Welcome in to the New Orleans Saints Podcast, presently by Seatcake. You'll hear from players, coaches, broadcasters and writers that cover the NFL on a daily basis. The New Orleans Saints Podcast starts right now. Here's your host, Aaron Summers.
Welcome to the New Orleans Saints Podcast. Aaron Summers here, we have a lot to break down because it's been a week since we had a podcast and a lot has happened. The schedule got released Wednesday night. Now we're all booking trips, figuring out when we are available or not for the upcoming season. And there's been some news on the quarterback in the front as well. So we're bringing in the Voice of the Saints, my cost to talk to us about everything that we can think of
that has happened in the past week. Mike, how are you.
I'm well, I was like you, I mean, I'm very enamored with the schedule. I mean, right, it's fifteen people in a room a few months ago deciding our fate for the next six months. Right, And so I got two weddings I'm involved in. I'm like, oh, you know, trying to So it's just I find it interested I just love the schedule re lease. I for whatever reason, I'm a very symmetry guy, and I hate things with
that are not symmetry because it feels unfair. And when I do that, I look at home in a way when you play the playoff teams, when you play your South, your division team. So I get way deep into it. But you're right, you know, I mean many mini camp was you know, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. But so much has happened. Yeah, I mean the Derek Carr situation on April eleventh, that's Friday.
I was like, what, you know, it was such a shock, and then within a month to May tenth, it was done retired like so and essentially it really kind of happened quick, but didn't feel like it did. They have the whole thing resolved and him retiring, which quite frankly, how do you feel about Derek Carr? It helped the Saints, I mean helped them financially. He could have gone to camp and did a sixty nine million dollar hit next
year cap wise. So it's just been so sports talk shows are having a field day and they will continue to.
No one saw that coming, and I think that's why even from the very beginning with the injury news that came out. The whole thing was kept under wraps, so we don't exactly know the timeline, what was said, who talked to who, But there is finality to it now, which I think is the big key in all this. We know now Derek Carr is not going to be here.
New head coach Kellen Moore comes in and gets to move forward with a new slate, really a full new coaching staff, a ton of new players, and completely different looking quarterback rooms. So a lot to get into on that front. But you mentioned the schedule being your favorite thing, so what stood out to you the most.
Well, obviously the primetime situation. I mean, first time in twenty five years. First off, I didn't realize until yesterday before the Skelul commement. I thought you had to have a game. I thought everybody got a game. I don't care what it was. I thought, you know, but Carolina didn't have one last year. So to go from twenty twenty one where you had five primetime games to zero, A lot of three o'clock games but no primetime games.
I mean, it is what it is. I mean, you've got to earn the right to play in those games. The NFL is not an equal opportunity employer. They want what they want, and unfortunately for the Saints, they've not necessarily played well in primetime of recent and it hasn't even really been close. And I think that's been the problem. It's not that they were really in games. You know, they've in the last four years, so it's been a struggle for whatever reason. And so that obviously stood out.
Number one for me was primetime. Then I look at what I always called the imbalance, and I used to always think, and I believe this until last night, still kind of that the NFL is not fond of giving New Orleans a ton of home games in September, right in the early season, hurricane season October. I just maybe it's in the back of my mind, maybe it's not, maybe it's just me, but they've had three of their first five on the road in three of their last
four years. But this year, boy, it's front loaded, right, four of your first six, five of your first eight games are at home. You better make your hey at that point. You don't play a division opponent until Week eight, so five of your first eight at home. But then the math of course flips because you play six of your last nine games, including the final two, on the road. This team has always been a pretty good road team.
But you can't look at that situation and go, let's plan on that to you know, make back some of the losses be made at her You've got to win it. They're not good teams coming to the Supernowner's one that has a winning record, that's Tampa. Other than that, no one has a winning record. So you got must make your your your money at home this year, winning and early.
With the no primetime games, I do think though, it's an opportunity to establish what this team is going to look like under Kellen Moore without a ton of people scrutinizing things. Kind of fly under the radar for a little while, build your brand. The last time the Saints didn't have a primetime game was in two thousand and they won the NFC West and they went on to win the franchise's first playoff game. So if we can do that again get back into the playoffs, I think everybody's gonna be happy.
