Da Boot Sports
11/30/2025
Article Courtesy of Crescent City Sports
By: Ken Trahan


   The memory lingers. The New Orleans Saints won Super Bowl XLIV on Feb. 7, 2010 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. It is the memory of a lifetime.
   As it pertains to the 2025 New Orleans Saints and the state of the organization, it is a distant, fading memory.

   These Saints are a poor team, in a total rebuilding mode now. With limited talent, it is a team that cannot afford to play from behind and cannot afford to make mistakes.

   The Saints made mistakes and had to play from behind. They came within a hair of getting even or even winning it late. They did not.

   The losing continues.

   Here are my Quick Takes from the 21-17 victory for Miami over the Saints:
**Inactives for New Orleans were Ugo Amadi, Khristian Boyd, Alvin Kamara Zaire Mitchell-Paden, John Ridgeway III, Barry Wesley and Rejzohn Wright.
**The Saints won the toss and deferred, giving Miami the ball first.
**Justin Reid went down injured on the first play of the game with a knee injury.
**Cam Jordan recorded his 127th sack, getting to Tua Tagovailoa on the opening series. With the sack, Jordan passed Derrick Thomas for 18th all-time in NFL history in sacks.
**It did not matter. The Dolphins went 69 yards in six plays, taking 2:41 off the clock and ran at will against the New Orleans defense with De’Von Achane scoring on a 29-yard run around the right side in untouched fashion. It was simply lousy run defense and Miami led 7-0 with 11:19 to play in the opening quarter.
**Meanwhile, the Saints were completely ineffective offensively, going three-and-out two straight times.
**Jordan then got his 128th sack to stop another possession, tying Rickey Jackson for 17th all-time in NFL history.
**Jordan now has 30 career games with two or more sacks, one of just 21 players in NFL history to accomplish that feat.
**Shough was sacked on the third possession.
**The Dolphins had 132 yards to just 21 for the Saints in the opening quarter.
**In 27 first quarter drives this season, the Saints have scored just one touchdown. New Orleans has been outscored 92-19 in the first quarter.
**Miami increased the lead to 10-0 on a 39-yard field goal by Riley Patterson with 14:09 to play in the first half. The drive covered 69 yards in eight plays.
**The Saints made their initial first down on a run by Evan Hull early in the second quarter.
**Shough was sacked on a blindside sack by Minkah Fitzpatrick as DeVaughn Vele failed to pick up a blitz, Shough fumbled and Zach Seiler recovered for Miami.
**Kool Aid McKinstry intercepted Tagovailoa on the next play on a deep pass to the end zone intended for Jaylen Waddle. It was the 14th interception thrown by Tagovailoa, which leads the NFL. It was the third interception of the season for McKinstry.
**Of course, the Saints went three-and-out again.
**Michael Davis then committed a 15-yard penalty for fair catch interference, giving Dolphins the ball at the Miami 49-yard-line.
**It became 13-0 on a 25-yard field goal by Patterson with 6:07 to play in the half. The drive covered 44 yards in 10 plays.
**Shough made a poor read and was picked off by Rasul Douglas, who returned it to the New Orleans 42-yard-line. It was the fourth interception by Miami this season. Shough was trying to throw to Olave, Douglas was in off coverage, read Shough all the way and easily stepped in front of Olave to intercept it.
**Chase Young hit Achane for a 3-yard loss.
**Patterson nailed a 48-yard field goal on the final play of the half to make it 16-0.
**How bad was the Saints offense in the half? New Orleans had 63 yards, five first downs (two by penalty) and two turnovers.
**The Saints came out to start the second half with a no-huddle looks and marched down the field to score to cut the deficit to 16-8 with 10:40 to play in the third quarter.
**Shough hit Chris Olave with a 17-yard touchdown pass and Shough ran in the 2-point conversion to cap a 10 play, 65-yard drive.
**On the touchdown play, Shough extended the play, rolled right and Olave wisely went with him, changing his route and broke open for the score.
**The 65 yards exceeded the total in the entire first half for New Orleans.
**Foster Moreau and Kelvin Banks each committed
false start penalties on the next New Orleans possession.
**Kai Kroeger nailed his best punt of the season, a 54-yard effort to the Miami 4-yard-line.
**Bryan Bresee came up with a sack to stop the next Miami drive.
**Shough was sacked for the fourth time on the next possession as Banks gave it up.
**Achane, whom the Saints passed on in favor of Kendre Miller in the 2023 NFL draft, went over 1,000 yards rushing in the fourth quarter.
**Chase Young came up with his fifth sack of the season to stop a Miami drive but Patterson kicked a 33-yard field goal to make it 19-8 with 9:39 to play in the game to camp a nine play, 38-yard drive.
**Charlie Smyth got his first NFL field goal attempt, drilling it from 56 yards out, to cut the deficit to 19-11 with 6:08 to play in the game. The drive covered 37 yards in 10 plays. The kick had room to spare and would have been good from at least eight to 10 more yards.
**McKinstry made a huge stop on fourth and less than a yard, tackling #31 for a loss as the Saints took over at the New Orleans 44-yard-line with 3:03 to play in the game.
**Taliese Fuaga committed a critical holding penalty.
**Shough then showed what you want to see, remaining poised, making adjustments with line calls, and engineered a touchdown drive. Shough hit Vele with a 17-yard touchdown pass, a beautifully thrown ball, to cut the deficit to 17-15 with 1:17 to play in the game.
**Fuaga then committed his second costly penalty, a false start on the 2-point conversion attempt, putting the ball at the 8-yard-line.
**On the 2-point conversion, Fitzpatrick undercut the route of Vele, was waiting on it, picked it off and returned it 98 yards for two points and a 21-17 lead.
**Smyth then executed a perfect onside kick and Vele recovered it but Vele recovered it nine and a half yards down the field and by rule, it had to travel 10 yards. Upon replay review, the call was upheld, stating the ball touched a Miami player.
**The Saints got the ball with 1:15 to play at their own 44-yard-line.
**Shough went deep for Olave into double coverage, the ball went through his hands on a perfectly placed ball.
**On fourth-and-one, Shough tried to sneak it but was stopped short, clinching the Miami win.

