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Katherine Terrell
NEW ORLEANS — The Saints will decide their starting quarterback “at some point in the next few days,” coach Kellen Moore said Saturday.
The Saints appeared to narrow the competition to Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough several weeks ago after beginning a three-man competition between them and Jake Haener after Shough was drafted in April. Moore said he and his assistant coaches will study the film from the 28-19 loss to the Denver Broncos on Saturday and have the quarterback discussion after that.
“I think it’s important that we collaborate and talk through this thing. That’s an important aspect of this thing. Everyone’s got their different perspectives and different exposures and so that would be really, really important,” Moore said. “Ultimately, I know I have to make a decision and it’s a challenging one because these guys have put everything into this. They’ve been very, very close.”
When asked if all the coaches agreed about the quarterbacks, Moore said “there’s healthy discussions.”
“I’m not going to get into the voting ballots [like] ‘Big Brother’ or something with ballots every week,” he said. “It’s been a great discussion. We’ve got the right guys in the room.”
Moore said he does not plan to bring in an outside veteran for the job.
“We feel great about this group. We’ve invested and poured a lot into these guys,” Moore said. “These guys are young guys. They’re going to keep growing each and every day and we’re excited to see where this thing goes for all of them.”
Rattler was the starting quarterback in Saturday’s preseason finale and had three drives with the first unit, completing 5-of-8 passes for 43 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions.
Shough entered in the second quarter and had five drives, including a possession early in the fourth quarter that finished with him running for an 11-yard touchdown. Shough was 10-of-12 for 102 yards, no passing touchdowns and no interceptions, but turned the ball over on a strip sack.
Through three preseason games, Rattler completed 69.8% of his passes for 295 yards, threw one touchdown and one interception and was sacked four times. Shough completed 66.7% of his passes for 333 yards, threw one touchdown, ran for a score, was intercepted once and sacked five times.
Shough said he believes the competition has been close but added that he has shown enough to win the job.
“What I put on tape continually throughout the ‘call it’ periods, throughout the games, just kind of the steady growth on the operation. I feel like it has been enough. I feel like I’m fully capable to go out there and lead the charge,” Shough said. “Obviously, I don’t make those decisions. I think the whole team, the whole offense has continually gotten better, but for me, I feel really comfortable going in week to week and excited to work on Arizona and see what we’re going to do.”
Rattler said he tries not to actively think about the pending quarterback decision but said “no doubt,” that he will be ready for the opportunity if named the starter.
“That’s not my decision to make. I just try to put my best foot forward,” he said.
The Saints will begin the regular season against the Arizona Cardinals on Sept. 7.