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By Devin Jackson | LWOS

He is a tackling machine. When there is a play that needs to be made, he comes up with it. Although he is the heart and soul of this New Orleans Saints defense, Demario Davis flies under the radar. Davis was a great player with the New York Jets, but now as a Saint, his game has raised another level. Davis is not only arguably the best linebacker in football right now, but also the most underrated in the NFL.

New Orleans Saints Linebacker Demario Davis Is Hugely Underrated

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If Demario Davis is healthy, which he has been the majority of his career, he makes 100 or more tackles. There are no drop-offs, and he is on track to record his third straight 100 tackle season. Davis is a model of consistency.

On Sunday, Demario recorded his first interception as a member of the Saints. His coverage skills are superb, and if he isn’t making interceptions, he makes pass deflections and is a sure tackler in the open field.

Full Story - LWOS

By Amie Just | The Advocate / Picayune

TAMPA, Fla. — The snap counts for several New Orleans Saints went against the grain against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Starting defensive end Marcus Davenport had limited usage on Sunday, totaling just 23 snaps for 34% of New Orleans' defensive plays. Both of those marks tied his career lows. He didn't register a single tackle against the Buccaneers, something he's only done four times in his two years as a Saint.

Saints coach Sean Payton said on Monday that the discrepancy in Davenport's playing time was based on the packages the defensive front was using, one of which being how the Saints used three down linemen on several occasions since the Buccaneers abandoned their run game.

Full Story - NOLA.com

By John Sigler | Saints Wire

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers boasted the NFL’s best run defense, but it didn’t matter against a New Orleans Saints offensive line that bullied them on Sunday. It’s not uncommon to see the Saints’ big blockers doing damage up front — four of the unit’s five starters were recognized at last year’s Pro Bowl or on the All-Pro lists. But what’s unexpected is how well the unit’s newest addition performed.

According to snap-by-snap charting from Pro Football Focus, backup left guard Nick Easton was the best Saints player on offense. Their grading system credited him with an 83.5 overall mark (third-best in the league this week, going into Monday Night Football) and a no-hitter in pass protection, with 37 snaps logged against the Buccaneers pass rush but no quarterback pressures allowed. Easton’s aggressiveness on run plays was a big part of New Orleans’ success, with the veteran often moving the man across from him before advancing to the second level.

Full Story - Saints Wire - USA Today

By Jordan Fiegel | WWL Radio

The New Orleans Saints harried and harassed Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston throughout their 34-17 win. The New Orleans defense only sacked Winston twice, but they landed another 12 QB hits.

“The Saints put constant pressure on Winston. They were after him from start to finish, and you had to be without [cornerback] Marshon Lattimore in the line-up.” WWL NFL analyst Mike Detillier told WWL’s Tommy Tucker. “I thought the secondary held up pretty well. Tampa has some big time receivers with Chris Godwin and Mike Evans.”

Evans and Godwin were targeted 14 times, but only caught 7 of those balls. Those 7 receptions did go for 116 yards and 1 touchdown. Still, Detillier was pleased with the performance.

Full Story - WWL Radio

By John Sigler | Saints Wire

The New Orleans Saints defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 11, but they did so with some uncommon splits in their snap counts. Second-year pass rusher Marcus Davenport was the third wheel in the defensive end rotation. Backup left guard Nick Easton played a full game in his first appearance on offense this season. Linebacker Kiko Alonso played the second-most snaps at his position group. Six difference defensive backs played more than 50% of snaps. Here’s how everything shook out against the Buccaneers:

Offensive backfield

• QB Drew Brees, 67 (96%)
• RB Alvin Kamara, 43 (61%)
• RB Latavius Murray, 29 (41%)
• FB Zach Line, 23 (33%)
• QB Taysom Hill, 10 (14%)
• FS Marcus Williams, 2 (3%)

Full Story - Saints Wire - USA Today

By Steven Taranto | 247 Sports

If you were to listen to most of the media following Cam Newton's trip to Injured Reserve, you would have thought that his days as QB1 for the Carolina Panthers were surely numbered. And there's a chance that they very well could be. But that's just one scenario in a situation that has no clear cut answers, and a franchise with a future hard to forecast.

Monday evening, following a demoralizing 29-3 loss for his team to their NFC South rivals in the Atlanta Falcons, Panthers owner David Tepper held a "for context" meeting with local media, discussing current events with his team while not offering direct quotes. During that period of time, Tepper discussed the future of his injured quarterback, and offered some level of insight into the situation the Panthers are and continue to be faced with.

Full Story - 247 Sports

By Doug Mouton / WWL-TV Sports Director

NEW ORLEANS — The Saints win in Tampa was an excellent win — across the board.

The 4 Takeaways begin with our two pregame questions. Cornerback Marshon Lattimore and Left Guard Andrus Peat were both out, and the Saints got great performances stepping up.

No. 4 For Lattimore, the entire Saints secondary stepped up

The Saints secondary picked off Jameis Winston 4 times, and one number demonstrates how good the secondary was.

Coming into the game, Winston's quarterback rating was a mediocre 83.8. Against the Saints on Sunday, it was a terrible 57.1. That's one of the three worse games, quarterback rating wise, Winston has had all season, and the Saints didn't have their best cornerback.

Full Story - WWL-TV