Saints are gaining credibility as NFC contenders after their rout of the Cowboys

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Former Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert sounded jubilant during a postgame radio show as he reviewed everything he thought New Orleans did well in its lopsided, Week 2 road victory over the favored Dallas Cowboys.

It was a long list of successes in areas that included the running game, passing game, pass rush and pass defense — and it took him more than 10 minutes to get through it.

“This is almost too good to be true!” Hebert exclaimed on the WWL broadcast. “Considering the expectations, this is so satisfying!"

The Saints have been a middling, non-playoff team for the past three seasons. They looked different in a 47-10 rout of Carolina in the Superdome in Week 1. But because of how the Panthers have struggled lately, it was difficult to discern how much better New Orleans might be this season.

A 44-19 victory over a Cowboys squad that hadn't lost a regular-season game at home in about two years offered more clarity.

“That’s a really good football team that we just played," third-year Saints coach Dennis Allen said. "So, hopefully our team will gain some confidence with that.”

An offensive line with three new starters — including relatively inexperienced left and right tackles — has coalesced effectively in the opening weeks and appears to be thriving in new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak's system, which allows linemen to spend more plays attacking defensive players as run blockers than backing up in pass protection.

The Saints have rushed for 370 yards in two games, and that has allowed quarterback Derek Carr to operate comfortably on pass plays that often start with play-action fakes to running backs.

“When you’re able to run the ball and you’re able to put yourself in manageable situations, you’re not having to get into a drop back passing mode where they can just unleash their pass rush,” said Allen, a career defensive coach. “Klint and the guys had a good plan for how they wanted to protect in the passing game, and I think our offensive line did a good job executing.”

The Saints rank 21st in covering kickoffs under new rules that special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi helped draft. New Orleans is allowing 25.8 yards per return. Two games is a small sample size and kickoff coverage has not kept the Saints from soundly defeating their first couple of opponents. But this is one area where New Orleans currently ranks in the bottom third of the NFL, even as it's been at or near the top of the league in just about everything else.

Alvin Kamara continues to look robust, highly productive and committed to his Saints teammates, despite not yet getting the contract extension he has sought since the offseason. Through two games, the versatile running back has 290 yards and five TDs from scrimmage.

“We’re utilizing him in a way that allows him to be effective,” Allen said. “He’s still one of those guys that if you create some space, and he’s able to operate in space, I think he’s pretty good.”

Critics of the Saints' decision to retain Allen after the club went 16-18 combined during the coach's first two seasons. It's still early in Year 3, but it appears general manager Mickey Loomis' patience with his hand-picked successor to Sean Payton is bearing fruit.

Cornerback Marshon Lattimore has remained out with hip and hamstring issues since leaving the Saints' Week 1 victory over the Panthers. Tight end Taysom Hill left the game in Dallas in the second half with a chest injury.

Latimore “wanted to play,” Allen said. “That was really my decision, and it really boiled down to — I didn’t want to risk what we think might be potentially a one-week deal, and him going out there and all of a sudden we turn one week into four weeks.”

Hill was taken to a hospital “for some extra evaluations,” Allen said. “I think it’s more precautionary, but we’ll see.”

3 — The number of consecutive games in which the Saints' offense, with Carr at QB, has produced 44 or more points, starting with their 48-17 victory over Atlanta to close out the 2023 regular season. The Saints did not have any defensive or special teams' scoring plays in those three games.

The Saints play host on Sunday to the Philadelphia Eagles and a QB in Jalen Hurts who has given their defense a lot of trouble in the past.

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New Orleans Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (22) and wide receiver Chris Olave (12) react after Olave made a catch against the Dallas Cowboys during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) celebrates his first quarter touchdown run with teammate center Erik McCoy (78) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr looks to pass against the Dallas Cowboys during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) breaks away with Dallas Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (90) in tow while running for a long touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara reacts after scoring a long touchdown run against the Dallas Cowboys during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen looks on during the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr reacts after scoring on a keeper against the Dallas Cowboys during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Saints are gaining credibility as NFC contenders after their rout of the Cowboys

Saints are gaining credibility as NFC contenders after their rout of the Cowboys

KILIFI, Kenya (AP) — Dozens rallied against a proposal to build Kenya’s first nuclear power plant in one of the country’s top coastal tourist hubs which also houses a forest on the tentative list of the UNESCO World Heritage site.

Kilifi County is renowned for its pristine sandy beaches where hotels and beach bars line the 165-mile-long coast and visitors boat and snorkel around coral reefs or bird watch in Arabuko Sokoke forest, a significant natural habitat for the conservation of rare and endangered species, according to the U.N. organization.

The nuclear plant, proposed last year, is set to be built in the town of Kilifi — about 522 kilometers (324 miles) southeast of the capital, Nairobi. Many residents have openly opposed the proposal, worried about what they say are the negative effects of the project on people and the environment, leading to a string of protests which at times turned violent.

The Muslims for Human Rights group (MUHURI) took part in a march Friday in Kilifi to the county governor’s office where protesters handed him a petition opposing the construction of the plant.

Some chanted anti-nuclear slogans while others carried placards with “Sitaki nuclear”, Swahili for “I don’t want nuclear.”

The construction of the 1,000MW nuclear plant is set to begin in 2027 and be operational by 2034, at a cost of 500 billion Kenyan shillings ($3.8 billion).

Francis Auma, a MUHURI activist, told the Associated Press that the negative effects of the nuclear plant outweigh its benefits.

“We say that this project has a lot of negative effects; there will be malformed children born out of this place, fish will die, and our forest Arabuko Sokoke, known to harbor the birds from abroad, will be lost,” Auma said during Friday’s protests.

Juma Sulubu, a resident who was beaten by the police during a previous demonstration, attended Friday’s march and said: “Even if you kill us, just kill us, but we do not want a nuclear power plant in our Uyombo community.”

Timothy Nyawa, a fisherman, participated in the rally out of fear that a nuclear power plant would kill fish and in turn his source of income. “If they set up a nuclear plant here, the fish breeding sites will all be destroyed.”

Phyllis Omido, the executive director at the Centre for Justice Governance and Environmental Action, which organized the protest, said Kenya’s eastern coastal towns depended on eco-tourism as the main source of income and a nuclear plant would threaten their livelihoods.

“We host the only East African coastal forest, we host the Watamu marine park, we host the largest mangrove plantation in Kenya. We do not want nuclear (energy) to mess up our ecosystem,” she said.

Her center filed a petition in Nov. 2023 in parliament calling for an inquiry and claiming that locals had limited information on the proposed plant and the criteria for selecting preferred sites. It raised concerns over the risks to health, the environment and tourism in the event of a nuclear spill, saying the country was undertaking a “high-risk venture” without proper legal and disaster response measures in place. The petition also expressed unease over security and the handling of radioactive waste in a country prone to floods and drought.

The Senate suspended the inquiry until a lawsuit two lawyers filed in July was heard. The suit is seeking to stop the plant’s construction, claiming public participation meetings were rushed. It urges the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (Nupea) not to start the project.

Nupea said construction would not begin for years and environmental laws were under consideration, adding that adequate public participation was carried out.

The nuclear agency also published an impact assessment report last year that recommended policies be put in place to ensure environmental protections, including detailed plans for the handling of radioactive waste, measures to mitigate environmental harm, such as setting up a nuclear unit in the national environment management authority, and emergency response teams.

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Demonstrators hold banners reading in Swahili "Sitaki nuclear" (I don't want nuclear), during an anti-nuclear protest in Kilifi, Kenya Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Chris Obiero)