Cam Skattebo has been the Giants’ top running back through the first five weeks of the regular season, but a report on Sunday morning indicates that could change against the Saints in Week 6.
Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports that the Giants are expected to give Najee Harris a larger role in their backfield. Skattebo is expected to remain in the team’s plans, but his issues holding onto the ball have led the team to make a change in how time is allotted.
Skattebo has fumbled four times this season, including last Sunday’s giveaway in overtime during their tie with the Commanders. Skattebo has 81 carries for 294 yards and a touchdown overall.
Harris has 27 carries for 97 yards so far this year.
Saints Clips
Saints quarterback Tyler Shough has been on the team’s injury report in recent weeks because of his left hand and the issue will reportedly stretch into future weeks as well.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Shough has a pair of broken bones in his non-throwing hand. Shough suffered the injury in the team’s Week 4 loss to the Falcons.
Shough has not missed practice time or game action, but has to tape his ring and pinky fingers together on his left hand while also wearing other protection on it. The injury is expected to take several weeks to heal and Shough had to switch to using his right hand for handoffs during last Sunday’s loss to the Vikings.
The Saints play the Giants on Sunday and they are scheduled to face the Steelers in Paris in Week 7 before a bye week.
In little more than a week, the Steelers and Saints will play the NFL’s first-ever game in Paris. Although the league recently said it plans to proceed amid persistent local unrest, the situation seems to be getting worse.
On Saturday, more than 1,200 arrests were made after an “escalation in violence” that occurred with roughly 550,000 citizens protesting.
The demonstrations, sparked by concerns regarding conditions in schools and the cost of living, have lingered for weeks.
Said the NFL on Wednesday: “We’re excited for the first-ever regular season game in Paris, and preparations continue as scheduled for NFL events and the game at Stade de France on October 25. As we do for every NFL game, including our international games, we work closely with local authorities and partners on all operational and security matters. We look forward to welcoming fans to Paris later this month.”
If the NFL is going to pivot from Paris to New Orleans (the Saints are the home game for the Week 7 contest), a decision may need to be made soon.
Obviously, the NFL has a very strong interest in following through with all of its international games. Then there’s the fact that the game is set for a 9:30 a.m. ET standalone broadcast window on NFL Network.
When the Chiefs-Rams game moved from Mexico City to L.A. in 2018 due to poor field conditions, the time for the game (Monday night) didn’t change. If the NFL pulls the plug on the Paris game and plays in New Orleans, would the game begin at 9:30 a.m. ET?
It’s also possible, in theory, to play the Steelers-Saints game in London, if either Tottenham Hotspur Stadium or Wembley Stadium are available. Either way, any change in location would become a potential logistical nightmare for the NFL, the teams, and the fans that have made plans to travel to France.
That outcome is still better than having NFL personnel, team personnel, or NFL fans caught in the middle of the mess that continues to play out in Paris.
Saints wide receiver Chris Olave was back on the practice field Friday, but his status for Sunday’s road game against the Giants remains up in the air.
Olave missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday due to an illness, so his return for a limited workout on Friday would seem to have him pointing in the right direction to play in Week 6. Olave has 39 catches for 537 yards and a touchdown through the first five weeks of the season.
Running back Alvin Kamara (back) is also listed as questionable. He was limited in practice all week.
Defensive lineman Nathan Shepherd (illness), defensive back Lorenzo Styles (knee), and long snapper Zach Wood are the other questionable players for New Orleans. Linebackers Kaden Elliss (calf) and Anfernee Jennings (knee) have been ruled out.
The Giants got linebacker Abdul Carter back on the practice field on Friday.
Carter missed a pair of practices with a calf injury before returning as a limited participant to close out the week. The Giants will wait to make a final call on his status against the Saints after listing him as questionable.
Carter has 14 tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble this season.
Left tackle Andrew Thomas (groin) and right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (calf) also worked on a limited basis on Friday. They have questionable designations as well.
The Giants ruled cornerback Colton Hood (concussion), tight end Theo Johnson (neck), and safety Tyler Nubin (neck) out for Week 6.
Saints owner Gayle Benson attended practice today and hugged coach Kellen Moore, says after she said she won’t accept the way the team is playing. Moore said he and Benson are on the same page.
“It’s always good to see Mrs. B,” Moore said after practice. “She likes to pop in and catch practice here and there, so always good to see her. She’s always looking great and always supportive.”
Moore tried to cool down any talk that he and his boss are not on the same page, given Benson’s comments about the 1-4 Saints.