Yeah, I think I'm fine with flying under the radar, and I'm fine with quite frankly, this team having a little chip on the shoulder that people that disrespect them so much that you're one of three teams that didn't have one. Now, Tennessee surprises me a little bit, just you got the number one pick, like you'd figure early in the season they throw that cat on there somewhere
in Cleveland, you know who doesn't. But man, I totally agree it's and it's also let's say, let's say we are not the coach, but you're gonna go with a rookie quarterback, whether it's Spencer who's played in some games, or it's Jake, or it's Tyler. Quite frankly, this is not you don't want to have to play the first play schedule. You want to be against the teams that are struggling as well. And that's exactly what this season is.
Of their seventeen opponents, their average record is seven and ten. So if you're gonna roll out some newness and some stand of the radar, you know, this is kind of the year to do it.
If you look at the overall strength of schedule, the Saints have the second easiest one in the league. So again to your point, it set up very well for the Saints in the situation that they're in with a lot of new on this team, what teams and stretches do you feel like will be the biggest challenge.
It's you know, it's tough because of what's are teams? How much better are our teams? You start off three, you start off a three NFC West right away, Arizona, San franc Seattle. You know, you have to me, you got Buffalo at Chicago in September and October. That's going to be lovely. Those games could have been you know,
that would have changed a lot. Ye. I just feel like despite the fact that this team has won its first last six the NFL's longest active streak hombo just open season openers, and they've been to and zero their last two seasons. That they get they they're climbing up hill in that first eight nine games, right they're and you just continually climb up hill. So you look at those games and I kind of go out of those first four Arizona, San Francisatle Buffalo, you got to come
out of that two and two. That next stretch Giants, New England at home at Chicago, then finally Tampa. But it's home those four games. If you are two and two, you know can be you know, five and three, six and two something like that. Now you've set yourself up for that for that back end, which is they're not necessarily you know, world beaters. I mean, your final four games are Carolina Jets, Tennessee, Atlanta, so you know they're not you know, like you can't win these games, but
they're just so much on the road. When you know what's Miami going to be? Like, you face a lot of teams, what's Atlanta. It's about pressure, you know Atlanta. Atlanta has six prime time or standalone games, six five time and they play Indie in Berlin. You talk about pressure on a franchise. Tar Fontineau and those guys to perform. The NFL thinks you're you're you get more than Tampa uh prime time and standalone. So I feel like that's
where they're You know, there's there's pressure out there. And I don't care what anybody says NFC South is open for business or care that Tampa's won the last four. I do not care. That's the team the Saints to play the best against, especially on the road. But you're gonna have to you can have to sweep some people in the South. You can't this. You can't get swept and you can't one on one. You're gonna have to play better in the South this year.
I think when you start the season off, as you mentioned, Arizona at home, a team that you could definitely beat, and they haven't done well in season openers, and they haven't done well here in the Superdome. But the stretch between the San Francisco forty nine ers and then you go at Seattle, and then the next week you go all the way across the country to Buffalo. Playing in
Seattle is going to be hard. And then go in and play against Buffalo, who is a team that was one of the most difficult teams to play last season, one of the teams it has a winning record on the schedule for the Saints from last year. That is is going to be a tough few games to get through early in the season, right.
And it's and so, And you will have already traveled to the West Coast once for the first preseason game, which undoubtedly will be practice. Go out there early, go back to Calvine, spend some time, which I love. I think that's I couldn't have you couldn't have set it up better. And for me, how who cares for me? But I mean for this team because I feel like where it was last year, before that second game they had, they were you know, the Niners were beat up, but
the Saints were just as beat up. You played a preseason game. This gives you the opportunity to practice here in Metali, go out there, spend some time, get back in so far where you've not played well, and you've got to come back to so far. But that's a West coast trip. And then week three you go back to the West coast. And the Saints have three West Coast trips in the season two, you know, in the
first eight. If you want to consider Week five and seats, you're right, those those that at Seattle at Buffalo, I mean you come out of that one one that that's that's a that's a victory. Yeah sure. But to me, I think that the ability to go out there to so far and to get out of this heat, then I think it's gonna be hugely.
