Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley pushed back at comments ESPN analyst Troy Aikman made during the Monday Night Football broadcast.
With 2:43 remaining in the third quarter of the Saints’ 45-24 loss, Aikman said Staley didn’t have answers for the Falcons. Atlanta gained 420 yards, including 205 rushing yards, and the Falcons scored five rushing touchdowns.
The Saints played without linebacker Kaden Elliss and edge rushers Carl Granderson and Andernee Jennings.
“Brandon Staley, he just simply doesn’t have any answers, and I think he knew it when we talked to him coming in,” Aikman said Monday night. “I think he knew. He didn’t tell us, but the guys that are out — their big edge rushers and guys who can play the run and set the edge — they’re not on the field, and they just don’t have that star defender that can erase mistakes for other people.
“This was a matchup issue coming into this game, and it’s proven true.”
Staley heard the comments and said he has “no idea” what Aikman was talking about.
“It was a tough night for us, and certainly, I’m responsible. I’m calling the defense, but we’ve got a great group of guys,” Staley said, via Katherine Terrell of ESPN. “No one defended that runner [Bijan Robinson] last year better than us. He’s a hell of a player. But our group defended him twice last year better than anyone through his time in the NFL.
“We’re focusing on Minnesota, learning the tough lessons from the other night. We’ve got the right guys to bounce back.”
Staley admitted the comments bothered him “because they’re not true.”
He also defended his players’ effort after Aikman commented that some of the Saints were “standing around watching the play, missed tackles, just bad football” on the fifth rushing touchdown.
“Our guys have played the right way,” Staley said. “And mainly that’s assignment, technique, effort, all in one. I think the other night, we were missing two out of the three. Our effort was there.”
Saints Clips
Saints quarterback Tyler Shough downplayed his inclusion as a limited participant on Wednesday’s injury report and Thursday’s update on his participation supported that lack of concern.
Shough, who hurt his left hand in Monday night’s loss to the Falcons, is listed as a full participant. That should put him on track to play against the Vikings this weekend.
Running back Alvin Kamara (back) and wide receiver Chris Olave (rest, knee) also took steps in the right direction. Both players were limited participants after being listed as non-participants on Wednesday.
Linebacker Kaden Elliss (calf), defensive lineman Damon Godchaux (rest, groin), linebacker Anfernee Jennings (knee), and cornerback Jayden Price (personal) missed practice. Safety Julian Blackmon (shoulder), wide receiver Barion Brown (thigh), tight end Noah Fant (abdomen), linebacker Carl Granderson (ankle), and guard Jeremiah Wright (concussion) were limited participants.
Linebacker Jaylan Ford (ankle), safety Mike Reid (ankle), and safety Lorenzo Styles (calf) were the team’s full participants.
The Vikings got wide receiver Jordan Addison on the field for Thursday’s practice.
Addison sat out on Wednesday with a hamstring injury, but he was back for a limited workout as the team moved toward Sunday’s game against the Saints. Justin Jefferson (ankle) was limited for the second straight day, so the Vikings had both of their top wideouts on the field.
Left tackle Christian Darrisaw (concussion) remained out of practice, but he was the only player on the Vikings roster who didn’t work at all.
Cornerback Chuck Demmings (hamstring) and right tackle Brian O’Neill (knee) were limited. Center Michael Jurgens (elbow), tight end Ben Yurosek (ankle), and punter Brett Thorson (hamstring) were full participants again on Thursday.
Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell and new Vikings receiver Odell Beckham Jr. spent time together with the Rams, and they both have a Super Bowl ring from it.
It was O’Connell’s influence that brought Beckham to Minnesota.
Meeting with reporters on Wednesday, Beckham said he had other options after being released by the Giants. He chose the Vikings.
“It seemed as if he wanted me to be here,” Beckham said as to O’Connell. “And that was expressed to me. And that feels good. . . . It always feels better when you’re doing it for somebody who, you know, you feel like their heart is there for it as well.”
With the Giants, his return always felt more like a feel-good story at best, and a publicity stunt at worst. Once the games started, it wasn’t sustainable.
Minnesota doesn’t have any marketing or P.R. reason to add Beckham. It’s all about making the team better. And O’Connell, who has had opportunities to sign Beckham in the past but didn’t, apparently believes that, in this specific moment, Beckham can make a difference.
The first opportunity could come as soon as Sunday, in a game in his home state of Louisiana against the Saints.
The Vikings got Justin Jefferson back at practice on Wednesday, but another wideout was missing from the workout.
Jordan Addison missed practice with a hamstring injury. He had four catches for 52 yards in last Sunday’s win over the Dolphins.
Jefferson missed that game with an ankle injury and he was limited in his first day back on the field. He addressed his outlook on playing in Sunday’s road game against the Saints later in the day.
“Hopefully so. That’s definitely the plan,” Jefferson said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com. “Being back at home, being in Louisiana, is definitely something that I want to do. So the plan is for me to play, but who knows? We going to take it day by day.”
