Can Spencer Rattler Fix Saints Struggling Offense? | When Does New Orleans Turn To Tyler Shough?

Can Spencer Rattler Fix Saints Struggling Offense? | When Does New Orleans Turn To Tyler Shough?

[Music] Kell Moore met with reporters on Monday and you know one of the things we focus on today, one of the reason we want to talk to Scott is is talk a little bit about the defensive struggles. While we focused a lot, I think a lot of a lot of fingers always get pointed at the quarterback. My contention is I think Spencer Rattler has been has been steady and consistent and error-free and continues to make good quick decisions with the football. uh playmakers aren’t making plays on the offense. Defensively, your slow starts have been horrendous. I mean, you in four consecutive games now, you’ve allowed your opponent to score touchdowns on each of the first two possessions. Like, that’s that’s got to change. Uh and Kell Moore on Monday address that. Well, I would say the first two plays are really good plays. Uh you know, so like I don’t think it’s like we’re not ready for the game or anything. First play, excellent excellent play. We we get a couple, you know, two two three yard stops. Second play, they run a draw. Dear’s right there, pounces on it. we got this awesome third down opportunity to go three and out to start the game and then we miss the OP. You know, we’re we’re not connected from a coverage standpoint. We got to do a better job there and then then they get the big explosive once they kind of cross the 50. And so, um I don’t think it’s all bad. I think it’s just hey, we got to be really really sound from the start and we got to take advantage of every opportunity. And that’s the thing that shows up is the big plays that impact the games could show up from play one to play 75. It doesn’t really matter when it is. They all essentially have the same value. Uh you know, and so you got to take advantage of each opportunity you have. Scott Chanley, former Saint linebacker, good enough to join us now. Hey, Scott, we always appreciate the time, man. How are you? Hey, I’m doing good. I don’t know if you got to hear that entire cut from Kell Moore, but we were talking about the Saint four consecutive games now where they’ve given up touchdowns on each of the first two drives to their opponents. You see that? What does that What What does that tell you? Well, it tells me that that the Saints offense hasn’t got to play the way they want to play. I mean, all all week they game plan a certain way and I would say a 100% of the offensive coordinators around the league would prefer to get out to a lead so that they can continue to do what they want to do and that’s run the ball when they want to um not throw the ball when they don’t have to. So, I think the slow start by the Saints defense consistently is hindering the Saints offense more so than than meets the eye because, you know, going out there, nobody wants to throw the ball 40 times with Spencer. And they’ve been in that situation a couple times this year just because the defense gives up points too early in games. You were um on the 07 Saints team, you all started 0 and4 um and then then you broke through and you went on on a nice winning streak after that. won won four in a row to get back to 500 when this team lost its first four then then obviously broke through. Can you kind of put us in the locker room, Scott, of what that’s like when you’re going through that struggle early in the season like that trying to break through to get a win? Well, yeah, it’s tough because um you know, everybody wants to start off fast. Gives you give yourself a really good chance of making the playoffs when you do that. Digging yourself out of a hole in the NFL season is tough. It’s stressful. Like like you said, we were at 0 and4, but we took it one game at a time. We won a big game on the road in prime time against Seattle. Kind of got confidence back, bought back to four and four and then we just kind of uh ping ponged back and forth and and had a 500 season. But it takes so much energy to dig yourself out of those holes. Um you know, that’s why I always say uh 0 and four vers one and three is night and day. Like those things matter early in the season just because the amount of energy it takes. It’s easy as a coach to tell players, hey, one week at a time, don’t look ahead. But but you’re human. You’re looking down the road. You want chunks at one time, it just never happens. It’s tough to win in this league. As a defensive player, what do you see when you look at Spencer Rattler? I I’m I’m flushing last year, Scott. I mean, they were playing with a MASH unit. I’m talking about through new staff, everything, six games. What do you see as a defensive player when you look at Rattler this year? Well, I think Spencer has played some really good football. Um, you know, coming to the season, I I thought he earned the right to be the starter