   On that play, Neal was behind Shough and made no effort to come forward and help on a “tush-push” play.

   Shough showed resilience and toughness, rebounding from a tough first half to give his team a chance. There remains a lot to like about his ability. He finished 26 of 38 for 239 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

   Vele had a coming out party, showing the reason the Saints dealt a fourth-round pick for him.

   Vele was acquired to be the inside possession receiver and he displayed that in outstanding fashion, catching eight passes for 93 yards and a touchdown. Olave had four catches for 47 yards and a score.

   Part of the problem for the Saints was the absence of any big play. The longest play from scrimmage for New Orleans was 17 yards.

   The New Orleans defense did its job, coming up with four sacks and an interception, despite giving up 22 carries for 134 yards and a touchdown to Achane.

   Tagovailoa was just 12 of 23 for 157 yards and an interception.

   There were encouraging signs. Young was simply outstanding. Demario Davis was his usual dependable, excellent self. McKinstry was outstanding and Terrell Burgess played well.

   Keeping things in perspective, Miami was not very good and with the win, the Dolphins are 5-7.

   Keeping it real, you are simply not going to win in the NFL scoring 17 points very often. The Saints fought back, played hard, and still lost again and are 2-10.

   New Orleans returns to Florida to take on Tampa Bay next Sunday.

   The Jets won their third game of the season. The Titans lost. The Saints would have a top four pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, at this point, battling with the Raiders and Giants, both two-win teams.

   That is something to look forward to.
​   

Da Boot Sports
11/23/2025
Article Courtesy of Crescent City Sports
By: Ken Trahan


   The question was clear. Could the Saints build momentum from a good performance in a rare win two weeks ago?The Saints were 2-8 while the Falcons had lost five straight games.

   Clearly, these are not good teams. Still, the heated rivalry dating back to 1967 continues as the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons renewed acquaintances Sunday at Caesars Superdome.

   The series could not be more even. Each team had won 56 times in 112 meetings.

   The Falcons had outscored the Saints 2,471 to 2,409. Atlanta was averaging 22 points per game to 21.5 for New Orleans in those matchups.

   The tie is gone, and Atlanta has the lead in the series.

   Despite having a bye week, the Saints looked like a team that took a vacation completely from football. They stunk.

   It was a good feeling with Drew Brees calling the game for Fox Sports and Jimmy Graham in the house as the Legend of the Game for the Saints. The good guys looked sharp in all black. That positivity ended quickly.

   The good guys were bad. Make that very bad.

   The fans from Atlanta were looking for a daily double after the Hawks beat the Pelicans at Smoothie King Center on Saturday. They got it as the embarrassment of opposing team’s fans making as much noise as Saints fans continues in this miserable season, just as the Atlanta fans did at Smoothie King Center Saturday.

   Reality bites!

   
​      Here are my Quick Takes from the 24-10 Atlanta win over New Orleans:

**Inactives for the Saints included Ugo Amadi, Khristian Boyd, Audric Estime’, Taliese Fuaga, John Ridgeway III and Rezjohn Wright.
**The Saints won the toss and deferred.
**The Saints forced a 3-and-out as Terrell Burgess broke up a pass on third down by Kirk Cousins, forcing a punt.
**Tyler Shough and Alvin Kamara missed a simple handoff exchange and Dee Alford recovered the fumble at the New Orleans 39-yard-line with 12:52 to play in the opening quarter. It was the third lost fumble for Kamara this season.
**Chase Young sacked Cousins on third down, forcing a 56-yard field goal by Zane Gonzalez to give the Falcons a 3-0 lead with 10:41 to play in the first quarter. It was the fourth sack of the season for Young, who missed
**Mason Tipton returned the ensuing kickoff 75 yards to the Atlanta 16-yard-line.
**Cesar Ruiz gave up a sack after Taysom Hill lost a yard.
**Blake Grupe then missed a 38-yard field goal wide right, continuing his poor season, in stark contrast to Wil Lutz, whom the Saints mistakenly cut in favor of Grupe. Lutz just got a 3-year contract extension. Grupe is very fortunate to have a job. He is now 17 of 24 in field goal attempts on the season.
**The Saints gained five yards and committed a turnover in their first two possessions.
**Cam Jordan came up with a sack to stall the next Atlanta possession after a pair of false starts on the Falcons. It was the 127th of his career. It was his 25th sack in 29 career games against Atlanta.
**Jordan Howden committed a holding penalty on the ensuing punt, pinning the Saints back to the 8-yard-line with 5:02 to play in the first quarter.
**DeVaughn Vele then hurt the Saints with an obvious holding penalty.
**Kamara, who entered the game nursing an ankle injury, limped off after going down awkwardly on a tackle by former Saint Kaden Elliss. It was a knee injury and he did not return.
**Atlanta had 43 yards in the first quarter to 37 for New Orleans.
**The Falcons expanded the lead to 10-0 when Davis Sills burned Alontae Taylor a double-post route for a touchdown pass from Cousins with 11:31 to play in the half. It was the first NFL touchdown for Sills. It was an easy throw and catch. Taylor had outside leverage and Sills went to the post and was simply open for Cousins.
**It was the 289th career touchdown pass for Cousins.
**The New Orleans defense came up with a game-changing play. Justin Reid picked off a tipped pass in intended for Kyle Pitts which Kool Aid McKinstry knocked in the air. Reid returned it 49 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 10-7 with 6:41 to play in the half.
**It was the first interception for Reid with the Saints and the second pick-six of his career.
**It was the first interception return for a touchdown by a Saints player since Oct. 8, 2023 by Tyrann Mathieu, who returned a pick 27 yards for a score in a 34-0 win over New England.

