By: Jake Rajala

The New Orleans Saints have a plethora of talent on offense and defense. Nonetheless, let’s not forget about the Saints unbelievable special team unit. The Saints possess a gifted undrafted kicker in Will Lutz and an unusually talented, undrafted punter in Blake Gillikin.

In the latest pre-season exhibition, the Saints kicker and punter blew away the audience. Lutz converted a career-long field goal attempt of 59 yards against the Pack. Gillikin even unleashed an 81-yard punt — which warranted a “random” drug test afterward. It would be an understatement to say the Saints have a lot of potential at their kicker and punter spot.

It’s clear that the Saints are delighted to have Lutz back in the lineup — after he missed the entire 2021 season. Lutz, who needs a cool nickname, has made one Pro Bowl in his career (which came in 2019). His best FG% of 93.3% arrived in 2018. His worst FG% of 82.1% came in 2020. Still, it’s clear that Lutz is healthy, hungry, and off to an excellent start in 2022.

Lutz – who really needs a cool nickname – will be a free agent in the 2024 off-season.

The Saints 24-year-old punter, also known as the Arnold Schwarzenegger of punters, ousted 83 punts and averaged 47.7 yards per punt in 2021. Furthermore, he won NFC special teams player of the month last October. It wouldn’t be an easy task for Gillikan to replace the mythical Thomas Morstead, but he surely did an admirable job last season. PFF slabbed him as the tenth-best punter a season ago.

The Saints didn’t only miss half their players on offense and defense (figuratively) last season, but they also desperately missed their kicker from Georgia State University. The Saints arguably lost their pivotal match-up against the Tennessee Titans due to Brian Johnson missing two extra attempts. Lutz’s consistency in converting extra points and long-range field goals will be a massive boost to the Saints winning chances moving forward. Of course, the Saints surprising dangerous punter will look to climb the ladder and make his first Pro Bowl in 2022, as well.

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By: Jake Rajala

The New Orleans Saints traveled to the Frozen tundra to battle the Green Bay Packers in Week 2 of the preseason. The Packers ultimately won the contest by a score of 20-10. With that said, I’m going to untwine five takeaways from the Packers-Saints showdown.

• Will Lutz is back!

The Saints kicker with a big leg, Will Lutz, sadly missed the entire 2021 season via a core injury. Well, it’s safe to say that the Saints are happy to have a healthy Will Lutz. The Saints kicker nicely converted a 59-yard field goal on the day.

• Romeo Doubs shines

The Packers unsung wideout Romeo Doubs has been effective this summer and he stood out (yet again) against the Saints with an impressive touchdown reception. Christian Watson may have the rookie spotlight. However, let’s not forget about Doub’s ability to wreak havoc.

• Ian Book shows his versatility

The Saints fourth-round pick in 2021, Ian Book, had an admirable all-around performance against the Pack (113 passing yds, 1 passing TD, 1 Int, 7 carries for 49 rushing yds). He had a monster run for 27 yds and he also unleashed a beautiful touchdown pass to the first-round rookie from Ohio State University Chris Olave.

• Danny Etling runs angry

The Packers QB Danny Etling mopped the floor against the Saints defense with an unearthly 51-yard touchdown run. He ran a 4.76 40-yard dash at the 2018 scouting combine, but it’s clear that he may be scarier than his 40-time. His long play also garnered an amazing reaction from the Packers MVP QB Aaron Rodgers.

• Taco Friday

The Saints edge rusher Taco Charlton is buried on the depth chart at DE. Nonetheless, he is playing with his hair on fire – as he logged a nice sack. Charlton registered a personal-best five sacks and two forced fumbles in 2019.

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By: Jake Rajala

The New Orleans Saints have won the NFC South in four of the past five seasons. They have also won the division with Tom Brady as a divisional foe (2020). The Saints were faced with the El Capitan mountain last season, but they impressively finished with a 9-8 record. I believe the non-Sean Payton-led Saints shouldn’t quietly be NFC South favorites in 2022.

The Saints were 5-2 last season with a healthy Jameis Winston. They were in first place in the NFC South and they also edged out the “alpha” Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 8 (Winston’s last game in 2021). Their two losses with Winston came against the Panthers coach-less fiasco, where the Panthers were utterly blitz-happy, and against the underdog New York Giants squad in overtime.

