Turf Show Times
The Los Angeles Rams return from their much-needed bye week to face the New Orleans Saints at SoFi Stadium. Just days before the Saints get to town, they announced that rookie quarterback Tyler Shough will make his first career start against the Rams. Not an ideal first start, but a change was needed under center in the Bayou.
Ahead of the Week 9 matchup, I spoke with Nic Jennings from Canal Street Chronicles and asked him about new Saints starting QB Shough, Kellen Moore and more in this week’s 5Qs, 5As!
Q – The Saints benched Spencer Rattler in the third quarter against the Bucs in favor of rookie Tyler Shough. Rattler is not the sole reason for the team’s poor start to the season, but how would you assess his growth this season compared to his rookie campaign?
A – When you look at Rattler’s growth from his rookie season to eight games into his sophomore year, a few improvements really stand out: his pocket awareness under pressure, his ability to escape while keeping his eyes downfield, sharper footwork, better decision-making and a quicker release that’s clearly frustrated defenses. That said, he’s put the ball in harm’s way far too often over the past two weeks, which has stalled some of his momentum. The main things he still needs to clean up are his accuracy and knowing when to use his legs instead of forcing a read, but overall, he’s looked like a completely different player in year two.
Q – With Rattler benched this week for Shough, what do you want to see from the Louisville product against L.A.?
A – There’s no questioning Shough’s arm talent, and I have no doubt he’ll take shots downfield—but the real question is how he’ll handle pressure. Throughout training camp, we saw him tuck and run prematurely instead of working through his progressions—and he looked a bit antsy at times on Sunday against Tampa Bay.
Obviously, when a rookie quarterback gets thrown into a game midway through the third quarter and still ends up with 30 passing attempts while your running backs combine for just six carries on the day (all from Alvin Kamara), I don’t exactly feel that’s a fair situation to judge his performance. But if Shough is named the starter and has a full week to prepare, I’d expect the seven-year collegiate signal-caller to be ready to roll.
Q – Kellen Moore has had a rough start to his Saints tenure, as New Orleans sits at 1-7 through eight games. What must Moore do to help scheme up an upset over a well-rested Rams squad?
A – The Saints’ offense needs to establish the run and get rookie RB Devin Neal involved early. As mentioned earlier, New Orleans’ running backs combined for just six carries against Tampa Bay—and Neal didn’t get a single one, which doesn’t make much sense considering Alvin Kamara has been managing an ankle injury this season.
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