Beneficial if they can come away with the wind, Like you said, you build some confidence in that stadium where they haven't played so well. When then you know you're gonna have to go back there against the Rams where there's all this history, and yeah, that's later in the season.
I don't I don't know why. It's just I don't like the building. I don't like it's funny. I don't like the building. They don't play well there. It's a crappy press booth for the radio five billion. I'm like, man, I could have done so much more with this money. But they need to. They need to get off that snide and play better at that building.
Was it because you had to go through it was that hurriquake, a hurricane.
An earthquake at one same game. That was a preseason game. That one didn't bother me too much. But they've just they just have not They have had Thursday night games out there. They just have not played their best in LA against either team. Really.
Yeah, first game against the division is, as you mentioned, against the Bucks, not until week eight, so they do have some time to figure themselves out before they have to go against the division opponents. But what is the most intriguing game and why is it against the Bears?
You know, I guess I don't I know why. Again, I think we'll know Chicago's better, right, And so I don't know if Dennis was the head coach, Yeah, I don't think. I don't I think the defensive coordinator going against his defense. I mean, we know what that defense is going to be. Like the quest, I think the bigger question is where are these teams through six games? Right that October nineteenth, Week seven at Chicago at noon. You know, last time they played was here in twenty
three Saints one. You know, I look at the I look. I always go Division kind of first, and to me, your Tampa game Week eight, They've played terrible at home against Tampa of late, right, and I've played well in the road, but I haven't always won. So Week eight and Week fourteen at Tampa, I just you know, I don't. I just don't know. I can't. I can't get a feel for Atlanta. I got a pretty good idea about Tampa. They seem to get better. Baker Mayfield gets better. I
don't care who's the offense coordinator. They get better in the draft, and so I feel like you've got to that's your first division game, Week eight, October twenty six. It's three o'clock, and then you don't play another one until November twenty third and after a bye week in Atlanta, and I just feel like that game can do a lot. That's a stretch of three or four games at home Giants, New England, Road, Chicago, then Tampa. So man, I just feel like that's an important one.
Yeah, the Bucks have won their last three games here in the Superdome, and we don't need to talk about what happened last year. Hopefully it does leave a little bad taste in the Saints' mouths to come out here and dominate that game because of how poorly they played the last time they faced the Bucks here. But you never know how that's going to work out as a new coaching staffs. You don't know how much it matters to them how they played last year. Maybe play, but I.
Think, like you said, I think they do. They don't do it. They certainly don't think about it as much. Maybe they about what happened and you know, hey, they came in and embarrass us in our building, but not like hey, the last time they played in twenty two at home, and you know that. I think a game that's important for another reason is that Arizona game, And you talked about it with Kyler Murray Saints struggle stopping
running quarterbacks last year? Is that going to be a theme for the like are we going to they going in and he rushes for one hundred and five, you know on third and eighteen, picks up first downs. You know, we we know this chapter and you don't want to live it again because once you live it, you've got
to keep living it until you stop it. And so I think that is a that's a statement game about how where this its first game, where this defense is with stopping kind of mobile quarterbacks block parties not nearly as mobile, but Ken Josh Allen week four, you know, and men, and it's not running quarterbacks like RPO runs.
It's the escapability turning a third and fifteen into a first down that are just killed and you've got to got to stop that and you've got to be able to stop the run period or you know, just going to run it down, you know, up the middle of every play.
Okay, which game are you looking forward to calling the most?
Because I haven't been there a long long time. I'm looking forward to at Buffalo Orchard Park Stadium.
Is not going to be last year?
Right the very first game I ever did in New Orleans was a preseason game in Buffalo in August was a Saints preseason game. And so it's and you know, no one will give the Saints a chance. That'll be a tent way, you know, not knowing where they do it were one two three, they come out, you know, like last year, one two three. Who knows what the spread would be, but nobody expects you to win. And I just think that'll be It's a it's a great atmosphere.
