Saints Preview: Moore-Rattler Era Begins

By Jim Gazzolo

It’s a brand-new game in New Orleans.

The Saints open the Kellen Moore era with a chance for a complete reset.

Few know exactly what these Saints will look like under Moore as they begin to put the pieces back into the franchise.

Moore is just 37 years old, the youngest head coach in the NFL. He is the latest offensive whiz kid, and Saints fans are hoping they can recapture lightning in a bottle.

It wasn’t that long ago that a young head coach was making his debut in New Orleans with little, if anything, expected of the team. That was Sean Payton, who, with the help of a broken-winged quarterback, was playing for an NFC championship two years later.

Now it is Moore’s show.

The Saints open their season Sunday in the Superdome against the Arizona Cardinals.  

“We know how special the dome is going to be on Sunday. It’s going to be a really cool environment,” Moore said. “The guys are excited about the uniqueness of Week 1.”

Everybody has hope in September, but the question remains whether the Cardinals can compete with so many new parts when fall takes hold and winter comes calling.

Moore believes they can if the environment is right.

“The play style and the fundamentals that we preach each and every day — we want to see it come to life,” Moore said. “This is our first opportunity.”

Moore is coming from a winning spot. Last February, he was the offensive coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles, who beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. So, he knows what a championship team is supposed to look like.

The former quarterback also knows it is hard to win without a strong quarterback. That is the biggest question for the Saints heading into the new season. 

Spenser Rattler, a genuine prospect a few years back, won the job and will start while in just his second season as a pro. The fifth-round draft pick from South Carolina, who began his college career at Oklahoma, beat out second-round pick, rookie Tyler Shough.

Rattler started six games for the injured Derek Carr last season as the Saints finished 5-11. Carr surprisingly retired in the offseason.

"You want to earn the respect of your teammates and fight for them, because you know they're going to fight for you,” Rattler told Sports Illustrated. “You don't have to be a captain to lead. As a quarterback, you're naturally going to be a leader, so stepping into that role fully and attacking it...I'm just taking it day by day, staying in the moment.”

Moore said he was impressed with Rattler when he named him the starter.

"He's just been consistent,” said Moore. “He's made some really good decisions throughout this whole entire process, and his ability to make plays with his arm and his feet has certainly shown up. I'm really, really excited about Spencer. He's earned this opportunity; he's going to do a tremendous job for us. At the same we're really, really fortunate we got Tyler.”

There is more that needs to go right for the Saints than just the quarterback, but in the NFL, that’s where it all starts. A good relationship between the QB and head coach can take a team a long, long way.

For proof, Saints fans just have to remember the Drew Brees-Sean Payton days in the Dome.

The hope in New Orleans is that history will repeat itself.

Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers sports in Southwest Louisiana. He is also the host of Poke Nation, which airs weekly on CBS-Lake Charles.