OMG the Saints win on a missed PAT!?!? What world is this? Drew Brees was magnificent Cheap Customized New Orleans Saints Jerseys , the defense held up until the end, and Sean Payton gives no f***s about how experts think he should call plays. He’s gonna Taysom all day, every day.Become a Patron and get access to more shows for as little as $1 dollar a month and help us raise enough money to do daily podcast.Our show is sponsored by JLD Hot Sauce and Knives. Use code SAINTS and get 10% off.Want to join the fun or ask the guys a question, tweet them @PodcastSaints, like their Facebook page,or email them at saintshappyhour@gmail.com.Drunk Saints History Archive!Our NEW Patreon page is live: https://www.patreon.com/SaintsHappyHourPodbean will remain active and ALL new Patron content will be loaded to the Podbean Patron page as well as the new Patreon page. You don’t have to switch but if you want to, the option is there. If you want to have access to Patron only content and not use Podbean consider supporting us through Patreon. WARNING: podcast contains explicit language By the time every NFL team has played eight games, there are some heavily established favorites for The Associated Press NFL awards that are handed out on Super Bowl eve.Not this year.MVP? Lots of candidates 鈥?and not just quarterbacks.Coach of the Year? Nearly every division has a contender.Comeback Player? Some likely Hall of Famers are in the mix there.So the AP polled a few of the 50 voters for the awards, including genuine Hall of Famer James Lofton. The theme was clear: There isn't much clarity as we head into the final eight weeks of the schedule.MVPThis honor has gone to a quarterback the past five seasons and 10 of 11. Two running backs, Adrian Peterson in 2012 and LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006, broke through the QB domination in the past dozen years.Lofton and some others select Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes."So good you just can't take your eyes off of him," the CBS analyst says."Maybe this opinion changes next week, given the stellar competition that includes (Todd) Gurley and (Drew) Brees," adds USA Today's Jarrett Bell. "Maybe not, as the kid keeps showing up. A first-year starter as quarterback? Hey, Mahomes is like the new Kurt Warner."Paul Domowitch of the Philadelphia Daily News opts for Brees. Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk prefers Gurley.Don't forget about Tom Brady, Adam Thielen or Philip Rivers http://www.authenticsneworleanssaints.com/cheap-alex-okafor-jersey , and perhaps even a defensive force such as J.J. Watt.COACHAnother wide-open field headed by, according to Jenny Vrentas of Monday Morning Quarterback, Kansas City's Andy Reid."I selected Andy Reid ... for his ability to seamlessly transition from Alex Smith to Mahomes," Vrentas explains. "He's been so invested in Mahomes' development that he sits with him on the bench in between offensive series, going over what they see and how they'll attack the opponent next. Reid has demonstrated an ability to keep his offense fresh and tailored to his players, updating his West Coast system with spread concepts pulled from the college ranks."Bob Glauber of Newsday points to last year's winner, Sean McVay of the Rams."He's one of the brightest minds in the game, and at 32, is proving not only to be a brilliant play caller, but an exceptional leader as well," Glauber says.Not far behind in our little poll: the Saints' Sean Payton, the Texans' Bill O'Brien, the Bears' Matt Nagy, and the Chargers' Anthony Lynn, whose team "plays a road game every week," Lofton notes.COMEBACK PLAYERRarely has there been such an impressive group vying for an award no one really wants to win considering the implications of a comeback.From Watt to Peterson to Aaron Rodgers, from Andrew Luck to Carson Wentz to Deshaun Watson Youth Ryan Ramczyk Jersey , from Odell Beckham Jr. to Richard Sherman 鈥?WOW!"It's either Andrew Luck or Watt," says Williams, "but Watt has returned to being one of the best at his position. He is playing at an All-Pro and Pro Bowl level. Luck is not one of the top-five quarterbacks in the NFL and maybe not in the top 10."Eric Adelson of Yahoo Sports goes for the Colts quarterback."Can't imagine the frustration he's faced," Adelson says. "A pro's pro."Vrentas picks Watt."The surgery Watt had last October to put his leg back together after a tibial plateau fracture was so complicated that the surgeons couldn't even be certain that it would work, and that his leg would be able to bear the full weight of