When a quarterback competition is as close as the New Orleans Saints’ battle seems to be, it can be tempting to overanalyze, well, everything.
So when Spencer Rattler again began the day with first-team reps, the temptation kicked in. Was this the sign that the coaching staff is leaning toward Rattler winning the job? If not that, does that mean he’ll at least start Saturday’s preseason finale against the Denver Broncos?
What does it mean, if anything?
“Yeah, we’re just rotating,” coach Kellen Moore deadpanned.
Hey, I tried.
“Yeah, it was a good try,” Moore said.
Alright, so Moore unsurprisingly wasn’t about to tip his hand, and again maintained that the Saints haven’t decided on their starting quarterback — even for Saturday’s game. But after Wednesday’s practice at the Caesars Superdome, the first-year coach told reporters that Rattler and Shough will play against the Broncos.
In the meantime, the battle continued— with Rattler taking advantage of the first-team reps. He looked sharp as the afternoon practice went on, notably hitting Chris Olave for a 25-yard touchdown in a two-minute drill. And, perhaps even more notable, Rattler got the majority of snaps with the starters.
Shough rotated in with the first team, but only for one series instead of the several that had previously taken place.
“We love to compete,” Rattler said. “If you don’t love to compete, then you shouldn’t be the QB. So we all love to compete.”
Even though the Saints haven’t named a starter, Moore has used this week to simulate preparation for the regular season. Moore said the Saints held practice at the Superdome, for instance, to get used to the turf and the stadium beyond what they’ve already experienced in the preseason. And that’s why Thursday’s practice will be lighter, representing a typical Friday session.
Even the Saints’ workload on Wednesday looked slightly different than usual. Moore incorporated more exotic plays and packages, the kinds that they’d typically introduce to catch an opponent off guard in the regular season.
In team drills, Moore had the first-team offense go against the second-team defense and the second-team offense go against the first-team defense. The early portions of camp, by contrast, primarily featured the 1’s versus the 1’s.
Of the quarterbacks, Rattler displayed the most consistency. After a slow start that saw him go 0-for-4 in 7-on-7s, the second-year signal-caller found a groove — including his hitting his first 10 passes in 11-on-11. In one worked-on situation, Rattler got the Saints into field goal range with a nice pair of completions. Later, to set up the 25-yard strike to Olave, Rattler methodically moved the Saints down the field on an eight-play series.
Shough’s performance resembled more of his outing from Sunday’s tie against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He wasn’t bad by any means, but he lacked the splashy plays that could have theoretically helped create separation in the team’s competition. When working with the 2’s, the unit allowed several penalties and pressures to disrupt his rhythm.
Still, near the end of practice, he led a 10-play drive with just 1:12 on the clock to set up a 58-yard field goal from Charlie Smyth. Shough managed to get the Saints into scoring territory, despite a few errant throws and a pair of sacks.
Here were the numbers from the afternoon (11-on-11 only):
Rattler: 18-21 (141-206 overall)
Shough: 5-11 (114-187)
Jake Haener: 2-3 (80-118)
Asked if he viewed the quarterback competition as close as Moore does, Rattler said “that’s not up to me.” But Rattler also said that he feels good and wants to keep building on his progress.
“It’s just good competition with all of us,” Rattler said.