Spencer Rattler is ready for his moment to shine. With Derek Carr set to miss multiple games with an oblique strain he suffered against the Chiefs, the rookie is in the driver’s seat for the foreseeable future.
“We just felt like for this game that it was going to give us the best opportunity,” Dennis Allen said on Wednesday. The Saints didn’t wait around to name a starter, and Rattler knew on Tuesday morning that he was getting the nod.
New Orleans enters Sunday desperately needing to find a way to win over Tampa, as they’ve lost three straight games despite the hot 2-0 start. The latest loss to the Chiefs stung a bit more because of how the Saints lost, admittedly being outplayed and out coached. That simply can’t happen again. The team needs to pick up a key divisional win after splitting their first two and just get some type of confidence facing a short week when the Broncos come to town on Thursday.
The players and coaches have rallied around Rattler this week, as you’d expect. Dennis Allen told us on Friday that there was a lot of internal discussion with personnel, the front office and coaching staff, but that it was ultimately his decision to start Spencer Rattler over Jake Haener. He’s also giving him plenty of support.
“We’re not going into this game saying, ‘You make a mistake we’re going to pull you’. Allen said that Rattler will lead the team.
There’s also no limitations with the rookie quarterback. Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak said on Thursday that the Saints aren’t having to ‘dumb down’ anything with Spencer Rattler. He said he’s fully capable.
“You can tell he’s comfortable in his own skin,” Kubiak said. “He’s not going at it alone. It’s a team deal.”
Rattler said his meeting with Kubiak on the decision to start was brief and short and then said they got to work. Starting his first game, which is a dream come true for him, certainly makes him anxious and excited, and he’ll have to get the nerves out. However, he feels very confident about the plan and is ready to ‘cut it loose’.
Rattler said on Friday, “They have confidence in me. I love our group. We have so many talented dudes that I can lean on, and don’t have to do too much. I just facilitate the ball to them.”
Allen said Rattler had a good week of practice. “Think he’s confident and we’re confident in him,” He later added that he though he has a ‘no-flinch mentality’. That’s what we saw a lot of in training camp as he grew each week and ultimately some of the reps we saw in preseason reflected that.