his body while running full speed," she explains. "Watt, who has nine sacks in nine games, was undeterred. He wasn't back to full strength in the season opener but has steadily gotten better each week, a scary thought for opponents."OFFENSIVE PLAYERAnother free-for-all, with Gurley, Mahomes, Thielen, Brees, Michael Thomas and James Conner getting consideration."Before it's done, he could wind up as MVP," Bell says of Gurley, his choice in this category. "Ditto for Brees. Running backs don't get the same love as quarterbacks in the pass-centric environment of the NFL. But if Gurley breaks LaDainian Tomlinson's single-season TD record and the Rams keep winning big Youth Marcus Williams Jersey , people will have to take notice. Then again, Brees has a few records and has never been MVP."Domowitch, a Brees supporter for MVP, puts Mahomes here. So does Williams.DEFENSIVE PLAYERThis category could be a two-horse race between a pair of thoroughbreds previously honored with the award: Aaron Donald and Watt."Now that's a man who don't need no stinking training camp," Bell says of Donald.Eric Adelson of Yahoo Sports prefers Donald, as well."A game wrecker on every down," Adelson says.Adds Glauber: "Donald is a disruptive force in the middle and already has 10 sacks. The only problem for him 鈥?and the Rams 鈥?is that teams will often go to great lengths to shut him down. Thus, the constant double teams he has to fight through."Lofton likes what Khalil Mack has done in Chicago: "Mack turned the Bears from pretenders to contenders." But this train could be a runaway for Donald and Mack.OFFENSIVE ROOKIENo contest."He's the only good thing going for an awful Giants team," Glauber says of Giants RB Saquon Barkley. "Until the Giants figure out their quarterback situation, he'll be wasted in this offense."But not lost in the awards prognostications."On pace for more than 2,000 total yards 鈥?on a bad team," Adelson notes.DEFENSIVE ROOKIEChargers safety Derwin James has gotten lots of love, but there's no runaway leader."Darius Leonard and Denzel Ward make this an interesting race for the award down the stretch," Williams says.Glauber leans to Leonard: "Halfway through the season, he not only led all NFL rookies with 88 tackles, he led all NFL players in that category. He also has four sacks and three forced fumbles and has already won defensive rookie of the week honors twice." www.nflshopoutlet.com/baltimore-ravens
TAMPA www.saintsauthorizedshops.com , Fla. (AP) — The Buccaneers pulled off the biggest upset of the opening week of the NFL season, beating the Saints in a high-scoring shootout. Three months later, neither team is looking back.New Orleans (10-2) is on the verge of clinching another NFC South title. Tampa Bay (5-7) is trying to escape a deep hole and climb back into playoff contention.“It does feel like it’s been quite a while,” Saints coach Sean Payton said, reflecting on his team’s 48-40 loss to the Bucs in Week 1.“Obviously, a lot’s taken place since then. We will be seeing a different quarterback in this game,” Payton added. “I think there are some similarities relative to what the teams do scheme-wise and yet through the course of the season, there’s been injuries, new players playing at different positions for both sides and a big enough gap to where you’re watching a lot of other tape, not just the tape of your past game.”That’s life in the NFL, which doesn’t afford much time to dwell on wins or losses.When the division rivals meet again Sunday, the Saints will be eager to rebound from a 13-10 road loss to Dallas that stopped a 10-game winning streak.The Bucs beat Carolina 24-17 last week, improving to 2-0 since Jameis Winston regained Tampa Bay’s starting quarterback job.“You don’t win 10 straight in this league if you’re not pretty good,” Bucs coach Dirk Koetter said, cautioning against reading too much into New Orleans’ only loss since Ryan Fitzpatrick led Tampa Bay past the Saints on Sept. 9.“As we’ve said many times New Orleans Saints Womens T-Shirt , this is a week-to-week league and there’s good players on both sides,” Koetter added. “I don’t think the Saints are going to be losing too much sleep over losing (and) being 10-2.”New Orleans can clinch its second straight NFC South title with a win Sunday or a Carolina loss or tie.The Bucs, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2007, have won the past two meetings in the division rivalry.“We’re playing for a lot, in the position we’re in. I think our team knows that,” Payton said.