Tag: Jake Haener

Saints starting QB ‘very likely’ to return in Week 9 vs. Panthers

Derek Carr seems to be on schedule with his recovery from an oblique injury and could return against the Panthers

The New Orleans Saints opened up the NFL’s Week 7 slate against the Denver Broncos on “Thursday Night Football.” The downside of having such a quick turnaround comes with the upside of having 10 days off until the next game.

With all the injuries on the team, New Orleans could use the extended layoff to get healthy before facing the Los Angeles Chargers. They could really use a bye week, but that’s not for another month.

It appears we’ll see Spencer Rattler, but Dennis Allen does seem optimistic about Derek Carr playing against the Carolina Panthers in Week 9.

“Do I think he’s going to be ready for the Charger game? I’m not sure. I think that’s questionable. I think it’s certainly very likely for the following week,” Allen said.

The decision all comes down to the evaluation of Carr over the next few days. The plan is to “see how he does over the next three or four days, and that’ll probably give us a much clearer picture in terms of his availability for this weekend.”

If Carr shows solid mobility, there’s a chance he’ll return after the break. We’ll likely get a gauge on that early next week.

Spencer Rattler-Chris Olave connection is one to watch vs. Buccaneers

Chris Olave only saw four targets last week. Expect Spencer Rattler to target Olave early and often in his NFL debut against the Buccaneers:

Spencer Rattler will make his NFL debut this week when the New Orleans Saints host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday. And when he takes the field he will be looking for the Saints’ lead receiver Chris Olave.

There have been many discussions about Olave’s usage in the Saints previous game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Olave only saw four targets, and one of them came from Jake Haener. The responsibility for this falls on both Derek Carr and Klint Kubiak.

Olave’s targets should jump on Sunday. This would have been the case regardless of who’s the quarterback, but it’s especially true with Rattler at the helm.

We didn’t see Rattler throw to Olave during the preseason, but both players spoke positively about each other this offseason. Olave praised Rattler’s arm talent during Saints training camp. After the announcement, Olave told NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill he was excited about what Rattler brings to the table.

Rattler even made a comment about targeting Olave: “I make it a key point when he’s in to get him the ball. It’s that simple.”

At the time, Rattler was speaking about practice. Now we get to see the connection in live action. Expect Rattler to target Olave early and often.

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Saints expected to start rookie QB against Broncos on ‘Thursday Night Football’

The Saints are expected to start rookie QB Spencer Rattler on ‘Thursday Night Football’ against the Broncos next week.

Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton would never want this team to look past an opponent, so the Broncos are busy preparing for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers. Fans and pundits, however, have a tendency to look ahead.

After hosting the Chargers on Sunday, Payton’s squad will go on the road to face the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night Football four days later in Week 7. It’s looking like the Saints will be starting a rookie quarterback that night.

New Orleans starter Derek Carr has an oblique injury that is expected to force him to miss “multiple games,” including the game against Denver on Oct. 17. With Carr sidelined, the Saints have announced that fifth-round draft pick Spencer Rattler is set to start at quarterback this week.

Unless he plays terribly against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday and is benched in favor of Jake Haener, Rattler will also start against the Broncos next Thursday.

So next week’s TNF matchup is shaping up to be a battle of rookie quarterbacks: Bo Nix and Denver against Rattler and New Orleans.

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Dennis Allen explains why he’s starting a rookie QB after Derek Carr injury

Dennis Allen explains why he’s starting Spencer Rattler after Derek Carr injury: ‘In this particular game he gave us the best chance to win’

Dennis Allen delivered a bombshell on Wednesday when he announced that backup quarterback Spencer Rattler would take the reins from Derek Carr in Week 6’s game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The New Orleans Saints’ starter suffered a significant oblique muscle injury that’s going to keep him out for at least the next two games.

As to why the Saints are rolling with Rattler instead of the team’s other backup Jake Haener? Allen said that was a staff decision.

“We talked a lot as a staff about what we felt like was the best thing for us, and [anyclip-media thumbnail=”undefined” playlistId=”undefined” content=”dW5kZWZpbmVk”][/anyclip-media], that was the decision that we made. And we’re excited about him getting an opportunity to go in there, and  we’ll let him go play and see what he can do,” Allen said.

However, Allen kept his cards close to his vest in talking about what went into making this decision — as far as matchup preferences or the state of the offense given all of the injuries impacting the offensive line. Still, after meeting with his coaches, this was the course of action Allen felt was best for them this week.

