Copyright Baton Rouge Advocate
It took nearly eight weeks to really see what Tyler Shough looked like on an NFL Sunday — and it’s going to take more time to really see what he can offer. The New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback did some nice things after taking over for Spencer Rattler late in the third quarter of a 23-3 loss, even if an unremarkable 17-for-30, 128-yard statistical line doesn’t back that up. There were also miscues and head-scratching moments that made Shough look like a rookie playing on a 1-7 team. But in totality, the performance was not an embarrassment, and for a team that is currently in line to have the No. 1 pick in next year’s draft, it is probably worth getting a more extended look at Shough in the second half of the season — whether that is next week in Los Angeles or in the weeks to follow. First, the good: Shough was decisive, with an average time to throw of 2.48 seconds according to Next Gen Stats, the third quickest among NFL quarterbacks in Week 8. That not only showed up on short throws, which made up the bulk of Shough’s 30 attempts, but also the deep shots. Twice, Shough quickly identified coverage at the snap and saw an opportunity to hunt for a big play downfield before pressure could get home. Neither pass was complete, but both were the right decision, and both gave only the receiver an opportunity to make a play. Shough narrowly missed a touchdown to Rashid Shaheed on a six-man pressure that he let fly when Shaheed was only six yards into his route. Shough threw the pass with safety Antoine Winfield barreling in on him and left it just beyond Shaheed’s reach. Earlier in the game, he gave Chris Olave a shot on a pass 40 yards downfield, throwing it with anticipation before Olave ran past his man and placing it over the defensive back and to the sideline. He also showed improved pocket feel — something coach Kellen Moore brought up Monday afternoon as an area where Shough had improved the most since he last played in the preseason — though there were still some chaotic moments when Shough was forced to navigate pressure in the backfield, none looking more erratic than his skipped throw to tight end Jack Stoll well short of the sticks on fourth and 11 after he spun out of a sack. Most of Shough’s throws went outside the numbers. Some of that is because of the situation, chasing multiple scores against a defense that was trying to limit big plays. It would be interesting to see whether that trend would continue if Shough were given a week to prepare as the starter. At least four of Shough’s 13 incompletions, including the interception he threw on his fourth dropback of the game, were catchable passes. Two of them likely would have moved the chains on third or fourth down. Two more would have resulted in solid gains for the Saints offense. This is not exactly a new phenomenon — Rattler is certainly aware of that. But the unsure hands did disrupt some of the good from Shough’s performance. 1: On his second pass attempt, Shough drove the ball on a deep comeback to Shaheed, who could not maintain possession of the ball through contact with the ground. It would’ve been a gain of at least nine yards on first and 10. 2: Two plays later, Shough pinned a throw to Olave’s chest on third and 3. Olave’s momentum was carrying him past the sticks, and New Orleans would’ve had a new set of downs in Tampa Bay territory. This was the best opportunity to make a game of it. Instead, Antoine Winfield ripped the ball out of Olave’s hands for an interception. 3: After hitting Shaheed for six yards on third and 8 to set up a manageable fourth down near midfield, Shough gave tight end Juwan Johnson a chance to make a contested catch to keep the drive alive. Johnson ran an angle route on the play, running toward the middle of the field before snapping back toward the sideline. Shough’s throw was on the money, toward the sideline and away from the defender. Johnson couldn’t haul it in, and the Saints turned it over on downs. 4: With the outcome all but decided, trailing by 20 with 2:29 to go, Shough had Johnson open on a corner route downfield for what would have been at least a 15-yard gain on the first play of a drive. Of these four plays, this was the worst throw, with Shough sailing it a little high. Even taking that into account, this was a play a tight end making $10 million per year should make. Overall, Shough played 39 offensive snaps, all of them in comeback mode. It’s obviously not enough to truly evaluate either his play or his command of the offense. His time may not be coming this week, but if the Saints are going to potentially be in the quarterback market at the top of next year’s draft, his time is going to have to come soon enough. Looking ahead The Saints get a bit of a triple whammy this week: Not only do they have to face one of the NFC’s better teams in the 5-2 Los Angeles Rams, but they have to travel across the country to face a team coming off a bye. At 37 years old, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is still playing at an elite level. The Los Angeles passing game ranks No. 7 in the NFL in Expected Points Added per dropback (+.13) and Stafford ranks 5th in the NFL in passing success rate (52.6 %). Stafford and the Rams are one of the NFL’s better play-action offenses this season. Los Angeles head coach and offensive play caller Sean McVay is calling play-action passes on 31.6 % of passing plays, the second-highest rate in the NFL, and Stafford has a 133.8 rating on such plays. Eight of Stafford’s league-high 17 touchdowns have come on play action passes this season.
