As the Saints prepare to face the Miami Dolphins with more than a dozen players unavailable due to COVID, the rookie quarterback in line to make his first career start had a mantra that his team is likely to adopt.
"There’s a million excuses out there," rookie Ian Book said this week, "and we’re gonna use none of them, because we’ve gotta go out there and play."
But regardless of whether they're used, there's no denying the excuses exist and could have a heavy impact on how the matchup with the Dolphins unfolds on Monday Night Football. As of Sunday the Saints had 20 players and four coaches coaches on the COVID list. That group includes star linebacker Demario Davis, safety Malcolm Jenkins and both quarterbacks ahead of Book on the depth chart.
Trevor Siemian was the first QB to test positive after feeling sick at practice. The next day it was Taysom Hill testing positive, after which he immediately called Book to let him know the inevitability of what that meant.
Book didn't need his Notre Dame education to do the simple math required to figure out he was the lone quarterback left on the active roster. The Saints have signed veteran Blake Bortles for depth, and there's a possibility either of the QBs or the other players on the list test out and return in time to play. But that hasn't affected how Book is approaching the week. Whenever he and Siemian have seen each other this season, they jokingly tell each other to "stay ready." That's what he'll keep doing.
"I’m not going to play with my mind and say ‘maybe they come back in time.’ I’m starting, at this point I’m playing, I plan on playing and we’ll kind of go from there. ... You can’t just flip that switch on Monday morning trying to get ready, it doesn’t work like that — especially at the quarterback position," Book said. "That’s what I’ve learned, and that’s what I’ve learned talking with all these other quarterbacks this year."
Related
Book said he's heard from all three inactive quarterbacks on the depth chart, including a note from Jameis Winston who suffered a season-ending injury in Week 8. Each has shared a note and some keys to focus on for his potential NFL debut. In all, Book estimated he'd collected about 200 text messages in the hours following the initial news. He hadn't had time to respond to them all, but he would eventually. One came from new LSU head coach Brian Kelly, who was the leader of those Notre Dame teams Book starred for in South Bend. Kelly will be in attendance Monday, as will Book's brother who is attending Army bootcamp but happens to be on leave this week.
It all boils into what Book knows is an "unbelievable opportunity," but one that he must take advantage of to help further the Saints' push for the 2021 playoffs. New Orleans entered Week 16 at 7-7 and in a virtual tie for the final playoff seed.
Entering that matchup with a rookie QB in his first NFL start isn't ideal, but it's hardly the first challenge for a team that began its season with a quarterback competition and displaced after Hurricane Ida. That storm took away one of Book's prime opportunities for reps in the preseason. That hasn't stopped coaches and teammates from projecting confidence in his abilities as a young QB. The most common words were athletic and smart, a combination that helped the Saints pull the trigger on Book in the 4th round this past May.
“He’s a good learner. It’s something we saw in training camp, so he picks things up," Payton said. "It’s all the nuances of playing under center, in the gun. We are at home, obviously that’s important. But yea, I think he’s someone that’s been a good student of the game.”
Tight end Nick Vannett even went so far as to say that Book is as mobile as Hill, though both he and Book saw QB power runs as something unlikely to make it into the game plan.
But center Erik McCoy hit on the most important element Book will need. The man on the other end of the snap also made his NFL debut on Monday Night Football, a 30-28 win over the Houston Texans to begin the 2019 season.
“Play the next play," McCoy said. "You’re gonna mess up, you’re gonna make mistakes. But you can’t let those hold you back. You’ve got to keep going.”
Related