“Internally we talked a lot about it and felt like in this particular game that he gave us the best chance to win,” Allen continued, “Both he and Jake have been practicing extremely hard, preparing to be the starter. It was kind of the conversation that we had at the beginning of the year, Jake would be the two to start but there wasn’t going to be any, basically, a kind of a week-to-week deal. And we just felt like, for this game, was going to give us the best opportunity.”

It’s surprising to see the Saints shift gears now after Rattler was inactive for each of their first four games. It was Haener going in each week whenever Carr missed time with an injury or the game’s result was put out of doubt. But Haener wasn’t drafted by this coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko, and their assistants made the decision to draft Rattler and now they want to see what he can do with a full week of practice under his belt.

That just might save Allen’s job. He’s led the team into a 2-3 record for the second time in three seasons as their head coach, and they need some kind of a spark to snap their three-game losing streak. If Rattler can navigate a muddy pocket and bounce back from the occasional negative play as well as he did at South Carolina, it would give the team some real hope for the future. He added that Rattler will have a bit of a long leash. Allen feels that the rookie needs to play if he’s going to learn and improve, and fearing he could be pulled out of the game after one or two mistakes wouldn’t be helpful.

But that still means he’s got to play better than he did in preseason. Few of Rattler’s opponents from those exhibition games are dressing out on Sundays, and those that are got the better of him in his second preseason matchup with the San Francisco 49ers. For now, all Rattler should worry about is studying and preparing for his next opponent so he can earn another opportunity after that.

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Dennis Allen announces new starting quarterback for Week 6 vs. Bucs

Spencer Rattler will make his NFL debut as the starting quarterback for the New Orleans Saints this Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Spencer Rattler will make his NFL debut as the starting quarterback for the New Orleans Saints this Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. No sources needed here. Dennis Allen himself delivered the news during Wednesday’s presser.

When Derek Carr went down with an oblique injury, the first question was will he be healthy enough to play against the Buccaneers. That question was quickly answered. Carr is expected to miss multiple weeks due to the injury.

The second question was who would start in his place. Would it be Spencer Rattler or Jake Haener? We received that news just as quickly. That may be the most surprising part. Allen has kept many things close to the vest this year. It was shocking to see him announce this so quickly.

Rattler and Haener battled it out in a close competition during Saints training camp. Rattler seemingly pulled ahead during the final preseason game.

Rattler is the higher upside player, and if there was someone who would be the quarterback of the future on the roster, it’s him. He provides a mixture of arm talent and athleticism that’ll bring a different dynamic to the offense.

Let “The Agenda” begin.

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Saints can no longer keep their opinion on young quarterbacks veiled

Dennis Allen will be forced into choosing between Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler after Derek Carr’s injury. He avoided a public decision after training camp:

Dennis Allen avoided saying who won the battle between Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler at New Orleans Saints training camp. Even Haener’s placement as Derek Carr’s backup doesn’t give a clear-cut answer. We’ve seen situations where the backup doesn’t take over in the following weeks, like when Taysom Hill stepped in for an injured Drew Brees rather than Jameis Winston.

With Carr expected to miss multiple weeks, the veil will be completely lifted on who they believe has the edge, because New Orleans won’t run a two-quarterback system. If the Saints truly think it’s an even race, they’ll have to make that tough decision. Allen will have to make a decision, and he’ll have to make it quick.

Neither Haener or Rattler have ever started a regular season game. Whoever is starting needs to take all the first team reps this week in practice. Competing throughout the week and sharing first team reps will ultimately do a disservice to the Week 6 starter.

This doesn’t mean Allen has to announce the decision. He actually will probably keep it to himself. Allen didn’t even want to say Will Harris will be the starting safety in Week 1 prior to the game. He’ll definitely keep the starting quarterback close to the vest. In this situation, it’s more understandable.

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Report: Saints rookie QB ‘is a strong candidate’ to start in relief of Derek Carr

Report: Saints rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler ‘is a strong candidate’ to start in relief of Derek Carr, but the Saints will weigh their options:

Now this is interesting. After reporting that New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr is expected to miss multiple games with an oblique injury, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport added that rookie passer Spencer Rattler “is a strong candidate to get the start” while Carr is on the mend.