Buffalo fans are very much like New Orleans. It's small market. They live and die with their team. And so and thank gosh, it's gonna be September twenty eighth, It'll be autumn, right, and so I'm looking forward to to that again. They got to be a fun game to call.
Well, coming into this season, for the first time since two thousand and six, we will have a new head coach and a new quarterback. It's been a minute that two thousand and six season was very successful. So what is your take on the quarterback room here and the departure Derek Carr and where that leaves this team?
The Derek Carr situation kind of it didn't surprise me now that we know, if you'd told me in April he's got a torn labor you know, and some degenerative rotator. Come all right, Well it changes this conversation. But we didn't know that, so I'm surprised, but now that I know, not as much. Look, Derek Carr came in in the second year, the Dennis Allen, who not fans were not necessarily Again with the Dennis Allen, you were on one side of the fence of the other, very few people
at all. I don't have an opinion. No, no, you had an depinion on Denis, and Derek come in there. So he's he's kind of that same lightning rod. And I look at that first season and he started every game, got hurt three times, came back and started the very next week. He showed you some of his kind of core toughness, but it didn't change anything. You were still he was a lightning rod and that wasn't gonna change. I kind of agree with you and the fact that
he did retire in May. It's over done. He's not gonna get traded, He's not gonna end up somewhere else at the Saints. You're going to play in week two, right, Uh, it does give this room the ability to go forward, and so I think I think it's Tyler Shuck's job to lose. I just do you know, camp, we'll we'll
learn them more. But at some point, you can't you know, at four right now with Heckers, I still kind of thought they'd get a veteran, and they still might at some point once they figure out who there three are and maybe who that fourth might be. But you can't spend all camp trying out three. You gotta you gotta at some point you gotta figure out pretty early on who's gonna be my guy, because that guy's got to get ready for three preseason games, which they'll all play
some in the preseason. That's you know. Even Kellen said that the other day. You know, we're gonna learn a lot more once you get the camp and once you you know, they didn't talk about the practice with the Chargers. I'm saying that and the preseason games. But we talked about this last night on w W Wells. I'm not playing Tyler Shuck unless I got my first team line
and are very close to my first team line. So then, now, how many STAPs do you want him to get He needs the reps, but I don't need everybody, everybody on the officer line getting reps. Now, that depends what are we doing with Banks. Are we moving for Waga? Are we moving Penny? You could have a situation where, you know what, my starting line could use some reps. Everybody's moved around, and you know we saw in the mini camp that Kelvin Bank played everywhere. Yeah, played played across
the line. So I don't I don't know that, but I'm it's it's a new era, right, I mean, it's a new you know. It's funny you went back to six. I'm like, we had the post Drew Brees new era after twenty then we had the post Sean Payton air after twenty one twenty one. By the way, we had four starting quarterbacks and four kickers, so we went right from Drew to Holy cow. This is what the rest of the league's been dealing with. This sucks, right, We've
had eight quarterbacks in the last four years. So new era of Darren Razzie Dennis, new coach, Kellen and new quarterback. I'm fine with this being a new era, but after this, we don't get a new we're done new Eras for a while. I want some stability and some victories and some games that mean something. That's what I kind of want. On this schedule. You know, they fall behind two and four, two and five to you know, you fall behind early.
You don't really have these meaningful games I'm talking And on this schedule you could have some meaningful games that begin it three o'clock in the afternoon, right four home three o'clock games. Three of them are three twenty five, so you can go to LSU the night before, wake up, no rush. And I want the atmosphere back, yeah, right, I mean noon games sometimes it's a it's a tough atmosphere for a team that is totally so I want games that matter and the atmosphere back in this In
this I say that building. This building is where I'm sitting right now because it's been a while. It's been a while since we've had a game that mattered, I mean mattered in this building. I hope that's the situation this year, and I think it can be.
Trying to put stress on me for the end of the season, coming down to whether we win or lose against the Falcons to go into the playoffs.
