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New Orleans Saints lost Drew Brees and Sean Payton – yet chose not to rebuild. Will it work?

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New Orleans Saints lost Drew Brees and Sean Payton - yet chose not to rebuild. Will it work?

New Orleans Saints lost Drew Brees and Sean Payton – yet chose not to rebuild. Will it work?

That’s actually what New Orleans Saints general manager Mitch Loomis has said over the past two offseasons, despite Drew Brees retiring after the 2020 season and head coach Sean Payton retiring after the 2021 season.

“I think our team has a lot of confidence in our ability, but there are a lot of variables in a season,” Loomis said at the start of this year’s training camp. “But we’re not rebuilding. It’s not rebuilding. I think that’s the best way to describe it. Yes, we think we can win now.”

He proved this offseason by eschewing the traditional strategy of tearing down lineups.

Instead of boosting draft funds by trading key assets, Loomis made two trades in the 2022 draft to select Ohio State wide receiver Chris Olaf with the 11th pick and then the 19th pick. The offensive tackle picks Trevor Penning for Iowa State. Loomis didn’t spend a small amount in free agency, but paid for veterans like receiver Jarvis Landry and safety Tyron Mathieu and Marcus Mayer, while also freeing up $110 million Cap space, mainly by scoring big caps in the postponed future.

In the end, Loomis isn’t going out and buying a new quarterback to pawn the future — even though there are plenty of quarterbacks available this offseason. He re-signed James Winston to give the position some continuity, with much of the offensive coaching staff returning under new head coach Dennis Allen, who was promoted from defensive coordinator .

With all these moves, Loomis and the New Orleans Saints are trying to accomplish one of the toughest things in the NFL: a soft-roster restart without a quarterback succession plan.

It might work.

New Orleans Saints prefer to add, not subtract from Loomis

According to his former owner, colleague and former Saints general manager Randy Mueller, one of the tenets of Loomis’ roster-building strategy is to never get rid of good players. The idea is simple, as it guarantees some degree of consistency in your roster and keeps the team at least as competitive as it has been in years past, barring injury or a drop in production.

“He saw the work they did to get these players. Why are we changing course now?” Mueller told Yahoo Sports. “He just wanted to add that that’s why you’re seeing some of those signings. … That’s always been our philosophy.”

See what the Saints will look like in 2022. They brought back most of the key contributors to their 2021 defense, which ranked third in football outsider defensive DVOA, but replaced safety Marcus Williams with Mathieu and Maye. Running back Alvin Kamara is back. Receiver Michael Thomas returns to health. The offensive line is all but intact except for Terron Armstead, who made a lucrative freehand trade with the Miami Dolphins. Winston recovered from a torn cruciate ligament in Week 8.

Loomis then added an excellent ball-handling receiver in Landry and injected a dynamic Olaf to overload Winston’s receiving team.

“I think they’re going to be one of the better teams in the league,” Mueller said, “if they get solid performance from the quarterback. I think they’re better this year than they were last year.”

Loomis has previously completed a complete teardown. When he replaced Mueller in 2002, Loomis traded star running back Rich Williams to the Miami Dolphins for four draft picks, including two first-round picks, to take Pro Bowl tackle Willie Rove was sent to the Kansas City Chiefs and made defensive tackle LaRoy Glover a free agent. Both in the off-season.

It didn’t work.

The Saints struggled for years in mediocrity before Loomis hired Payton and joined Brees in 2006. That year, the Saints immediately won the division and made the divisional playoffs. Loomis’ previous team, the Seattle Seahawks, made the playoffs just four times during his 15-year tenure before following Muller to New Orleans in 2000.

So if Loomis doesn’t want to be the second half of an NFL team again, forgive him.

Jaymes Winston is the key

The Saints don’t have a solid quarterback plan for a post-Brace world (despite Payton’s experience at Tyson Hill), so Loomis is again banking on Winston’s former No. 1 pick playing enough Well, to keep the Saints running for 2022.

