Category: Spencer Rattler

Drew Brees compares Spencer Rattler to another rookie QB

Drew Brees recently shared his thoughts on Spencer Rattler, who he compared to another rookie quarterback. Brees sees some similarities with Bo Nix:

The Saints haven’t had nearly the success at quarterback to be desired since the retirement of legendary signal-caller Drew Brees, and only ahead of the loss to the Panthers did New Orleans get its starter back.

Before veteran Derek Carr was able to return to the field after missing weeks of action due to injury, the team leaned into rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler.

Brees recently weighed in on Rattler, also comparing him in some ways to Denver quarterback Bo Nix.

“It’s interesting to see the two offenses – the Saints and the Broncos – with Klint Kubiak and Sean Payton,” Brees said in an interview with RG.org.

“I think there’s a lot of similarities between Spencer Rattler and Bo Nix. They’re both really athletic guys. The Saints were under center a lot more. I think that’s how they set up their run game and their play action. Spencer Rattler was on the move so much, throws the ball and runs very well – very similar to Bo. I think where both of those guys will need to make strides – just as any young player – is in the drawback passing game.”

Rattler finished out his most recent appearance, the 26-8 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in which he was benched, 12 for 24 passing for 156 yards. While he has had his bright moments, the former Oklahoma and South Carolina quarterback has had a rough go of it in his first year in the NFL.

It will be interesting to watch what the Saints do at backup quarterback moving forward, especially in the event that Carr is to go down again this season, but there’s no question that Rattler was put in a tough situation when he was unexpectedly thrown into the fire like this.

Regardless, the Saints’ main focus right now is on the big picture, and that starts with snapping a seven-game losing streak. New Orleans will attempt to take their first hack at that when the Atlanta Falcons head to to New Orleans next Sunday.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Mickey Loomis says he’s ‘bullish’ on young Saints quarterbacks

Jake Haener relieved Spencer Rattler vs. the Chargers, but Mickey Loomis remains ‘bullish’ on both of the Saints young quarterbacks:

Despite Jake Haener coming in in relief of Spencer Rattler against the Los Angeles Chargers, Mickey Loomis gave both of the New Orleans Saints’ young quarterbacks a vote of confidence.

Loomis joined the WWL Radio Coaches Show on Tuesday and expressed belief in both players saying, “I’m really bullish on Spencer and Jake both.”

It’d be reckless for Loomis say otherwise, but there is a likely a lot of truth in his statements.

Dennis Allen articulated how close the race for Derek Carr’s backup was coming into the season. Rattler’s struggles shouldn’t have changed that. Missing Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed left Rattler operating with an empty toolbox for multiple games. That doesn’t even begin to account for the protection issues.

Rattler definitely struggled, but asking a fifth round pick to perform well under those conditions in his first starts was a tall task. He didn’t hit the bar, but it would be too early to be out on the rookie.

As for Haener, he looked good in his limited action, so there’s no reason to not be bullish on him. The Saints should view their young quarterbacks similarly to how they did entering the year. These are players with potential but still in need of some refinement.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Dennis Allen explains why he made a change at quarterback vs. Chargers

Dennis Allen explains why he made a change at quarterback against the Chargers. He felt Jake Haener ‘did some good things’ in relief of Spencer Rattler:

Dennis Allen said he’d give Spencer Rattler a long leash, and he was good on his word. The New Orleans Saints head coach stood by his rookie quarterback for two and a half games before deciding he’d seen enough. Trailing the Los Angeles Chargers 16-5 midway through the third quarter, Allen benched Rattler and told quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko to warm up second-year backup Jake Haener.

“Look I just felt like we needed to do something to get something going offensively. We weren’t able to move the football. I felt we needed to do something to get some kind of spark,” Allen said after the game.

To that point, Rattler had led the offense for nine possessions, gaining 179 yards on 36 plays and managing just three points (on a 40-yard field goal). After switching to Haener for their last four drives, the offense gained 157 yards on 29 plays. Blake Grupe connected on another field goal (from 43 yards) but missed his third attempt (from 44 yards).

“I thought he did some good things,” Allen said of Haener. “Created a few plays. Took us down and gave us an opportunity to score some points. But ultimately we just have got to play better as a group.”

All told, Rattler completed 12 of his 24 passes for 156 yards, though he took 3 sacks for a loss of 16 yards. Haener went 9-of-17 for 122 yards and also lost 16 yards on a pair of sacks, but he made up for it by scrambling twice for a gain of 10 yards. So while the offense did get a small spark, it wasn’t enough to make a difference.

Allen acknowledged that Rattler had some shortcomings but he wasn’t willing to put all of the blame on the rookie: “I think there was a couple of reads it probably could’ve been better on. And look we certainly didn’t help him with a couple of drops and things of that nature, I think the margin for error right now is small. When we have opportunities to make plays, we have to be able to make the plays.”

Will Haener get another look? Maybe. Derek Carr is likely returning this week against the Carolina Panthers, but if he suffers a setback while recovering from injury the coaches could choose to stick with Haener rather than Rattler. It would be worth starting Haener to get a larger sample size to evaluate later, but at the end of the day the Saints must go with whoever gives them the best chance to win. They’re 2-6. They can’t assume these players and coaches will still be here next year. If this losing streak continues even bigger changes should be expected in the offseason.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Saints QB Spencer Rattler reacts to being benched: ‘It is what it is’

Spencer Rattler was benched during the third quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in favor of quarterback Jake Haener. He spoke about the change after the game:

New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler was benched during the third quarter in favor of former Fresno State passer Jake Haener during Sunday’s 26-8 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Saints initially chose to roll with Rattler over Haener when starting quarterback Derek Carr went down withy an injury earlier in the season, but they may be rethinking things with the way the rookie has struggled.

The performance he put on in his latest showing was unconvincing, as he went 12-of-24 passing for 155 yards.

In a way, it’s hard to blame Rattler for some of his issues because of how thin the Saints currently are at wide receiver, the way he was thrown into the fire as a rookie without warning and the countless other problems out of his control that the Saints need to remedy.

“I think we were moving the ball at a good rate in the first half and then a little bit in that second half,” Rattler said after the game. “We would go forward and then backward. Forward and backward. So, we all shot ourselves in the foot a little bit just with the little things and the way we played just didn’t win the game.”

Specifically on being benched, Rattler isn’t focused on the decision and it doesn’t seem to be getting to him personally.

“I control the controllables and I’m just a team guy, so I’m going to want us to win either way. So, it is what it is,” Rattler added.

It will be interesting to watch what the Saints do moving forward at quarterback with a matchup against the Carolina Panthers set for Noon CT/1 p.m. ET on Nov. 3 in Charlotte.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Saints won’t be changing their plans at quarterback any time soon

The Saints won’t be changing their plans at quarterback. If Derek Carr can’t return this week, Spencer Rattler will start, not Jake Haener:

There isn’t any question about who the New Orleans Saints want starting at quarterback — Derek Carr is who head coach Dennis Allen believes gives them the best chance to win each week. But Carr is still recovering from an oblique muscle injury and not expected back until Week 9’s game with the Carolina Panthers at the soonest, which means it’ll be one of his backups starting again in Week 8’s road trip to face the Los Angeles Chargers.

And Allen isn’t deviating from his path. Rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler is preparing to start his third consecutive game, not second-year pro Jake Haener.

“No, the plan would be to stay with Spencer. And I think Spencer has done some good things,” Allen began, “I mean obviously there are some rookie mistakes. Got to do a better job of protecting the football, that would probably be the biggest thing we have to do a better job of. But I feel when you go back and watch the tape and he’s got protection, I thought he did a good job of throwing the football and creating some things with his feet. He was accurate when he was outside the pocket. So I’ve seen a lot of good things from him. We’ve got to eliminate some of the negative plays.”

Through two games, Rattler has completed 47 of 75 passes for 415 yards with one touchdown against two interceptions. He’s also been sacked 11 times. Of the 28 quarterbacks with fewer than 100 dropbacks this season, Rattler is the only one with double-digit sacks. He’s also one of six quarterbacks with multiple interceptions on such a small sample size.

But so long as Carr is out dealing with an injury during the week, it’ll be Rattler preparing to start in his place. Allen and the Saints coaching staff want him learning from these mistakes and working to overcome adversity so he can develop into a better pro. Haener is waiting in the wings for his opportunity.

He certainly made the most of it against the Broncos. The Saints pulled Rattler after he suffered a hip pointer injury late in the fourth quarter, but Haener led the offense into its only scoring drive of the night, which ended with a touchdown pass to Cedrick Wilson Jr. He completed 3 of 4 passes for 38 yards after taking over at midfield.

For now, that’s all Haener can do. Until Carr is cleared to practice fully and lead the offense himself, all eyes are on Rattler. The rookie needs to keep working and improving and make sure his coaches’ eyes don’t start to wander in the meantime.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Opinion: Spencer Rattler should remain Saints’ starter until Derek Carr returns

Opinion: Jake Haener looked good at the end of the Broncos game on his few plays, but the Saints should stick with Spencer Rattler as the starter

Spencer Rattler left the New Orleans Saints game against the Denver Broncos on the final drive. If he’s healthy, he should continue to be the Saints starter until Derek Carr returns.

Jake Haener finished the drive Rattler departed with a touchdown. It was a struggle for the offense all night, but Haener looked smooth in the few plays he played. The most notable difference was how quickly he got rid of the football even when the Broncos sent the house after him on a blitz.

Despite this difference in performance, Dennis Allen should continue rolling with the rookie. As much as the decision was meant for the present, playing Rattler benefitted your future. That likely played a part in the decision, if it wasn’t the driving factor.

Rattler has the ceiling to be your next starting quarterback after Carr. He showed promise in his debut, but struggled with ball security against Denver. Sitting him after a bad game would be counterproductive to his development.

Ratter should be given a chance with some of the returning weapons. His two starts have come without any of the starting interior linemen or Taysom Hill. Rattler played just three snaps with Chris Olave and one full game with Rashid Shaheed. It would nice to get an evaluation of him with his top weapons available and better protection in front of him.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Sean Payton sought out Spencer Rattler after Saints-Broncos game

Sean Payton was impressed by Spencer Rattler’s effort in a loss. He shared words of encouragement with the rookie QB after Thursday night’s game:


Sean Payton is no stranger to the growing pains one goes through with rookie quarterbacks.

He’s in the midst of helping one currently in transition in Bo Nix, who has had some ups and downs in not only his first season in the NFL, but also his first year as an NFL starter.

New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler is also going through a bit of that himself, thrown to the wolves as a starter unexpectedly with veteran Derek Carr currently sidelined due to injury.

Payton made a point of going up to Rattler after the game, praising him for some of the poise he showed, despite the Saints coming out with far from the outcome they wanted in a 33-10 loss.

“You’ve got some moxie, man,” Payton said to Rattler.

Rattler was up against the odds with a poor offensive line performance and the loss of two of his top wideouts, Chris Olave (concussion) and Rashid Shaheed (knee).

He finished the game 25-of-35 passing for 172 yards, also with five carries for 34 yards. The former South Carolina quarterback didn’t get his team to the end zone and could hardly remain upright as he was sacked some six times.

There was some confusion on if Rattler was benched toward the end of the game when Jake Haener entered at quarterback, but it was later clarified the decision was made to save Rattler after he suffered from a “hip pointer” injury.

That’s probably a good call by the Saints with the way the injury bug has been just one of a wave of problems contributing to New Orleans’ fall from grace.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Drew Brees liked what he saw in Spencer Rattler’s debut

Drew Brees evaluates Spencer Rattler’s first NFL start, and it’s exactly what Brees expected to see from the Saints’ rookie quarterback:

What did Drew Brees see when watching Spencer Rattler make his NFL debut? Exactly what Brees expected to see from the New Orleans Saints rookie, “a guy who plays with a ton of confidence, can make all the throws.”

Rattler was impressive. His mobility and arm talent were on full display against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He performed well in the first half despite being without Chris Olave after the third play. That’ll be the case again against the Denver Broncos.

It wasn’t all perfect for Rattler, though. The rookie threw two interceptions in the second half. Brees partially chalks that up to taking abnormal risks while playing catch up. That applies to Rattler’s second pick.

In general, Brees understands mistakes are part of the learning process for young players. “You have to make some of those mistakes and work through those like every young player does.”

In his NFL debut, Rattler achieved what fans should have wanted to see. He showed potential for the future. This week is about building on last week’s foundation.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Sean Payton says Broncos scouted Saints QB pre-draft, ‘the whole nine yards’

Sean Payton says the Broncos thoroughly scouted Saints QB Spencer Rattler before the 2024 draft with meetings and a private workout: ‘The whole nine yards’

Spencer Rattler will have a big fan on the opposing sideline when his New Orleans Saints kick off with the Denver Broncos on Thursday night. Sean Payton said the Broncos thoroughly scouted the rookie quarterback ahead of  this year’s NFL draft, and he was impressed by what the South Carolina product showed him.

Payton and the Broncos college scouting department invested just as much time in evaluating Rattler as they did the other quarterbacks in the draft class, including their new starter Bo Nix.

“We spent a lot of time with him. I’d say there was five. Pro day and then we had a private workout. We were all in Phoenix, the Scottsdale area, where he’s from,” Payton recalled Tuesday. “Steak dinner, the whole nine yards. Tested in the morning (and watched him) throw. He did really well.”

So Payton wasn’t exactly blown away when the Saints immediately chose to  start Rattler after Derek Carr’s injury last week. He’s seen the young quarterback tackle everything college football could throw at him, and he knows the Broncos defense will need to work hard to pressure Rattler in his second career start.

Payton continued: “It’s not surprising to see (him do well). There is, again, I’m going to use an analogy. There’s a calmness when he plays. He too has been through the adversity early on. Coming out of high school, to Oklahoma and then transferring. There is a confidence when he’s on the field. You see that in the preseason and last week. It’s not too big for him, and he has a live arm. We were really impressed.”

At the same time, that exposure could have given Payton and his coaches some insight on how to, well, rattle Rattler. They didn’t draft him when they had the chance, but that’s probably more due to having taken Nix in the first round while lacking enough picks to address higher-priority needs. But if Rattler impresses on Thursday night and hands Payton’s team a loss? It sounds like the former Saints coach would be first in line to shake his hand.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Saints have to prioritize getting Spencer Rattler out of the pocket

Spencer Rattler was effective throwing outside of the pocket, until the Buccaneers adjusted. Klint Kubiak must make his own changes this week:

New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler showed potential in his NFL debut, especially in the first half. Things began to go downhill in the second half after Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles adjusted his pressure packages to send more exotic blitzes after the first-year pro. But the connection between Rattler’s success and struggles is his ability to work outside of the pocket.

Rattler completed 7 of 12 attempts for 111 yards when he was throwing from outside the pocket, per Next Gen Stats.

Against the Denver Broncos, Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak has to come up with a better plan to get Rattler on the move and outside of the pocket more consistently. Vance Joseph is a good defensive coordinator and he’ll likely use some of the principles Bowles and the Buccaneers used to keep Rattler in the pocket.

In the first half, Rattler looked in control of the offense. He rolled out on the first play of the game and delivered a 27-yard pass to Juwan Johnson. The formula of rolling out and allowing Rattler to read multiple levels of the field was effective until Tampa Bay adjusted.

They began flaring their defensive ends out to stop Rattler’s ability to get outside. It’s no coincidence the offense stalled because that was New Orleans’ best offensive strategy.

The injuries on the offensive line make it difficult to run and consistently keep a clean pocket. Moving the pocket was clearly effective. Kubiak has to find a way to adjust and keep that as a positive aspect in the offense.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]