NFL
NFL MATCHUP: Comparing The Saints Offense Against The Rams Defense
NFL Matchups: “Running back Alvin Kamara and versatile weapon Taysom Hill have been important assets to the passing attack” Comparing The Saints Offense Against The Rams Defense
Examining how the Saints offense matches up against the Rams defense
After a Week 12 bye, the 4-7 New Orleans Saints return to action this week when they host the 5-6 Los Angeles Rams. It will be the third straight home game for the Saints, who won both contests under interim head coach Darren Rizzi before their bye.
Los Angeles started their year losing four of their first five outings. They went on a bit of a winning streak before a recent slippage, dropping two of their last three. The Rams are 2-3 on the road this season but have won their last two away from home.
Part of the reason for the Rams’ roller coaster year is a young defense that’s been inconsistent and have taken their lumps. After an outstanding start to the year offensively, the Saints hit a major injury roadblock. New Orleans is starting to get healthy, but will still be without playmaking wideouts Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed.
Here is how the New Orleans offense and Los Angeles defense matches up going into a crucial contest for both squads.
Saints Offense
Points = 11th (23.8/game)
Total Yardage = 11th (347.4)
Passing Yards = 17th (216.6)
Rushing Yards = 9th (130.7)
Rushing Average = 9th (4.6)
3rd Downs = 14th
Red Zone % = 7th
New Orleans passing statistics are a bit deceiving. Remember that Derek Carr missed three outings, all losses, with an oblique injury. Carr has a 68.7% completion percentage this season while averaging 218 yards per game with 13 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. His deep ball accuracy is as good as any quarterback in the league, and he’s been more decisive with his progressions than he was last year, his first with the Saints.
Without Olave or Shaheed, this passing game doesn’t have enough weapons to be a consistent threat to defenses. Veteran Cedrick Wilson and undrafted rookie Mason Tipton have done little at receiver. Tight end Juwan Johnson has been maddeningly inconsistent, while Foster Moreau is limited as a pass catcher.
Recent addition Marquez Valdes-Scantling has emerged as a big-play threat and has a good rapport with Carr. Signed just a month ago and appearing in three games, Valdes-Scantling has five catches for 196 yards and three scores in his last two outings. He’s brought back a deep ball element to the offense that had been lacking since Shaheed was knocked out for the year.
Running back Alvin Kamara and versatile weapon Taysom Hill have been important assets to the passing attack. Kamara has 443 yards receiving on a team-high 55 catches. Hill, who has missed four games, has 18 catches for 150 yards.
Of course, where Kamara and Hill are most valuable is as runners. Oftentimes carrying a shorthanded attack, Kamara has 782 yards on the ground, six touchdowns, and a 4.3 average. Hill, with 268 rushing yards, hasn’t gotten the ball a lot. He’s still a devastating weapon for defenses to deal with, evidenced by his 138 rushing yards and 188 all-purpose yards against Cleveland.
Tackles Taliese Fuaga and Trevor Penning have each quietly had strong years. They’ve been a powerful force for the running game and have both improved as pass blockers. Aside from Kamara, the Fuaga/Penning combination has been the offense’s most reliable asset.
The interior of the line is finally getting healthy after being decimated by injuries most of the year. Getting C Erik McCoy and LG Lucas Patrick back to join RG Cesar Ruiz would help the Saints establish the run, balance, and play-action scheme that coordinator Klint Kubiak prefers for his scheme.
Points = 26th (25.1/game)
Total Yards = 26th (362.5)
Passing = 19th (218.2)
• 10 interceptions
• 28 sacks
Rushing = 28th (144.3)
Rushing Average = 21st (4.6)
Third Downs = 19th
Red Zone % = 9th
Without retired DT Aaron Donald, the Rams have a much different look on defense. Edge rushers Jared Verse, Byron Young, and linemen Braden Fiske and Kobie Turner are dynamic young defenders all under the age of 27. Together, they have combined for 21.5 sacks, 39 QB hits, and 36 tackles for loss.
After struggling against the run early in the year, Los Angeles stiffened in that capacity when four of five. That progress came crashing down when the Eagles rushed for 314 yards last week, including 255 from Saquon Barkley.
Barkley was just the second 100-yard rusher allowed by the Rams this season, but they’ve surrendered at least 70 yards on the ground to nine different players.
Pass coverage has been equally shaky. They’ve allowed four quarterbacks to throw for at least 260 yards, but an eye-popping 13 pass catchers to have at least 65 yards, including six 100-yard outings.
A young Rams secondary is capable of making big plays, but also shows the propensity to give them up. Safeties Kamren Kinchens, Kamren Curl, and Quentin Lake are an athletic and versatile trio. Corner Cobie Durant is underrated in coverage, but opponents have had better success throwing at corners Ahkello Witherspoon and Darius Williams.
