As the first half wore on at the Caesars Superdome in Week 13, a bizarre but very clear situation unfolded.
With the Saints mired in a 21-0 hole, Taysom Hill would come on for a QB snap, the crowd would cheer. The next play Hill would come out and Derek Carr would come on, the crowd would erupt in boos. Rinse, repeat. It was a clear statement from the crowd, and the negative noise wasn't lost on Saints head coach Dennis Allen.
"I mean, how can you not [hear it]? … I think it was noticeable and that’s our job to change it," Allen said. "I was proud of the way that our guys fought back, got back into the game, gave ourselves a real opportunity, and at the end we just couldn’t get it done.”
It's true. The Saints battled back from a 24-7 halftime deficit and had the ball in Lions territory trailing by 5 with Jameis Winston under center after Carr left with an injury, but turned the ball over on downs. The Saints defense was then unable to get a stop. Game over. As the comeback built and Carr put together a solid day with a line of 17-22 for 226 yards, a TD and an interception, the boos dissipated.
Regardless, if you asked some other Saints on the field, it's just part of the dull roar.
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“I don’t pay attention to that stuff," said Taysom Hill, who had a career-high 13 rushing attempts in the game. "You get locked into the game and take care of your responsibilities and, you know, that’s really it.”
LG James Hurst had a similar answer: “We can’t really hear. It’s all just like white noise to us, especially because we’re getting the call, the play, personnel grouping and trying to communicate out there. So yea, we don’t really notice it.”
Carr is in the concussion protocol, which precluded any postgame comments from the starting QB.
Either way, it was a clear message, and as the coach said, it's the team's job to change it. Chris Olave echoed that sentiment after another strong showing despite spending his week working through the concussion protocol. He ended the game with a season-high 119 yards on 5 catches.
“We’ve just got to get better," Olave said. "I feel like it should never be boos in the home stadium, but just got to be – our play has just got to be better.”
Olave added that he didn't see his quarterback's demeanor change, but he stayed even-keeled and got the team back into the game before a big hit sent Carr back into the concussion protocol. He's also managing shoulder and back injuries.
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Winston came on in relief and led one touchdown drive. It was a similar scenario to Week 10 in Minnesota, when he led two scoring drives to give his team a chance, but ultimately a potential go-ahead drive bogged down at midfield. In his postgame remarks, Winston made an impassioned plea for the team and its fans to stick together.
"I believe that we’ve got to give them something to cheer for. I know that can be difficult at times, but [Carr is] very resilient, he answered the bell. But to the fans, like, we function off your support and I know that we’ve got to come in and give y’all something to cheer for, but just know that you impact us, because we’re trying to lift you up," Winston said. "We’re trying to put on a show for you, so your support, your cheering, the inspiration that you give us is this is why we do this. We do this for you. We wouldn’t have a job if it wasn’t for you all. So I just encourage all of y’all to get behind us. Like, that’s what this city is about. This city is about building and staying together and despite our record, despite the situation that’s going on, we’ve got to stand together, because the only people that can fix this is us, and that’s with y’all included. That’s the fans, that’s the team and that’s it.”
"That’s what this city is about. This city is about building and staying together and despite our record, despite the situation that’s going on, we’ve got to stand together, because the only people that can fix this is us, and that’s with y’all included. That’s the fans, that’s the team and that’s it.”
Whether it's Winston, Carr or anyone else taking snaps at quarterback in Week 14, the next chance for that fan support will come in the Superdome in less than a week when the Carolina Panthers arrive in New Orleans.