Saints make major Taysom Hill injury announcement
The New Orleans Saints needed some good news.
And coming off to an 0-4 start to the season, the Saints got some.
The news: Taysom Hill and Foster Moreau are both returning to practice.
The pair of tight ends both began the year on the Physically Unable to Perform list, and they'll have three weeks to ramp up, although they can be activated earlier, too.
Hill is the headliner as one of the most versatile players in the NFL.
“He’s obviously had such an impact on this organization for such a long time, and whenever that time comes that he’s back on the field, we’ll be fired up,” Saints head coach Kellen Moore told reporters.
Hill has been out with a chest injury. He turned 35 years old this summer.
Last season, Hill did it all, with these stats through just eight games before a season-ending injury:
- 39 rushes, 278 yards, 6 TDs
- 23 catches, 187 yards
- 2-for-4 passing, 21 yards
- 1 tackle, 1 fumble forced
That's been the player Hill is through the last few years of his career as the Saints continued to figure out how to define his unique role.
Moreau is a solid red zone target to get back, too.
At least the arrow is pointing up in New Orleans.
Sturm’s Third-Line Experiment Fizzles in Preseason Shake-Up
The Boston Bruins' third line on Monday night against the Philadelphia Flyers made a ton of sense on paper. It featured Fraser Minten, who projects as the team's two-way center of the future, who brings defensive reliability and is still searching for his offensive upside. Minten's wingers should've been able to bring out that offensive upside, as Matej Blumel funnels shots at the net at a high volume, and Matt Poitras is the prototypical playmaker.
The line's experience should give fans and the coaching staff some caution about expecting the trio to be a line in the regular season. It'd be hard for them to comfortably play 82 games at the NHL level without expectations of some regression and nights where they struggle. However, in a season where there are few expectations for the Bruins, it could be the perfect year to feature this line and build it up as a potential third, and eventually second, line of the future.
Well, the line lasted only two periods. Poitras moved up to the second line with Casey Mittelstadt and Pavel Zacha, while Viktor Arvidsson moved down with Minten and Blumel. I don't disagree with that move either, as the concept of Arvidsson automatically getting a second-line spot didn't seem right. He brings a speed and tenacity that could fit alongside Minten and Blumel while also lending some veteran leadership.
Head coach Marco Sturm's comments post-game make me think that he really wants Monday night's third line to work. It's too late in the preseason for him to be throwing lines together just for the sake of doing it, and it feels like the coaching staff feels that this line could work on paper as well. The challenge will be for the trio to actually show it on the ice.
"“They practice so hard and so well the whole time, and I feel like in games, they think too much. So, I gotta get them out of that.”"Marco Sturm
It raises an interesting question. While everyone thinks that those three are vying for the final spots in camp, is there a chance that the trio will be Providence's first line to start the season? Considering the lack of expectations, an idea for the front office is to gel them as a line in the AHL and then recall them all to Boston at the same time at a later date. They wouldn't be the first team to implement that strategy.
