Tag Archives: New Orleans Saints

Grand Jury to Hear Domestic Abuse Case Against New Orleans Saints’ Will Smith

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It was an embarrassing moment for the New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith. One day he is being filmed by the NFL for a family moment to be shown nationally for Thanksgiving. They were picture perfect, he and his wife. A few days later, Smith was being dragged away to jail for pulling his wife by the hair.

A pair of Lafayette police officers saw Smith pull his wife’s hair on Nov. 27 during an argument after leaving a night club at 2 a.m.. The player, who is 6-3, 282 pounds, was booked on misdemeanor counts of domestic abuse and simple battery.

The officers were on patrol when they saw the argument and now they will have to tell it to a grand jury. Smith is fighting the charges, obviously, and local authorities said a grand jury will determine whether Smith will have to answer in a court room.

The Associated Press in Lafayette is reporting that Racquel Smith and other witnesses have evidence that will help Will Smith’s case.

Smith said it was a misunderstanding and was not domestic abuse in a statement released by the team after the incident.

Smith was a first-round draft choice out of Ohio State in 2004. He is a prominent member of the New Orleans team, one of its pillars on the defensive side of the ball.

 

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Dennis Allen Leaves Saints to Join Broncos as Defensive Coordinator

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The Denver Broncos have hired New Orleans Saints secondary coach Dennis Allen as their new defensive coordinator.

The team announced the hiring of Allen, the Broncos‘ sixth defensive coordinator in six years, via Twitter late Monday soon after it was reported by Foxsports.com

Allen, 38, was interviewed for the job last week by John Fox, who has been assembling his staff since becoming the Broncos coach on Jan. 13. Several positions still need to be filled though with the addition of Allen, both coordinators are in place. Mike McCoy, the offensive coordinator under fired coach Josh McDaniels, was retained by Fox. McCoy also spent seven years as an assistant under Fox when he was coach of the Carolina Panthers.

Allen replaces Don “Wink” Martindale. It’s unclear whether the Broncos will remain a 3-4 defense or return to the 4-3 alignment that Fox favored during his nine seasons in Carolina. Fox has said it could go either way.

 

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Gregg Williams Recommends Dirk Koetter of Jaguars for Broncos’ Coaching Job

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Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter may or may not get the Denver Broncos‘ head coaching job.

But he did get a pretty impressive recommendation.

Koetter, who interviewed Tuesday with the Broncos in the team’s first round of interviews for its vacant head coaching position, received an endorsement from New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

Williams pulled his name from consideration for the Broncos position Tuesday.

“Dirk Koetter is a GREAT find on your part,” Jeff Legwold of the Denver Post reported Williams saying in a text message to Broncos Executive Vice President of Football Operations John Elway. “I have very high regard for him.”

Williams, a former head coach in Buffalo, worked with Koetter in Jacksonville for a season.

The Broncos also plan to interview former Carolina head coach John Fox, and interviewed New York Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell. Houston Texans offensive coordinator Rick Dennison also interviewed Tuesday.

Legwold reported that although he lacks the NFL head coaching experience Elways covets, Koetter “has support among the Broncos’ decision-makers for his work with the Jacksonville offense – particularly quarterback David Garrard, as well as the team’s running game.”

 

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Broncos Seek to Interview Gregg Williams for Their Head Coaching Job

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The Denver Broncos have requested to talk to Gregg Williams, the New Orleans defensive coordinator, about the Broncos head coaching job, Saints coach Sean Payton said Monday.

Williams crafted an aggressive defense that helped carry the Saints to a championship in 2009. In 2010, the New Orleans made terrific improvements in run defense and helped steady the team, despite a number of injuries in the secondary.

Williams’ defense looked more balanced and solid this season compared to 2009. The run defense improved with the development of defensive linemen Sedrick Ellis and Remi Ayodele and the linebacker play of Jonathan Vilma.

The Saints did not get the same number of turnovers as they did in 2009, but Williams brought along a crew that ranked fourth overall in defense in 2010, compared to 25th in 2009.

New Orleans was missing safety Malcolm Jenkins on Saturday when the Saints were picked apart by Seattle in a playoff game upset. That wasn’t the only thing missing. New Orleans was not very aggressive defensively, which had been their calling card.

 

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Marshawn Lynch Impresses Saints Even as He Knocks Them Out of Playoffs

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Marshawn Lynch

SEATTLE — If they hadn’t been playing the Seattle Seahawks, the New Orleans Saints might have had a greater appreciation for the 67-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run that pushed Lynch into NFL postseason lore Saturday.

