Saints fans received exciting news yesterday with star wide receiver Michael Thomas returning to practice.
Legendary former black and gold running back and WWL Radio color analyst Deuce McAllister said it’s great to have Thomas back, but fans should expect the team to ramp up his snap count early in the season. He might not get a full workload in Week 1.
“To have Michael Thomas, even if he may not be 100%, I think that’s a win for the New Orleans Saints,” McAllister said. “You have to be careful with his snap counts. If you have 70 offensive plays, you probably want to use him on about 35-40 of those plays, and let him build up. His impact could be huge for this team.”
Listen to the full interview with Deuce McAllister in the player below. Can't see the embed? Click here.
Atlanta head coach Arthur Smith’s connection with current starting quarterback Marcus Mariota goes back to their days with the Tennessee Titans. Mariota was drafted with the second-overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft and stayed with the Titans until 2020. Smith was the tight ends coach at Tennessee from 2015-2018 before spending the 2019 and 2020 seasons as the team’s offensive coordinator.
Though Ryan Tannehill overtook Mariota for the Titans’ starting quarterback job in 2019, Smith still used him in run-pass option packages similar to how the Oregon Ducks utilized him in his college days. Smith knows what Mariota can achieve as the leader of an offense, and McAllister said the Saints’ defense needs to stay disciplined in Week 1.
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“You have to understand what type of offense they’re going to use,” McAllister said. “If you don’t have eye discipline, you don’t stand a chance when you’re playing this type of offense.”
Mariota can affect games with his rushing ability, but the Falcons also used a third-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft on quarterback Desmond Ridder out of Cincinnati. Ridder also displays athleticism, and, despite Smith dodging questions in his latest press conference about the rookie, McAllister expects the Falcons’ game plan to include both quarterbacks.
“In my honest opinion, you will probably see both quarterbacks,” McAllister added. “They don’t have the amount of talent as some other teams, so they’ve got to get creative to generate points and stay in the games.”
The Falcons’ offensive line allowed 40 sacks in 17 games last year, and the team did little to bolster it in the off-season. There’s a clear advantage for the Saints’ defensive line to attack Mariota, but McAllister said the team needs to win on first and second down to force the Falcons into obvious passing situations.
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“You earn the right to rush the passer,” McAllister said. “If you don’t stop them on first and second down, then you don’t get a chance to get after the quarterback on third down. The clear advantage is when they’re in passing situations and they have to pass the ball. When they can do bootleg and play action, you still have to honor the threat of the run.”
McAllister said he’s also looking at defensive ends Marcus Davenport and Cam Jordan to have big games.
“They have to have four sacks or at least two tackles-for-loss via the quarterback for the Saints to be successful.”