In 2022, the NFC South has a different and potentially more fragile outlook. The Atlanta Falcons lost Matt Ryan, the Panthers will likely start Sam Darnold at QB, and the Buccaneers will lose a few veterans this offseason. The Bucs will still have TB12, but they will likely not have Ndamukong Suh (6 sacks last season), Jason Pierre-Paul, AB, and Gronk may retire this offseason. According to Sports Illustrated, Gronkowski is really undecided on the 2022 season.

It’s clear that the Saints haven’t only beaten Brady in each of the last four playoff contests, but the Bucs could have less juice to edge out the Saints in 2022. I also don’t foresee the Saints going 2-2 against the Falcons and Panthers for the second straight season. The Panthers also had a very fluky victory against the Saints in their first contest last season, while the Falcons had an incredible comeback victory against NO led by Matt Ryan in the first half of 2021. The Saints should be able to beat the Panthers with coaches next season and I like their chances to edge out the Falcons without Ryan.

The Saints should be a tougher team beat outside of the division next season. The return of Michael Thomas can’t be underestimated. Up until Week 8, Jameis Winston was efficient and the Saints defense was elite in numerous categories, but the 32nd ranked passing attack will largely benefit from MT. The Saints will also have an underrated improvement in special teams, as Will Lutz will return healthy. Dennis Allen’s squad doesn’t have to play musical chairs at the kicker position with free agents.

The Saints would have most likely beaten the Tennessee Titans with Trevor Sieman and an average kicking performance. Yet, Brian Johnson (Lutz’s replacement) missed two extra points against the Titans and the Saints lost 23-21 against the Titans. The Saints were forced to attempt a game-tying two-point conversion against the Titans with 1:16 left in the game, but they were unsuccessful in their efforts.

I fully expect the Saints to surprise the NFL world in the Brees/Payton-less era. Thomas may often be unpopular on Twitter, but he can certainly be an elite wideout with the speed-demon Deonte Harris for Winston. I expect the Saints to grow from their early 2021 version and potentially be a Top 3 NFC seed next season. The Saints finished 12-4 in 2020, while the Brady bunch finished 11-5 in the same season. I expect the 2020 outcome from the two NFC South heavyweights to be similar next season.

The post Why the Saints can really win the NFC South in 2022 appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

The Dallas Cowboys recently released Greg Zuerlein, also known as “Greg the Leg”. The former Los Angeles Rams legendary kicker will look forward to being a potent kicker for his third team in the league. The 34-year-old kicker still has plenty of talent, but the loaded Boys roster is looking to open up space.

Zuerlein has made an All-Pro team (2017), he’s been named special teams player of the month twice, and he boasts a career field goal percentage of 82.243%. It’s clear that he will have plenty of suitors in 2022. With that said, here are the top landing spots for Zuerlein.

• Arizona Cardinals

The AZ Cardinals were a loaded roster in 2021, but they were missing elite talent at the vital kicker position. Matt Prater missed seven field goals last season (two more than Prater) and he was disappointing in big moments. He was only 50% in field goals from the 40 to 49 range leading up to late December, according to Raising Zona. Greg the Leg would provide excellent competition on a cheaper contract for the ascending Cardinals squad.

• New Orleans Saints

It would be poetic if the former Rams kicker that delivered a death blow joined the hungry New Orleans Saints team. They desperately missed a modest kicker after Will Lutz was placed on IR early in the 2021 season. It’s not clear if the young Saints kicker will return to being a better-than-average kicker after numerous injuries in the past 12 months. It would be wise if the creative Saints that are still not wealthy brought in a cheaper, gifted kicker this offseason.

• Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys are a superb NFC squad that is aching for a kicker after they cut Zuerlein. They could bring back the Pro Bowl special teamer on a cheap deal soon. The former Cowboys K may not be head over heels to find a new home at this point in his career and there may be mutual interest for a reunion with Greg and the Cowboys. If the Boys want to bring in a young, unproven kicker, it may be wise to bring in familiar, competition in Zuerlein (if he is available and open to returning).

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