There has been no more polarizing debate among New Orleans Saints fans than Spencer Rattler versus Tyler Shough. The debate has raged on well beyond Kellen Moore’s initial decision, and it won’t stop until Rattler fixes a critical flaw. He misses receivers at the wrong time.
Rattler has done a lot of good. I would argue he’s walked out of the majority of this year’s matchups with more positives than negatives. He looks the part of a leader with his poise and moxie. The development from his rookie year is apparent and highlighted by his more decisive decision making. It’s enough to keep Shough at bay for now.
The untimely misses, however, are what keeps Rattler from truly slamming the door on Shough stepping into a starting role. If they continue, those misses will go from being the reason Rattler can't stop the murmurs to the reason Shough is in the lineup.
Spencer Rattler's misses take points off the board and will eventually take him off the field
It hasn't been smooth for the Saints offensively. They've had some high points, but there's still work to do. That was expected. However, Rattler's errant throw to Chris Olave in the end zone has a costly impact. The lane was there. You'd like Olave to still catch that pass, but Rattler did him no favors. The drive resulted in Blake Grupe missing a field goal.
Maybe you let that pass go, because you want more from Olave or because it's just one pass. Then, you fast forward to Week 4, and Rattler has a very similar miss to Brandin Cooks. Once again, it takes a touchdown off the board. This time in a surprisingly close game versus the Buffalo Bills
These are two costly missed throws to a wide open receiver in tight games. Points are at a premium and Rattler took them off the board with missed passes. He's done a lot of good, but those are the types of throws that standout in any loss.
Rattler has those throws in two of the four games this year. While it doesn't erase the positives in his development, it would be wrong to say those plays haven't been important in that moment and in hindsight. It definitely factors into his evaluation.
The most difficult part about evaluating Spencer Rattler's position as a starter is it's easy and true to say "he's not the problem." I'd even say this conversation is much different if Juwan Johnson catches that pass versus the Arizona Cardinals. However, the misses to Olave and Cooks are the types of misses that cannot continue.