Tag: Spencer Rattler

How many points have the Saints scored since their historic start?

The Saints haven’t matched their scoring output total from the first two weeks — in the last five weeks combined. Did Klint Kubiak’s offense run out of steam?

The New Orleans Saints were the best offense in football through the first two weeks. It’s no coincidence they were also undefeated in that time span. Since then, the Saints offense has sputtered.

Injuries to critical players such as Erik McCoy and Taysom Hill certainly had their impact, but Klint Kubiak’s play calling has been questionable as well. His tendency to run to the right side of the offensive line with little success has left some wondering, and the creativity seemed to run out of supply once Hill went out.

The most notable injury is quarterback Derek Carr. He was at the helm for three of the five games the Saints have lost in a row. It wouldn’t be sensible to point at his injury as a cause for the struggles. In Carr’s last 3 games, the Saints offense averaged 16.3 points with a high of 24 points against the Atlanta Falcons.

This pales in comparison to what happened at the beginning of the season. New Orleans put up back to back 40 point performances. That logically couldn’t last.

The Saints were out of this world, but they quickly came crashing down back to earth. Since scoring 91 points in the first two weeks, New Orleans has put 86 points on the board in the subsequent five weeks.

There’s a lot of places you can point the finger. At the end of the day, it just isn’t good enough. The Saints offense is a shell of who they were at the beginning of the year in multiple ways.

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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.

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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.

Dennis Allen says he’s not at fault for bizarre timeout vs. Broncos

Dennis Allen says don’t blame him for a bizarre timeout against the Broncos. He threw Klint Kubiak under the bus for that one:

What was with the New Orleans Saints timeouts before halftime in Thursday night’s loss to the Denver Broncos? It was an odd move when the team was down by multiple scores and set up deep in their own territory with just 11 seconds remaining, and it led to some irritation both from fans in attendance and the broadcast booth; Amazon Prime play-by-play announcer Al  Michaels grumbled something about having to wait a little longer to check the catering spread.

And according to Saints head coach Dennis Allen, it was offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak who signaled for a timeout.

“He got a little excited over there on the sideline,” Allen said Friday, via Nola.com’s Rod Walker. “He and I discussed that. That won’t be a problem moving forward.”

It was an odd moment, complete with the broadcast cameras picking  up Spencer Rattler mouthing, “What are we doing?” on his way back to the sideline between plays. Kubiak was trying to will the offense into putting some points on the board before halftime, having fallen to a 16-3 deficit after a Wil Lutz field goal on the previous drive.

But after Rattler gained a single yard on his first pass to Alvin Kamara followed by a 5-yard pickup on his next checkdown, everyone was ready to just go into the locker room, catch their breath, and pick up where they left off. The Saints were set to receive the opening kickoff for the second time after the break anyway.

But according to Section 5, Article 1 of the 2024 NFL Rulebook, assistant coaches like Kubiak are not supposed to be able to signal a timeout. Not that it stops them from trying:

The Referee shall suspend play while the ball is dead and declare a charged team timeout upon the request for a timeout by the head coach or any player (not a substitute) to any official. If an assistant coach signals for a timeout and it is inadvertently granted, the timeout will stand.

So they’ll need to be more clear about who can request those timeouts in the future, as Allen said. But that doesn’t mean he should be throwing his play caller under the bus. Allen didn’t have to name anyone, especially since he could’ve defended his coach and avoided an admission about violating NFL rules in the process, but he chose to anyway. The Saints are in a bad spot during their five-game losing streak and what looks to be their fourth year out of the playoffs. Allen might be feeling the pressure.

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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.

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Saints rookie Spencer Rattler struggles in his second start

Saints rookie Spencer Rattler struggles in his second start, an ugly loss to Denver on national television

It was a battle of rookies to kick off the week on Thursday Night Football as the Denver Broncos and Bo Nix took on the New Orleans Saints and Spencer Rattler in just his second start of the season. The Saints struggled to move the ball all night long and looked like a mess of a team from the first snap of the game, giving little help to their rookie quarterback who was flustered early on.

