ex-Browns Quarterback Baker Mayfield’s Carolina Panthers.

York, who was selected in the fourth round by a Browns team that wanted some stability at the position, have been rewarded instantly. In fact, this was the first time Cleveland has won in the opening week of a season since a 20-3 win over the Baltimore Ravens in 2004.

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Drake London, Wide Reciever – Atlanta Falcons

After suffering a preseason knee injury, the Falcons were unsure if London would be able to suit up for their opener against divisional rivals the New Orleans Saints, and although they were ultimately the losing team, they will be happy with how the future looks.

London, the first receiver selected in the draft, showed no niggling effects of his knee injury as he hauled in five receptions for 74 receiving yards, including a 31-yard gain where he ghosted through the Saints’ coverage to help setup a field goal.

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Dominique Robinson, Edge – Chicago Bears

The salary cap situation that new Bears GM Ryan Poles inherited forced his hand into trading away standout Edge rusher Khalil Mack, but luckily for him, Robinson balled out in his debut.

Not only did he lead all rookies in sacks (1.5) and defensive stops (6, tied with Devin Lloyd), but incredibly, Robinson led all players in defensive stop rate. Even more impressive was that he was only on the field for 28 of the 68 defensive snaps the Bears took  

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Week Two Preview Bucs @ Saints- Key Matchups And More

After a bonkers week one victory against the Falcons. The Saints move on to another divisional foe, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tom Brady leads the Bucs into the Superdome for the Saints home opener, with both teams 1-0.

I’m going to highlight 3 key matchups. who’s playing and who’s not? and of course my score prediction for the game.

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Saints And Bucs Overview

If you’d told me heading into the 4th quarter of Saints Vs Falcons last week that the Saints would end up winning, I might have believed you. As let’s be fair its perfectly believable that the Falcons would blow a 4th quarter lead. Where I wouldn’t have believed you is if you’d told me the offense was the reason the Saints completed the comeback.   

New Orleans looked completely disjointed for 3 quarters against Atlanta, the offense couldn’t do anything either, other than Taysom Hill doing Taysom Hill things. The offense had no rhythm and really struggled to get anything going.

Until the 4th quarter. led by QB Jameis Winston, who completed 13 of 16 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns. In the 3 quarters before that, Winston went only 10 of 18 for 56 yards. All his playmakers stepped up, with especially encouraging performances from Michael Thomas (after a sluggish first half) and free agent addition Jarvis Landry, who suddenly turned into an elite downfield playmaker.

Josh Norris on Twitter: “29 year old Jarvis Landry becoming a vertical playmaker feels unprecedented considering he had a 6.2 aDOT in the first 4 years of his career” / Twitter

If this version of the offense shows up for the majority of the season, then the whole league will be on notice that this Jameis Winston led team is coming and nobody is safe.

Consistency is key though and the Saints offense needs to prove this week that it can be really good but for more than 1 quarter.

The Bucs enter week 2, coming off a far different game. It all seemed fairly routine for them to beat the Cowboys.  No dramatic 4th quarter comeback required. In fact, the Bucs were only behind for 3 minutes and 57 seconds in the whole game and cruised to a 19-3 victory.

The Bucs barely had to get out of 1st gear, they dominated a Cowboys offense that might have looked as bad as the Saints offense did, only the difference with the Cowboys wad they couldn’t do anything for all 4 quarters. A lot of that comes down to the Bucs talent on defense.

The Bucs stifled the Cowboys passing attack with a mix of speed and aggression in the front 7 and versatility in the secondary, also great preparation as LB Devin White explained here.

Devin White reveals how easy it was for Bucs to figure out Cowboys game plan (thelandryhat.com)

The Bucs leaned on their running game with Leonard Fournette rushing for 127 yards, at 6 YPC. With Brady and the Bucs passing game doing what I needed to do to win the game.

This is a matchup the Saints have dominated since Brady arrived. Especially on defense. Brady in the 4 previous regular season games has been sacked 13 times, fumbled 3 times (lost 2) and been intercepted 9 times. Brady’s Bucs have only averaged 16 points per game (PPG). That average jumps up 25 PPG when the Bucs visit the Superdome, compared to 1.5 PPG when they play at home.

Despite this being a landslide for the Saints since Brady arrived, for the New Orleans to push the record to 5-0, there are certain matchups that I think are key.

Key Matchups

Saints Pass Rush

The age old trop that you must be able to disrupt brady by rushing 4, is a tiresome narrative but, it is completely true and if you do Blitz It needs to be well timed and from a place Brady isn’t expecting.

That last point is a challenge, Brady is in his 23rd NFL season (Much to his wife’s dismay) he’s seen everything at this point, there isn’t much that surprises him. The Saints have managed to surprise him and keep him out of rhythm better than anyone during Brady’s time in Tampa.

Without pressure, Brady will dice you up. New Orleans has done a great job at this previously.  I mentioned earlier how many times the Saints have sacked Brady in their last 4 meetings (13). Which works out at 3.25 sacks per game, if you add in QB hits, then New Orleans have hit Brady on average, 10.75 times a game.

That is a lot of punishment on a QB in his mid-40’s and that is one of the main reasons the Saints have had so much success in this matchup.

Now that context has been provided, let’s take a look at how the Bucs are looking entering this game.

Their O-line is missing some key pieces, all-pro center Ryan Jensen is possibly out for the season and trusted vet LT Donavon Smith could also miss this game, even if he does play it’s likely that he will be in some pain with is elbow. They also have a rookie 2nd rounder starting at LG, who allowed 3 pressures and 3 hurries week 1 Vs the Cowboys per PFF. It seems like the Bucs line can be exploited.

