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.
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