The New Orleans Saints fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an outcome that most predicted would happen. There weren't many who predicted Kellen Moore would transition from Spencer Rattler, to Tyler Shough.
The move to Shough is one fans have impatiently been waiting for Moore to make. Though there was an initial expectation that Shough would enter the starting lineup earlier in the season, the move still felt a tad bit sudden.
The sudden part of the move was it happening mid-game, opposed to during the week of practice. It reached a point that many predicted Shough would see the field after the bye week. The truth is the Spencer Rattler experiment had ran its course and a change was necessary.
The beginning of the Tyler Shough era sparked by the wheels falling off
When Shough stepped on the field, he was welcomed by loud cheers by the Saints fans. What preceded Shough's arrival was yet another ugly game by Rattler. He had been safe with the football for most of the season, but he had six turnovers over the last two games.
It wasn't just Rattler. It felt like the whole offense was out of sorts. Rashid Shaheed had a fumble that could have went for a touchdown, but a whistle saved the Saints on that play. It was just an all around bad play on the offensive side of the ball.
Though Rattler had a strong run in the beginning of the season, he transitioned from not being the problem to being one of the most prominent issues. The clock was always ticking and time has run out.
Shough didn't do much in his "debut." The first drive ended in an interception. Though it felt like Chris Olave should have caught that pass, it will go down in the stat sheet as an interception. Not an ideal way to start, but it was par for the course in this game.
The game plan primarily featured shallow throws, but Shough took a couple of deep shots. Shough targets were heavy on out routes and showed some of the arm strength many liked from him out of college. It's no guarantee, but this feels like the beginning of the Tyler Shough era.
Quarterback won't solve all problems, but rolling with Shough could change the tone around the Saints. The true evaluation has begun, and it will determine if the Saints are interested in a quarterback when April rolls around.