**Isaiah Stalbird came up with a sack to stop a good Atlanta drive. Gonzalez nailed a 41-yard field goal to give the Falcons a 13-7 lead with 1:56 to play in the half.
**The Saints got a drive near the end of the half which stalled because of terrible pass protection again and once again, Grupe missed a 47-yard field goal attempt wide right yet again to make him 17 of 25 on the season.
**The Falcons extended the lead to 16-7 at halftime as Gonzalez nailed a 54-yard field goal on the final play of the half to cap a 26-yard drive in 10 plays.
**Atlanta dominated time of possession at 18:59 to just 11:01 for the Saints in the half.
**New Orleans ran just 27 plays and gained just 95 yards in the half.
**The Saints opened with Taysom Hill in the backfield with Devin Neal to start the second half with a two-tight end set and leaned on the run game effectively.
**New Orleans took the second half kickoff and had a nice drive of 74 yards and reached the Atlanta 1-yard-line and went for it on fourth-and-goal. With Hill at quarterback, his pass attempt was batted down by Ronnie Harrison and the Saints came up empty again.
**The Saints had the ball for 13:02 in the third quarter and ran 24 plays while Atlanta had the ball for just 1:58 and ran just three plays.
**The Saints had another solid drive and once again reached the 1-yard-line.
**Shough reached the half-yard line on a second down quarterback sneak.
**Then, inexplicably, Kellen Moore decided to put Hill in and put him in shotgun. You were at the half-yard-line. Get under center. Sneak it again.
**You had already had high snaps from reserve center Luke Fortner. The snap was high, over the head of Hill. He ran back to field it and intentionally grounded the ball, resulting in a penalty and loss of down. Then again, it was a questionable grounding call as Hill was very close to being outside the tackle box.
**That forced Moore to send Grupe on and he made a 33-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 16-10 with 12:13 to play in the game.
**Once again, the Saints blew a golden opportunity.
**Atlanta did not waste an opportunity. Cousins went deep for Darnell Mooney, who whipped McKinstry for a 49-yard touchdown. Bijan Robinson ran the two-point conversion in to make it 24-10 with 11:04 to play in the game.
**Cousins tied Johnny Unitas with his 290th career touchdown pass.
**Dante Pettis made his first catch as a Saint late in the fourth quarter but he came up a yard short of a first down on a fourth-and-15 play.
**Fittingly, Xavier Watts picked off Shough on the final offensive play for the Saints as Shough simply threw a Hail Mary into double coverage.

   The euphoria of a good performance in a win at Carolina disappeared very quickly.

   The Saints are a bad football team.


   New Orleans had the ball four times inside the Atlanta 30-yard-line and scored a total of three points off those possessions.

   This game was not an indictment of Shough at all. He was not the problem, just as Spencer Rattler was not the problem when he started.

   Shough finished 30 of 43 for 243 yards with the interception. There were two drops. Chris Olave had nine catches for 70 yards.

   The offensive line is not good enough. Cesar Ruiz was awful and Fortner could not execute shotgun snaps. Backup linemen looked the part of backup linemen, including Dillon Radunz and Asim Richards. The team could not even execute a simple handoff, resulting in a turnover. No one could make a yard at the goal line on more than one occasion.

   New Orleans has few playmakers, nowhere near enough.

   Other than that, things are fine with this offense, which has not scored all season.

   The reeling Falcons had lost five straight games and were without their starting quarterback and top receiver. Their defense had played poorly, among the worst in the NFL during the losing streak, giving up over 500 yards each in their last two losses.

   Somehow, Las Vegas established the Saints as a slight favorite. The Saints were the cure for everything that plagued the Falcons.

   It had to be tough for Brees watching this, considering the way he dominated the Falcons when with the Saints. Perhaps Drew will be blessed with other assignments the rest of the season, sparing of him of watching the shell of his former organization.


   The Saints head to Miami next week.

   It is back to playing the “how high of a draft pick” game for Saints fans.

​*John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior)

​*John 3;16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Da Boot Sports
11/9/2025
Article Courtesy of Crescent City Sports
By: Ken Trahan


   Despite being thumped in Los Angeles by a Super Bowl contender, New Orleans Saints quarterback Shough showed positive, encouraging signs against the Rams.
   In his second NFL start Sunday at Charlotte, that carried over in a huge way. Shough was superb.

   The New Orleans defense was outstanding.

   Were the Panthers, who came in with a winning record, overlooking the Saints? Carolina was underwhelming. The Saints were overwhelmingly better.

   The final score did not indicate how much better the Saints were. As a 5.5 point underdog, the Saints won by 10 points. That says enough about what was a beautiful afternoon in Charlotte and a beautiful afternoon in New Orleans.