“The bottom line is we control our destiny right now,” quarterback Drew Brees said. “We win this game, we win the division and that’s the first step, first goal that we set for ourselves this season. … Then, we’ll worry about the next goal.”Some things to know about the Bucs, who won two straight after a stretch in which they dropped seven of eight games, and Saints:PERSONAL RIVALRYTop Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore could be seeking a measure of redemption when he lines up against receiver Mike Evans.A year ago, Lattimore memorably frustrated Evans to the point that the big Bucs receiver leveled the cornerback along the Tampa Bay sideline as Winston and Lattimore exchanged words. Yet, in Week 1 of this season, Evans had a huge day in the Superdome against Lattimore New Orleans Saints Hats , catching seven passes for 147 yards, highlighted by his 50-yard touchdown catch.But Lattimore, the 2017 defensive rookie of the year, has come back strong from that game and Payton was highly complimentary of his play this season while, to some extent, also excusing his Week 1 performance.“Marshon, we feel like, is one of the better corners in this league,” Payton said, “and I’m glad we have him.”IMPROVED PASS RUSHSince Week 7 when Tampa Bay fired defensive coordinator Mike Smith and promoted linebackers coach Mark Duffner as his replacement, the Bucs have the second-most sacks in the league with 24. The only team with more over that stretch is New Orleans with 25.RAIN READINESPayton tends to be very particular about reviewing weather forecasts for outdoor games and particularly so this week, where the forecast is calling for rain and some wind.“It doesn’t ‘look like’ it’s going to rain. It’s going to rain — 95 percent chance of rain. There’ll be some wind — 10 to 12 miles an hour. We know the direction; it’ll head from their locker room toward the pirate ship. I think the footing is going to be important relative to the shoes that we’re wearing.”To that end, the Saints were practicing outside Thursday, when Payton said their work included “wet ball drills, the whole 9 yards. It’s just understanding ball security New Orleans Saints Womens Hoodie , understanding the conditions.”Payton recalled that in September 2013, a Saints game at Tampa Bay was delayed by weather.“We’ve been there before when we were sent in … to go eat oranges for half an hour and then stretch and come back out and play,” he said.BALL SECURITYWinston, who sat out the season opener while serving a suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct penalty, has not turned the ball over since regaining his starting job two weeks ago. In his past three games, including starts vs. the 49ers and Panthers, the fourth-year pro completed 61 of 84 passes (72.6 percent) for 760 yards and six TDs vs. one interception for a 119.1rating. “He’s playing with a lot of confidence,” Payton said.“I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of turnovers. … (But) I think as long as Jameis continues to make good decisions, then he’s going to play good football,” Koetter said. “That’s really all we’re worried about.”POLL: Will Mark Ingram break the Saints career rushing record? We all know that Mark Ingram is suspended for the first four games of the 2018 regular season for the New Orleans Saints. There are some media pundits who believe when Mark Ingram returns in Week 5, that he be returning as Alvin Kamara’s back-up.Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY SportsThat’s not necessarily a knock on Ingram. It’s more of a complete to Alvin Kamara.The 2017 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year could take the lead job and run with it in New Orleans for the first four games. But it’s more likely that someone like Jonathan Williams shares time with Kamara in the backfield rather than Kamara shouldering all of the load himself.But whether Ingram comes back in his 50/50 timeshare with Kamara, or if Ingram comes back as a role-player, he’ll have a lot of ground to make up if he wants to eclipse the 1,000 yard rushing mark again. But 1,000 yards isn’t the biggest magic number for Ingram in 2018. It’s actually 734 - well Womens Customized New Orleans Saints Jerseys , 735.That’s how many yards Ingram is behind Deuce McAllister for the Saints all-time rushing record. With Ingram currently at 5,362, it takes 735 yards to pass Deuce in the Saints record books. That equates to only 62 yards per game the rest of the season.But if Ingram were to come back from his suspension on a path similar to Willie Snead last year, Ingram just won’t be able to hit that number.So, what says you Who Dat Nation? Will Mark Ingram break Deuce’s career rushing record? Or will injuries, poor performance, or Kamara stealing all of the touches, keep the ellusive record in the hands of Deuuuuce?Ingram is a free agent at the end of 2018. With Kamara looking like the long-term back of the future (and with the Saints unlikely to pay Ingram’s market value in free agency with other, more pressing needs and limited cap space), it’s going to be now or never for Ingram. Custom Washington Redskins Jerseys
When the Vikings took the field in Detroit Sunday Andrew Sendejo Jersey , the Lions were the only team in the NFC North Mike Zimmer had a losing record against since becoming their head coach, going 4-5.For nearly thirty minutes, it looked like it would move to 4-6, as the Vikings offense couldn’t do anything well, except go three and out, while a couple untimely penalties on the defense extended drives and allowed the Lions to jump out to a 9-0 lead.But the offense finally got it together, and when Kyle Rudolph caught a Kirk Cousins Hail Mary to end the first half, everybody lost their minds in Detroit, Rock City, and the Vikes pulled away on the second half for a 27-9 win. Didn’t they, Kiss?I feel uptight on a Saturday nightNine o’ clock, the radio’s the only lightI hear my song and it pulls me throughComes on strong, tells me what I gotta doI got to...Get up!Everybody’s gonna move their feetGet down!Everybody’s gonna leave their seatYou gotta lose your mind in Detroit, Rock CityThe SMR that’s gonna take the first half of the column off follows.Blue Chip Stocks:Kyle Rudolph, TE: Yes, Rudolph had 2 TD’s and over 100 yards receiving, but it was his Hail Mary catch to end the first half that sparked the Vikings and got the offense out of their doldrums.Up until that play the Vikings had done virtually nothing, and had once again run a fairly wretched two minute drill. All of that washed away with the Hail Rudy Cheap Harrison Smith Jersey , momentum switched over to the Vikings, and they never looked back.Kirk Cousins, QB: Cousins overcame a slow start to go 21-28 for 253 yards and three TD’s. For as bad as the Vikings played for about 25 minutes in the first half, when the switch came on for Cousins it stayed on, and didn’t come off. On the season he’s completed over 70% of his pases, has 29 TD passes, and thrown for over 4,000 yards, numbers not seen since the days of Brett Favre’s Deal WIth the Devil season of 2009. He’s had a pretty remarkable year, and can get the Vikings into the playoffs with another strong performance next Sunday.Solid Investments:Dalvin Cook, RB: Like the rest of the offense, Cook looked like he was moving in cement early on, but came on with a strong second half, running with authority, and had a touchdown taken off the board on a nice catch and run. He had some impressive runs in the second half, and 58 of his 73 yards came in the last two stanzas.Holton Hill, CB: It’s been a hell of an ask to put an undrafted free agent into a starting role, and Hill has embraced the opportunity. I think he’s a better cornerback than Xavier Rhodes right now Cheap Linval Joseph Jersey , and with every game his play seems to get better and better. If you want a PhD in how to be a defensive back, come to Minnesota.Mackensie Alexander, CB: Like Hill, Alexander has really playing good football for the past month. In the first half, when the Vikings seemed to be sleep walking through the game, Alexander seemed to be the only one consistently stepping up and making a play when it needed to be made. Things looked bleak for depth when Mike Hughes was lost with a torn ACL, but Mac and Hill are both playing some really good football right now.Junk Bonds:Mike Remmers, G: I haven’t seen the PFF grades, so maybe he grades out well in run blocking. But Remmers looked overmatched whenever I noticed him, and once again he was called for two or three really untimely penalties. Maybe it’s me, but I think the move to guard has been a failed experiment with Remmers, and this is a position that will need to be addressed in the off-season.Buy/Sell:Buy: The Hail Mary. I think the last time the Vikings had a Hail Mary to end a half was against the Saints in the 1987 playoffs. I didn’t see it coming at all, but Rudolph just went up and grabbed it. It was a great play, and it was really needed.Sell: Needing a Hail Mary. But you could argue it shouldn’t have been needed. The Lions are terrible, are dealing with a ton of injuries, and have nothing to play for. Had Minnesota come out and started the game like they started