A mystery at starting QB dominated the offseason headlines for the New Orleans Saints, but despite an 0-3 start and a young QB waiting in the wings, Kellen Moore has made it clear there's no controversy.
Spencer Rattler is the starting quarterback for the New Orleans Saints. He won the job, and he'll keep the job as the team heads up to Buffalo still in search of its first win.
“Spence has been phenomenal, I think, as far as just the way his preparation and the way he’s gone about this thing," Moore said this week. "I think he’s played, certainly, plenty of good football the first 3 weeks. ... I have a lot of confidence in Spence, he’s doing a great job."
The debate between on whether to stick with Rattler or shift to rookie Tyler Shough, the No. 40 overall pick in this year's draft, has been bubbling somewhere near the surface as far as the external conversation, but there's been no indicator that the team is nearing a change, even with Shough taking his first career regular season snaps at the tail end of a Week 3 blowout against the Seahawks.
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A QB change in New York with the Giants swapping veteran Russell Wilson on the starting line for rookie Jaxson Dart has prompted conversations around rookie QBs. No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward was the Week 1 starter in Tennessee. The Browns with Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders would be the only other situation with a legitimate conversation around a QB change behind Joe Flacco. The Seahawks took Jalen Milrow in the third round, but he's currently third string behind Sam Darnold and Drew Lock.
In his first chance at a head coaching job, Moore effectively welcomed a QB debate with a position battle that stretched into the final days of training camp. He picked Rattler at that stage and assured everyone that his chosen starter wouldn't be looking over his shoulder waiting for the axe to drop all season. To this point that's held firmly true, and it's something the player certainly appreciates as he navigates a trying season.
Rattler, who to this point has completed 67% of his passes (80-119) for 639 yards and 4 touchdowns against 1 interception, said he's focused on the task at hand, and that's getting better and finding the first win of his NFL career.
“You can’t worry about [getting replaced] because that’s when you ... not play to your ability," Rattler said. "You’ve got to go out there and just play as good as you can, play with high energy, try to make the plays when they’re there and, you know, for me, I think just keep building, keep building. What we’re doing is right, the process is right and the outcome will take care of itself. We’ve just got to keep going, keep chipping away at these days.”
The 0-9 figure is daunting, though, approaching the longest winless start to a career in NFL history. The two names atop the list are Troy Aikman (0-11) and Deshone Kizer (0-15), with Kizer holding the record for most career NFL starts without a victory. Moore has said he's only weighing what the quarterback has done since he's been in charge. That's 0-3 and with solid QB play undone by other issues, most recently a porous special teams unit that allowed a 95-yard punt return touchdown and a 60-yard kickoff return, both sandwiching a blocked punt deep into Saints territory.
It would seem like a monumental effort for the Saints and Rattler to end their skids in Week 4 against reigning MVP Josh Allen and a Bills team many are predicting as a Super Bowl favorite, but the messaging won't change -- at least for now.
"I think there’s a lot of other factors in that game that we’ve got to clean up and put ourself in better position, and so, you know, it’s frustrating because Spence hasn’t been able to get a win in this league and he’s earned it and he deserves it and he’s done so much good," Moore said, "and so we’ve got to all rally together, focus on our individual task and we’ll get that thing done sooner rather than later.”