The New Orleans Saints quarterback competition feels as close as it's ever been heading into Week 2 of the preseason. Tyler Shough and Spencer Rattler both have strong claims.
But what is WWL Radio color analyst Deuce McAllister looking for out of the young QBs as things roll forward into a matchup with the Jaguars?
“I want them to go out and play the game. I don’t want them to be playing not to make a mistake. I think at times that’s what the case has been, they’re playing not to make a mistake," told Mike Detillier and Charlie Long on SportsTalk. "I understand that you’re in a race. I understand that you’re vying for the starting job and so I want to see you kind of let go a little bit and go and play, just go play the game and, you know, mistakes are gonna happen. You can’t go out there and and say oh, I don’t like that throw because it looks like he covered it so I’m just gonna check it down or I’m gonna throw it underneath or I’m gonna hold it a tad bit longer than you should. Hey, if I see it, I’m sure of the read, let the ball go."
We've seen some of the ups and downs of that philosophy, but that's part of the process. In the preseason opener the rookie Shough threw a quick out to Dante Pettis and watched the DB jump it and take it the other way for 6. It was a down moment, but the way he responded tells the story: A 54-yard TD on a double move to Mason Tipton.
Neither Shough nor Rattler has attacked much downfield to this point in camp and it's been limiting for the offense. In Tuesday's practice Rattler led a 16-play drive that ended in an interception in the high red zone. Defenses will always take the gamble that if they force the other team to run 16 plays, a mistake will happen somewhere.
"You’re going to make mistakes. Just go and play and hopefully you can learn from some of the mistakes that you’ve made. ... Throw the ball where a guy can have a chance to catch it. It doesn’t matter if I’m throwing a backshoulder fade and my receiver never has a chance to catch it. It doesn’t matter if I’m throwing a 40-yard go route and my receiver never has a chance to catch it," Deuce continues. "Give my receiver a chance to catch it and so, you know, that’s what I want to go out and just hopefully those guys play with a lot of confidence in the plan and what they’re doing, you know, and I'd like to see them stretch the field a little bit more, not just on some double move-type plays. I want to see some posts, I want to see some digs, I want to see some 15-yard outs, some throws like that. That’s what I want to see.”
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MORE FROM DEUCE
On Kendre Miller's preseason debut
“I thought he played OK. I mean, he can play better. You know, and really, the biggest thing is, you know, they haven’t tackled a ton and I think that’s where you tend to play high a little bit just because you’re not getting hit in practice and so the same thing for blocking, offensive line, defensive line as well, you’ve got to get your shoulder pads down. ... But I thought that Kendre played well," Deuce said. "The biggest thing, yes, you would love to see the yards per carry up, you would love to see a plus-10, plus-20-type yard carry, but at the end of the day, if you’re doing your assignment and then I know that you’re picking up the blitz then I’m pretty pleased, I’m pretty pleased with that opportunity and the other thing that, whether you’re R2, R2 or even R4, running back 4 on this team, can you contribute on special teams and I thought that he had a couple of opportunities on the return game where you had some pretty good returns and so I would love for him to be able to say, OK, I’m gonna be perfect. When the grades come out, I don’t want to be, if I had 100 plays, I don’t want to be at 90 out of 100, I want to have 100, so you’re trying to play the perfect game. It won’t happen, but you’ve got to try to play a perfect game, not only on the field but in your mind as well.”
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On Torricelli Simpkins big opportunity
“Now he’s got a chance to come in and show that he can play center and play guard, but man, the rookie coming into this situation probably making the practice squad was probably, if you’re being realistic, that was where he was more than likely going to wind up. He’s [now] probably gonna end up making this team, and so I thought, probably, the first series or maybe even the first two series, the game is so fast and it’s just moving and I’ve got to make the calls. … So now, this is who’s out here making the calls and he’s looking like I got Trevor to my right, you know, I’ve got Cesar to my right, I’ve got Trevor to my left and I’m looking and this linebacker is moving around and, man, it’s a lot and it’s not, you know, the center is the one that’s making the calls. He gives the line calls to the guys and now the quarterback can bump it and change it, but he’s got to identify the mike and I thought he did well and hopefully the game slows down for him and, you know, if he’s thrown into the fire to be able to go out there and do it again, I go out there with some confidence and do my job.”
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On Kelvin Banks
“The least amount that you call a name, the better that he’s playing, so if I’m not calling his name for a mistake that means he’s playing pretty good and so the competition will ramp up each week and I think that he has to expect that and he has to expect that hey, I know that these are my strengths, this is what I have to work on and this is what I have to get better at and so I thought he played really well. Your assignment, like I said, will get a little tougher each week and your job is to go out there and execute it, like I said, the toughest part is he and Trevor won’t be able to work together side by side, just because Trevor is out the next couple of weeks and I think that’s why you saw them catch an extra series than Cesar [Ruiz] had and even [Taliese] Fuaga had just because hey, the more communication, the more reps, the more that we can be one unit on the left side, the better this Saints team is gonna be.”