Considering the successful succession strategies of the Green Bay Packers (from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers) and the Kansas City Chiefs (from Alex Smith to Patrick Mahomes), this is a Risky decision, but it turns out that Winston was more than a viable quarterback for the Saints ahead of him in Week 8 with a torn ACL at the end of the season.

He had the highest touchdown rate of any quarterback in the first seven weeks of the season and had only had three interceptions before that. He ranks 11th in passing rating of 102.4 and 8th in yards per game. Winston’s completion rate and passing yards were below average, but the Saints were still 5-2 before his injury.

“I don’t think they want Jaymes to elevate other people,” Mueller said. “They just want him to function and understand the system and make the game his way. You don’t need a hero.”

Winston initially only signed a one-year deal in 2021, giving the Saints the opportunity to pick their quarterback this offseason through the draft, free agency or trade. Although the Saints were at one point the subject of a lawsuit against Deshaun Watson (he was eventually suspended for 11 games), Loomis ultimately decided that Winston was their best option and reunited with him. He signed a two-year contract. They didn’t target a quarterback considered a weak draft or sign free agents like Mitchell Trubisky or Marcus Mariota.

“They made the most of what they had,” Mueller said. “I don’t think the Saints are going to turn their backs on the quarterback future. They just think Jaymes gave him his best chance this year, and next year they’ll know if he doesn’t for any reason.”

Is this the right call to the saints?

After losing a franchise player, there are actually three different ways to move a team forward, depending on the owner: a full teardown, a brand new general manager and coaching staff trade expensive or aging players for draft picks and salary caps Relief the planks; partially dismantled, with certain players traded away, but the front office and coach mostly intact (think Seahawks); then the Saints start over with the same front office, same lineup, and most coaches.

After the Saints opted to keep Loomis and promote Allen as head coach rather than hire an outside employee, they chose a direction that would eventually evolve into aggressive roster building.

The trade for Olaf’s draft helped the Saints find what they thought was the missing piece in their offense. They also brought in veterans to make up for the shaky deep spots on the roster. They have not exchanged key pieces that have propelled their recent history.

What’s the other problem with really rebuilding? You never know when you’ll get rid of one. Just look at the New York Jets, who missed the playoffs as the league leader for 11 straight seasons. Or the Detroit Lions, who finally got a real breakdown by trading longtime quarterback Matthew Stafford for a slew of draft picks in 2021.

For the Saints, they think this is the best way forward.

“That’s the only option I can think of,” Mueller said. “I’m not surprised that this year they are doing their best to get the best team going. I think you should be fully involved every year.”

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He is the editor of River C Sports. Previously, he was editor-in-chief at other news sites . Rodrigo has spent most of his career as editor-in-chief of various websites and has more than 7 years of experience in the industry.

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  1. Gal Jerman

    November 3, 2022 at 8:04 am

    Top site ,.. amazaing post ! Just keep the work on !

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The best adds for week 17 of Fantasy Football 2022

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The best adds for week 17 of Fantasy Football 2022

The best adds for week 17 of Fantasy Football 2022

Time to open week 17 of the 2022 NFL season with a lot of things to settle in our beloved league before the postseason begins. There are still open wild card spots left and some divisions have yet to know their winners. With only two rounds left in the regular season, we will still see “fights” on several fronts.

In our favorite virtual game, things are a little different. It is time for the grand finals in most fantasy football leagues, with some GMs still fighting for “bronze medals” and others for better placements. And since nobody likes to lose, today’s tips are not only for the grand finalists, but for everyone trying to finish higher on the “podiums”.

Whether it is to compete for the grand final or even an honorable third place, the waiver wire is once again necessary for those who aim to strengthen their team with an eye on the most important duel of the whole season. So, once again The Playoffs is here, being your best friend to help you find a good name to replace a considerable loss or even a player hidden in the huge waiver wire list that can contribute to your success in the “hour of truth”.

