Defending Super Bowl champion Rams open season as underdogs
Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald and the Los Angeles Rams will raise their Super Bowl banner Thursday night before kicking off the NFL season at home where they became the second straight team to hoist the Vince Lombardi trophy in their own stadium.
NFL suspends Dolphins owner Ross and takes away draft picks for tampering with Brady, Payton
The NFL has suspended Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and fined him $1.5 million for tampering with Tom Brady and Sean Payton following a six-month investigation stemming from Brian Flores’ racial discrimination lawsuit against the league.
New this week: 'Ice Age,' Kevin James and 'The Gilded Age'
This week’s new entertainment releases include a new album from the legendary group The Temptations, the latest addition to the animated “Ice Age” franchise and a new series on HBO by “Downton Abbey” creator Julian Fellowes called “The Gilded Age” and starring Carrie Coon, Morgan Spector, Cynthia Nixon and Christine Baranski.
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Jones, Smith, Harris reconnect at Alabama's pro day No. 2
Patrick Surtain II and Mac Jones had the spotlight at Alabama's Pro Day, Tuesday, March 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)DeVonta Smith was there for quarterback Mac Jones once again, this time it was at Alabama's latest pro day. “He didn't have to do that,” Jones told the SEC Network, which aired the pro day. '”Jones showcased his arm strength a week after participating in the Crimson Tide's first pro day. “Mac was just on me like, ‘Bro, come catch, come catch, come catch,’” Smith told the network.
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Winston re-joins Saints for 2021 after Brees retirement
(AP Photo/Jason Behnken, File)NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Saints are bringing back quarterback Jameis Winston on a one-year contract. Brady led the Buccaneers to the franchise's second Super Bowl victory while Winston served as a backup for the NFC South Division champion Saints. Winston played only sparingly in his first season in New Orleans, even when Brees missed four games with rib and lung injuries. In all, Winston appeared in four regular season games for New Orleans, completing 7-of-11 passes for 75 yards. “One thing I’m really excited to learn — the most exciting thing — the way this quarterback room functions,” Winston said last April.
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Record-setting Saints QB Brees announces retirement at 42
It marked the second straight season Brees had to miss part of a season with an injury after missing just one game because of injury in the previous 13. Saints coach Sean Payton said Brees had plenty of other injuries or ailments during his Saints tenure, but willed himself to play through them whenever possible. AdThe storm had forced the Saints to play all of their 2005 games outside New Orleans, and the Saints finished that season 3-13. That would be the first of nine seasons in which Brees led the Saints to the playoffs. Indeed, the hallmarks of Brees’ career have been his decision-making, timing and accuracy.
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Gutsy or insane? Depends on the outcome of tough calls
“My coaches were on board, they all did a great job with the spot, with the calls, everything — they were spot-on. It was a great job.”That play is part of a pick-6 of great jobs — and great flops — with gutsy calls. PHILLY SPECIALThe Eagles led New England by three points approaching halftime in the Super Bowl for the 2017 season. Philadelphia went on to win its first Super Bowl. The Packers then won their second Super Bowl.
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Saints' Brees sees playoff clash with Brady's Bucs as fate
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) reacts after a touchdown by Alvin Kamara in the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Chicago Bears in New Orleans, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)NEW ORLEANS – Drew Brees periodically discusses his long, extraordinary NFL journey in terms of fate and destiny. “Other than that, there’s not a lot of bad about” the Saints, Brady said. I think the quarterback-receiver relationship is really important.”Still, no defense has had more success against Brady this season than the Saints. The Saints gained 2,265 yards rushing during the regular season and added another 123 yards in their playoff opener against Chicago's formidable front.
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Curious calls by Sean Payton, Jon Gruden highlight Week 16
Let’s start with:PAYTON’S PLANOn Christmas night, Saints running back Alvin Kamara tied a 91-year-old NFL record by rushing for six touchdowns in a 52-33 wipeout of the Minnesota Vikings. “I was thinking about our best play there,” Payton explained afterward. Payton wasn’t talking about Nevers’ record six TD runs. “A lot of these players — I’d say most of these players — have no idea how good Gale Sayers was,” said Payton. “It was a great moment.”Brees said Payton mentioned Sayers’ mark before the Saints’ last touchdown drive.
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Kamara's 6 TDs tie NFL record; Saints beat Vikings 52-33
New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) breaks free past Minnesota Vikings cornerback Cameron Dantzler (27), outside linebacker Eric Wilson (50) and defensive end D.J. He finished with a career-high 155 yards rushing to help New Orleans beat the Minnesota Vikings 52-33 on Friday and clinch a fourth straight NFC South title. He has since set Saints records for rushing TDs in a season with 16 and total TDs with 21 (he has five receiving). It would be 8-yard gain, 7-yard gain.”The Saints (11-4) never punted, and set a record of yards gained in a game by a Vikings opponent with 583. New Orleans' 264 yards rushing were the most by a Vikings opponent in Zimmer's seven seasons.
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Payton: Saints plan to start Brees against Chiefs
FILE - In this Sept. 21, 2020 file photo, New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton, right, speak with quarterback Drew Brees (9) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken, File)NEW ORLEANS – Saints record-setting quarterback Drew Brees “looked good” in his first practices since returning from rib fractures and a punctured lung, and is slated to start against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, coach Sean Payton said. Even before Brees' injury, Hill would intermittently take snaps under center to provide New Orleans' with a change-of-pace, read-option QB. Payton said Brees would be wearing a protective vest over his torso, but the coach dismissed the idea that the Saints were rushing the 41-year-old QB back from injury. “We wouldn’t be playing him if he wasn’t healthy and able to function and feeling good and recovered,” Payton said.
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AP source: Saints' Brees has rib fractures, collapsed lung
(AP Photo/Butch Dill)NEW ORLEANS – Drew Brees has been diagnosed with multiple rib fractures and a collapsed right lung, a person with knowledge of the situation said Monday. Brees' injuries, which were first reported by ESPN, are expected to sideline the quarterback for multiple weeks. Saints coach Sean Payton said Monday he would not comment on any injuries before the first required injury report of this week on Wednesday. Street got a clean shot on Brees, de-cleated the quarterback and came down hard on the right side of Brees' torso. “In my humble opinion, saw really one flagrant hit worthy of personal foul and that was the hit on Tre'Quan,” Payton said.
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Will Lutz makes field goal in OT, Saints beat Bears 26-23
The Bears’ Cairo Santos made a 51-yard field goal at the end of regulation to force the extra period. He came through with his fourth field goal on a windy day, sending the Bears (5-3) to their second straight loss. “My gut, we’re on the field and I feel like we can kick a field goal at that distance without risking any ball-security issues,” Payton said. Marshon Lattimore then intercepted Nick Foles, leading to a tiebreaking field goal by Lutz. After the Saints went three-and-out, Chicago tied it with 13 seconds left on Santos’ field goal into the wind.
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NFL threatening suspensions for maskless sideline personnel
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden celebrates after defeating the New Orleans Saints in an NFL football game, Monday, Sept. 21, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)The NFL is threatening teams with possible suspensions for sideline personnel, including coaches, who do not properly wear face coverings during the pandemic. In a memo obtained by The Associated Press, Troy Vincent, who oversees NFL football operations, told the 32 teams Wednesday that “accountability” is required on the sidelines. But there still have been more instances of coaches and sideline personnel either wearing the masks or gaiters improperly or basically using them as scarves rather than as protective gear. Selective or inconsistent compliance threatens to undermine fan confidence in our health and safety protocols and the competitive fairness and integrity of the NFL season.”___More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
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AP source: Gruden, Payton fined for not wearing masks
Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden celebrates after defeating the New Orleans Saints in an NFL football game, Monday, Sept. 21, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)LAS VEGAS – Two more NFL head coaches and their teams have been fined for not wearing masks on the sideline. A person with knowledge of the punishment said Tuesday that Jon Gruden of the Raiders and Sean Payton of the Saints were each fined $100,000 for not wearing masks on the sideline on Monday night. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the league wasn’t announcing specific fines, said the teams were also fined $250,000 for the infractions. NFL Network and ESPN first reported the fines for Gruden and Payton.
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AP source: NFL fines 3 coaches, clubs for unmasked coaches
(AP Photo/Don Wright)A person with knowledge of the punishment tells The Associated Press that at least three NFL head coaches have been fined $100,000 for violating the league’s rules that they wear face coverings on the sideline. More fines could be coming as several other coaches violated the league's rules requiring coaches to wear coverings over their mouths and noses at all times. Gruden wore his face mask like a chin strap and Payton wore his gaiter like a turtleneck. If the fines, which were earlier reported by ESPN and NFL Network, prove ineffective, the league could hand out stronger discipline. ___Follow Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton___More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
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NFL to use advisory committee to avoid conflicts of interest
FILE - In this May 22, 2019, file photo, Troy Vincent, NFL executive vice president, speaks to the media during the owners meetings in Key Biscayne, Fla. The NFL will consult an advisory committee made up of former coaches, general managers and players on such issues as postponing, moving or even canceling games this season due to the coronavirus pandemic. Vincent said Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020 that the advisers, who will report to Commissioner Roger Goodell, will help avoid any inequities in those decisions. Vincent did not identify any members of the panel, saying he was awaiting their approval to do so. Dr. Allen Sills, the league's chief medical officer, noted that setting firm schedules for anything during the pandemic is foolhardy.
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Doug Pederson says he feels great, has no COVID-19 symptoms
PHILADELPHIA Eagles coach Doug Pederson says he feels great and has no symptoms after testing positive for the coronavirus. Im very fortunate.The 52-year-old Pederson enters his fifth season as Philadelphias head coach. I think one of the things Ive learned this offseason is, I can still run the team virtually, Pederson said. The list is for players who either test positive or have been exposed to someone who has. Pederson is the second NFL head coach known to test positive.
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Saints' Payton: More 'live' football planned this preseason
NEW ORLEANS Saints coach Sean Payton prefers not to use the term training camp to describe how hes trying to prepare his club for this pandemic-altered NFL season. So, were going to approach it differently, Payton said Wednesday, noting that one big change would be more scrimmaging and other live scenarios during practices. You have to, at some point, play football if youre getting ready to play a football game.The Saints have a history of finding undrafted rookie free agents who become regular contributors. The Saints went 13-3 that season and set an NFL record for offensive yards in a season with 7,474. Players wont be in pads until Aug. 17, Payton said, but added, well be in full pads every day that were allowed.

Drew Brees having surgery on injured right hand
She's spending the day, or much of it, with her husband Drew at a Los Angeles hospital, where the New Orleans Saints quarterback is having surgery on his injured thumb. Saints head coach Sean Payton said Wednesday morning that the team doesn't plan to put the future Hall of Famer on the injured reserve list. Only two players on the injured reserve list who are designated to return can be brought back during the season, but only after eight weeks. Russell Wilson, the starting quarterback for the Seahawks, tweeted a video at Brees. Brees has been the team's starting quarterback since 2006 and led them to their only Super Bowl title in 2010.