Has anyone else noticed how since Darren Rizzi took the reigns as the head coach of the New Orleans Saints, guys who've been irrelevant all season are starting to become top tier weapons again? It's only been two weeks, but the Saints are in a much better state than they were a few weeks prior to Rizzi taking over, and that’s fascinating to say the least.
Payton Turner is a player who exemplifies this. Turner has been regarded as one of the biggest busts of the Dennis Allen era, and for good reason. While he was technically drafted when Sean Payton was still the head coach, he only had one season under Payton.
Across three and a half seasons under Dennis Allen (head coach and defensive coordinator), Turner played in 23 games, logging 38 total tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, and just four sacks. Those numbers aren't necessarily awful, but if you factor in that he's been consistently outplayed by Carl Granderson and a 35-year-old Cameron Jordan, despite being a first round draft pick, there's definitely room for concern.
However, Turner has seemed like an entirely different player since Darren Rizzi took over, as he's logged five tackles, one tackle for a loss, one sack, two QB hits, one pass defended, and one forced fumble in the past two games alone. Rizzi gave Payton Turner the opportunity to thrive, and he did, which bodes well for the future of the Saints' pass rush.
Turner isn’t the only player who has turned it around under Rizzi; Derek Carr is another. Carr has been a roller coaster ride in the hearts on Who Dat Nation. He's an easy guy to like due to his calm nature, humility, and ability to stay out of the spotlight, but he's very easy to dislike by seemingly falling short more times that not as the quarterback of the New Orleans Saints.
However, since Darren Rizzi took the helm, Carr has completed a staggering 71.1 percent of his passes for 517 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions. Carr and Rizzi have helped guide the Saints to a 2-0 record in that span while scoring a total of 55 points - which is the most in a two game span since Weeks 1 & 2.
The offensive line of the New Orleans Saints also looks like a brand-new unit. Trevor Penning was the highest graded offensive linemen per PFF in the first game of the Rizzi era, and the Saints prevented Myles Garrett from doing anything at all in Week 11 against the Cleveland Browns.
During that game, the Saints had more total yards (473) than they've had in a single game since October 29, 2023, which we know starts with the big fellas up front. The offense has had back-to-back weeks with 20+ first downs for the first time this season and the line has been able to help rack up 370 rushing yards in the past two weeks. If you combine all of that with the fact that the unit has only allowed one sack since Rizzi took the helm, it seems like a formula for success.
Rizzi’s impact doesn’t stop there, though. Cameron Jordan has been as quiet as a mouse all season (except on social media of course), but in the past two weeks he's logged six tackles, one tackle for a loss, one sack, two QB hits, and a pass defended. In the previous eight games combined he totaled 12 tackles, one QB hit, and two passes defended.
Taysom Hill has obviously been a factor for the Saints' opponents to consider all year, but Darren Rizzi has elevated the productive usage of Hill significantly. Hill saw double-digit targets against the Browns and has accumulated 298 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns combined in the two games under New Orleans’ interim head coach.
Rizzi mentioned multiple times how the team is better when they use Taysom Hill, and while that’s true, everyone seems to be better with Rizzi coaching. That should make the rest of the season exciting.