I'll take that. I'll tike right now. Would you not take Week eighteen? It'll be in twenty six a game against at Atlanta. Winner goes to the playoffs. Maybe lets you know winner as it's been, it's the NFC South, for God's sake, the winner wins the division and no wildcard. We have seen a wild guard, you know, come out of this division. I think since since Tampa and twenty probably the last and they won it. They're the last wild guard. We won the division in twenty but they
won the Super Bowl. So I'll take it because that puts you somewhere eight nine wins at that point, seven eight nine wins and we're going to week eighteen. I'll take it.
Quarterback Derek Carr was only here for two years, which I think is surprising. It felt like a lot longer. It felt like we went through a lot of iterations with Carr. He ends up fourteen and thirteen three four over six thousand yards, forty touchdowns, thirteen interceptions. You know, he definitely had some issues with durability, the injuries. And you're looking at a quarterback and Tyler Schuck who's going to turn twenty six in September. He has also had
some durability issue. But you look at his last season at Louisville when he was healthy and he put it all together. He threw for over three thousand yards, twenty three touchdowns and only six interceptions. He played under center, he did a lot of play action. He showed you that he can be an NFL quarterback in the way
that he understands the game and he can play. How confident are you that, since he is the oldest one in the quarterback room, that he can he can come in and be maybe the more solidified quarterback.
I think you make it. You make it a positive. Now I'm not looking at it right now, but I did this draft night. He will turn twenty six on September twenty eighth, Right, So, Spencer Rattler turns twenty five on September twenty eight the same day.
That's crazy and airs up.
Yet, does anybody out there talk about Spencer Ratler's age? They're a year apart, right, right? Nobody? I mean so, I mean Spencer went to two different schools. I think you're right about the Louisville year, and if you look kind of closer at the Tech years and I spent two years in love it working, you know, working there. I mean, you're in an island. If you look at those seasons a little closer he had, he was, you know until the you know, collar bone and the rankle
got rolled up. He did some good things. But the positive is that guy's been in three different offenses. He's had three different head coaches, three different offensive coordinators. Nothing phases him. Bring him in. You use that experience to say, yeah, you know he hasn't you know, played in the NFL. You had, Yeah, well guess what. Neither Pencer Rattler last year until Derek Carr got hurt. So I think you turned what the age thing? You know, I'm not worried
about that at all. I really, I really am. Not twenty six. When people go, what what if he gives you twelve years, will be thirty eight? I go, if he gives us twelve years, we are gold because that means that cat's been here twelve years. Uh So, not not worried about that. I think it's gonna be really healthy. I mean he's used to He played against Brock Party in high school. Right now, they're going to play in week two. Uh I won't it was not pretty for uh.
Toddler's team, by the way, Brock's team handled him pretty pretty pretty well. I was high school. Uh, But I think you turned it into a positive. I think his experience and the ability and and Kellen said it Saturday, command of the huddle. You know, did he come in? He's he going to work hard. Know the plays. If you don't know the plays and throw to the right people off the start, then nothing else matters. And get him some weapons around him and run that football, baby,
run that football. And offensive line certainly better. I don't know what it's gonna look like, but I feel like it's better across the board.
Definitely stay healthy, Like how do you know?
I mean, you know, take that. I always go back. You know, Spencer Ratler, go get him a star. You don't ever seed. You don't have a lave. I have Taysom, and I canna have Alvin most of the time, and I canna have hardly any of your offensive line. But go get them. I'm like, what, so you know? And you can't. You can't avoid it. But when it hit position groups like O line and wide receiver and dbs,
it's a killer. You can handle thirteen injuries at a time if they're spread out, but not when they're bunched like they were last year. You can't have that. You can't avoid it, but you can't have it.
It's honestly surprising that he only got sacked twenty two times if you look at it that way. Twenty two is a big number when you only played six games. But he was dealing with a lot of injuries on the line and then not having a lot of weapons to get the ball too. So it was it was a tough situation for him to walk into, and he held his head high and he attacked it the best that he could. I think we're looking at what's going to be a really, really fun quarterback competition throughout camp.
Yeah, you know, I agree, Oby.
Knows who's gonna be, so there's an opportunity for you to go out and take it.
I think, you know, Jake had that rough way outing with Washington, but if you look at Spencer, I look at Spencer Rattler at second half Washington, first half final game Tampa, second half Washington, it leads him back to what you know, should have been an overtime game at worst, but they lose on the two point conversion. That's all Spencer. First half against Tampa, he is dominant. He ran that offense like a fifteen year veteran. Now that's the only
team that he'd ever played twice in the NFL. Right, he had film of him versus Tampa and then Week eighteen film with rom versus Tampa. I couldn't continue in the second half. But those two halves you see things that go okay, but unfortunately just didn't have enough consistency. But I agree, I think, you know, they're they're similar. They both you know, they're not in stature. I mean, nobody is with Tyler that came big. But I think
it's gonna be fun. I think it's you know, it's it's the it's the unknown that I like, Right, It's the unknown that I think we have to gravitate to and hold on to.
Yeah, it's gonna be a fun lead up to the first game against Arizona. Whoever the quarterback is, if it is Shuck or Rattler, they're gonna be playing against their hometown team. And that's another fun little facet of the scheduling and the makeup of this team. But it's nice and more said this, he called it a blank slate for everybody coming into this year. You don't know what's going to happen, and so it's going to be fun to sit back see it play out and not really
have a ton of expectations. We may come out of it pleasantly surprised. I know that there's a lot of respect for more and his ability to adapt to what he has. He got to go out kind of pick him, choose a couple pieces to add. He's obviously put together his coaching staff. So I don't know. I'm a little excited right now look at the schedule getting ready for the season. It feels like now that the schedule's out, you can really start building up to something.
I agree. I'm I'm as you know, Jeff Duncan's gonna come out with this article and we have to pick and I'm I'm just there are many things in life, many things where I am not a glass half full guy, and in fact a lot most things, But for whatever reason, with this football team, I am a glass half I do. I never think they're gonna have a losing season. I don't think they're gonna have a losing season this year.
I just don't the teams they play are not that good yet They've gotten better, but so of the Saints. And I look at the roster now, and I look at the changes just made since mini rookie mid camp. Right, you signed a couple of wide receiver, quarterback, you you know, safety, a wide receiver. Like, I don't think the until we see that roster in late July. I think there's gonna be a lot of tinkering. Uh. And I'm I'm excited because you don't know, right, San Francisco is six and eleven,
what do they? Where are they? I don't know. I don't know what that is. Right, it was weird. Arizona's eight and nine, Seattle's ten and seven then make the playoffs, so you know it's it's I'm like you, I'm excited of the unknown.
Yeah. Well, we have the first set of OTAs starting next week, so we'll be able to get back out on the field see some of the players. What this team is going to start looking like. I'm going to move a little by little here as we get towards that first game.
Yeah, you know, there's nothing better than watching guys and shoulder pads and shorts in a running place, Right, and people go, how did X look? And I go, well, I don't know, it looked fine. You know, I don't know what the proute was, but I mean Spitzer Routler through one left handed rookie Meunichamp just going right. And I'm like, so it's hard to it's hard to tell,
but you're right. It's it's steps step step step, steps step steps OTAs mini camp and then band training camp and then September seventh feels like a year away and a lot can happen. But I'm you know, hope. You know, it's not a strategy, but hope is the unknown right now.
Yeah, Well, thank you so much for taking the time to break down the schedule, talk about the quarterbacks and kind of build up towards what we're going to be seeing this season.
I appreciate it. You heard me. I love the schedule release man, and I'm as nerdy as it gets, so I appreciate it. We'll talk to you soon, all right.
Thanks for listening to the New Orleans Saints Podcast, presented by Seat Geek. Join us three times per week on New Orleans Saints dot com, the Saints Mobile app, or you can download the podcast on iTunes. We'll see you next time right here on the New Orleans Saints Podcast, presented by seat Geek