Where the Rams have been most vulnerable is at inside linebacker. Christian Rozeboom leads the team with 91 tackles. But, he and Omar Speights have often been beaten to the edge and have been victimized over the middle in coverage duties.
When these teams played in Los Angeles last year, the Saints fell behind 30-7 before rallying late to make the score a respectable 30-22. Without Olave or Shaheed, this offense simply doesn’t have the firepower for that kind of game.
New Orleans needs to establish balance early with their running game. Kamara and Hill should both have success on off-tackle plays against the Rams if the interior blockers can prevent penetration and open up cutback lanes
Rushing successfully will also set up play-action and roll outs, an absolute must for this offense. Hill and Kamara will also play roles as receivers, with each likely lining up various places along the formation. Don’t be surprised to see tight ends Moreau and Johnson involved somewhat heavily.
Valdes-Scantling has established himself as a big-play threat. Now, he’ll need to make some intermediate plays to open up more downfield opportunities. It would be nice to see a contribution from Wilson, Tipton, Dante Pettis, or Kevin Austin at receiver. In fact, it may be necessary to put enough points on the board to come out with a win.
Dolphins Urged to ‘Swing’ for Projected $36 Million Defensive Lineman
CBS Sports’ Jordan Dajani argued the Miami Dolphins should target Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Milton Williams in NFL free agency.
Miami Dolphins insiders have argued this offseason that the team must find a way to get more physical. One of the best ways to do that, particularly on defense, is to add a defensive lineman such as Milton Williams to the roster.
On January 30, CBS Sports’ Jordan Dajani identified Williams as the one player the Dolphins “should prioritize signing” during 2025 NFL free agency.
“The Dolphins have several pending free agents on the defensive line such as Calais Campbell and Benito Jones,” Dajani wrote. “Upgrading on the defensive interior is something Anthony Weaver will fight for, and Miami could swing for the former Eagle that recorded a career-high five sacks and 10 QB hits in 2024.”
A third-round pick for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2021, Williams is coming off a breakout fourth season. In 2024, he registered 24 combined tackles, including seven tackles for loss, along with career highs of five sacks and 10 quarterback hits.
Williams also played a career-high 501 defensive snaps during the 2024 regular season.
Spotrac projected Williams to be worth about $36 million on a three-year contract this offseason.
How Milton Williams Could Fit With the Dolphins
On January 30, The Palm Beach Post’s Joe Schad didn’t list defensive tackle among Miami’s top three needs this offseason. But Schad expressed that the Dolphins overall goal this spring and summer should be to add physicality to the roster to complement their speed.
It would help if the Dolphins could also address their pass rush. Miami finished the 2024 season ranked 27th with 35 sacks.
Adding Williams would certainly satisfy the latter need. While his sack total didn’t skyrocket, Williams took a huge step forward as a pass rusher in 2024 according to the Pro Football Focus player rankings.
In 2023, Williams earned a PFF pass rushing grade of 62. That grade jumped to 91 for the 2024 campaign.
The only defensive lineman in the NFL with a better PFF pass rushing grade this past season was Kansas City Chiefs’ Chris Jones.
Granted, Williams struggled in run defense and tackling according to PFF. But he fared much better in those categories at the analytical website during the past two seasons.
The Dolphins could sign Williams, hoping he continues to pass rush at an elite level while getting back to his 2022 and 2023 levels in run defense and tackling.
CONFIRMED: New York Jets Steal Former Top-5 Pick From Steelers in Surprise Move
The New York Jets have poached a talented coach away from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport shared on social media that the Jets are hiring inside linebackers coach Aaron Curry to be their new linebackers coach.
The #Jets are hiring #Steelers ILBs coach Aaron Curry as their new LBs coach, source says.
The former No. 4 overall selection has worked his way up in coaching and now takes a key role on the staff of HC Aaron Glenn and DC Steve Wilks.
curry had spent the previous two seasons with the Steelers in that role.
Jets Add Another Promising Young Coach to the Staff
Curry, 38, entered the NFL back in 2009 as the No. 4 overall pick in the first round of the NFL draft.
He lasted in the league for four seasons before he decided to hang up his cleats. Curry appeared in 48 games and made 39 starts.
During that period, he racked up 5.5 sacks, 203 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 19 quarterback hits, four forced fumbles, and 12 pass deflections.
After retiring from football in 2013, Curry immediately got into coaching. He spent six seasons at the college football level for Charlotte. Curry started as a strength and conditioning intern, became a graduate assistant, and then coached up the defensive line.
