Saints vs Vikings Since the Saints have a special teams focus this year, let’s see how they fared in Week 10. Week 10 of the NFL season is over and for the New Orleans Saints it ended with a 27-19 loss against the Minnesota Vikings. The Saints were very inconsistent offensively, but their special teams unit had a pretty solid day under the circumstances.
Considering both the kicker and punter are rookies in their debut NFL seasons, that makes special teams all the more interesting. In this article, we’ll break down the Week 10 game and look at both Lou Hedley and Blake Grupe and how they fared in terms of points and goals in that performance. So, without further ado, let’s get to Blake Grupe. Blake Grupe – 1/1 field goals, 0 PAT attempts Blake Grupe didn’t get much driving time in that game, with just one field goal and no PAT attempts as the Saints went for two-point conversions each time. Regardless, Grupe’s one try on the day was the real test when he lined up from 48 yards out. The entire process leading up to the shot was uneven as well, as Zach Wood’s shot was slow, making Lou Hedley’s slow process of getting the ball off the tapes. That led to Grupe pushing his shot ever so slightly, resulting in the shot going quite far to the left at the end and just squeaking in on the left upright. Regardless, Blake did a good job of adjusting to that shot and eliminating a shot that wasn’t really ours. Lou Hedley – 6 catches for 279 yards Lou Hedley had his ups and downs last week as he had some very good points and some less than optimal ones. Hedley’s first throw from the MIN 47 in the first half, and to be honest, it was a very good punt as it bounced vertically at the 1-yard line before going into the return zone. Isaac Yiadom was tackled by a defender at the goal line which put a damper on this great play all around. Despite everything, a quality shot with only a difficult result. His second shot of the day wasn’t bad either as he started at NO 34 and hit it all the way to MIN 18 before it was well hit with no return. Even though it’s “only” a 48-yard punt, hanging it down was slower than we’ve seen from Hedley lately, avoiding a return. His third punt was almost identical, lining up at the NO 28 and taking it 48 yards to the MIN 24. Both punts late in the first half were well seen, as he made both nearly 50 yards and landed them inbounds. 25 despite being in the middle of his area. Lou’s first drive of the second half was less impressive, going just 44 yards from the NO 30 to the MIN 26. Zach Wood was called for that play as well after a fair hit that returned him another 10 yards. It certainly wasn’t as good a point compared to the others, and it certainly didn’t help the chances of a comeback. The fifth punt was very similar, traveling 46 yards from #16 to the MIN 38 and then returning 9 yards to the MIN 47. The lack of sufficient hang time on an already relatively short peg was not a concern. . The final punt of the day was somewhere between good and bad as it traveled 46 yards from the NO 10 to the MIN 44 and was accompanied by a 3 yard return. On the other hand, he didn’t break 50 yards per punt in that game and only got one inside the 20. But on the other hand, hitting your own 10 under pressure makes it harder to get time. and strength. All in all a pretty average performance from Lou that was neither here nor there.
Leave a Reply