over over Chuck from what I saw in preseason. There’s things that Spencer did better in the preseason, whether it was getting rocked in the pocket and getting back up. Um, his ability to utilize his legs maybe a little bit more. I liked his toughness, and I thought a team would rally around that. Spencer has some moxy to him, some presence. A lot of people probably don’t watch him at the postgame press conference, but he does everything right. Handles himself like a franchise quarterback. Now, wins and losses are always tied to the franchise quarterback. And I think Spencer’s done an outstanding job of not turning the football over. You know, if there’s a way to lose your job to a guy who they just drafted, who everybody wants to see, it’s turn the football over. And I think Spencer understands if I just don’t turn the football over, they’ll have a hard time benching me. But there’s some truth in that. But there also comes a time where you have to be the reason you’re winning. And so I think there there’s this fine line with playing quarterback. You can be too conservative and not turn the football over and lose games or you just got to cut it loose. And I think Spencer if my advice to him would be you got to cut it loose. If you turn the football over once or twice a game, it’s on the defense to get the ball back. But you have to be the reason that you’re helping this team win. That’s a franchise quarterback. I mean, it’s a sentiment I shared earlier, Scott. And we also though haven’t seen players around him elevate him. I think that’s fair to say as well. Do you feel like the players on this roster are capable of being elite level playmakers to help elevate the quarterback? Yeah, I I really do. I I think you look you ask a lot of quarterbacks around the league, would you like to have first round draft capital invested into every offensive lineman in front of you? They would all say yes. You know, you resigned Jawan to a big deal who’s he’s a receiving threat. He’s not going to do much in the blocking game. You have a first round pick in a lav at wide receiver who in my opinion they they target too much because he hasn’t been productive enough to warrant those targets. Shahed needs to get the ball more. You have all these weapons and I think there are plenty of weapons with Spencer. My biggest issue with the offense is they’re too reliant on 11 personnel and the passing game. They need to get bigger. They need to run the ball, utilize the two backs they have. They’re putting a lot of pressure on a quarterback to to win the game every week and not enough on the running game. But again, goes back to your first question. The defense has to play better out the gate so that they can run the ball the whole game. So, let’s talk about the defense. And Scott Shanley’s our guest, former Saint linebacker, Super Bowl champion. Um, I was so interested on Sunday by the fact that Pete Wernern had his lowest snap count since 2023 and they got Stman and Stalird reps. Now, Kellen Moore kind of handwaved it a little bit. Do you read anything into that, Scott? Um, I do. I’ve been in the league long enough to know I don’t think it has anything to do with the way Pete’s been playing. I’ve watched the film. Pete’s been one of the leading tacklers, if not the leading tackler in every game. They’re trying to get younger guys reps. And I understand that. That’s part of the game. There’s a good chance Deario’s, this is his last year. Now, now when I say been a part of this business, it’s much easier to go to Pete Warner and tell him you’re going to sit down 10 plays than go to Deario Davis and say you’re going to be down 10 plays. Um, I think part of that’s part of the thing. Pete also goes from 1.5 million this year to 6 million next year on his contract. He’s a big big contract bump the way his agent set up his contract. So, you know, there’s going to be a restructure with Pete. I think they’ll want him back tomorrow. I don’t know. This is last year of his contract. So, it’s part of the business where it it’s hard to go to a guy like tomorrow Davis and say, “Hey, we’re going to play some young guys in front of you.” Yeah. Um, do you have a a thought on what you’ve seen from the young defenders? Yeah, I think there’s been growth. I you know, last week was was a step back. Um I don’t think our secondary is is probably a strength of this team. They’re really young. Sanker’s done a good job in the in the reps he’s gotten and I liken it a lot to the way Spencer got thrown into the fire as a young guy last year and those reps paid dividends and helped him become a better player this year. I think that’ll happen to Stanker. Um there’s a lot of things he can get better at in coverage. I think uh Kool-Aid had his best game last week, but here’s the thing about the NFL, man. It will humble you. Six, seven days later, it will humble you. You can have your best game ever and then turn around and and