the second half, it would have been over by halftime. And take the Hail Rudy out of the equation, this game is a nail biter Cheap Laquon Treadwell Jersey , when it shouldn’t have been.Buy: The defense not letting the game get out of hand in the first half. Early on, the game felt like it was getting ready to veer out of control, but the defense kept it together and kept Detroit out of the end zone. 9-0 was a lot better to come back from than 17-0 or 21-0, and even though they had a couple bad penalties called on them that kept drives alive, they never gave up a backbreaking play.Sell: The offense not able to anything for most of the first half. The Vikings went three and out on offense in their first four possessions and managed a grand total of five yards of offense. How is that even possible? With players like Cousins, Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, and Dalvin Cook, it feels like you almost have to try to be that bad. Seriously. If they make the playoffs and start a game that way they’re getting run out of the stadium. Furthermore, they had a chance (with some help) to clinch a playoff spot, but for about the first 25 minutes they played like they were more concerned about tee times in week 18 than playing football. Buy: The Vikings going to the playoffs. It’s simple for the Vikings, as they control their own destiny: Win next week and they’re in the playoffs, and they’ll either go to Dallas or Chicago. They’ll be at home, where they generally play much better football, too.Sell: The Vikings going to the playoffs. But...it’s against the Bears, it’s going to be a high stakes game, and if they lose they go home. these games always make me nervous. But I’d rather be watching my team play with the playoffs at stake than for nothing at all. On Thursday afternoon at the Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center, Minnesota Vikings’ head coach Mike Zimmer gave his season-ending press conference. The presser was a mix of questions about some of the events of the 2018 season and a look ahead to 2019 http://www.vikingscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-danielle-hunter-jersey , specifically some of the issues about the offensive coordinator spot.We’ll probably do separate posts about a couple of the specific things that Mike Zimmer said in his press conference, but for now we wanted to give everyone the opportunity to read everything that the coach had to say. You can watch the video of his press conference below (it starts about 11 minutes in, as the early portion is preparation and reporters milling about and such), or you can read the transcript underneath. Enjoy, everyone!We started our evaluations from this past season trying to look back at everything that went on and where we need to go from here. There were a lot of good things that happened. Unfortunately, we didn’t reach the goals that we wanted to. It was disappointing we ended up finishing that way. But there are a lot of good, positive things. We finished top five in defense again. We finished number one in red zone defense. Finished number one in third down defense again. There are a lot of good things. There are a lot of things we have to get cleaned up. Like I told the team the other day, we are going to evaluate everything very thoroughly, including myself, and everywhere that we are going to go from there.Q: What does that mean to you when the way players are supporting you and ownership?Q: How are you looking at the offensive coordinator position?Q: How does it complicate Kevin Stefanski not being under contract and being able to talk to teams?Q: Did your team’s identity change this year?Q: What is important for the next offensive coordinator and what kind of things do you want to see that person bring to the table?Q: What have you learned from the experience this year of hiring John DeFilippo new and then having to make that change in the middle of the season?Q: Are you talking about the interviews for prospective offensive coordinator candidates?Q: Do you feel like you missed something in that process?Q: Are you concerned about Kirk Cousins’ performances in big games and clutch situations?Q: In what ways did Kirk Cousins live up to your expectations and what you would like to see him improve on?Q: Was his play this season what you expected from him?Q: Is it as simple as great offensive line play and is that the most difficult thing to do is draft and build the offensive line?Q: How much of a premium needs to be placed on improving the offensive line?Q: In terms of support from