It was difficult for Rattler to find any room to operate behind an offensive line that was getting consistently beaten and bullied by the opposing Denver front. Rattler managed what he could ending the night with 25 completions on 35 passing attempts, for 172 yards, and no touchdown. Rattler added another 34 yards on the ground. Without Chris Olave or Taysom Hill in the lineup there was very little for Rattler to work with, and when put under pressure without much help it would be hard to ask any rookie to elevate the rest of the team, especially in just his second start.

Rattler clearly needs more time to sit and learn behind Derek Carr and preferably the next time he goes under center for the Saints, a better roster. It’s promising that Rattler looked even remotely functional given everything around him, even though the backup quarterback Jake Haener came in and moved the ball down the field late, it’s clear there was plenty of dysfunction offensively all night.

A flag saved Saints’ Spencer Rattler from the biggest catastrophe of the season

This was almost an absolute disaster for the Saints.

Saints rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler got saved by the officials on what could’ve been the biggest disaster play of the 2024 NFL season so far.

In the second quarter on Thursday Night Football against the Denver Broncos, Rattler fumbled a snap and snagged the football to try and prevent a turnover.

However, rather than throw the ball out of bounds or just fall to the ground, Ratter scrambled, avoided a sack, bumped into one of his offensive linemen and eventually got hit by Broncos defensive lineman Jordan Jackson.

Rattler fumbled the ball once more on the hit, only to have it scooped up by Broncos linebacker Cody Barton for a defensive touchdown.

Thankfully for Rattler and the Saints, Denver got flagged during the play and all the chaos was a wash. However, the lowlight is hard to get out of your mind.

Hopefully the rookie quarterback learns how to navigate this situation next time.

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Saints must continue prioritizing their tight ends amid WR injuries

The Saints finally found their tight ends against the Buccaneers. They need to continue targeting them versus the Broncos and beyond:

The New Orleans Saints got tight ends more involved against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and that should become a trend, especially against the Denver Broncos after injuries laid waste to the receiving corps.

Foster Moreau and Juwan Johnson were non-factors in the offense through five weeks. Their production leaped when the Saints took on the Buccaneers. Moreau and Johnson combined for 59 yards through the first 5 weeks. Moreau had 54 by himself against the Buccaneers.

Part of that change had to do with Spencer Rattler being at the helm and the type of plays Klint Kubiak was calling for Rattler. Another reason was health concerns.

Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed are injured, so tight ends may be more involved this week out of necessity. It shouldn’t stop there, however. Health aside, targeting the tight ends started on the first play of the game last week. Rattler rolled out and hit Juwan Johnson for his longest reception of the season. At that time, Olave and Shaheed were on the field.

Rattler continued to target tight ends along the middle of the field. This feels like a section of the field the Saints don’t hit enough. The tight ends can be unlocked. We’ve been looking for it all season, and last week showed it was a possibility.

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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.

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Broncos were ‘really impressed’ with Spencer Rattler in pre-draft process

Had Bo Nix not made it to them at No. 12, the Broncos might have targeted Spencer Rattler in the NFL draft this spring.

This spring, the Denver Broncos met with South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler at the NFL combine and attended his pro day, then they had a private workout with the QB. The Broncos certainly did their homework on the Gamecocks, and he studied up for his meetings with Denver’s staff.

On draft day, Oregon quarterback Bo Nix fell to the Broncos at pick No. 12. Had Nix not been available, Denver might have turned to Rattler.

“I think they had a mid-second to early third-round grade on him,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported after the draft.

Rattler ended up falling all the way to the New Orleans Saints in the fifth round. He’s now set to start against Nix and the Broncos on Thursday.

“We spent a lot of time with him,” coach Sean Payton said this week. “I’d say there was five [quarterbacks were considered]. Pro day and then we had a private workout. We were all in Phoenix — the Scottsdale area, where he’s from. Steak dinner, the whole nine yards. Tested [him] in the morning [and watched him] throw. He did really well.

“It’s not surprising to see [him have success]. … 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. Not that it matters, but we had him graded higher, and I’m sure the Saints did as well. It got to a point where you just had to take the grade, but he was impressive.”

Rattler will make his second career start against Denver.

Thursday’s game will be available to stream exclusively on Prime Video.

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