“We see each other throughout these seasons and it was great,” Benson said.
Moore said he has talked to Benson since she made her public comments about the team’s performance being unacceptable and he feels confident in the direction they’re going.
“We talked throughout the week and so we’re all good,” Moore said. “We’re all just trying to reach the same goal. We all want to win football games and so we’re all working toward that. I think this was a good week for our guys, coaches, players. A really good week of practice.”
Soon, Moore is going to need to show that his team can translate good practices into good games, or else Benson will be more likely to give him a pink slip than a hug.
The Saints practiced without wide receiver Chris Olave for the second straight day on Thursday.
Olave has missed both days of practice with an illness. The Saints will issue injury designations for Sunday’s road game against the Giants on Friday.
Linebacker Kaden Elliss (calf), defensive lineman Damon Godchaux (rest), linebacker Anfernee Jennings (knee), and defensive lineman Nathan Shepherd (illness) were also out of practice.
Defensive lineman Vernon Broughton (illness), running back Alvin Kamara (back), and defensive back Lorenzo Styles (knee) were limited participants. Quarterback Tyler Shough (left hand), linebacker Tyree Wilson (ankle), long snapper Zach Wood (calf), defensive lineman Colby Wooden (toe), and guard Jeremiah Wright (concussion) were listed as full participants.
The Giants are 3-1-1 heading into Sunday’s home game against a 1-4 Saints team that was excoriated by their owner this week, but oddsmakers don’t view the Giants as heavy favorites to win that game.
In fact, the oddsmakers don’t view them as favorites at all. There are slight differences from sportsbook to sportsbook, but the consensus has settled on the Saints being favored by 1.5 points in Week 6. It’s closer to a toss-up based on the moneyline, but the edge that New Orleans has on the point spread is enough for defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson to use as grist for the motivational mill heading into the game.
“We love playing at MetLife Stadium and being underdogs. . . . Everybody counts us out,” Wilson said, via Dan Duggan of TheAthletic.com. “We like playing with a chip on our shoulder.”
The Giants were also underdogs to the Cardinals at home in Week 4 and they won the game by 12 points, so Wilson has every reason to feel comfortable with how the outside world is viewing his team this week.
Saints owner Gayle Benson’s decision to publicly air her frustrations about the team’s 1-4 start earlier this week drew a lot of attention because of how blunt she was about her disappointment and how rarely she shares her views about the state of the franchise.
Quarterback Tyler Shough was among those who caught what Benson had to say and he said on Wednesday that Benson “wasn’t saying anything that wasn’t already known” about how things have unfolded so far this season. Shough said that the team shares Benson’s desire for better results and that they are not going to change their approach to the job because she has gone public with them.
“You obviously see it, it’s all over social media,” Shough said. “It doesn’t affect our day-to-day process and we can’t let it regardless. We win a game and you’re the greatest people ever, and you lose some games and it’s the worst thing ever. So I’ve said it before: We’re going to have a really good chance to go on a run here. I think it starts with controlling what we can and all of a sudden the narrative changes, or not and we continue to slip and we’ve got to find a way to control that.”
A trip to New Jersey to face the Giants will be the Saints’ first chance to shift the narrative with a trip to Paris to face the Steelers and a bye week on tap from there. If they can get to that bye at 3-4, things should feel a little less pressured in New Orleans but the alternative won’t have anyone resting easy about what kind of changes could be in the franchise’s future.
Saints owner Gayle Benson didn’t pull any punches in her assessment of the team’s start to the season in a speech on Tuesday.
Benson said that the team’s fans are right to be upset about their play during a 1-4 start and that she “will not accept this level of performance as our standard.” Benson also said she is “committed to making the decisions necessary to improving this team” and it was hard not to read those comments as a mandate for those currently in charge of the team to show that improvement or find new places to work.
That group includes head coach Kellen Moore and his Wednesday press conference opened with several questions about Benson’s speech. Moore said he did not feel an increased sense of urgency because he already understood that “we all want better results” and that everyone in the organization is doing all they can to create them.
“It’s where we’re at. We’re 1-4, missed a few opportunities right there,” Moore said. “We all want the same thing. We’re all shooting for that. We’ve all got the same objectives and we just gotta get better moving forward.”
Wanting the same things that Benson is talking about and achieving them are different things, which makes it all the more incumbent on Moore and the rest of the staff showing that they can do the latter before ownership decides that someone else will have a better chance of succeeding.
