Saints Cut Blake Grupe | Can Cade York Stabilize New Orleans Kicking Concerns?

Saints Cut Blake Grupe | Can Cade York Stabilize New Orleans Kicking Concerns?

[Music] The news that we had anticipated did come on Tuesday. The Saints, after working out several place kickers, did in fact cut Blake Groupy and have reportedly signed former LSU Tiger Cade York. Um, this should come as no great surprise. Uh, maybe the only surprise that they cut Blake Groupy is because the Saints finally held someone accountable for being bad at their job that something they don’t really like to do. But you can like Blake Groupy and I think he was a really interesting story, right? at the UDFA out of Notre Dame. The story about him getting stopped by the security guard at the stadium who didn’t realize he was actually on the team. You know, we had a chance at media road Super Bowl to talk to Blake Group. I mean, he was boppinging around one at one day um at as we were starting a show. I believe it was like literally the first segment of the show. Was it our first day? Was it Monday? It was Monday, February the 3rd. So the first day of media row before I’m going on Blake group is just walking around media row. So we snag him and he comes and sits down with us like we literally started our entire Super Bowl week with Blake Groupy and he really kind of expressed how much he was he and his wife or fiance is married or fiance fiance girlfriend is referred to as um were uh were loving living in New Orleans. A lot more you know access to to to training down here. Um, you know, the facility is literally right down the street. Warmer weather. I’m an outdoors guy. Uh, like fishing, hunting. I’ve done all kinds of stuff down here that I, you know, uh, different critters than in Missouri. So, yeah, man. Yeah, it’s been it’s been fun. I enjoy it down here. Good weather, good golf. Um, you know, my girlfriend’s from around here. She’s from Morgan City. So, u, it’s been awesome. I I I really enjoy it down here. And and, uh, you know, I’m I’m I’d honestly really call it my home right now, you know. So there’s that piece of it where you can feel you can feel terrible about for the person and I think Blake Ruby is very much liked as I was told someone at the Saints facility today that that when he was cut he had tears in his eyes and I understand it man I mean he’s it’s the first time in his career he’s gone through that after making the team and the Saints kind of made a commitment to him in 2023 and it’s just it it it comes to this where he didn’t deliver. I mean, ultimately the NFL is a production business. You’re getting better, you’re getting worse. And unfortunately, Blake Groupy C cost this team opportunities to win games. You look at that final score against Arizona, um, you know, he he in that opener, you know, missed a a kick from inside of 40. You lost that game 20-13, but you would have been driving for a potential game-winning score there at the end of that game. You know, week later against San Francisco. Um, you know, he missed a kick. You lost that one 26-21. You lost by five. You would have an opportunity been within three to be driving for a gamewinning field goal instead of needing a touchdown there. I’m not saying you would have won these games, but it changes the whole dynamic of these games. Uh he missed one against Seattle. Uh he he missed two against the Giants. He was four of six that day. And then he hit four of four in the game against New England, but then he just kept missing. He missed another one um against the Bears. He had made three in a row, one each against Tampa, the Rams in Carolina, but then man, you know, on Sunday missing two kicks from inside of 50 yards, you know, one from inside of 40. You just you got to be able to conver convert a 38 yard and a 47 yard automatic in the NFL. And right now, Blake Ruby leads the league with eight misses. He’s 18 of 26. Uh 69.2% 2% when the standard the threshold in the NFL is got to be above 80% to be an NFL kicker. He’s he’s below 70 there. There’s just no justification for continuing to allow him to run out there and cost your team opportunities. So, it’s what it is, man. And and the sort of insult to injury here is this comes on the same day the Saints were working out kickers a day ago. The same day that Denver signed Will Lutz to a contract extension. And my goodness, Broncos Twitter’s having a field day with this one. Uh the Broncos 365 Twitter account has this post, Shawn Payeyton doesn’t miss. Quote, tweeting I Myrov noting that the Saints are releasing Blake Groupy after he missed two field goals on Sunday and New Orleans traded Lutz to Denver in 2023 in order to make Blake Groupy their kicker. Way to go, Mick. You You picked wrong again. And you just think about what a disaster special teams have been for this team. The atrocity it was early in that game against Seattle. Groupies, misses, you’ve totally missed on Kai Kroger, who might be the worst punter in the league right now. I mean, even just think back to letting Thomas Morstead go, who’s still in the league kicking consistently. You are you’re just a terrible front office that has just missed consistently draft free agency, your own players. I mean, Kaden Ellis is out there hip drop tackling Alvin Chimera over the weekend. I mean, he’s a starting linebacker in the NFL. You just keep missing over and over again. It’s why it’s hard for me to feel any degree of confidence that this front office, the one that got you into this mess, is going to get you out of it. Well, you have to have a kicker. Um, Kell Moore was asked on Monday if Charlie Smith was an option. Remember, it was part of the international program was battling with group B in camp for uh for the job. Yeah, he’s definitely part of this process. He’s he gets better each and every week. He gets to go through this journey. Obviously, it’s been a fun journey for him. unique, you know, joining the NFL with the international program and I thought training camp they kicked it really well and you can see the progress he made through preseason and he continues to get his kicking sessions in each and every week. Uh he gets a couple of those each week just like the starters do and so provides him that opportunity to continue to grow as well. So Charlie Smith is there and then we find out that the New Orleans Saints also added former LSU Tiger Cade York. Now, York is um York’s one that if he can ever figure it out, could be awesome. He’s only 24 years old and he is he was a fourthround pick of the Cleveland Browns back in the 2022 draft. So, you’re talking about a guy in Cade York who was that physically gifted that an NFL team used a fourth round pick on a kicker and in his rookie season in 22. Um, you know, he he just struggled in Cleveland in 22 and then in 24 was with two different teams, Washington and Cincinnati and then has not kicked in the NFL yet this year. So for his career, Cade York is uh 33 of 45 on field goals. That’s 73%. Again, not good enough. It’s why he’s been sort of a vagabond kicker here. Uh but the ability is undeniable. Listen, Kevin Stfansky was the coach there in Cleveland that drafted Cade York in the fourth round and talked about this was back in August of 2023. who was in training camp of 23 when they when they cut him before his second year in the NFL. So, he played that rookie season for Cleveland, then got cut and didn’t kick in the NFL in 2023, at least not in a game. This was Stfansky on why they moved on from Kade York. I think as you can imagine, Tom, those are things those are conversations you have throughout training camp, throughout this whole month, things that you talk about internally and and ultimately uh we Andrew felt like the decision there bringing a veteran different and we’re excited to add Dustin to this group. He’ll be here today. It’s a tough decision. All these are tough decisions. So, uh but those are all things that you’re constantly talking about. So from being cut at the start of his second season to some highs. Look, he set a Cincinnati Bengals record with a 59 y back in December a season ago. Give this was the call. Good snap. The kick has the distance and it is good. Boy, he got it by the skin of his teeth and York with a 59 y to get the Bengals a 17 nothing halftime lead. So the leg talent is undeniable if he can ever develop consistency. He could be an awesome kicker. We’ll see how it goes for the remainder of the season as the Saints are trying to figure out help on special teams just like trying to figure out help everywhere on that roster. Hey, thanks so much for watching. Please leave your comments. I love to interact. And be sure to hit the red subscribe button below. [Music] With you. After you. [Music]

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Matt Moscona breaks down the shocking news that the New Orleans Saints have officially cut Blake Grupe and signed former LSU kicker Cade York. After struggling all season, Grupe’s misses cost the Saints multiple games, and the team finally decided to hold someone accountable. Cade York, a former fourth-round pick of the Cleveland Browns, has undeniable talent but has struggled with consistency early in his career. Moscona dives into Grupe’s rollercoaster tenure, York’s highlights including a record-setting 59-yard field goal with the Bengals, and what this move could mean for the Saints’ special teams moving forward. If York can find his rhythm, he might be the solution New Orleans desperately needed.

Photo Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect