The New Orleans Saints' nightmare scenario can be summed up in two words: Shough Slump. Tyler Shough wouldn’t be the first young player to hit a sophomore slump, but it would be an absolute gut punch if he was the next one. The Saints did so much to build around him that Shough taking a step back would be extremely disappointing.
Sophomore slumps are often discussed, but Kellen Moore spent last offseason speaking about how Year 2 is the season for the most growth for quarterbacks. We saw it for Spencer Rattler, and Shough seeing the same growth is the key to the Saints being a playoff team.
Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon gave each team's nightmare for next season. He kept it short and sweet for the Saints. "Sophomore slump for Tyler Shough, period." Short, sweet and spot on.
Tyler Shough not living up to the hype would waste Saints' offseason
The Saints did so much to build around Tyler Shough that a sophomore slump is easily the most disappointing outcome to the season. It’d be even more heartbreaking because no one sees it coming. The expectations and rise of Shough is the reason fans think it’ll all come together so quickly.
The Saints brought in two rookie wide receivers. Tyson creates his own expectations because he’s a top-10 pick. However there’s an extra layer of hopefulness attached to Tyson hitting the ground running because of Shough’s success late last season.
The free agents and draftees around Shough are obviously meant to help him succeed and develop, but it’s not about figuring out what you have in Shough. The aggressive nature in which the Saints have accumulated talent this year feels more like striking while the iron is hot opposed to a temperature check.
The Saints have a quarterback who was heating up last time we saw him and an offense with a bunch of new weapons. Last year, Shough impressed Saints fans with his ability to do more with less. Sometimes it was less protection. Sometimes it was less targets to throw to. The Saints fixed both this offseason.
The Saints are building a strong foundation for the future, so one year wouldn't stop all the momentum. However, the Saints added a strong mix of proven commodities and young players with high potential, creating a level of immediate expectations. It isn't playoffs or bust either. Fans just want to see growth, so the season failing due to Shough regressing would be a tough pill to swallow when everything has been built for him to take a big jump.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Follow