Tag: Saints

The moment the Saints decided to change quarterbacks may surprise you

Spencer Rattler started the third quarter on Sunday, but knew the Saints made the decision before halftime. This moment could be remembered for a long time:

The New Orleans Saints changed from Jake Haener to Spencer Rattler in the second half against the Washington Commanders, but the decision was made before halftime.

After the game, Rattler revealed quarterback coach Andrew Janocko informed him of the decision with about 30 seconds left in the second quarter. That would be shortly after the Saints’ last possession of the half

Darren Rizzi and Klint Kubiak didn’t need to deliberate during the intermission. While it wasn’t lengthy discussion, it also wasn’t impulsive either. The lethargic offense required a spark, and they felt that spark was a change at quarterback.

It was a gambol from Rizzi, one that certainly paid off. Rattler provided a spark that kept Matthew Hayball off the field for the final 30 minutes. It’s a decision we could be talking about for a long time.

That moment could have changed the trajectory of not only this season, but also the trajectory of Rattler’s season. If you really want to take a wide view of the situation, this could be a pivotal moment in Rattler’s career. That may sound dramatic, but a lot of it depends on how Rattler takes advantage of the moment.

The Saints taking a chance on a young quarterback as your Week 1 starter next year shouldn’t be out of the question. That role could be Rattler’s if he closes the season strong.

It takes a lot to get to that hypothetical, but there’s so much uncertainty in New Orleans it’s hard to consider a quarterback other than Derek Carr starting next season as a stretch. Why not Rattler?

Saints must find out who Spencer Rattler is before 2024 ends

Opinion: The Saints must stick with Spencer Rattler through the rest of the season, unless there is injury, to get a full evaluation of the rookie

Spencer Rattler should be given the opportunity to audition to be the New Orleans Saints quarterback in 2025 over the next three weeks.

A report came out Tuesday morning saying Derek Carr returning to the lineup was unlikely. With the Saints all but out of the playoff race, Carr playing in 2024 provided more risk than reward. Even if he could go, it is smart to hold him out.

This gives you a chance to evaluate Rattler for the future. This means letting him play the entirety of the season unless injury happens. Darren Rizzi switched from Haener to Rattler after just a half of football.

The Saints may be too far back in the draft to get one of the top quarterbacks this season. The future head coach may decide to see what they have in the young quarterback through next season.

Is he the quarterback who held the ball too long in his first few starts and didn’t handle pressure well? Is he the player who stepped up and delivered a bomb to Marquez Valdes-Scantling while being hit? Rattler looked like a different player than we saw in his first stint.

The only way to get that true evaluation is to see the good bad and ugly of Rattler. No more hot potato. Stick with Rattler to close the season.

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Report: Derek Carr ‘very unlikely’ to return from hand injury this season

Report: Derek Carr is ‘very unlikely’ to return from hand injury in time to play again this season

Derek Carr didn’t receive good news on his fractured hand in a recent checkup. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports the New Orleans Saints quarterback is “at least a few weeks away from being able to withstand contact” after breaking his non-throwing hand in two places.

With just three weeks left in the Saints’ 2024 season, there’s a strong possibility that Carr won’t be able to get the green light to return in time to play again this year. After traveling to face the Green Bay Packers (Dec. 23) next week, the Saints will return home for a matchup with Carr’s old Las Vegas Raiders (Dec. 29) team before closing out their season on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Jan. 5).

That sentiment was echoed by NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill, who added that while “there was no surgery, it’s not a minor injury.” Carr’s ability to grip a football and execute his responsibilities from one snap to the next is in question, and it’s too risky to put him on the field until he’s healed up.

So expect rookie backup Spencer Rattler to start next Monday night against the Packers. Rattler outplayed Jake Haener (who got the initial start) on Sunday and should get the nod this week.

As for Carr; we may have already seen him throw a pass in a Saints uniform for the last time. His 2025 salary cap hit doesn’t match his production and the Saints have a few options worth exploring if their next head coach doesn’t intend to build around him. We’ll just have to wait and see how things develop in the weeks and months ahead.

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What’s next for Spencer Rattler after Week 15 performance?

Spencer Rattler impressed against the Commanders, and now he needs to display consistency on his improvements:

No one would have batted an eye if the New Orleans Saints had lost to the Washington Commanders by a large margin, and they were on the way to that outcome in the first half. It was only a 14 point deficit, but the Saints’ offensive struggles made a comeback feel unrealistic.

Everything changed when Darren Rizzi made the switch from Jake Haener to Spencer Rattler.

Rattler led the Saints to four consecutive scoring drives and nearly to an improbable comeback victory. He looked more confident in this game than he did the first time we saw him. Haener versus Rattler has been an ongoing debate this year, and Rattler seemed to have the edge earlier in the season.

The first few starts for Rattler didn’t go well, but he’s clearly learning from his mistakes.

One half of football isn’t enough, though. What’s next for Rattler? The next step is to see him put it together for a full game.

The rookie doesn’t need to blow you away, but what you saw from Rattler against the Commanders was big throws under pressure, playing safe, but not tight, and a comfortable feel in the pocket.

If Rattler starts next week, you should look to keep those attributes as a net positive.

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Saints’ final drive showed a glimpse of what could be a future dynamic duo

The Saints got a potential look into the future on their final drive versus the Commanders, led by Spencer Rattler and Kendre Miller:

The New Orleans Saints’ final drive felt like a look into a potential future of the offense. With 1:55 remaining on the clock, it was youngsters Spencer Rattler and Kendre Miller leading the charge down the field.

Injuries to Derek Carr and Alvin Kamara provided an opportunity to see two young building blocks in a critical situation. Together, Miller and Rattler gave the Saints the opportunity to pull off the upset.

The interesting thing about where the Saints currently are as a franchise is it’s difficult to properly assess the future. If the Saints don’t go with Darren Rizzi full-time, the next head coach will step in with a new philosophy and attitude on players.

Because of that, it’s hard to predict how impactful these type of performances are. For Miller, he can continue being a part of the rotation. His runs early in the drive caught Washington off guard and set the tone. As long as he stays healthy, Miller has shown he deserves a role with the new regime.

For Rattler, he’s either your quarterback or he isn’t. With where the Saints are going to pick in the draft this year, a new coach could decide to see what Rattler has for a year. That brings up more questions about Derek Carr’s contract.

Before we start evaluating questions that won’t be answered in the near future, Rattler has to show he can play well for an entire game. Once we’ve seen that over a couple of games, we can talk about what’s next.

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Darren Rizzi shares injury updates on Alvin Kamara, Kool-Aid McKinstry

Darren Rizzi shared injury updates on New Orleans Saints playmakers Alvin Kamara and Kool-Aid McKinstry after they were nicked up against the Commanders:

Interim head coach Darren Rizzi shared injury updates on a couple of New Orleans Saints playmakers after they were nicked up against the Washington Commanders on Sunday. Star running back Alvin Kamara made the play of the day when he caught a touchdown pass on a trick play from wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr., but he exited the game with a groin injury and didn’t return.

Rizzi said after the game was told that Kamara felt something on his long touchdown catch: “That’s what it sounds like from our medical staff. I will have more information. He’s going to get some imaging stuff, so I’ll have more on that later.”

As for Kool-Aid McKisntry — Rizzi said the rookie cornerback was diagnosed with a stinger after taking the brunt of a big hit while making a tackle, but he was given the green light to return on Sunday afternoon.

“All I know is that if we had gone back on defense, I was told he would have gone back in the game. I don’t know all the details of it, but I was told during the game on the sideline. I was just told he was good to go back in the game,” Rizzi said.

Additionally, wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling was evaluated for a concussion after getting shaken up in a collision downfield, but he was cleared to return and later got back in the game. The Saints play on Monday night next week against the Green Bay Packers so we’ll have to wait until practice resumes on Thursday for official word on everyone’s status, barring any reports or announcements sooner.

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Darren Rizzi on decision to go for two points late vs. Commanders

New Orleans Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi says he doesn’t regret his decision to go for two points late against the Washington Commanders:

No one could have predicted the New Orleans Saints’ Week 15 game with the Washington Commanders would have ended the way it did, coming down to a last-second attempt at scoring two points. Interim head coach Darren Rizzi led his team out of halftime with a change at quarterback, and he put the game on the line with Spencer Rattler rolling out to pass in a bid at winning outright rather than hoping for a kick to go their way in overtime.