That’s surprising given Jake Haener, not Rattler, has been the initial backup for Carr all season. Whether it’s mop-up duty or relief for an injury, it’s been Haener going into games whenever Carr has stepped out. But this might suggest offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak would rather go with Rattler if he’s given a full week of practice reps to prepare for a matchup.

And that would make sense. No one questions whether Rattler is the most talented passer out of the three. The concerns surround his inexperience. Two of the game’s most aggressive defensive coordinators are waiting for him in Todd Bowles (with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and Vance Joseph (on the Denver Broncos), so that would be an uphill battle for anyone, especially a rookie making his first two starts. The Saints drafted Rattler in the fifth round this year out of South Carolina.

We’ll see what happens. Rattler and Haener are both viable options, but that also means neither is overwhelmingly favored to a point where it’s an easy call to make. A bad experience out of the gate could doom a quarterback’s career before it starts. Just look at what happened to Carr’s older brother on the Houston Texans way back when.

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Report: Saints starting QB expected to miss multiple games with injury

New Orleans Saints starting quarterback Derek Carr is expected to miss multiple games with an oblique injury he suffered late against the Chiefs:

This is big. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport report that New Orleans Saints starting quarterback Derek Carr is expected to miss multiple games with an oblique injury he suffered late in Monday night’s loss against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Carr twisted awkwardly while winding up to throw, and that’s going to cost him. The Saints have to play two home games in the next nine days — first against the division-rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Oct. 13, and then against their old coach Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos on Thursday, Oct. 17.

It’s too soon to say whether injured reserve could be an option for Carr, but expect Jake Haener, not Spencer Rattler, to fill in for him in the meantime. Haener has been the next man up all season as Carr’s principal backup. It’s possible the Saints could shift course and go with the rookie Rattler after giving him a week of practice to prepare, but that feels unlikely.

Hopefully Taysom Hill can return soon to lighten the load. The do-it-all tight end is one of their most valuable playmakers and Klint Kubiak’s offense has missed him while managing just 12 and 13 points in the two games Hill has missed this season. Whoever is starting under center, they’ll need better support and protection than Carr was given.

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Spencer Rattler was the Saints’ scout team stand-in for Jalen Hurts

The Saints used Spencer Rattler as their stand-in for Jalen Hurts on this week’s scout team, preparing them to defend one of the game’s most mobile quarterbacks:


The New Orleans Saints will have to stop Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. How do you prepare for this challenge? Throw Spencer Rattler in there as the scout team version of Hurts, of course.

The truth is Hurts is a difficult player to replicate. You want to mimic the legs of Hurts while maintaining the element of the pass. This removes all non-quarterbacks. So who’s next? Derek Carr? Even if he wasn’t your starter, that wouldn’t work. Rattler is the more athletic of the two between him and Jake Haener.

Taysom Hill is the true best choice. He and Hurts resemble each other in style and stature. The problem is, Hill is dealing with an unspecified chest injury that limited him in practice this week. Under certain circumstances, you may have asked him to extend himself to help preparation but not with his health in question.

For this week, Rattler was the best the Saints could do. It’s not many people who could have replicated. We’ll see on Sunday if the Saints appear more prepared than the last time they saw Mr. Hurts.

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Spencer Rattler is the Saints’ emergency QB again in Week 2

Saints rookie Spencer Rattler is the team’s emergency third quarterback again in Week 2. Jake Haener is still Derek Carr’s primary backup:

The New Orleans Saints decided to name Jake Haener the initial backup quarterback for their Week 1 game against the Carolina Panthers. That will remain the same in Week 2, as Spencer Rattler is technically inactive, but he will remain in the “emergency” QB3 role for the Saints. He won’t get into the game unless both Haener and Derek Caarr are incapacitated.

This comes after a preseason where Rattler showed flashes of impressive play, but maybe not enough to lift himself over Haener, who had an extra season of experience with the team to work with Carr. If Carr goes down the coaches would rather put Haener into a game than the rookie.

Rattler joins six other Saints on the inactive list including Marshon Lattimore, A.T. Perry, Khalen Saunders, D’Marco Jackson, Jaylan Ford, and Dallin Holker, many of whom were on this week’s injury report. Lattimore is somewhat surprising given he played Week 1, but also not too shocking as he did not practice throughout the course of the week and was listed as questionable. He was pushing to play but the coaches want him to fully recover after pulling his hamstring last Sunday.

We will see how things progress for Rattler as the season goes along, and maybe he can win the QB2 spot from Haener at some point, but for now he will remain as the emergency backup.

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