It’s worth remembering that you can’t be too careful when giving up a name in order to add a player via waivers, since placing a certain athlete on the market can mean an unwanted improvement to an opposing team.

To be eligible in our list, players have to be on, at most, 60% of the NFL.com Fantasy Football squads, which is the most popular and famous platform among Brazilians.

It is also possible that the names mentioned here are in a higher or lower percentage of squads in other applications, such as Yahoo, ESPN and Sleeper, although the tendency is that the average is similar.

Again, we reiterate that we use as a parameter the PPR score (when points are computed per reception), again because it is the standard and most famous model, currently, of the game, having stolen the “crown” of the old Standard (or non-PPR) in recent years.

With that and without further ado, let’s get to the names for the week 17 – FOR TITLE MY FRIENDS!

RUNNING BACKS

Tyler Allgeier – Atlanta Falcons (17.3% rostered*)

With four consecutive losses in the league and no chance of qualifying for the playoffs, the Atlanta Falcons are no longer contending for big things this year. Therefore, after the bye week, who has been gaining space in the team round after round is running back Tyler Allgeier. The freshman is increasingly participating in snaps and his number of carries has increased significantly, with him passing for 100 rushing yards in Week 15 on 17 attempts, and reaching 74 yards on 18 attempts in Week 16. The number of passes received by the youngster has also skyrocketed, with him managing four receptions for 43 yards in the last round, in five times he was targeted. The Falcons face the Arizona Cardinals, who are also not contending for anything this season and have one of the worst defenses against the run game in the entire NFL. Allgeier should deliver good points. Add him if he is available.

James Cook – Buffalo Bills (33.8% rostered)

The Bills are already guaranteed in the playoffs and have clinched the AFC East. The team is still aiming for the bye week in the first round of playoffs and for that they need to keep winning their games. Another point that Buffalo wants to find a solution for is in the ground game, perhaps the only weak point of a team that has been completely well put together so far. And that’s where James Cook comes in, who is increasingly involved in the team’s offensive game and has been matching up well. In the last game against the Chicago Bears, there were 11 attempts for 99 yards and a ground TD for the No. 28, who has been getting more and more involved and tends to take over the backfield of the team in the playoffs. He should continue to be very active and could be an important player to add to your roster.

*Percentage of teams in official NFL Fantasy leagues that have this athlete on their roster

WIDE RECEIVERS

Isaiah Hodgins – New York Giants (0.3% rostered)

The Giants are still in contention. The team’s defense has grown in production and, amazingly, Daniel Jones has been taking good care of the oval ball and making interesting starts. With the QB well protected and able to find passes, a name that has been gaining more and more action in New York’s offense is Isaiah Hodgins, who has had plenty of offensive carries in the team’s last four games. All right, the commitment now is against the Indianapolis Colts’ secondary, which is one of the strongest against wide receivers, but Hodgins is becoming Jones’ ball security and in a team that needs to win to keep dreaming, the trend is good passes from the QB to the WR. Keep an eye on him.

Jahan Dotson – Washington Commanders (7.9% rostered)

A name mentioned last week that is once again being remembered in this column due to the Washington Commanders WR’s great form. Shrouded in expectations before the season started, Dotson did not mesh well early in the year with Carson Wentz, but when the former Eagles and Colts player got injured and Taylor Heinicke took over the quarterback spot for the Commanders, Dotson’s numbers skyrocketed and the WR started to show up even more than Curtis Samuel, who was Wentz’s safety ball in the first few games of the 2022 NFL season. The freshman is coming off TDs noted in Week 15 and 16 and with a good load. He should continue to be important for Washington this final stretch, even if Wentz returns to the team as he did last round.