they don’t care. They’re going to go after you. So, I think the secondary can play better, but secondary play is always tied to pass rush and the Saints are near the bottom and pass rush not getting enough pressure on the quarterback. And I think that’s probably their biggest problem defensively is the pressure rate. Did you notice any impact plays from from Chase Young? Um, I didn’t. I I saw PFF had him graded high. I don’t give a whole lot of credit to PFF and how they grade players because a lot of times they don’t know, you know, what guys responsibilities are. But I think the main thing for me getting chased back is just having another body in that pass rush rotation. Um pass rushing is an exhausting feat, man. I mean, it is exhausting. So, just getting another big guy in there, not getting taking any steps back, getting him back in game shape. I think that in itself is a victory, but just just getting him on a rotation, I think he will he’ll have a bigger impact in the coming weeks. Couple more minutes here with former Saint linebacker Scott Chanley. Scott, is there a time we I think we could all be realistic and say at one and five, we know that that this isn’t going to be a playoff team. Um I I don’t know. Well, let me ask you like before I go any further. Would that be an assumption in the locker room? I don’t know. I don’t I don’t think, you know, I put myself back in playing mode instead of media guy mode. And nobody in the locker room until mathematically you’re eliminated ever will walk around and say, “Okay, this season’s a waste.” Um, and it’s a fine line. You know, you sit I I’ll look at the Browns. The Browns trade away flacko in a division where Burrow’s hurt, Lamar’s hurt, and now you’re sitting in a locker room like that saying, “What the hell are we doing?” you know, we we we could win a game, be two and four, and we’re trading away our our quarterback that gives us a chance to win, and we’re looking to the future. So, I don’t think the Saints are at that point yet as far as disgruntling veteran guys in the locker room. Um, but but that Patriots loss was a setback because you had a little momentum from the Bills game. You won a game and you wanted to see some a stacked win. You start losing one or two more games and then I think you start looking towards the future as far as the way you’re playing, guys. So when you sitting here at one and five, it it feels like just we talked about you’re getting young guys opportunities probably for the future. But the one thing that they have to address this year at some point, Scott, I don’t know if you agree is like you use the 40th pick on Tyler Shuck. You’re very likely going to have a top 10, if not top five pick, and you need to know if you’re going to use that on a quarterback. Well, you got to know what you have in Tyler Shuck. Do you get to a point where you play the rookie? No doubt you you have to and you know I kind of said I think a lot of people have the same feeling about Spencer. He he’s been a pleasant surprise. He’s played some good football, but at some point and and you said it perfect. You got to know you don’t want to roll into next year thinking you have the guy or the guys on your roster and you don’t. So, um I think if you lose to the Bears, I I think it’s time to to give somebody else a shot at quarterback. And you know, Spencer could go out there and throw for for 300 yards. I I think you’re at that point in the season where you can’t just get into December and say, “All right, now Tyler, go out there, roll out there, and do it at the end of the season.” You want to see him out there when other teams are still fighting for playoffs and guys are still fighting on other teams. Um, I think that’s how you get a really good look at Tyler and see see if he can do this. Saints are at the Bears this weekend, then they’re home against Tampa, and then back-to-back road games against the Rams and Panthers. Uh, no rest for the weary. Even the even the Panthers have found a way to win three games this year. He is Scott Shanley, former Saint linebacker. Scott, we always appreciate the visit, man. Go get him on Twitter, Scott Shanley. Thanks, man. Yeah, appreciate it. It’s our pleasure. 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. [Music]

After Further Review On Demand is powered by BREC Golf

Matt Moscona breaks down the New Orleans Saints struggles through the lens of PFF grades and insider analysis. Despite Spencer Rattler playing steady and error-free, the offense hasn’t had enough playmakers to consistently make an impact, while the defense continues to give up early touchdowns on consecutive drives.

Former Saints linebacker Scott Shanle weighs in on the team’s defensive struggles, young players stepping up, and how the Saints are evaluating their quarterback situation with Tyler Shough looming as a potential future starter.

Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect