SB Nation - Lance Moore

Drew Brees Trying To Throw The Saints Into A Win

Martin Rickman — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 17:20:02 -0000

The New Orleans Saints have had a lot to worry about in the early goings of the NFL season. The team is still dealing with the effects of the Bounty scandal and the shadow of suspended coach Sean Payton will follow the Saints every week this year.

As a result, things have been a bit rockier for the usually well-oiled New Orleans machine, with the team starting 0-2 despite being in the top 5 in the NFL in both passing and total yards and top 10 in points.

One thing we do know is that Drew Brees will just keep throwing, and results have been good so far on Sunday.

Brees has a tendency to spread his passes around the field, and Lance Moore slips under the zone coverage to make that grab in the end zone. The Saints just have so many weapons offensively; it's hard to believe the Chiefs will be able to keep up.

NFC South Free Agency: How Have The Saints, Panthers And Bucs Fared?

Alec Shirkey — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 15:01:19 -0000

What a wild week this has been! This year's super-accelerated free agency has certainly lived up to the hype, with literally hundreds of signings taking place over the past few days. With most of the action behind us, the settled dust reveals an NFC South that could be even more competitive than last season.

As I'm sure all of you know, the Falcons focused their efforts towards keeping their own and addressing their single greatest need by signing Ray Edwards. The team's MO this offseason was very typical for Thomas Dimitroff: make a "one big splash" signing while keeping your core players around, all without drawing too much attention (unlike the Eagles, who clearly stuck to the Dan Snyder philosophy of "more players equals better").

All in all, I am very pleased with the way things turned out. Now onto the rest of the NFC South:

PANTHERS
For starters, the Panthers came out guns blazing this week. Normally a fairly conservative team with super-villain Jerry Richardson at the helm, Carolina went out and signed or traded for every last tight end in the NFL. Literally, every single one:

Re-Signed DE Charles Johnson
Re-Signed RB DeAngelo Williams
Re-Signed LB Thomas Davis
Re-Signed LB James Anderson
Traded for TE Greg Olsen
Signed TE Jeremy Shockey
Signed TE Ben Hartsock
Signed K Olindo Mare

After getting into a bidding war with the Falcons over Charles Johnson, the Panthers ~~overpaid~~ ~~really overpaid~~ were able to sign the UGA alum to a six-year, $72M contract. They also managed to pry Greg Olsen away from the Bears for only a a third-round pick. Given the team's apparent success at keeping their star players around, the Panthers all of a sudden (dare I say it) look like a pretty solid team in an already stacked NFC South.
Grade: TE (a very rare grade, I only give it to teams that can sign three or more in one offseason)

SAINTS
The Saints' plan of attack turned out to be very similar to the Atlanta's, with the team electing to focus on re-signing their current players and make one or two big signings:

Re-Signed S Roman Harper
Re-Signed OT Jermon Bushrod
Re-Signed WR Lance Moore
Traded RB Reggie Bush
Signed RB Darren Sproles
Signed DT Shaun Rogers

After trading away whiny Reggie Bush, a move long expected to happen, New Orleans picked up their speedy complement to Mark Ingram in the form of Sproles. In addition, they were able to sign almost all of their players to extensions, with the one exception being FS Usama Young. The Saints also picked up Rogers, a little over the hill in my opinion, to bolster their front four.
Grade: 169 (that's the weight difference between Sproles and Rogers)

BUCCANEERS
Finally, we have Tampa Bay. After the Bucs missed out on Nnamdi and Jonathan Joseph, they chose to go the quiet route and focused on re-signing their own players:

Re-Signed G Davin Joseph
Re-Signed OT Jeremy Trueblood
Re-Signed LB Quincy Black
Signed P Michael Koenen

That's right: the Bucs, who had even more cap room than the Panthers, felt that their money would best be ~~wasted~~ spent on ex-Falcon punter Michael Koenen in the form of a six year, $19M contract. They also re-signed Joseph to a very expensive seven-year, $52.5M contract, perhaps too much for a pretty average offensive guard. Still, even with no big acquisition the Bucs remain a very talented, young and dangerous team.
Grade: ST ("Special teams wins championships," wait that's not it...)

For more on the Falcons, check out The Falcoholic. For more on the Panthers, check out Cat Scratch Reader. For more on the Saints, check out Canal Street Chronicles. For more on the Buccaneers, check out Bucs Nation.

VIDEO: Lance Moore's Tipped, Toe-Tappin' Touchdown Catch Vs. Ravens

Jason Kirk — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 21:10:36 -0000

A loss by the New Orleans Saints today would really hit the spot for Atlanta Falcons fans, as it would take quite a bit of pressure off next week's Monday Night Football game here in Atlanta. The Saints are down 27-24 to the Baltimore Ravens today, but WR Lance Moore is among the Saints putting up a fight late.

Moore caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from QB Drew Brees that was tipped by teammate WR Marques Colston over Ravens defensive backs Ed Reed and Josh Wilson. The ball fluttered up in the air before Moore grabbed it while putting his feet down in the corneriest part of the back corner.

Moore's only huge game of the season was a 149-yard, two-touchdown explosion against Atlanta in their first meeting. He also added a touchdown-enabling kickoff return deep into Falcons territory.

For more on Moore and the Saints, join Canal Street Chronicles.

Scenes From Sunday: Randy's Return, Donovan's Demotion, And More

Andrew Sharp — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:24:52 -0000

After yesterday's Patriots-Vikings game at Foxboro, you might have expected a resentful Randy Moss to emerge to the media. He'd just been fined $25,000 by the NFL for not talking to the press, he'd just lost to the team that gave him away weeks earlier, and his career's officially at a crossroads. But where some expected resentment, Moss was all class.

In his press conference, he said, "I miss them guys, man. I miss the team. ... You know, I just want to be able to tell the guys, I miss the hell out of them. Every last helmet in that locker room. Coach Belichick, he gave me the opportunity to be part of something special. That's something I really take to heart."

It was a touching display of gratitude. And if you want to go deeper, you might say this first photo epitomizes the mood of Randy's return. There's clearly still affection on both sides.

Or, if you want to be immature like me, you might say, "They're totally about to make out!"

Totally, right?

More photos from Sunday after the jump.

Maybe the best Reebok ad ever. "You want to wear Nikes? Well, so did Kyle Orton..."

Because sometimes I forget that Chad Ochocinco legally changed his name so that he could put it on the back of his NFL jersey. I love sports.

As constipated as Donovan looks here after getting benched in the fourth quarter, he needs to look on the bright side. "Bemused constipation" face is still a much better look than "puking during a two-minute drill" or "forgetting the overtime rules." Games could end worse.

For once, Vince carries Chris. Always nice to see someone return the favor.

What happened in the Steelers-Saints game? Lance Moore caught a touchdown that sealed it for New Orleans--Troy Polamalu nearly killed him in the endzone, but held on. And so did the Saints.

Just a great picture.

Another great picture, except Crabtree's team is 2-6, so he has nothing to celebrate.

Same joke, but switch "Crabtree" for "Louis Delmas" and "2-6" for "the Detroit Lions."

CARDINALS FANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And finally, one more time...

Moss: Dang, coach. Ya breath smells like sawdust and dirty diapers.

Belichick: We had fetuses for the pre-game meal. You know The Patriot Way...

Moss: I miss that, mannn. Gotta be honest, dawg. I miss it.

Belichick: I knew you would.

Moss: I ain't think I'd be this emotional.

Belichick: You mean absolutely nothing to me.

Moss: And that's why I can't stop lovin you, dawg!

Belichick: That's The Patriot Way.

(Moss and Belichick kiss. With tongue, and lip biting, and Belichick spitting in Moss' mouth)

(That's The Patriot Way to kiss)

(All photos via Getty Images and Associated Press)