Running a play the Seahawks call “17 power,” Lynch broke through the right side of the Saints defense with 4:20 left in the game, then treated the Saints defenders as his personal rag dolls, throwing them left and right as he exploded for a touchdown run that not only secured a 41-36 win for Seattle but will be on highlight films for years to come.

Lynch broke a half dozen tackles, and the each one of the misses lowered the Saints’ postseason coffin another foot into the ground.

The trouble for the Saints was that, down by four points at the time, they spent all their energy trying to strip the ball out of Lynch’s hands. As they did, the game slipped through their arms.


Seahawks 41, Saints 36: Quick Hits | Recap | Box Score


“In a situation like that, the first thing you have to do is make sure you’ve got the tackle,” New Orleans defensive end Alex Brown said. “Then you can go for the ball.”

 

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Malcolm Jenkins, Jimmy Graham Out for Saints in Playoff Opener

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Two of the Saints younger stars, guys who made the biggest strides from the start of the season and helped New Orleans get back in the playoffs are out of Saturday’s wild card game with Seattle. Tight end Jimmy Graham (ankle) and safety Malcolm Jenkins (knee) will not play.

The Saints, one of the deepest teams in the NFL, have the depth to overcome the losses.

Veteran Darren Sharper, who was a valuable contributor to the Saints run to the title in 2009 with his ball hawking in the secondary, will replace Jenkins. Jeremy Shockey and David Thomas missed last week’s game with their own injuries, but made the trip and are listed as probable.

Also, defensive tackle Anthony Hargrove and linebacker Danny Clark were ruled out of Saturday’s game with injuries.

Graham was injured on a first quarter touchdown catch against Tampa Bay and Jenkins was hurt making a tackle along the sidelines against 247-pound Buccaneers running back LeGarrette Blount.

 

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Jeremy Shockey, David Thomas Return to Practice for New Orleans Saints

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How about that? A day without any bad news for the New Orleans Saints on the injury front.

The Saints left for Seattle and Saturday’s playoff game against the Seahawks without putting another player on Injured Reserve. On Tuesday it was running back Chris Ivory. On Wednesday, it was running back Pierre Thomas.

There was even some good news. Rookie tight end Jimmy Graham, whose role has grown as the season progressed, is still hobbled by an ankle injury, but veteran tight ends Jeremy Shockey and David Thomas were full participants in practice on Thursday.

 

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New OT Rules in Effect for Playoffs

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If your coach wins the toss before overtime this weekend and elects to kick off, please, don’t throw a brick through the television screen. The game is no longer 100 percent sudden death.

The NFL voted in a new overtime rule last March. The team that has the ball first will have to score six points to end the game on its first possession. If the first team scores only three points, then the opponent will have a chance to kick a field goal to tie or score a touchdown to win.

If the game is still tied after each team has gotten a chance to have the ball in overtime, then it is back to sudden death.

“I think you’ll pay attention to how the game is progressing,” Sean Payton, the New Orleans coach said Monday when asked about his tactics for OT. “How the first four quarters have gone would predicate your decision on how you would handle it.”

Payton was very vocal last March against the modified overtime when the owners, over objections of some coaches, voted to implement the new rules for this postseason. Payton’s team. remember, won a coin toss to start overtime last year against Minnesota. The Saints marched in for a field goal and were off to the Super Bowl. Unfair as heck.

 

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Chris Ivory Out vs. Falcons

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ATLANTA — When, or if, the Saints run the football Monday night against the Atlanta Falcons they will do it without leading rusher Chris Ivory who was inactive for the game with a lingering hamstring injury.

Ivory was injured three weeks ago in the first half of the Saints win over the St. Louis Rams. He said all week he was having trouble getting the muscle loosened up.

Ivory is the Saints leading rusher with 683 yards. An undrafted rookie free agent, he has turned into a valuable part of the New Orleans offense averaging 5.3 yards per carry.

 

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Saints vs. Falcons: 3rd-Down Production Likely to Tell Story of Game

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ATLANTA — When the Falcons beat the Saints 27-24 in overtime on Sept. 26, Atlanta tight end Tony Gonzalez caught eight passes for 110 yards. Six of those grabs converted third down to first down.

The average play was third-and-seven and Matt Ryan, the quarterback, found Gonzalez and kept drives percolating. The thing about the Atlanta tight end is he can catch the ball with a defender breathing down his neck. Coverage is there, but the big mitts snatch it.

Where are you Roman Harper? The Saints strong safety will wear Gonzalez like a glove in Georgia Dome. The Saints are going to have to get off the field on third down and to do that they have to minimize Gonzalez.

 

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