   Here are my Quick Takes from the 17-7 win for New Orleans at Carolina:
**Inactives for the Saints were Ugo Amadi, Khristian Boyd, Taliese Fuaga, John Ridgeway III, Jack Stoll and Rejzohn Wright.
**The Saints won the toss and deferred, giving Carolina the ball first.
**Bryan Bresee committed an offside penalty to extend the drive for the Panthers.
**Bullard batted down a Bryce Young pass.
**Demario Davis intercepted a pass but Justin Reid, who has done little all season, committed a roughing the passer penalty for a high hit on Young.
**That allowed Rico Dowdle to finish the drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to give Carolina a 7-0 lead with 7:59 to play in the first quarter.
**The drive covered 67 yards in 12 plays, taking 7:01 off the clock.
**The Saints went 3-and-out, including a sack of Shough.
**Shough, under extreme pressure, made three players miss stepped up on the move and hit Juwan Johnson for 52 yards. It was a brilliant play and a career long catch for Johnson.
**Devin Neal ran for 14 yards on the next play, his longest play of the season.
**Shough hit Foster Moreau for a first-and-goal to the 2-yard-line but the Saints offensive line failed miserably. Alvin Kamara lost a yard, Taysom Hill gained a half yard and Shough, unable to find anyone, extended a play but had to throw it away on third down.
**That resulted in a 20-yard field goal by Blake Grupe to make it 7-3 with 2:52 to play in the first quarter. The drive covered 72 yards in 10 plays, taking 5:07 off the clock.
**Davis batted down a pass to force a Carolina punt on its second possession.
**On his 300th career punt, Sam Martin punted down to the New Orleans 2-yard-line with a brilliant 51-yard punt.
**The Saints went 3-and-out as Shough had to throw the ball away to avoid a safety with an unblocked blitzer in his face.
**The first quarter ended with New Orleans totaling 85 yards to 66 for Carolina.
**Nate Shepherd beat his man inside for a sack to stop the next Carolina possession.
**Shough then made a perfect deep throw to Chris Olave over Jaycee Horn for a 62-yard touchdown to give the Saints a 10-7 lead with 9:21 to play in the half.
**It was the second longest touchdown pass by a rookie in franchise history, trailing only Archie Manning’s 63-yard touchdown pass to Danny Abramowicz in 1971.
**Martin again punted the Saints deep, to the New Orleans 8-yard-line with 7:43 to play in the half.
**Olave limped off early in the second quarter with an ankle issue but he was able to return.
**Shough hit Kamara with a swing pass and Kamara ran 26 yards for a first down.
**The drive stalled when Hill dropped a third down pass. It was slightly behind him but should have been caught.
**Cam Jordan added to his franchise best sack total on the next possession. It was his 125th career sack.
**A lousy punt return, compounded by a penalty on the ensuing punt, pinned the Saints back to their own 16-yard-line.
**Inexplicably, the Saints had a drive, let the clock run off 10 or 15 seconds and tried to run inside on a third-and-four play from the Carolina 41-yard-line. Kamara made a yard.
**Then, they took a timeout out in a dead ball situation and decided to go for it with 27 seconds left in the half.
**Luke Fortner committed a snap infraction, costing New Orleans five yards and were forced to punt.
**The clock management was poor and once again, a costly penalty cost the Saints a shot at points.
**New Orleans finished the half with 136 yards to only 83 for Carolina. Shough was 11 of 18 for 194 yards and a touchdown.
**It was only the second time the Saints have led at halftime this season. The other time was the lone win over the Giants.
**Shough ran for a first down on a third down conversion play but Dillon Radunz was flagged for holding, killing the opening possession of the second half.
**Kai Kroeger punted well, resulting in a fair catch at the Carolina 10-yard-line.
**Demario Davis reached 500 tackles for his career in the game.
**The Saints blocked a 47-yard field goal attempt by Ryan Fitzgerald and it was Shepherd who came through to get a hand on it. It was simply a low kick by Fitzgerald.
**Unbelievably, the ball caromed forward past the line-of-scrimmage. By rule it is a live ball and Carolina recovered after Jordan had a chance to do so and did not. Damien Lewis of LSU did for the Panthers.
**Jimmy Horn Jr. then fumbled a handoff on a speed sweep and Pete Werner recovered at the New Orleans 17-yard-line with 4:30 left in the third quarter. It was justice, to a degree. It was seventh fumble recovery of the season for New Orleans.
**Kamara ran for 16 yards and a first down through a big hole. He was tripped up or he may have scored.
**On a fourth-and-one near midfield, Kellen Moore elected to go for it and Kamara squirted forward with a good effort, showing good balance, to get the first down.
**On fourth-and-four at the Carolina 33-yard-line, Moore elected to go for it, passing on a 50-yard field goal attempt. Shough, under pressure, was sacked as Scourton beat Asim Richards.
**Alontae Taylor then picked off Young, who was trying to throw an outside route to Tetairoa McMillan at the Carolina 43-yard-line.
**Zaire Mitchell-Paden made his first reception as a Saint, a first-down completion from Shough, for 15 yards.
**Shough did it again, extending a play, rolling left and finding Johnson wide open for a 30-yard touchdown to give the Saints a 17-7 lead with 10:20 to play in the game. Jaycee Horn fell down on the play, leaving Johnson open. That is what can happen when you extend plays.
**The Saints got a stop but again committed a crucial penalty as Davis was flagged for roughing Young after an incomplete pass. It was a questionable call at best. Davis barely contacted Young but got a hand near his neck area.
**New Orleans still got the stop as Carolina went for it on fourth-and-two at the New Orleans 42-yard-line but Carl Granderson got a big stop to give the Saints the ball with 7:35 to play.
**The Saints rushed for 100 yards for the first time since week four at Buffalo.
**Hill closed it out by running the offense for a pair of first downs.