In 2019 he returned to the NFL and his old team the Seattle Seahawks as a coaching assistant and a defensive assistant. Most recently he has been with the Steelers as an inside linebackers coach.
“Aaron Curry received rave reviews in Pittsburgh and is seen as a coach on the rise,” The Jet Press wrote on X previously Twitter.
In other coaching news, the Jets have finally secured their next offensive coordinator.
“Sources: The #Jets are hiring #Lions passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand as their new offensive coordinator. Engstrand, who has been with Detroit since 2020, will now take charge of the Jets’ offense under head coach Aaron Glenn,” NFL Insider Jordan Schultz shared.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini confirmed the news.
“He comes from the highest-scoring offense in the NFL, and Glenn has familiarity with him. The potential risk is that he’s never called plays on the NFL level. Another rookie OC,” Cimini said.
The good news for the Jets is that Engstrand has worked with some big names during his coaching career. However, the troubling or uncertain news is that he hasn’t called plays at the NFL level.
New Jets Hire Rules out Aaron Rodgers Return in 2025: but he insist on a return
The New York Jets have hired Detroit Lions passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand as the new offensive coordinator.
According to ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky, that is bad news for Aaron Rodgers’ future with the Jets.
” I was just gonna say this makes me think [there is a] zero percent chance Aaron Rodgers is in New York because I think that would be really risky as an organization with a new head coach to go hey we are going to take one of the most successful quarterbacks in the history of the league and pair him with a guy who likes to do it one way and pair him with a guy who has never called plays before in the NFL. He has only been in the NFL for four years,” Orlovsky said on ESPN’s “NFL Live
Clearly the Jets Are Aaron Glenn’s Team Now
For the last two calendar years, the Jets catered to Rodgers and his demands. This was the Rodgers show and the team chose to live and die by that.
Now at the start of 2025, the Jets have handed the keys of the car to new head coach Aaron Glenn.
Glenn made it clear at his introductory press conference that no individual player is above the team and that this isn’t about Rodgers – it’s about the team.
If that wasn’t clear at the presser, it certainly is based on who he hired to run his offense.
Engstrand, 42, isn’t a Rodgers disciple. They never directly crossed paths in their respective coaching and playing careers.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini admitted that the Engstrand addition “adds to the uncertainty of a Rodgers return.”
“What I find interesting [is] if it is Aaron Rodgers which is the question hanging over everything, what Aaron Rodgers likes to do on offense is diametrically opposed from that under center, play action, Lions scheme. So this could be like tea leaves that maybe they do not expect the quarterback to come back,” ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes explained on “NFL Live.”
The assumption is Engstrand will run a “Lions-like system” according to Cimini. Engstrand has been with Detroit since the 2020 season.
“It’s different from what Rodgers did last season. The Lions ran a league-high 39% of their plays from under center, while the Jets ran 15% (15th), per NFL Next Gen Stats. Rodgers was comfortable in shotgun because it put less stress on his surgically repaired Achilles and other leg injuries that came up throughout the season. Also, no team used play-action more than the Lions (37%), significantly more than the Jets at 23% (17th),” Cimini revealed.
Rodgers, 41, just completed season No. 20 in the National Football League.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini told me on “Boy Green Daily” that Rodgers has only played in one maybe two different offenses throughout his entire career.
“Does Rodgers, at this stage of his career, want to learn a new system taught by a first-time playcaller? The last time he had to do it was 2019, Matt LaFleur’s first year with the Green Bay Packers — and that turned controversial when Rodgers complained about not having the freedom to audible at the line of scrimmage. Eventually, LaFleur relented,” Cimini recalled.
We still have more questions than answers.
Rodgers hasn’t decided if he even wants to play football in 2025. Once he reaches that conclusion, the Jets can then go through their own process to decide if they want him back or if they have to explore door No. 2 at the QB position.
New Jets Hire Rules out Aaron Rodgers Return in 2025: Analyst
New York Jets QB Aaron Rodgers reacting in the middle of an NFL game.
The New York Jets have hired Detroit Lions passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand as the new offensive coordinator.
According to ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky, that is bad news for Aaron Rodgers’ future with the Jets.
“I was just gonna say this makes me think [there is a] zero percent chance Aaron Rodgers is in New York because I think that would be really risky as an organization with a new head coach to go hey we are going to take one of the most successful quarterbacks in the history of the league and pair him with a guy who likes to do it one way and pair him with a guy who has never called plays before in the NFL. He has only been in the NFL for four years,” Orlovsky said on ESPN’s “NFL Live.”
Clearly the Jets Are Aaron Glenn’s Team Now
Play
For the last two calendar years, the Jets catered to Rodgers and his demands. This was the Rodgers show and the team chose to live and die by that.
