The difficulty of picking the duds from a Week 7 loss to the Arizona Cardinals wasn't necessarily finding them, it was deciding who stood out the most in another painful loss.
In the latest episode of Inside Black & Gold, Jeff Nowak and Steve Geller lay out their studs and duds from a 42-34 drubbing out in the desert.
Listen to the full breakdown in the player below. Can't see the embed? Click here for more and the rest of Monday's episode.
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Jeff's stud: CB Alontae Taylor
Why: No complicated reasoning here. The rookie came off IR and was immediately thrown into the fire against DeAndre Hopkins. As Dennis Allen puts it "he freakin' fought" the whole day, and he's an easy pick in this segment.
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Steve's stud: WR/KR Rashid Shaheed
Why: For the second consecutive week the rookie speedster out of Weber State found his way into the end zone ... from a long way out. This time it was a 53-yard touchdown catch. We've got a need. A need ... for Rashid.
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Jeff's dud: WR Marquez Callaway
Why: Going into the game, if you'd asked me who I thought was the most sure-handed of the WRs that were available out in Arizona, I'd have told you Callaway. But it was Callaway's hands that let him down on a tipped ball for a pick-6. He also couldn't hang on to a ball on the sideline a play before the second pick-6 that really decided the game. He's a guy Andy Dalton clearly trusts, but he definitely didn't earn it in this one.
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Steve's dud: OC Pete Carmichael
Why: Where exactly was Taysom Hill in the second half of this one? Why were the Saints so aggressive in that 2-minute sequence at the end of the first half that effectively swung the game? How is that, for the second consecutive week, Rashid Shaheed touched the ball once and scored a long TD, then was never heard from again? The offense moved the ball and scored points, but I have serious questions about the playcalling.
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- Honorable mention studs: TE Juwan Johnson (2 TDs); WR Chris Olave (7 catches for 106 yards)
- Honorable mention duds: Interior defensive line (127 rushing yards and 2 TDs allowed on 29 carries ... not good enough)
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