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By John Douglas Vogel | Full Press Coverage

Devine Ozigbo joins a New Orleans Saints team as an undrafted free agent with a whole lot to prove. He picked a stellar team, in my humble opinion, at the perfect timing. I believe that Ozigbo is going to see a lot of usage in the Saints offense this season, and it’s a crying shame that Ozigbo didn’t get drafted.

The Saints are forced to replace former Heisman trophy winner Mark Ingram after he signed with the Baltimore Ravens this past offseason. (Writers note – Man, y’all have no idea how good my fingers feel to type out past offseason.) The Saints took him with their first-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, and he produced well over his eight seasons and 106 games in New Orleans.

The Saints signed two free agents this past spring at the running back position; Former Oakland Raider and Minnesota Vikings back...

BY SARA PAGONES | The Advocate / Picayune

Tony LeMon, a Saints superfan, and attorney who filed one of a number of long-shot lawsuits against the NFL over the controversial no-call during the NFC championship game in January, got a call he was hoping for Thursday.

In a ruling, Orleans Parish Civil District Court Judge Nicole Sheppard denied a motion that would have dismissed the suit.

She also granted LeMon's motion to compel discovery in the lawsuit, meaning that LeMon could get the chance to question NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell under oath.

Full Story - NOLA.com

The Saints have made minor tweaks here and there for 2019 but they’ll pay big dividends. That’s bad news for the other quarterbacks of the NFC South.

By Roy Anderson | WhoDatDish

Pro Football Focus put out a piece Wednesday (Jul 17) titled “PFF ranks all 32 pass-rush units ahead of the 2019 NFL season” from Mike Renner. The New Orleans Saints come in at a healthy number six. While that sounds good, the Saints were tied for fifth in the league in 2018 with the Arizona Cardinals having 49.0.

The Saints were tied for seventh place in 2017 with the Bears, Patriots and Redskins all having 42.0 sacks. So, we’re actually seeing the Saints as being capped to a degree. There’s a healthy reasoning behind that thought that’s not mentioned in Renner’s piece.

While the Saints should definitely get a big boost from a healthy and full-time Marcus Davenport in 2019, the team will be missing Sheldon Rankins for a minimum of six weeks. He accounted for eight sacks in 2018...

By Brian Allee Walsh - Special to the Sun Herald

After the way the past two seasons have ended for the New Orleans Saints, it’s apparent they need to tweak the final act in their Super Bowl play.

It’s one thing to bring the curtain down. It’s quite another to have it come crashing down on them.

A home robbery by officials in broad daylight against the LA Rams for the NFC championship in January and an improbable walk-off loss at Minnesota in the divisional round a year earlier strongly suggest the Saints are on the cusp of greatness.

In both losses, the Saints could have slammed the door shut, survived and advanced. But they left cracks open and eventually suffered the consequences, leaving many wondering if they can win a second league title before future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees retires.

I could make the case that the Black and Gold should be going for a 3-peat but they got in their own way...

By Les East | Crescent City Sports

METAIRIE – There was little that the New Orleans Saints didn’t do well last season.

They went 13-3, won the NFC South and came within a whisker of going to the Super Bowl.

All of that happened because they had a talented and well-rounded team.

But one area that belied the team’s success, at least statistically speaking, was the pass defense.

The Saints ranked 29th in pass defense, allowing an average of 268.9 yards per game. They made 12 interceptions, allowed 30 touchdown passes and the 14 completions of 40-plus yards that they allowed were tied for second-most in the league.

“We talked at the beginning of the offseason program, we’ve got to get better in terms of our pass defense,” defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said.

Full Story - CCS

By John Sigler | Saints Wire

New Orleans Saints left tackle Terron Armstead and rookie center Erik McCoy were just two players in a crowd of offensive linemen at this year’s “OL Masterminds” conference, organized by Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson. Created in response to the annual “Pass Rush Summit” led by Denver Broncos sack artist Von Miller, Johnson wanted to give the league’s blockers a competitive advantage against their opponents.

Johnson noted that he and other offensive linemen are “protectors of very valuable men,” such as quarterbacks Carson Wentz and Drew Brees. Johnson explained his goal to Jori Epstein of USA Today: “I wanted all the NFL linemen to start communicating and start really talking football, something that’s never really happened.”

Full Story - Saints Wire - USA Today

Snagging Malcom Brown was one of the Saints first moves of free agency 2019. All he has to do is show up and he’s practically guaranteed the starter job.