Now at the start of 2025, the Jets have handed the keys of the car to new head coach Aaron Glenn.
Glenn made it clear at his introductory press conference that no individual player is above the team and that this isn’t about Rodgers – it’s about the team.
If that wasn’t clear at the presser, it certainly is based on who he hired to run his offense.
Engstrand, 42, isn’t a Rodgers disciple. They never directly crossed paths in their respective coaching and playing careers.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini admitted that the Engstrand addition “adds to the uncertainty of a Rodgers return.”
“What I find interesting [is] if it is Aaron Rodgers which is the question hanging over everything, what Aaron Rodgers likes to do on offense is diametrically opposed from that under center, play action, Lions scheme. So this could be like tea leaves that maybe they do not expect the quarterback to come back,” ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes explained on “NFL Live.”
The assumption is Engstrand will run a “Lions-like system” according to Cimini. Engstrand has been with Detroit since the 2020 season.
“It’s different from what Rodgers did last season. The Lions ran a league-high 39% of their plays from under center, while the Jets ran 15% (15th), per NFL Next Gen Stats. Rodgers was comfortable in shotgun because it put less stress on his surgically repaired Achilles and other leg injuries that came up throughout the season. Also, no team used play-action more than the Lions (37%), significantly more than the Jets at 23% (17th),” Cimini revealed.
An Interesting Rodgers-Jets Question
Play
Is an old dog willing to learn new tricks?
Rodgers, 41, just completed season No. 20 in the National Football League.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini told me on “Boy Green Daily” that Rodgers has only played in one maybe two different offenses throughout his entire career.
“Does Rodgers, at this stage of his career, want to learn a new system taught by a first-time playcaller? The last time he had to do it was 2019, Matt LaFleur’s first year with the Green Bay Packers — and that turned controversial when Rodgers complained about not having the freedom to audible at the line of scrimmage. Eventually, LaFleur relented,” Cimini recalled.
We still have more questions than answers.
Rodgers hasn’t decided if he even wants to play football in 2025. Once he reaches that conclusion, the Jets can then go through their own process to decide if they want him back or if they have to explore door No. 2 at the QB position.
NFL
BREAKING NEWS: New York jet HC Aaron Glenn has been nominated as NFL best coach of the year sending shock waves to former best coach
BREAKING NEWS: New York jet HC Aaron Glenn has been nominated as NFL best coach of the year sending shock waves to former best coach….
In a stunning turn of events, Aaron Glenn, the head coach of the New York Jets, has been nominated for the prestigious NFL Coach of the Year award, sending shockwaves through the league. His nomination has left former winner Kevin O’Connell, head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, reeling as the competition for the top coaching honor heats up for the upcoming NFL season.
Aaron Glenn’s nomination has come as a surprise to many, as the Jets have endured a tumultuous few seasons. However, Glenn’s leadership and tactical acumen have seen the team steadily improve. Under his guidance, the Jets’ defense has become one of the most formidable in the league, leading to several high-profile victories this season.
Known for his defensive prowess as a former player in the NFL, Glenn has brought a fresh perspective to the Jets, focusing on tough, disciplined play that has earned his team respect across the league. The nomination has sparked excitement among Jets fans, who have longed for a competitive team that can make a deep postseason run.
Kevin O’Connell: The Former Best Coach Strikes Back
Kevin O’Connell, who previously won the Coach of the Year award after leading the Minnesota Vikings to a strong season, now faces intense competition from Glenn. O’Connell’s Vikings squad has been solid under his leadership, but it seems the winds of change may be blowing as Glenn’s Jets continue to impress. O’Connell, whose coaching career skyrocketed after the Vikings’ playoff success, will now need to rally his team for a strong finish to the season in order to fend off Glenn’s challenge.
The rivalry between the two coaches is sure to provide an exciting subplot as the NFL enters the final stretch of the season. Will Glenn’s defensive revolution continue to disrupt the status quo, or will O’Connell reclaim his top spot?
The Coach of the Year Race: A Two-Horse Race?
While there are several strong candidates for Coach of the Year, the showdown between Glenn and O’Connell is dominating headlines. The award is one of the NFL’s most coveted honors, and the stakes couldn’t be higher for both coaches.
Glenn’s defensive schemes and the Jets’ resurgence have turned heads, while O’Connell’s success with the Vikings remains a testament to his ability to get the best out of his players. As the season winds down, fans and analysts alike will be keeping a close eye on both teams’ performances to see who ultimately takes home the title of NFL Coach of the Year.
Stay tuned for more updates as the battle for the Coach of the Year heats up!
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