Left tackle Christian Darrisaw (concussion) and cornerback Chuck Demmings (hamstring) did not take part in practice. Running back Aaron Jones (rest) and right tackle Brian O’Neill (knee) were both limited while center Michael Jurgens (elbow), tight end Ben Yurosek (ankle), and punter Brett Thorson (hamstring) fully participated on Wednesday.
Saints quarterback Tyler Shough had his left hand hit in Monday night’s loss to the Falcons but played all 74 snaps.
Shough had his hand wrapped Wednesday, and the team listed him as limited in practice.
But Saints coach Kellen Moore and Shough downplayed the quarterback’s presence on the injury report.
“Yeah, just something to keep working on,” Shough said, via video from the team. “Just got it banged up in the game. Nothing different than anybody else is dealing with quite honestly. Just bumps and bruises and stuff like that.”
Shough said he will play Sunday against the Vikings.
“It’s a shorter week, so I’m obviously sore today, but it’s not going to limit me really at all,” he said.
Wide receiver Barion Brown (thigh), linebacker Kaden Elliss (calf), edge rusher Anfernee Jennings (knee), running back Alvin Kamara (back) and wide receiver Chris Olave (rest) did not practice.
Safety Julian Blackmon (shoulder), tight end Noah Fant (abdomen), linebacker Jaylan Ford (ankle), edge rusher Carl Granderson (ankle) and safety Mike Reid (ankle) were limited.
The Saints followed one part of a familiar script in Monday night’s loss to the Falcons when they fell behind their visitors from Atlanta early in the game.
The Falcons led 14-0 in the first quarter on Monday and stretched their lead to 24-7 before halftime in New Orleans. The Saints also trailed at halftime in the first three weeks of the season, but the difference on Monday was that they weren’t able to mount any kind of significant comeback in the second half.
On Tuesday, the slow starts were a topic for head coach Kellen Moore in a videoconference with reporters. The Saints have been outscored 61-26 in the first half so far this season and Moore said there is “definitely gonna be a discussion” about how to start games with a little more pep in their step.
“Logistics, scheduling, to kinda maybe adjust practice plans accordingly,” Moore said. “And then, obviously, looking at what the back end looks like as far as our preparation of what we’re doing early in games from a schematic standpoint. Those are really the two main areas.”
One thing that would help the Saints have better control early in games would be a consistent run game that picks up yards and chews up clock. Establishing that won’t be easy against a strong Vikings defense in Week 5, but Moore and company need to figure something out because consistently playing from behind isn’t a recipe for piling up wins.
Running back Jamaal Williams last played in the NFL in 2024. On Tuesday, he got a chance to get a spot on a roster, or a practice squad.
Per the league’s daily transaction report, Williams had a workout with the Patriots.
He wasn’t signed; cornerback Al’Zillion Hamilton, who was one of the other players getting a workout on Tuesday, was added to the practice squad.
Williams, 31, was a fourth-round pick of the Packers in 2017. He spent four seasons in Green Bay, two in Detroit, and two in New Orleans.
He has 4,122 career rushing yards, 1,310 receiving yards, and 40 touchdowns. In 2022, Williams led the league with 17 rushing touchdowns.
The Saints defense was torn apart by the Falcons on Monday night and it’s unclear if they’ll be getting one of their starting linebackers back on the field for Week 5.
Head coach Kellen Moore said at a Tuesday press conference that “we’ll see” if linebacker Kaden Elliss is able to practice this week. Elliss missed practice all last week with a calf injury and was ruled out for the loss to the Falcons.
Elliss has 24 tackles and two tackles for loss in three games this season.
The Saints were also missing outside linebackers Carl Granderson and Anfernee Jennings on Monday night. They will face the Vikings in Week 5.
Monday night’s game in New Orleans started with a tribute to a storybook night in Saints history, but there was no happily ever after once the game got underway.
Falcons running back Bijan Robinson broke loose for a 59-yard touchdown a few plays into the game that took some life out of the Superdome crowd. The Saints weren’t able to stop the bleeding and the Falcons rolled to a 45-24 win that left the Superdome crowd feeling much differently than they did at the outset.
Cheers for the 20th anniversary of the Saints’ return to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina were replaced by cascades of boos until enough Saints fans left the building that Falcons supporters had run of the place. The loss dropped the Saints to 1-3 and quarterback Tyler Shough could not take any issue with the way that the home crowd responded to the effort.
“Fans understandably are upset,” Shough said. “We had some opportunities that we didn’t take advantage of and you’re playing the Falcons and you lose like that? I mean, I’d boo, too. That sucks. We want to get everybody going. It’s part of it. You have to have the energy of the crowd and we’re gonna need them next week too against a really good team. That’s the best part about New Orleans. You feel it and we feel it too, and we’re gonna keep going.”
A 4-1 close to last season with Shough playing well led to hopes of a turnaround for a team that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2020, but the Saints have allowed the most points in the league through four weeks. They have two of their next three games at home before a bye week and they’ll need to plug a lot of leaks in order to ensure no one will be considering a return to paper bags on heads later in this year’s home schedule.