Part of that decision was all of the injuries to Alvin Kamara, Kool-Aid McKinstry and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Another part was the challenge of stopping Jayden Daniels, who Rizzi called a “phenomenal player” when recapping the game with local media.

Rizzi said he felt a confluence between momentum shifting their way and the personnel available dictating his decision: “Listen I know there’s the old adage about go kick the extra point at home and go for two at home, we would’ve went for two in the Rams game too, just how the games played out. … But just with where we were, I just felt it was the right call. I don’t regret it.”

He emphasized that he had “zero regret” in the decision to go for two points, and that he believed the locker room supported that call. To come back and be that close to winning the day after trailing so badly at halftime is impressive. And while Rizzi acknowledged he has mixed feelings about a loss, he was proud of the fight his team showed, and he saw some things that could carry over into their final three games this season.

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Reacting to the New Orleans Saints’ last-second loss to Washington Commanders

There’s no such thing as moral victories in the NFL, but the New Orleans Saints did learn a lot about themselves in Sunday’s loss to the Washington Commanders:

There’s no such thing as moral victories in the NFL, but the New Orleans Saints did learn a lot about themselves in Sunday’s loss to the Washington Commanders.

After initially looking like a snoozer, the game wound up being pretty dramatic once Spencer Rattler stepped into the lineup. It ended with a bold two-point conversion attempt to try and complete the Saints’ comeback. New Orleans outscored Washington 19-6 in the second half and put it all on the line with that two-point try.

It was the right decision to go for it. Their defense got away with several coverage busts ruined by dropped passes, and overtime wasn’t guaranteed to go their way. Interim head coach Darren Rizzi has nothing to lose and being aggressive made sense.

What didn’t check out was going to Juwan Johnson with the game on the line. The tight end hasn’t made a play all year and his last catch needed a booth review to see if he even stayed in bounds. He shouldn’t have been the hot read on that last play when Foster Moreau had just caught a touchdown pass and Kendre Miller was running hard.

But what’s done is done. The Saints are now 5-9. They aren’t eliminated from playoff contention but they’re close. It should be clear now that Rattler, not Jake Haener, should be their quarterback until Derek Carr is healthy enough to return to the lineup. How these final three weeks shake out is anyone’s guess, but it’s looking like the Saints will be watching the playoffs from home for the fourth year in a row.

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Cameron Jordan had his first multi-sack game since 2022 season

Cameron Jordan had his first multi-sack game since 2022 against the Washington Commanders. The New Orleans Saints pass rush is heating up:

This time of year is usually prime time for New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan.

On Sunday against the Washington Commanders, Jordan achieved his first multi-sack game since late in the 2022 season, back on New Year’s Day 2023 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Jordan tallied up three sacks on Eagles backup Gardner Minshew in a game in which they would win 20-10.

Jordan had two sacks against Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, to bump his total to three on the season. Coincidentally, Jordan’s three sacks in 2024 have all came during interim head coach Darren Rizzi’s tenure.

It has been very evident that Cam’s play as of late has been much more impressive in this second half of the season. On Sunday, his play was crucial in containing a player like Daniels and making sure that he doesn’t extend plays on the perimeter.

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Alvin Kamara (groin) questionable to return vs. Commanders

Alvin Kamara (groin) is questionable to return in the fourth quarter of the Saints’ game with the Commanders:

This isn’t what you want to see: Alvin Kamara was seen walking to the New Orleans Saints locker room escorted by members of the team’s medical staff after scoring a long touchdown catch against the Washington Commanders. The Saints later announced that Kamara was dealing with a groin injury and was questionable to return midway through the fourth quarter.

He’s a huge loss. Kamara is the team’s best player and on Sunday brought a couple of much-needed sparks in the passing game, including that touchdown and a field-flipping catch earlier on. We’ll see if he can return. Kamara has dealt with a variety of injuries this season including a broken hand.

In the meantime, expect a heavier workload for second-year running back Kendre Miller and veteran backup Jamaal Williams. But there’s no replacing No. 41.

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