One of the few consistent elements of the Saints' 2021 season has been one question: What's the plan at quarterback?
But after 12 weeks full of even more challenges and starting down the first 4-game losing streak since 2015, Sean Payton won't be tipping his hand before a Thursday Night Football matchup with the Dallas Cowboys.
"I know you guys, doing your job, are going to want to discuss the injuries, who’s healthy, and you’re going to want to discuss the quarterbacks," Sean Payton said Saturday morning on a conference call with reporters. "Quite honestly and respectfully, I’m not going to discuss any of it. … We’ll just leave it at that.”
It's a frustrating trajectory heading into what feels like a must-win game to get the 2021 season back headed in the right direction, but an understandable one. The Saints have run out Trevor Siemian for four consecutive starts, all of which have featured little to no offensive production through the first three quarters. That's been even more pronounced over the last two starts, with a 33-7 deficit and a 24-0 deficit entering the final quarter of losses to the Eagles and Bills, respectively. In both of those games Taysom Hill has stood on the sidelines in uniform, but not healthy enough to start at quarterback, Payton said.
Hill was a full participant in practice before Week 12, but that didn't mean the Saints were comfortable deploying him in the do-it-all role. Rookie Ian Book was inactive against the Bills, meaning Hill was serving as the gameday backup. Payton said the team remains confident in the rookie, selected in the 4th round of the most recent draft.
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“It was real simple. We felt Taysom could definitely be the backup if we needed him to be. And we feel strongly about how Ian’s doing," Payton said. "Obviously Taysom’s further along than that, and that was an easy decision.”
Payton didn't, and apparently won't, indicate whether Hill's foot injury will continue to limit his role going forward. The xx-year-old signed an extension earlier this month, which indicates continued confidence in his ability to take over as the starter. He was part of an extended QB competition with Jameis Winston in the offseason, but was coming out of the concussion protocol when Winston suffered a season-ending injury in Week 8. Siemian took over and led the Saints to a victory over the Bucs.
The team projected confidence in Siemian's abilities after the first two losses, marred by mistakes and other issues outside of the QB position. That hasn't been the case after the last two, which have included three interceptions. Payton did point to the lack of a running game, particularly against the Bills with both Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram missing the game with injuries.
"I think that there are a number of plays in that [Siemian would] like back. Pretty hard to play efficiently there if you’re averaging a yard-and-a-half running the football," Payton said. "The stress then falls on the passing game and the pass rush. I had a hard time finding positives in any one individual’s performance on offense. So that just is what it is."
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