Saints coach Dennis Allen highlighted one attitrube that elevated Spencer Rattler.
Dennis Allen did not wait until Sunday to name a New Orleans Saints starting quarterback. There was no point in trying to keep the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the dark considering they are practicing just down the street. The Hurricane Milton evacuees might as well know in advance Spencer Rattler will be introduced in place of the injured Derek Carr.
Some Saints had been hoping to snap a three-game losing streak with a backup signal caller. The head coach on a hot season said another important factor beyond the locker room's wishes was behind the decision.
“There were a lot of factors that go into it,” Allen said. “Certainly we felt like (Rattler) has got some mobility.”
Being able to escape the pocket is a necessity behind a depleted offensive line. Carr's first interception against the Kansas City Chiefs was an on-the-run escape job that ended with an underthrown jump ball. The Saints lost Carr in the fourth quarter of that road loss with what has been dubbed an oblique strain.
Saints sticking with the contingency plan
The Saints are sticking with the plan in place. Haener would be the in-game emergency alert option to start the season. Rattler is now in the driver's seat with a full practice week to prepare for a two games in five days stretch. New Orleans welcomes the Buccaneers on Sunday and Sean Payton's Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football.
“We just internally talked a lot about it and felt like in this particular game, that he was going to give us the best chance to win,” Allen said. “(Rattler) and (Haener) have been practicing extremely hard, preparing to be the starter. It was kind of the conversation that we had at the beginning of the year that Jake would be the number two to start.”
Carr, with $100 million guaranteed and over a decade of experience, was always going to be the first name on the depth chart when healthy. The battle for the backup job was to continue throughout the season. Allen thought the heightened competitive level would help the team and the Saints' next quarterback.
“It was really basically going to be kind of a week-to-week deal and we just felt like this was, for this game, going to give us the best option…(Rattler) has been tested in the fire and he's come out on the other end,” Allen said. “We're excited about him. We're looking forward to watching him play, and it's going to be incumbent upon us as coaches to put him in the best position to be successful.”