TIGHT ENDS

Cole Kmet – Chicago Bears (57.0% rostered)

That the Bears have grown during the year and displayed a better game than what we saw in the first half of the season, that no one can deny. The growth came mainly through Justin Fields, who overnight changed “from water to wine” and started to show good numbers throwing and running the ball, which we had not seen until then in the career of the once promising QB drafted by Chicago. With Fields’ growth, the direct beneficiary was TE Cole Kmet, who got a lot of carries and a significant gain in offensive carries, becoming one of the main, if not the main, offensive weapon of the Bears. In Week 17, Kmet faces the defense of the Denver Broncos, one of the worst teams in the league and the 5th worst in scoring TEs.

Juwan Johnson – New Orleans Saints (12.5% rostered)

Another name repeated around here. Juwan Johnson has grown quite a bit, especially after Michael Thomas got injured and is out for the rest of the season. As Chris Olave also suffers from physical problems, Johnson is gaining ground in the New Orleans offense and has been showing good rapport with Andy Dalton. The Saints were virtually eliminated, but managed to grow, recovered and are now fighting for a wild card spot, or even the division, since the leader Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been skating. Keep an eye on Juwan Johnson, who should have plenty of carries in this final stretch of the season.

QUARTERBACK

Brock Purdy – San Francisco 49ers (27.3% rostered)

A regular around here, Brock Purdy was a real find for the San Francisco 49ers the year after the injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo. I’ll say it again, the 49ers have one of the most organized teams in the entire league, with a super protective offensive line, great receivers, healthy George Kittle blocking and receiving passes, and the “icing on the cake” Christian McCaffrey, who came in during the year, running the ball or receiving passes. With so many standouts around, Purdy has stepped in and has been doing his job, keeping California’s team as one of the favorites to win the title. Some say that the team has been playing even better than when Jimmy G was the starter.

With so many lures, it is easier for Brock Purdy to find free receivers, making important points in the FF. Add him, it’s the last chance.

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None of Matt Ryan, Sam Ehlinger, or Nick Foles is a solution for the Colts.

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None of Matt Ryan, Sam Ehlinger, or Nick Foles is a solution for the Colts.

None of Matt Ryan, Sam Ehlinger, or Nick Foles is a solution for the Colts.

Jeff Saturday made one last adjustment. It was ineffective.

With the Indianapolis Colts’ offense sputtering, Saturday made the decision to activate Nick Foles as the starting quarterback for their game against the Los Angeles Chargers. Matt Ryan’s deterioration has been evident in recent weeks, as the Colts have struggled to move the ball down the field. Saturday believed Foles may provide a spark to the offense moving forward.

The Colts were defeated 20-3 by the Chargers despite only managing 173 yards of total offense. Foles struggled throughout the whole game, going 17 of 29 (59%) for 143 yards, three interceptions, and a 31.9 quarterback rating. For the majority of the evening, Foles resembled the third-string quarterback the Colts have used for the majority of the season.

Despite all the speculation about how Foles might assist the Colts in moving the ball down the field, nothing of the kind occurred Monday night. Michael Pittman Jr.’s 19-yard reception was the game’s longest play. The Colts had a dismal 0-10 record on third down. The only team this season with a worse third down conversion rate? The Colts lost to the New England Patriots in Week 9 and finished with a record of 0-14.

After the game, Saturday stated, “Pretty straightforward – can’t turn it over.” You know, you can’t leave the defense on the field, so you have to convert on third downs offensively, get them off the field.

Again attempting to bear the burden, the Chargers’ quarterback Justin Herbert was sacked four times and forced into two fumbles. However, it is hard to compete when the offense is as terrible as it was on Monday night.

Foles said, “I believe we never found a rhythm as an offense. “I believe the points are clear. Three points is never going to be sufficient, to be honest. As a result, our offensive never really found its groove. And the quarterback is where it all begins. We also need to play well the whole game to attempt to establish a rhythm.

