Anmelden » Saints third-year defensive tackle David Onyemata

METAIRIE Garrett Bradbury Jersey , La. (AP) — plans to spend Tuesday — the players’ usual day off — performing some extra conditioning work at club headquarters.He is among a trio of defensive linemen likely headed for more snaps against one of the best offenses in the NFL with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.Sheldon Rankins, the Saints’ most productive interior defensive lineman, won’t play in the NFC title game against the Los Angeles Rams — or any other game this season — after tearing his Achilles in the first quarter of Sunday’s playoff victory over Philadelphia .At the same time, the Saints sounded encouraged that the rotation of Onyemata, Tyeler Davison and rookie Taylor Stallworth did enough to help shut out the Eagles for three quarters.“They played great,” Saints linebacker A.J. Klein said after studying game video on Monday. “Our D-line group is very deep. We have the guys in that room to pick up the slack.”Yet Klein acknowledged there’s quite a bit of slack to pick up.Rankins was New Orleans’ first-round draft choice in 2016 and his eight sacks this season ranked second on the club behind end Cameron Jordan.“He’s a dynamic player on the inside,” Klein said, adding that Rankins is a rare player in the NFL who can be “stout against the run and hold off double teams, but to also be dynamic in the pass rush game.”“His presence on third-down pass rush and stuff will be missed, but I know we have the depth in our defensive line room to get the job done,” Klein added.Onyemata said New Orleans’ defensive front also will miss Rankins’ leadership on the field.“When Sheldon is out there, we have more of an understanding of making the adjustments and all that, just moving around on defense,” Onyemata said.Yet Onyemata asserted that the confidence among the remaining interior linemen has been growing all season and was only helped by how they played without Rankins against the Eagles.“We’ve been playing pretty good the past couple weeks, having the guys step up and take more of a bigger role Noah Fant Jersey ,” Onyemata said.But now comes arguably their toughest test against a Rams tandem of Todd Gurley and C.J. Anderson that combined for 238 yards rushing in a victory over Dallas on Saturday night — hence Onyemata’s extra conditioning work, as well as mental preparation.“If you go with a three-man rotation inside, you might have to do extra conditioning and just get your mind ready for more plays and expect more things,” Onyemata said.The Saints finished the season ranked second in the NFL against the run. Even with Rankins out most of Sunday, they allowed the Eagles just 49 yards rushing.Meanwhile, coach Sean Payton sounded pleased with the amount of pressure New Orleans’ defense applied on Foles, even though Foles was not sacked. Foles is known as a poised and savvy veteran who unloads the ball quickly, so the key against him is unsettling him enough to effect his accuracy.“We made some adjustments. I thought we were able to pressure the quarterback,” Payton said. “We did not get the sacks you are looking for but we did get the pocket pushed and I thought that really helped and guys on the back end made some plays.”They also will need to get pressure on Rams quarterback Jared Goff, who completed nearly 65 percent of his passes for 293 yards per game this season.The last time the Saints hosted the Rams in early November, they gave up 35 points, but won because Drew Brees and Co. put up 45 .“It was a shootout. It was back and forth all game long,” Klein said. “I thought we played the run well the first time we played them. That’s going to be challenge again this week. But I think being good on the play-action pass and eliminating deep shots over top will be crucial for us.” ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — Detroit general manager Bob Quinn was asked if it gives him pause when the Lions seem to be valuing a player more than various analysts.The answer was no surprise.“No,” Quinn said Saturday after the conclusion of the NFL draft. “If I worry about what other people think http://www.cowboyscheapauthenticstore.com/trysten-hill-jersey-cheap , I’ll be up all night.”When this draft is evaluated in the coming years, Detroit may be judged on the performance of its top two picks — tight end T.J. Hockenson of Iowa and linebacker Jahlani Tavai of Hawaii.Both players seem to have plenty of potential, but it remains to be seen if they’re worth what the Lions invested. They took Hockenson with the No. 8 overall pick — the highest slot for a tight end in over a decade. Then Detroit selected Tavai in round two .“If we go into this process being scared about what other people think about our team and our evaluations, then we have a long way to go,” Quinn said. “We’re convicted on the guys we take. Are we going to be right a hundred percent of the time? No. No team is. But I think we do a tremendous amount of work.”The Lions ended up drafting nine players, three more than last year. They would probably love for one of their top picks to have an impact like Kerryon Johnson, their second-round pick from 2018. He came in as a rookie and rushed for 641 yards, giving a boost to a moribund running game before an injury cut his season short.WHO THEY GOTAfter taking Hockenson in the first round, the Lions used their next four picks on defense, adding Tavai, defensive back Will Harris of Boston College, defensive end Austin Bryant of Clemson and cornerback Amani Oruwariye of Penn State.“I think our defense, when I look at it, is a lot of pieces that the coaches can use in different spots,” Quinn said. “In this defense Drew Lock Jersey , versatility is key.”Detroit didn’t turn back to the offensive side of the ball until the sixth round, when the Lions picked wide receiver Travis Fulgham of Old Dominion and running back Ty Johnson of Maryland. Detroit’s seventh-round picks were spent on tight end Isaac Nauta of Georgia and defensive tackle P.J. Johnson of Arizona.SURPRISE MOVETaking Tavai certainly qualifies, after NFL.com’s analyst had him going 2-3 rounds later. Quinn said he was a player Detroit had been targeting for a while.HOW THEY DIDThe Lions definitely addressed needs at tight end, receiver and on defense, but fans can quibble with how they went about it. For example, it appears the Lions could have taken tight end Irv Smith in the second round and defensive lineman Ed Oliver in the first if they’d been willing to wait for a different tight end.Oruwariye, the team’s fifth-round pick, was ranked as the No. 36 overall prospect in the entire draft by ProFootballFocus.com.“He was a guy that we talked about in round four, to be honest,” Quinn said.The Lions, who cut guard T.J. Lang after an injury-shortened 2018 season, did not use a single pick on an offensive lineman.“Once you get into the third day in the draft, you’re never going to reach for guys. You really have to follow the board,” Quinn said. “Just because you might have a little bit of an opening on the depth chart, you don’t want to reach for a player http://www.broncoscheapauthenticstore.com/dre_mont-jones-jersey-cheap , grade-wise. So we stayed very, very true to the board today. That’s kind of how it fell to us. People are asking, all right, well, why the other tight end in the seventh round? Well, he was the highest-graded guy, by far.”WHAT’S NEXT?The Lions were a huge disappointment last season under new coach Matt Patricia, who will be under pressure to turn Detroit around quickly. While this wasn’t a flashy draft, it’s consistent with the Lions’ desire to run the ball and stop the run. Hockenson could contribute right away on offense, but it was Detroit’s earlier work in free agency — such as signing defensive lineman Trey Flowers and cornerback Justin Coleman — that may make or break 2019.