NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Take One: Rattler benched
Kellen Moore saw enough.
On drive into the third quarter, Moore benched Spencer Rattler after an ugly 3& out on their first drive of the second half and inserted rookie Tyler Shough. At that point, the Saints had only scored three points.
For Rattler, after multiple weeks of playing relatively clean, mistake-free football, things flipped drastically the last two weeks where the Saints turned the ball over eight times. Rattler was directly responsible for six of them. He just wasn’t making enough positive play to offset those mishaps.
Against Tampa Bay, Rattler fumbled on the Saints opening possession on a scramble. Later, after the defense forced a goal-line stand (more on that later), Rattler was picked off by Anthony Nelson at the three-yard line. Nelson returned it for the game’s first score.
Though Moore said they’ll evaluate over the next 48 hours on exactly what they’ll do at quarterback, Rattler sounded like a player who knew what’s coming next.
The Rattler experience has been a unique one in New Orleans. When he was drafted in the fifth round a season ago no one could’ve predicted he would have gotten 14 starts in his first season and a half. It’s rare that a fifth rounder gets that many starts this early in his career, even rarer when that player has just one win in that stretch.
Rattler has certainly improved and no one would dare say he’s the sole reason for their record. However, at the end of the day, 1-13 is 1-13.
Take Two: Shough steps in
Though it should have happened much sooner, it appears the Tyler Shough era is officially here in New Orleans.
Shough came in under tough circumstances and played decent Sunday. He had some misfortune early when he completed a pass to Chris Olave, but Antoine Winfield ripped the ball away from Olave before he could secure.
Shough also had some missed opportunities. He overthrew Rashid Shaheed and Juwan Johnson in the end zone on two different passes.
He finished 17/30 for 128 yards and one interception and led the team to no points.
It will be interesting to see the Saints approach with Shough, should they decide to roll with him going forward. He’ll undoubtedly experience growing pains while learning on the job, but the Saints made him the highest drafted quarterback since Archie Manning for a reason. Clearly, there’s a belief that he has some traits that could turn into a potential franchise quarterback.
If Moore officially turns to him, Shough will get nine games to show he can be just that. If he can’t, next year’s draft could get much more interesting.
Take Three: Defense puts in work
The final score read 23-3, but that may not reflect just how well the Saints defense.
Motivated by Baker Mayfield’s comments earlier in the week, the defense played with a physicality that was admirable. DeMario Davis in particular was all over the field with 11 tackles.
Mayfield finished with just 152 yards and fumbled once. The Saints also sacked him three times. They also had an impressive goal line stand in the first half where the Bucs had five cracks at the end zone from the one-yard line. They nearly had another goal line stand in the third quarter until Sean Tucker was able to break the plane on a run on 4th down from the one. Had that ball been a half-yard back, Tucker would not have scored.
All in all, it was an impressive effort from a unit that was decimated last week in Chicago. Ironically, had Rattler had his typical avoid mistakes type of game, it may have been enough.
Take Four: Details, details , details
Part of the offensive issues the Saints are consistently dealing with come down to details.
Rashid Shaheed fumbled the ball away on a second quarter completion. He nearly had another one in the third quarter that was fortunately overturned. On the Shough interception, Olave has to be able to bring that pass in or at the very least fight for it until it hits the ground. He can’t let a defensive back rip it away from him.
Another issue that’s becoming alarming is the amount of times receivers are running routes on 3rd & 4th downs short of the sticks. There was a fourth down throw from Shough to Juwan Johnson that he couldn’t reel in. However, even if Johnson would have caught the ball, he would have been short due to lack of depth on his route, which was inexcusable given they only needed two yards for a first down.
The little things are hurting the Saints offense.
Take Five: Other Observations
Blake Grupe provided the only points for the Saints.With the Jets winning, the Saints are officially tied for worst record in the NFL.During Rattler’s final drive, the Saints had three holding penalties and a false start. Speaking of offense, it’s still difficult to truly decipher what kind of offense Kellen Moore truly wants.The Saints only have three home games remaining. It won’t get any easier for the Saints with a trip to face the Rams next week.
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