The truth is that under these conditions, Foles was never going to succeed. You can discuss Foles’ incredible 2017 campaign, in which he entered at the tail end of the campaign and guided the Philadelphia Eagles to a championship. However, Foles was surrounded that season by a fantastic Eagles squad. Not the Colts.

The Colts’ protection problems again as they allowed seven sacks in the game. The Colts have already allowed 56 sacks in 2022, and they are currently on track to surpass the previous high mark set by the team in a single season. Even while Saturday suggested that some of those sacks could have resulted from field coverage further back, Foles’ pocket continued to open up fast.

Along with playing alongside players he is still getting acquainted to, Foles was under pressure for the duration of the game. Early last week, it was made public that before the Chargers game, Foles will practice with the starting offense for the first time. Alec Pierce, Parris Campbell, and Pittman received some of his few passes.

The moment a shift occurs, Foles said, “you step in and try to become acclimated as fast as you can and, you know, get the timing down and everything.” “Our practice week was incredibly productive. It’s disappointing that the execution fell short of what we required to win this game.

It was almost hard for Foles to walk in and perform effectively in that circumstance. When you add it to the experienced quarterback’s poor choices and misfires, the offense had the worst appearance in the NFL. The Denver Broncos, the only club with a lower scoring average (15.5) than the Indianapolis Colts (16.5), at least managed to score a touchdown in their lopsided defeat to the Los Angeles Rams. After the game, their head coach was sacked as well.

The Colts’ roster contains no quarterbacks who can save this squad. Father Time has finally caught up with Ryan, who now throws with little to no velocity, struggles to handle the football, and appears to be moving more slowly than ever. Despite having a better arm, Foles struggles to move properly and makes terrible judgments while playing football with players with whom he has barely ever practiced.

You might argue that having Sam Ehlinger start again would be beneficial, but there is little hope that he would inspire the offense either. Early in the season, Ehlinger made two starts and went winless, including the humiliating loss in New England that ended the reign of previous head coach Frank Reich. Ehlinger is still the backup quarterback because evidently Saturday and the rest of the staff do not believe he can do any better.

Because the rest of the offense is a disaster, none of these quarterbacks are the solution. There are still protection difficulties with the offensive line, tight ends, and running backs. Defenses are sitting on every route because the Colts’ passing strategy and play-calling are so basic. None of the three quarterbacks can improve the offense to a level that would offset these problems.

Unfortunately, the crime cannot be corrected this year. For the Colts to have a reliable attack once more, new coaches and players at crucial spots are required. Expect a lot of the same play from this unit during the next two games up to that point.

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JJ Watt announces NFL retirement

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JJ Watt announces NFL retirement

JJ Watt announces NFL retirement

JJ Watt is hanging up his boots. On Tuesday (27), the Arizona Cardinals defensive end announced that he is retiring from the NFL, via a post on Twitter.

“Koa’s (defensive end’s daughter) first NFL game, last home game of my career,” wrote the star, posing in photos alongside his daughter and wife, Chicago Red Stars forward Kealia. “My heart is filled with nothing less than love and gratitude. It has been an absolute honor and pleasure.”

A three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Watt is a future Hall of Famer. He was the 11th overall pick in the 2011 Draft by the Houston Texans. There, he played until the end of the 2020 season, when he announced his move to Arizona.

In Texas, he played 128 games, including eight for the playoffs, adding 21 more for the Cardinals, one of them for the postseason, in last year’s Wild Card round against the Los Angeles Rams. In all, there are 149 starters on the field, 111.5 sacks, 580 tackles, 191 tackles for loss of yardage, 313 QB hits, one safety, and two interceptions.

When it comes to awards, the list is also extensive. He was three times named AP Defensive Player of the Year (2013, 2015 and 2016), once Walter Payton Man of the Year (2018), 2017 Sportsman of the Year, five times selected to the Pro Bowl (2012 to 2015 and 2018) and six times to the All-Pro team (2012 to 2015 and 2018).

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