Sports Blog

Fletcher Cox Bobblehead Must-Have for MSU and Philadelphia Eagles Fans

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Winning a Super Bowl surely brings the phrase “to the victor go the spoils” for the players and the fans. The spoils will certainly go to the Philadelphia Eagles after they won their first Super Bowl in franchise history. Eagles players will sport some new bling such as T-shirts and hats when they receive their Super Bowl rings before the start of the next season. But Eagles fans, and also Mississippi State University fans, will probably seek after one specific commemorative item: the bobblehead for Yazoo City, Miss., native and Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox. Cox was a major force for the team’s defense and was instrumental in making key plays in the final minutes to help Philadelphia seal the win. Continue Reading

Sports Blog

Defense Saved the Day in Saints’ Fifth-Straight Win

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The New Orleans Saints’ defense deserves the credit for the win against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, Oct. 29. The Saints’ biggest liability over the last few seasons has been the reason that they have now won five games in a row. It has been a long time since New Orleans has been able to rely on its defense to help win games instead of worrying that it would let games get away. In fact, it was the offense that nearly lost the game, with running back Mark Ingram fumbling twice on consecutive positions in the fourth quarter, nearly helping Chicago get the win. Continue Reading

Sports Blog

Saints Win Fourth Straight to Top NFC South

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There is a surprise team sitting atop the NFC South standings this Monday, Oct. 23. Many fans might expect the Carolina Panthers or Atlanta Falcons to be leading the division, but instead, the 4-2 New Orleans Saints are the frontrunners just seven weeks into the season. New Orleans has bounced back nicely after losing its first two games this year. The Saints entered Sunday’s contest against Green Bay on a three-game winning streak but looked shaky early on at historic Lambeau Field. Continue Reading

Sports Blog

Saints Win Third Game in a Row Over Lions

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The New Orleans Saints are above .500 for the first time since 2013 and scored three defensive touchdowns in a game for the first time in team history. The Saints defense forced five turnovers in a 52-38 win over the Detroit Lions. New Orleans raced out to a 45-10 lead before Detroit got its offense going and made a potential blowout in a close game. After two losses at the start of the season, the Saints are on a three-game winning streak and are at 3-2 this season. The Saints have the potential to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2013. Continue Reading

Sports Blog

NFL Players Have Right to Take a Knee

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Personally, I’d rather not have politics invade sporting events. The reason for this feeling is that, for me, sports provide an escape from the problems of the real world. I enjoy having the two to three hours of pure athletic contests to shut out an outside world that is far from perfect. Sure, it stinks when I root for every team from our state to win and a few happen to lose, but those losses rarely affect what goes on in the real world. That doesn’t mean that real life stays separated from sporting contests. Continue Reading

Sports Blog

Saints Blast the Panthers to Earn First Win of the Season

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After getting smacked around in the first two games of the season, the New Orleans Saints decided it was time to smack someone else around. That someone else just happened to be division rival the Carolina Panthers. Early on it looked like the game was going to repeat the same formula as the first two. The Panthers, who were behind their running game, quickly worked down the field on the New Orleans defense. The Saints defense made its first of many big plays on the day, as Carolina faced a third-and-four from the New Orleans eight-yard line. Continue Reading

New Orleans

Minnesota Dominates New Orleans on Offense and Defense

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Slow starts have been a major problem for the New Orleans Saints over the last three seasons. The team hasn’t won a season opener since 2013. It shouldn’t be shocking to learn that the Saints also have not made the playoffs since that campaign. New Orleans started 0-2 in 2014, and 0-3 in 2015 and 2016. All three years, the team has finished with a 7-9 record. Continue Reading

Sports Blog

Each NFL Game This Season Will Use RFID Chips in the Ball

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There will be something new in each football NFL teams will use this season: an radio-frequency identification chip. The league used RFID chips in kicking balls for preseason and Thursday night games last season. With them, the league could gather infor

mation on how closely the ball passed the uprights to give to the competition committee vital information on if there should be a rule change to narrow the uprights. This year the information from the chips will assist broadcasters with the league’s Next-Gen Stats program, though it still isn’t ready to help with spotting the ball. The chip is as much as 6 inches off in accuracy, which is enough distance to impact a game late when a team needs a first down to run out the clock or keep a potential game-winning or -tying drive alive. Continue Reading

Sports Blog

Saints vs. Chargers: What to Watch For

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New Orleans will try to break a 10-game losing streak in the preseason this Sunday, Aug. 20, when the team faces the Los Angeles Chargers, which will air at 7 p.m. on the NFL

Network. If the Saints are going to break their losing streak, they might have to do it without quarterback Drew Brees or running backs Adrian Peterson and Mark Ingram. It looks like the third week of the preseason will be the first time that Brees and a few other veterans hit the field. Brees’ absence in the first two preseason games wasn’t a big deal. Continue Reading

New Orleans

Things to Watch for in Saints’ Preseason Opener

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Starting this Thursday night, the New Orleans Saints will try to fix the 7-9 record that has plagued the team for the last three seasons. New Orleans opens the 2017 preseason on

the road against the Cleveland Browns. If the Saints are going to reverse the 7-9 trend, they have to fix the biggest albatross around their neck—defense. New Orleans has been terrible on defense for a long time now, and that has shown up in its win-loss record. Each offseason, New Orleans has tried to fix the defense but has been in salary-cap hell due to bad contracts from previous years. Continue Reading