At Carolina Panthers December 17, 2018 @ Bank of America Stadium
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NEW ORLEANS SAINTS WEEKLY MEDIA INFORMATION GUIDE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS AT CAROLINA PANTHERS DECEMBER 17, 2018 @ BANK OF AMERICA STADIUM GAME INFORMATION • ROSTERS • DEPTH CHART • TEAM AND PLAYER STATISTICS NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (11-2) AT CAROLINA PANTHERS (6-7) MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2018 – 7:15 PM (CST) BANK OF AMERICA STADIUM – CHARLOTTE, N.C. TV: ESPN (WDSU 6 locally) – Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Jason Witten and Anthony McFarland (color analysts) and Lisa Salters (sideline) LOCAL RADIO: WWL (870 AM and 105.3 FM) – Zach Strief (play-by-play), Deuce McAllister (color analyst) and Steve Geller (sideline) NATIONAL RADIO: Westwood One Radio – Kevin Harlan (play-by-play), Kurt Warner (color analyst) and Laura Okmin (sideline). SPANISH LANGUAGE RADIO: Louisiana Spanish Network (97.9 FM) – Marco Garcia (play-by-play) and Juan Carlos Ramos and Victor Quinonez (color analysts) Among New Orleans and their division rivals, the series THE MATCHUP between the Saints and Panthers has been the closest The New Orleans Saints will travel to the Carolina Pan- with Carolina holding a 24-22 edge, with the Saints win- thers in a Monday Night Football NFC South contest at ning the only playoff matchup between the clubs last Janu- Bank of America Stadium that will hold important postsea- ary. Payton has an 11-11 regular season record against son implications for both clubs. The matchup is the first of the Panthers along with the playoff win. After facing off two games between the Saints and Panthers in the month only once in prime time in the first 18 seasons of the Pan- of December, as New Orleans will host Carolina in their thers’ existence, the series has been a staple on national regular season finale at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome television since with matchups every season except 2015. on December 30. Much more than bragging rights are on Following a disappointing 13-10 loss at Dallas on Thurs- the line for both clubs for this prime time contest. day, November 29, New Orleans went to the drawing New Orleans is well-versed in prime time contests this board to make corrections for the Tampa Bay Matchup season, as this will be the fifth time that they are playing in and responded after a sluggish first half to rebound from a the evening and the third contest in four games that all of 14-3 third quarter deficit with an impressive performance the nation’s eyes are on them. New Orleans clinched the on offense, defense and on special teams. NFC South division title in back-to-back seasons for the The New Orleans offense is ranked seventh in the NFL first time in franchise history with a 28-14 win on Sunday at in net yards per game and second in scoring. Defensively, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. the Saints have produced a unit that has continued dra- Playing on Monday Night Football is a venue that the matic improvement over the last three seasons to rank Saints have taken well to since Head Coach Sean Payton 14th and tenth in the respective categories in 2018 under arrived in 2006. Since then, the Saints have posted a 13-7 the coordination of Dennis Allen. record on Monday nights, 4-2 on the road. The Saints will In The NFC South This Week: The Atlanta Falcons (4-9) also be bringing a 6-1 record away from the Mercedes- will host the Arizona Cardinals (3-10) and the Tampa Bay Benz Superdome into the contest, the league’s best win- Buccaneers (5-8) will travel to the Baltimore Ravens (7-6). ning percentage (.857). Saints at Panthers: Week 15 2 THE COACHES Ron Rivera became the fourth coach in Panthers histo- ry on Jan. 11, 2011. A two-time NFL Coach of the Year, Saints Head Coach Sean Payton has posted a 123-78 Rivera inherited a 2-14 Carolina team as a rookie head overall record (.612), including a 7-5 postseason mark coach in 2011 and guided it back to relevance in 2015 as (.583) after the franchise had won only one playoff game they won their second NFC Championship in franchise his- prior to his arrival. Payton holds both the club’s top win to- tory, third consecutive NFC South division title and ap- tal and winning percentage. He continues to represent the peared in Super Bowl 50. Carolina finished the season with Saints as the model of stability not only within the NFC a franchise-best 17-2 record, including home playoff victo- South, as he is the longest tenured head coach within the ries over Seattle in the Divisional Round and Arizona in the division, but also among the most accomplished within the NFC Championship game. Overall, he’s posted a 70-54-1 NFL. Only