Practice, Injury Updates, Pressers, Transactions (Week 2) [Hightower, Amendola OUT]

[Gwedd]

FWIW, it looks like the Saints are actually worse off on the WR position that New England is at the moment.

 

[Love The Drake]

FWIW, it looks like the Saints are actually worse off on the WR position that New England is at the moment.

Michael Thomas and Brandin Cooks are studs.
Chris Hogan vs Ginn
AUSTIN freaking Carr vs Dorsett.
If Carr makes any plays against us half of this board will go nuts.

 

[IllegalContact]

FWIW, it looks like the Saints are actually worse off on the WR position that New England is at the moment.

the pats aren't in bad shape at WR......they have 2 good starters in hogan and cooks......they have a good 3rd guy in dorsett......they can offset lack of depth with targeting RB and TE more, but should be able to make plays meant for WR, there's no excuse for that

 

[primetime]

Michael Thomas and Brandin Cooks are studs.
Chris Hogan vs Ginn
AUSTIN freaking Carr vs Dorsett.
If Carr makes any plays against us half of this board will go nuts.

Carr was inactive last week and will likely be so again this week. He's just keeping a seat warm for Willie Snead while he's suspended.

The Saints' top five pass catchers are Thomas, Ginn, Fleener, Kamara, and Coleman. Put that up against the Patriots, assuming no Amendola, with Gronkowski, Cooks, White, Hogan, and Dorsett. And after that the Patriots have Allen, Lewis, Burkhead...

I'll still take the Patriots, even without Amendola.

 

[PatriotsNumero1Fan]

I don't care who they have. This defense needs to play well. They need a good game on the road.

 

[qbno12]

How well they play in this game will actually set a tone for rest of the season.

 

[maineman209]

I'm curious why the Pats haven't added a WR/returner to their roster since Thursday's game.

I don't think they could, legally, until after the MNF games were over.

They have two WRs on the PS - Cody Hollister and DeMarcus Ayers (who's also a punt returner). Either one of those could be practicing with the #1s this week in preparation for being formally moved up to the 53-man , which could happen as late as Sunday morning, AFAIK.

 

[maineman209]

How well they play in this game will actually set a tone for rest of the season.

Week-1 ... LOST @Miami, 33-20. Pats looked shaky in the first half and collapsed in the 2nd.

Week-2 ... Won @ MIN, 30-7. Ridley and Vereen combined for 140 yards rushing. The Pats secondary came up with 4 picks. Special teams blocked a MIN FG that was returned for a TD. In the Vikes' 12 drives after their opening TD, they got beyond their own 45 only twice.

Week-3 ... Won v. OAK, 16-9. Barely beat rookie QB David Carr on a pick by Wilfork at the Pats 10 with 0:59 left in the game.

Week-4 ... LOST @KC, 41-14. Got totally blown out. Pats offense turned the ball over 3 times. Defense allowed 443 yards, including 207 rushing.

Beginning in Week-5, they won 13 of their next 15 games, including the Superbowl, outscoring opponents 35.8 to 18.6 on average, and the offense put up 40+ points in 6 of those 13 victories.

Seems a bit premature to talk about tone-setting for the rest of the season in week-2, either way.

 

[supafly]

FWIW, it looks like the Saints are actually worse off on the WR position that New England is at the moment.

I had Thomas in my fantasy league and when I was watching, it appeared as though Brees was targeting everyone except Thomas, so they aren't afraid to spread the ball around to names we may not recognize.

Thomas, Coleman, Ginn, Fleener, and Kamara are 5 options that are nothing to sneeze at, that's for sure.

 

[qbno12]

Week-1 ... LOST @Miami, 33-20. Pats looked shaky in the first half and collapsed in the 2nd.

Week-2 ... Won @ MIN, 30-7. Ridley and Vereen combined for 140 yards rushing. The Pats secondary came up with 4 picks. Special teams blocked a MIN FG that was returned for a TD. In the Vikes' 12 drives after their opening TD, they got beyond their own 45 only twice.

Week-3 ... Won v. OAK, 16-9. Barely beat rookie QB David Carr on a pick by Wilfork at the Pats 10 with 0:59 left in the game.

Week-4 ... LOST @KC, 41-14. Got totally blown out. Pats offense turned the ball over 3 times. Defense allowed 443 yards, including 207 rushing.

Beginning in Week-5, they won 13 of their next 15 games, including the Superbowl, outscoring opponents 35.8 to 18.6 on average, and the offense put up 40+ points in 6 of those 13 victories.

Seems a bit premature to talk about tone-setting for the rest of the season in week-2, either way.

My thoughts were more on the team with a lot of new pieces coming together and putting on a strong performance. I could care less about wins by point margin or other stats as long as we win games and all three phases do well.

No one expected us to play as bad as we did in the opener. I guess I meant to say it'll be interesting to see how strong they bounce back.

 

[Ring 6]

True.

Are you suggesting that Amendola won't be kept out longer because this is 3rd concussion rather than his first?

The othwrs were a long time ago so it's hard to say how they will affect him. He will play when he passes the tests. Different people react differently and there are different levels of concussion.

And no I don't think he will be held out longer than prescribed because he had 2 DIAGNOSED 4 and 9 years ago.
Of course it's the undiagnosed that are that are unknown.

You really have to know the severity.
I had 2 definite concussions, one in HS and one in college. (In HS on offense i forgot the snap count by the time I got up to the line and on defense I was lining up in last years defense. In college I remember standing in the sidelines and trying to figure out who the team we were playing against was)
Seriously, I was fine the next day both times.