Brady will help by getting the ball out quickly, making it harder for the rush to get home but that does mean shots down the field might be harder for Brady to execute if he doesn’t have time to let the play develop.

The Saints D-line struggled to create pressure week 1 Vs Atlanta, PFF chart the Saints as having 4 hurries and 1 QB hit in that game. That won’t nearly cut it against Brady.

However, this matchup suits the Saints d-line much more. Last week the game plan was to keep contain and make sure there wasn’t easy running lanes for Mariota to escape the pocket. That means the Saints rushers couldn’t truly rush.

With Brady, there is no threat to run that means the Saints can pin their ears back and go after Brady. Which with the Bucs lesser o-line should be a receipt for success.

If the Saints are without Paulson Adebo for a second straight week, the Saints will need to pass rush to produce.

Saints Run Defense

Last week the Saints struggled against a very creative running game. Not just against a very mobile Marcus Mariota but Cordarrelle Patterson gashed them as well.

This week is a much more traditional running game, but a no less successful one. The Bucs ran the ball at will Vs the Cowboys in week 1.

If the Saints d-line, especially the interior struggle again this week it causes very significant issues to how the Saints want to defend Tampa.

Last season the Saints could stop the run in NICKEL, meaning they only had 2 LBs and 5 DBS on the field. This a huge advantage against a team like Tampa. It means that you have another capable defender against the pass. Rather than a slower less capable LB that Brady can exploit.

Last week against Atlanta, the Saints had to switch to their base defense (3LBs) to try and help stop the run.

If they have to do the same this week, it gives Brady a big matchup advantage. As good as Kaden Ellis has played from the SAM LB spot. You really don’t want him on the field for significant snaps because Brady will move players around to isolate them on him or another LB, with 3 LBs on the field it’s a lot easier to that.

Secondly if you can’t stop the run, play-action starts to become a much more credible threat. Brady is a machine when running play-action. Last season Brady completed 96 passes from play-action for 1211 yards, 14 TDs and 2 interceptions good for a 115.4 passer rating and was successful in a small sample size week 1.

The Saints must go back to old ways this week where stopping the run is concerned, otherwise Brady will have a much easier time picking them apart.

The Shutdown Matchups

Marshon Lattimore Vs Mike Evans (if he plays, he will. they always do against the Saints) and Carlton Davis Vs Michael Thomas. These are 2 of the juiciest CB Vs WR matchups in the league. Not just because it’s a matchup of 4 very good players, also because these players simply really don’t like each other.

There’s not holding back in these matchups and the difference between these CB/WR matchups compared to others is these CBs generally do travel. Lattimore and Davis try to matchup with Evans and Thomas on as many plays as possible.

For the most part, the CBs have had most of the success. See below from ESPN who give detail on just how much these players face off against each other.

Fantasy football 2022 Week 2 – Best and worst WR/CB matchups (espn.com)

For the Saints to win, coming out on the right side of these matchups will go a long way to achieving that.

State Of The Rosters

Time to review who will play and who will not and discuss some other key points to take from the final injury report (below).

Saints– Alvin Kamara being listed as questionable is the biggest surprise here, after being limited earlier in the week, Kamara did not practice on Thursday or Friday, this is usually a sign that he would be ruled for Sunday. If he does its likely to be a limited role. I don’t think not having Kamara is as big of a deal in this matchup compared to others. The Bucs usually play Kamara well and I think the Saints strength in this game is with the WR matchup.

I think not having Adebo for this game hurts more than Kamara, even with Chris Godwin not playing the Bucs still have plenty of receiving options. With Adebo back the Saints would have been been able to have their desired starting CBs on the outside, allowing Roby to move back into the slot, in a game where pure coverage skill is what the Saints require. Adebo being back would have allowed the Saints to field their best 3 cover corners.

In regards to the other players listed as ‘questionable’ there seems to be no concern over Jameis Winston and Mark Ingram’s status after being limited all week. I am interested to see if Dwayne Washington or Tre’Quan Smith are active after missing last weeks game.

Bucs– Godwin being out was already pretty much a forgone conclusion. The biggest question entering this final injury report was Mike Evans and Julio Jones’ statuses, after being limited on Wednesday, both were downgraded to DNP. This is usually a sign of a setback. After returning in a limited capacity on Friday, I expect them both to play, though it will be interesting to how healthy they are.

Donovan Smith being listed as doubtful, is interesting. Earlier in the week Todd Bowles said this was going to be a pain management thing for Smith. So this appears to be a true game time decision and a huge one at that. Marcus Davenport against a back up tackle yes please!!!.

Score Prediction

With the Saints d-line having a more static target to aim at this week I think we see a far more improved version of them and see some meaningful pressure on Brady. I especially look for Marcus Davenport to have a dominate game.

With Paulson Adebo out and a lot of new faces starting, I think the Saints secondary struggles a bit more than in previous games. I think Brady will make some big throws with a least a couple of 30+ yard completions but I think the Saints hold firm in the redzone to force some field goals.

Overall, this is of course a tough matchup, regardless of how well the Saints have done in previous meetings. Crucially I think the Saints passing offense is far better than it was in most of those games, and I think Winston and his crew of weapons do just enough in this one.

Score-28-26 Saints Win                                                                                                                        

I will be previewing and recapping of all the New Orleans Saints games this season on New Orleans Saints – Full10Yards

Please let me know your feedback on this article and the others throughout the season, I’m always looking to improve and add things that people want to read about!

I want to try and create as much of a UK Saints community as possible, so follow me on Twitter @SaintsReportUK, for much more Saints content and discussion.