ownership, would you be comfortable in a scenario where you coached into the final year of your contract without an extension?Q: Was there any part of you that considered retiring?Q: With the eye issues that you went through two years ago, was this season as stressful as that one was?Q: What do you think is one of the main things you lacked compared to playoff teams this year?Q: Could it have just been the wide spread assumption that you were just going to take the next step forward?Q: Beyond the offensive coordinator, do you anticipate any other changes to the coaching staff?Q: When you say you’re going to get it back, how do you get it back?Q: Care to share?Q: What were some of the things in preseason that you were concerned about that came to fruition?Q: Given the way the team was able to bounce back from a disappointing 2016 season to perform well in 2017, what can you take from that example to prepare for 2019?Q: Has the up and down outcomes of the past several seasons concerned you?Q: Was being on the opposite side of most playoff teams by running for less yards than you allowed a reason you changed coordinators?Q: Do you put any more weight on coaching candidates who you’ve worked with in the past?Q: Is it a priority for you to bring someone in that has that mentality and approach like Tony Sparano?Q: How did you navigate the season without him personally without having that voice and ear of Tony Sparano?Q: Was there ever a time that you missed the voices of veterans like Brian Robison, Joe Berger and Terence Newman switching roles in adversity?Q: Do players lobby or try to be vocal about things they would like?
While the Minnesota Vikings are searching for an offensive line coach http://www.vikingscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-trae-waynes-jersey , they now have another vacancy on their sideline to deal with.Numerous sources on social media are reporting that Special Teams Coach Mike Priefer will not return to the Vikings for the 2019 season.Priefer has been the Vikings’ Special Teams Coach since 2011. During that time, he’s coached a couple of the better return artists in team history in Cordarrelle Patterson and Marcus Sherels (and, briefly, Percy Harvin). Some of the other parts of the special teams have had their issues, though, most notably the kicking game where missed field goals and extra points have been a regular occurrence. Priefer also served as interim head coach for a 2016 game against the Dallas Cowboys following one of Mike Zimmer’s eye surgeries.The thing that Priefer is best known for. . .outside of Minnesota Cheap Mike Hughes Jersey , anyway. . .were the homophobic remarks that he made in a Vikings’ special teams meeting back in 2013. Those comments drew the ire of then-punter Chris Kluwe, and eventually led to Priefer being suspended for three games in 2014.Obviously, there is no word yet on who could potentially be tapped to take Priefer’s place on the Vikings’ sidelines, but as soon as we start hearing names or anything of that nature we will bring them to you here. When the home teams were announced for the NFL’s 2019 International Series a few weeks ago, we speculated about whether or not the Minnesota Vikings would be making another overseas trip. One of the teams on the Vikings’ 2019 road schedule, the Los Angeles Chargers Cheap Dalvin Cook Jersey , was set to serve as the “home” team for an International Series game in Mexico City, so there was at least a chance that the Vikings were going to be a part of it.Well, on Monday the NFL announced the five matchups for the International Series, and the Vikings are not going to be a part of it this season. The Chargers’ game in Mexico City will see them taking on their division rivals, the Kansas City Chiefs.The dates for the International Series games have not been announced, but here are the matchups for the four London Games:Carolina Panthers “at” Tampa Bay BuccaneersChicago Bears “at” Oakland RaidersCincinnati Bengals “at” Los Angeles RamsHouston Texans “at” Jacksonville JaguarsThe NFL mandated that both of the Los Angeles teams host International Series games this year because of a delay in getting their new Matt Wile Jersey , shared stadium constructed. As for the Raiders, at this point nobody seems to be 100% sure where they’re playing any of their home games this season, and the Buccaneers and Jaguars both have strong London connections through their ownership.So, if you were getting ready to get your passport stamped to go see the Vikings in 2019, you don’t have to worry about it for the time being.