By Roy Anderson | WhoDatDish

Malcom Brown was the player taken after the Saints selected Stephone Anthony with the 31st overall pick in round one of the 2015 NFL Draft. He was taken with the 32nd overall pick by the New England Patriots. Like clockwork, it’s four years later and the Patriots are ready for something new. A note to four-year players in New England, that door with the sign that says “New Contract Office” actually just opens to the parking lot out back.

We started the profiles of the men making up the Saints 90-man training camp roster with a breakdown of the receivers group, followed by the running backs, tight ends, offensive line and we wrapped the offense with the...

By James Parks | 247 Sports

The 2019 NFL offseason is continuing on its frenetic pace en route to the actual season.

So far, the New Orleans Saints have been among the more proactive teams in the league since the end of the 2018 campaign, saying farewell to some players and adding a few more as free agents.

Now, the Saints are ready to begin their annual training camp, the very first day of which begins on Wednesday, when rookies report to Metairie, ahead of the veterans on July 25.

In attendance for these first workouts will be the Saints’ five draft picks, including center/guard Erik McCoy, defensive back Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, safety Saquan Hampton, tight end Alize Mack, and linebacker Kaden Elliss, in addition to the undrafted players they signed, highlighted by former LSU track athlete Cyril Grayson, trying out as a wide receiver.

Full Story - 247 Sports

By James Parks | 247 Sports

The New Orleans Saints have not made themselves known as a great playoff team until recently when Sean Payton and Drew Brees joined the franchise.

But even before the current era, the organization has turned out several legendary athletes who, during their time in New Orleans, have set themselves apart from the fray.

Names like Archie Manning, Willie Roaf, Morten Andersen, Steve Gleason, Will Smith, Joe Horn, Sam Mills, Rickey Jackson, and Danny Abramowicz have established themselves.

In the modern era, Marques Colston, Mark Ingram, Cameron Jordan, Jahri Evans, and of course future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees has added to the Saints legend.

Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara, and Marshon Lattimore are hoping to add their names to that long list of greats to have played in the black and gold over the generations.

Here are 10 single-season franchise records held by current and former Saints players.

Full Story - 247 Sports

Saints are early favorites for a Super Bowl run.

By Chris Dunnels | Canal Street Chronicles

As we inch closer to the start of the 2019 NFL regular season, we’re starting to see betting odds change to reflect offseason storylines. The Westgate Resort and Casino has recently released their updated betting odds for the 2019 season, and the Saints are early favorites across the board:

The Saints are still the favorites to win the NFC South, but now the odds have improved from 4/11 to 2/1. The Falcons are still considered the team with the second best odds to win the division, now at 7/2, with the Carolina Panthers at 6/1 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 10/1. If news comes out that Cam Newton is still dealing with an injured shoulder, expect that Carolina number to continue to drop.

Full...

By Jesse Reed | Sportsnaut

Summertime is here, and football season is, too. It’s the best time of year for those of us who eat, sleep and breathe this game. It’s also the time of year when young NFL players start to set themselves apart as particularly special for their respective teams.

With that in mind, we’re taking a look at 10 younger players who are in great shape to take a big leap forward in development during the 2019 campaign.

Fred Warner, linebacker, San Francisco 49ers

A surprise starter last season due to the Reuben Foster situation and injuries to San Francisco’s linebacker group, Fred Warner shined as a rookie in 2018. A sideline-to-sideline coverage specialist, he fits perfectly in today’s pass-happy NFL. Picked up in the third round out of BYU, he racked up 124 tackles (including 85 solo) and was among the league’s best at defending the pass. San Francisco’s front four is much more dynamic this year, and Warner will be playing alongside Pro Bowler Kwon Alexander. The sky is the limit for this young linebacker.
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A drop off in production by Drew Brees in the final games of 2018 still has tongues wagging what’s happened and how so fast.

By Roy Anderson | WhoDatDish

You’ll hear it repeated that Saints quarterback Drew Brees saw his production drop off precipitously at the end of the 2018 Season. Most of the talk about Drew Brees and production drop-off last year goes hand in hand with predictions that he’s done. He may be done, but it won’t be for the reasons we’re going to address here.

Most of the talk about Brees’ 2018 is along the lines of a question addressed to Pro Football Focus’ New Orleans branch last week about the drop-off. They showed Brees’ passer rating from Weeks 1-13 to be 123.2 and Weeks 14-17 to be 88.2. It’s not nearly that cut and dried.

Since 2015, Drew Brees has been having games PFF grades below a 70.0. For example, in 2018, Brees had five games in which his total offensive grade was below that mark. In 2017, it was six games below that mark. In 2015, it was four games. In 2013, it was 11 games. Wait, what? That’s correct, in 2013 it was 11.

Full Story - WhoDatDish