the New England Patriots’ Bill Belichick (2000) (.564) record in the regular season and a 3-4 (.429) mark in and the Cincinnati Bengals’ Marvin Lewis (2003) have the postseason. Before joining the Panthers, Rivera been with the their teams longer. Payton is also one of just worked with the San Diego Chargers from 2007-10, coach- ing inside linebackers before taking over as defensive coor- seven active coaches to lead a team to a Super Bowl victo- dinator midway through the 2008 season. In 2010, San ry. The others are Belichick, the Seattle Seahawks’ Pete Diego led the NFL with an average of 271.6 total yards al- Carroll, the Oakland Raiders’ Jon Gruden (Tampa Bay in lowed per game and gave up a league-low 177.8 passing 2002), the Baltimore Ravens’ John Harbaugh, the Philadel- yards per game. From 2004-06, Rivera oversaw the Chica- phia Eagles’ Doug Pederson and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ go defense, guiding the unit to two top-five finishes in the Mike Tomlin. The 2018 Saints edition has posted a 11-2 league. In 2006, the Bears defense led the NFL with 44 record and have clinched the NFC South title, tied for the takeaways, helping propel Chicago to an appearance in best record in the National Football League. New Orleans’ Super Bowl XLI. In 2005, the Bears went 43 consecutive ten-game winning streak was the second-longest in club quarters without allowing more than seven points—the history and the longest streak in the NFL this season. The longest streak in the NFL since 1969. Rivera was also line- streak only sits behind in club record books, New Orleans’ backers coach for the Eagles (1999-2003) and defensive 13-0 start under Payton in 2009, the season when they quality control coach for the Bears (1997-98). captured Super Bowl XLIV. The 2017 Saints squad yielded an 11-5 regular season record, producing their first playoff berth since 2013, behind a squad led by quarterback Drew 2018 NEW ORLEANS – CAROLINA Brees offensively and defensive end Cameron Jordan de- STATISTICAL COMPARISON fensively, this team featured seven players selected to the Pro Bowl, tied for the most in club history and four draft 2018 Regular Season National Football League picks selected to the PFWA All-Rookie Team, two more Rankings than any other club. With running back Alvin Kamara and Saints Panthers cornerback Marshon Lattimore, the 2017 Saints were the first team to have both the Associated Press NFL Offensive Record 11-2 6-7 Scoring Avg. (NFL Rank) 34.4 (2) 24.9 (11) Rookie of the Year and Defensive Rookie of the Year since Opp. Scoring Avg. (NFL Rank) 21.8 (10) 25.5 (24t) 1967. The Saints defense saw improvement in virtually Total Off. (NFL Rank) 389.0 (7) 378.1 (9) every major statistical category. New Orleans moved up Rushing Off. (NFL Rank) 125.3 (9t) 137.4 (2) ten spots in total defense, including from 32nd to 15th Passing Off. (NFL Rank) 263.7 (11) 240.7 (15) against the pass. After ranking 31st in opponent points per Total Def. (NFL Rank) 348.8 (14) 352.6 (17) game in 2016, New Orleans moved up to tenth in 2017, Rushing Def. (NFL Rank) 77.6 (1) 97.8 (7) surrendering only 20.4 points per game. Payton earned a Passing Def. (NFL Rank) 271.2 (28) 254.8 (20) bachelor’s degree in communications at Eastern Illinois, Kickoff Return Avg. (NFL Rank) 23.2 (14) 21.3 (23) where as a quarterback he had 10,665 passing yards, at Punt Return Avg. (NFL Rank) 6.3 (25) 7.0 (20) the time the third-highest total in NCAA Division I-AA histo- Turnover Margin (NFL Rank) +8 (7t) +2 (14t) ry. Payton was inducted into the Eastern Illinois Hall of Penalties 70 76 Fame in September of 2000 and had his jersey retired in a Penalty Yards 674 674 ceremony in September of 2010. He received an honorary Opp. Penalties 73 72 doctorate from his alma mater in 2013. Payton was born Opp. Penalty Yards 677 590 December 29, 1963 in San Mateo, Calif., and raised in Na- perville, Ill., Payton has a daughter, Meghan and a son, Connor. Saints at Panthers: Week 15 3 SAINTS-PANTHERS CONNECTIONS per when he served as running back Coach in New Orle- ans during McAfee’s first tenure with the club from 1991- WR Ted Ginn Jr. played for the Panthers in 2013 and from 93...Carolina Assistant Defensive Line Coach Sam Mills III 2015-16 and LB A.J. Klein was a fifth round (148th overall) is the son of former Saints LB Sam Mills, who played for draft pick of Carolina in 2013 and played four seasons with New Orleans from 1986-94 and is a member of the Saints the club, playing in 60 games with 23 starts, making 155 Hall of Fame and the club’s All-50th Team...Panthers Run- tackles, four sacks, an interception, a pass defense, three ning Game Coordinator John Matsko served as offensive forced fumbles and 27 special teams stops...S Kurt Cole- line coach in New Orleans from 1994-96.