   There were so many positives.

   Shough was simply outstanding. It is easy to see what Moore and Doug Nussmeier saw in drafting him at No. 40 overall. The poise is most impressive but his ability to climb the pocket, extend plays and his big arm are undeniable. With all due respect to Spencer Rattler, Shough is different.

   Shough completed 19 of 27 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers for a Quarterback Rating of 128.9.

   Shough is the first Saints rookie quarterback to win a game since Dave Wilson in 1981. He also set a franchise rookie record for passing yards with 282. 

   Kamara turned back the clock, rushing 22 times for 83 yards and he caught three passes for 34 yards.

   Olave, with Rashid Shaheed gone, was a big play receiver that the Saints need. Johnson came up with two big plays and had no drops.

   Hill closed the game out, leading his team to a pair of first downs, running hard downhill.

   A week after having the lowest time of possession in franchise history, the Saints kept the ball for 33:21 to just 26:39 for Carolina.

   The Saints amassed 388 total yards, running the ball 37 times and passing just 28 times.

   The New Orleans defense was simply outstanding. Davis was terrific, despite the roughing the passer penalty.

   Werner and Taylor came up with turnovers.

   The Saints held Rico Dowdle in check, with 18 carries for 53 yards and a score.

   Carolina would not have scored a point were it not for the roughing the passer penalty on Reid early in the game. The Saints held the Panthers to just 175 yards.

   The Saints, for a change, did not hurt themselves in the kicking game.

   It was a good day in Charlotte and elsewhere for suffering Saints fans, who have sat through a miserable season, to date.

   No one is miserable in New Orleans today, not the fans, not the coaches who prepared the team well and not the players, who played very well.

   Yes, the Saints left points on the field.

   No, Carolina is not an elite team and Young is nowhere near a very good NFL quarterback. I’ll take Shough over him right now.

   Still, it is a win, the second of the season and the losing streak is over.

   Feel good today. You deserve it.

​John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior)

​*John 3;16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Da Boot Sports
11/4/2025
Article Courtesy of Crescent City Sports
By: CCS Staff


   Hours before the NFL’s trade deadline, the New Orleans Saints have traded wide receiver Rashid Shaheed to the Seattle Seahawks.
   
   While neither team has confirmed the deal, multiple national outlets reported the move, along with the return: the Seahawks will send New Orleans fourth- and fifth-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.

   Shaheed had 44 receptions for 499 yards and two touchdowns this season, including a 87-yard TD catch from Spencer Rattler in the Saints’ lone win of 2025 against the New York Giants.

