As the New Orleans Saints prepare to face the Atlanta Falcons this Sunday, there’s a familiar sense of uncertainty heading into the divisional clash. Drew Brees rib injury suffered in a Week 10 victory over the San Francisco 49ers leaves the future hall of famer on the sidelines for an unknown length of time. Consequently, the New Orleans Saints prepare for the Jameis Winston experience.
New Orleans Saints prepare for the Jameis Winston Experience
A Familiar Sense of Uncertainty
The uncertainty surrounding the Saints quarterback position is familiar. In 2019, Brees was forced to miss five games because of a thumb injury sustained in a Week 2 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Head Coach Sean Payton faced a barrage of questions for his decision to hand over the reins to then backup Teddy Bridgewater over do-it-all action man Taysom Hill. Payton had previously praised the versatile skillset of Hill, even comparing him to 49ers legend Steve Young in the past.
It was a moot point, as new franchise cult hero Bridgewater stepped into the starting role comfortably. He led New Orleans to a 5-0 record in Brees’ absence. Bridgewater’s performances improved steadily week upon week and acted as his audition for free agency. He earned a three year $63-million contract from the Carolina Panthers this past offseason.
One year later, another Brees injury. More questions for Sean Payton. This time the keys to the car are handed over to the 2015 number one overall draft pick. The opinion splitting, gunslinging, Heisman Trophy-winning, mistake-prone but potentially rejuvenated Jameis Winston is taking over.
The Jameis Winston Experience
The Saints have had a front seat to the inconsistent play of Jameis Winston for five years. Winston was hailed as the saviour of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when selected first overall in 2015. Winston led the Florida State Seminoles to a national title his final year in college, so the expectation was he would hit the ground running at the pro-level.
The Buccaneers witnessed steady quarterback play over Winston’s first two years in the league, as he compiled over 4,000 passing yards each of those seasons. In his sophomore season, Winston led the Bucs to the doorstep of the playoffs. At 9-7, they tied the 6th seed Detroit Lions for the final playoff spot, missing out on the tiebreaker formula.
Expectations were at their highest for Winston to take another leap in year three. However, since then, the former Buccaneer’s play has become increasingly erratic. He missed eight games over the next two seasons and stumbled to a 6 – 15 record as a starter.
His final season in Tampa bay will go down in history. Under new head coach Bruce Arians, Winston put up the infamous first 30-30 season in NFL history. He became the only quarterback to throw at least 30 touchdown passes and 30 interceptions as the Buccaneers missed the playoffs again.
Winston was not offered a new contract. The Bucs moved on and replaced him with six-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady in south Florida.
Big Picture for the New Orleans Saints
Sean Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis have been clever with their quarterback handling in recent years. They’ve taken on high ceiling projects who for various reasons failed in other situations around the league.
After Bridgewater earned his money elsewhere, the Saints stumbled across Winston. His market value way less than the quarterback had expected, Winston accepted New Orleans one-year league-minimum contract offer.
His play was erratic in Tampa Bay, but Payton is one of the best game planners in the sport; he will find a way to best utilize Winston’s skill set in this offense. The offense in its current form has relied on the passing accuracy, efficiency and patience of Brees. These aren’t attributes Winston has been known to possess.
However, Winston has a much livelier arm at this stage of his career compared to Brees, giving Payton a genuine downfield thrower, something critics have claimed for weeks the Saints are missing and need to add in order to make a Super Bowl run.
The schedule offers a mixed bag of opponents for Winston in the coming weeks. If Brees is allowed a full month to recover one hundred percent from this rib injury then Payton will have to game plan with Winston as his quarterback for two division games against the Falcons, and potentially for road games against the Denver Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles. The Saints may still be favorites for all those games with Winston under center.
At 7-2, the Saints are still in a strong enough position to make the playoffs. If they are to earn a first-round bye, navigating the forthcoming weeks successfully with Winston as the starter will be crucial while Brees watches from the sidelines.
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