 

[Love The Drake]

The othwrs were a long time ago so it's hard to say how they will affect him. He will play when he passes the tests. Different people react differently and there are different levels of concussion.

And no I don't think he will be held out longer than prescribed because he had 2 DIAGNOSED 4 and 9 years ago.
Of course it's the undiagnosed that are that are unknown.

You really have to know the severity.
I had 2 definite concussions, one in HS and one in college. (In HS on offense i forgot the snap count by the time I got up to the line and on defense I was lining up in last years defense. In college I remember standing in the sidelines and trying to figure out who the team we were playing against was)
Seriously, I was fine the next day both times.

Wow

 

[Ring 6]

I had Thomas in my fantasy league and when I was watching, it appeared as though Brees was targeting everyone except Thomas, so they aren't afraid to spread the ball around to names we may not recognize.

Thomas, Coleman, Ginn, Fleener, and Kamara are 5 options that are nothing to sneeze at, that's for sure.

I hate that name all the guys and say that's an impressive group stuff.
What team doesn't have that kind of talent?
Thomas looks like a 1
Ginn could be the worst 2 in the NFL
Coleman has 58 career catches.
Fleener is a JAG TE
Kamarais a rookie.

If we are scared of that we are scared of everyone (except the Jete)

 

[supafly]

I hate that name all the guys and say that's an impressive group stuff.
What team doesn't have that kind of talent?
Thomas looks like a 1
Ginn could be the worst 2 in the NFL
Coleman has 58 career catches.
Fleener is a JAG TE
Kamarais a rookie.

If we are scared of that we are scared of everyone (except the Jete)

I certainly agree with what you're saying, which is exactly why I don't take any game for granted. That said, we heard all of last week about how it was Kelce/Hill and no one else, so I suppose that it only takes 1-2 players to make a noticeable difference.

I listed the options that Brees has and uses. Guys like Coleman (6'6") and obviously Thomas, can certainly cause some issues, and I listed Kamara, because he was their main run/catch RB threat out of the backfield last week, and that's on a team that has Ingram as a bruiser and Adrian Peterson.

In other words, I don't disagree with your analysis as much as I'm pointing out that there's quality NFL players on every roster, and we've seen plenty of JAGs over the years look good in matchups against this team. They most certainly shouldn't be dismissed by any means.

 

[Ring 6]

I certainly agree with what you're saying, which is exactly why I don't take any game for granted. That said, we heard all of last week about how it was Kelce/Hill and no one else, so I suppose that it only takes 1-2 players to make a noticeable difference.

I listed the options that Brees has and uses. Guys like Coleman (6'6") and obviously Thomas, can certainly cause some issues, and I listed Kamara, because he was their main run/catch RB threat out of the backfield last week, and that's on a team that has Ingram as a bruiser and Adrian Peterson.

In other words, I don't disagree with your analysis as much as I'm pointing out that there's quality NFL players on every roster, and we've seen plenty of JAGs over the years look good in matchups against this team. They most certainly shouldn't be dismissed by any means.

Yup and against BB the lower tier guys often have good games because he forces them to be the focus. (I love how fans who don't understand can watch him out the game in the hands of a young or bad QB who ultimately cannot beat him cry because of the stats allowed).

 

[BradyFTW!]

I hate that name all the guys and say that's an impressive group stuff.
What team doesn't have that kind of talent?
Thomas looks like a 1
Ginn could be the worst 2 in the NFL
Coleman has 58 career catches.
Fleener is a JAG TE
Kamarais a rookie.

If we are scared of that we are scared of everyone (except the Jete)

Fleener is better than a JAG as a receiver; as a blocker he's subpar though. Kamara also looks pretty good. I don't think either should be undersold as passing game options.

Agreed re: Ginn and Coleman, though. They're both fine I guess, they aren't actively ****ty players, but they aren't standouts in any way either

 

[supafly]

Yup and against BB the lower tier guys often have good games because he forces them to be the focus. (I love how fans who don't understand can watch him out the game in the hands of a young or bad QB who ultimately cannot beat him cry because of the stats allowed).

Right, and that's kind of where I was going, too. We know that obvious focal points will be to stop Thomas and to stop the run, which would be the norm for any game, but what I saw the other night was Brees being confident in his other options, which is why I listed them.

I suppose the phrase "nothing to sneeze at" may be a bit generous, but their offense moved the ball inside of the 10-12 yard line on 5 separate occasions, and that's against a pretty decent Vikings defense that usually plays much better at home. Where the Saints managed to fall behind, of course, was failing to score TDs and having to settle for FGs.

 

[primetime]

The Saints and the Patriots had similar games last week. Both moved the ball down the field but ultimately failed to capitalized when needed.

 

[TBR]

I forget, but did Amendola's injury occur yet again on a punt return?

I think that's the 3rd time he's been injured from returning punts. This one was really unlucky (knee slammed into his helmet = concussion) but I'm not sure I want to see him back there any more, especially with Edelman out.

 

[NG Pats Fan]

I hate that name all the guys and say that's an impressive group stuff.
What team doesn't have that kind of talent?
Thomas looks like a 1
Ginn could be the worst 2 in the NFL
Coleman has 58 career catches.
Fleener is a JAG TE
Kamarais a rookie.

If we are scared of that we are scared of everyone (except the Jete)

Patriots Vanilla Ds have a history of letting JAGs go off for career days. Especially when they don't get any pressure. Hopefully they play a good game and show up. Give Brees time, he'll kill you