   Shaheed, an All-Pro return specialist in 2023, caught 138 passes in his four-year career in New Orleans for an average of 14.9 yards per reception.

   He averaged 12.6 yards on 64 punt returns, including a pair of touchdowns, and 23.2 yards on 39 kickoff returns.

   In 42 games as a Saint, Shaheed accounted for 3,891 all-purpose yards, an average of just above 90 yards per game.

   Though Shaheed will be a free agent after this season, he has over-delivered on a two-year, $6.185 million contract signed before the 2024 season, giving him value in the trade market.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   *In other Saints trade news, the Saints have traded starting left guard Trevor Penning to the Los Angeles Chargers for a 2027 sixth round pick.

Da Boot Sports
11/2/2025
Article Courtesy of Crescent City Sports
By: Ken Trahan


   It was predictable result betweeb two franchises heading in different directions.
   Sunday game at SoFi Stadium was also first NFL start for rookie Tyler Shough. You had the feeling it would be a baptism under fire, considering the plight of the New Orleans Saints and the quality of the opponent.

   The Rams were more than a two-touchdown favorite, a much better team. How bad was the New Orleans offense? On five first half possessions, the Saints went three-and-out four times.

   Watching the Rams operate under Sean McVay and Matt Stafford reminded me of how the Saints operated under Sean Payton and Drew Brees. Stafford now has nine touchdown passes in his last two games.

   While Shough did some nice things, it really doesn’t matter who plays quarterback for the Saints. The talent around the quarterback is simply not good enough in any spot. It is hard to accomplish much with just 40 offensive snaps in 60 minutes.

   For perspective, the Rams had 77 snaps.

   It doesn’t matter, either, with the lack of defensive talent overall for New Orleans.

   The Saints remain in a solid position to get the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2026.

   We are trying to grab at straws to find something encouraging here.

   Here are my Quick Takes from the 34-10 loss to the Rams:

