Andy Dalton is the starting quarterback for the New Orleans Saints even with Jameis Winston healthy, but it wasn't a decision made to shake things up.
In fact, it was quite the opposite, as WWL Radio's Deuce McAllister explained this week on SportsTalk with Bobby Hebert, Kristian Garic and Mike Detillier.
"I don't think it changes anything," McAllister said. "You look at it from an offensive standpoint, the production as far as what they've been able to do, I think, overall, they want to have some continuity as far as offense."
Listen to the full interview with Deuce McAllister in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
And that continuity is largely what head coach Dennis Allen said Wednesday as he announced the decision. He confirmed that Jameis Winston was full in practice and would be healthy enough to play if called upon, but the performance of the offense over the four weeks with Dalton as the starter has been encouraging despite the 1-3 start.
The Saints rank in the top 10 of points scored and top 5 in terms of yardage through seven games. Meanwhile the defense ranks in the bottom 5 in terms of points allowed, and in the bottom 10 in rushing yards allowed per game. Allen indicated that should the offensive production begin to flag, the course could change, but for now it's better "to not upset the applecart."
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McAllister doesn't expect the decision to be an issue throughout the locker room.
"Guys know that, hey, look, you have to go out and produce. And it's probably unfortunate for Jameis just because he was not 100% healthy to be able to go out there and produce," McAllister said. "But at the end of the day each individual knows that they have to be held accountable. And, for them, they said, 'hey, look, we want to continue to do what we're doing offensively, but we must do a better job of protecting the football.' "
The Saints sit at 2-5 but only a game out of the NFC South lead with the Falcons and Bucs tied atop the division at 3-4. The first chance to begin a turnaround and chip their way back toward .500 will come Sunday at the Caesars Superdome against the Las Vegas Raiders.
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MORE FROM DEUCE
SHOULD DA HAND OFF DEFENSIVE PLAY-CALLING?
"I wouldn't necessarily say that, because there's plenty other head coaches that call offensive or defensive plays. So it's not like he's doing something that other coaches aren't doing across the league. And so if that wasn't the case, then you might have yourself something. ... And I'm not even going back and comparing it to Sean Payton. I'm talking about like, right now, other coaches that are in their first and second year, they're calling the plays. He feels comfortable doing it and maybe it's something at the end of the season they go ahead and make a change and feel like they can operate better but you know, right now, it's not foreign for the head coach to be involved either with his offensive or defensive unit."
HOW CAN RASHID SHAHEED GET MORE INVOLVED?
"I mean, he definitely deserves it, but ... you got to know what you're doing. And so that's the biggest thing also, when you look at it from that standpoint, just understanding and knowing what you're doing right and then making sure that he's comfortable in those situations. There were opportunities, or at least situations that they wanted to get him the ball the last game, but they were not able to convert. You've got to almost force it in certain situations.
...
"If I'm gonna use his speed, give me a shot play a quarter. It might not be the same route, but give me a shot play a quarter. Because, I mean, if that corner doesn't fear you running by him, what do you got him for?"
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