**Inactives for the Saints included Ugo Amadi, Khristian Boyd, Zaire Mitchell-Paden, John Ridgeway III, Xavier Truss and Rejzohn Wright.
**The Saints won the toss and elected to receive.
**New Orleans proceeded to run Alvin Kamara twice for three yards. Then, Shough completed a pass to Rashid Shaheed for six yards, a yard short of the first down. That route had to run a yard or two further up the field. The Saints had to punt.
**The Rams started at their own 12-yard-line, went with a no-huddle attack and Matthew Stafford completed eight straight passes for 72 yards and Los Angeles finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Tyler Higbee as the Rams took a 7-0 lead with 6:18 to play in the opening quarter. It was easy, way too easy.
**The Saints went three-and-out again on their second possession as Cesar Ruiz gave up a sack.
**Bryan Bresee forced a three-and-out by tipping a pass on the next Los Angeles possession.
**The Saints went three-and-out again.
**Alontae Taylor laid the wood on a huge hit on the next Los Angeles possession before Chase Young sacked Stafford.
**The Rams finished the first quarter with 104 yards to just 12 yards for the Saints.
**The Rams went for a fourth-and-three and Kool Aid McKinstry committed a pass interference penalty on Puka Nacua to sustain the drive for Los Angeles.
**Taylor then committed a defensive holding penalty and the Rams finished the drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Davante Adams, who beat Taylor on a quick slant to give Los Angeles a 13-0 lead with 11:28 to play in the half. The drive covered 88 yards in 12 plays. The extra point attempt was missed wide left.
**Taysom Hill lined up at quarterback, ran right and bolted 27 yards to the Los Angeles 36-yard-line. On the play, Ruiz was injured and walked off. He was replaced by Dillon Radunz for a couple of plays before Ruiz returned.
**The 27-yard run by Hill was the first run of 20 or more yards by the porous New Orleans run game this season.
**Devin Neal got his first carry, a 4-yard gain.
**The Saints got to fourth-and-one and Kelvin Banks Jr. committed a false start penalty.
**Blake Grupe cam in and kicked a 39-yard field goal to make it 13-3 with 7:50 to play in the first half. The drive covered 44 yards in eight plays.
**The Rams took no time to respond, driving 65 yards in three plays with Stafford throwing a perfect deep ball to Nacua for a 39-yard touchdown, over McKinstry, to give Los Angeles a 20-3 lead with 6:25 to play in the half.
**Young committed an offside penalty to help the Rams on the next possession.
**The Rams missed a field goal with 54 seconds left in the half due to a good rush by Justin Reid, who forced the kick to go wide.
**Shough hit a 13-yard pass to Rashid Shaheed and an 8-yard completion to Juwan Johnson. He then extended a play, rolled right, and hit Chris Olave for 27 yards to the Los Angeles 23-yard-line.
**Byron Young committed a roughing the passer penalty when he beat Taliese Fuaga for a sack but contacted him helmet-to-helmet.
**Shough then hit Johnson with an 11-yard touchdown pass to make it 20-10 with seven seconds left in the first half. The drive covered 71 yards in six plays, taking just 47 seconds to score.
**Shough finished the half 8 of 14 for 84 yards with a score. Stafford was 18 of 23 for 215 yards and three touchdowns.
**Jonah Williams got a sack on the first possession of the second half.
**The Rams took all the air out of the New Orleans momentum going into halftime by taking the second half kickoff, taking 9:46 off the clock and scoring on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Adams to make it 27-10 with 5:14 to play in the third quarter. The drive covered 80 yards in 16 plays.
**The only negative for the Rams was Nacua leaving with a chest injury after a jet sweep for a first down.
**Kamara then fumbled it away with Nate Landman punching the ball out and Kamren Kinchens recovering at the Los Angeles 48-yard-line.
**It was the ninth turnover in the last three games for the Saints. The Rams would capitalize on the giveaway.
**The Rams had 394 yards through three quarters to 140 for the Saints. Los Angeles had the ball for 33:26 to 11:34 for the Saints.
**The Saints ran a total of three plays in the third quarter.
**Kyren Williams made 34-10 with a 1-yard touchdown run with 12:40 to play in the game to cap a 10 play, 52-yard drive.
**Shough engineered a good drive, reaching the Los Angeles 7-yard-line. On fourth-and a long yard, the Saints elected to pull Shough, using Hill at quarterback. Predictably, he ran right. Predictably, with no blocking, he was stopped in his tracks and the Saints came up empty.
**Fuaga left the game injured in the fourth quarter, replaced by Asim Richards.
**Shough then avoided pressure, felt more pressure and threw an interception to Forbes Jr. The throw was late and it was right to Emmanuel Forbes.
**Carl Granderson committed a personal foul facemask penalty to add to the misery.
**It was the first win for the Rams against an NFC team this season.

   The Rams dominated in all phases.

   Los Angeles forced two turnovers and committed none.

   The Rams controlled the ball for 43:53 and had 438 yards to just 224 for the Saints, who had the ball for just 16:07. All indications are that it was the largest time of possession differential in the league thus far this season.

   Los Angeles was more physical and was faster.

   If you are searching for positives, Shough showed he can stand tall, wait for things to develop and can make the throws, despite the late interception.

   As the Saints public relations department tweeted, Demario Davis has now made at least 80 tackles in 13 consecutive seasons, remarkable consistency. He always plays, plays hard and plays well. The 13-year streak is the third-longest in the league currently, joining linebacker Bobby Wagner of the Commanders (14 straight seasons) and linebacker Lavonte David of Tampa Bay (13 straight seasons).

   The New Orleans offense sputtered early then could never get in a rhythm because they hardly had the ball.

   The New Orleans defense could not stop the run or pass and got pushed around. In position to make tackles, they missed often.

   If you thought next week’s game at Carolina was a potential win, consider this. The Panthers are now 6-5, well ahead of the Saints in the rebuilding mode.

   The rest of this season for the Saints is about evaluating players for Kellen Moore and his staff. It is hard to evaluate the staff, at this stage, given what they were given.

   On a day where the New Orleans Pelicans lost a 13th straight game and fell to 0-6 with a 31-point loss at Oklahoma City, the Saints continued their swoon.

   This is a low point for professional sports in New Orleans.

​John 14:6 - "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior)

​*John 3;16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.