The Pros and Cons of waiting until after preseason game 3 to make the QB decision

In the first post-practice press conference after the New Orleans Saints’ tie against the Jacksonville Jaguars, many of the questions given to head coach Kellen Moore were about the QBs. A starter has yet to be named for the regular season, and Moore reiterated that the Saints are taking their time to evaluate the QBs (Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough). Still, a starter could have been named before the next preseason game, but Moore has chosen to wait until after that game to make their decision.

So, here we look at some of the pros and cons of that decision from the Saints.

Pros

• The third game will allow for more time to assess Tyler Shough and Spencer Rattler
• New Orleans will stay away from making a rash decision
• Waiting to name a QB can keep the Arizona Cardinals (Saints’ week 1 opponent) guessing
• Game three gives a potential scenario where one of these QBs makes the decision easy for the staff
• Keeping the competition competitive motivates Rattler and Shough to compete at the highest level in the preseason

Cons

• Relying on one more game to make the decision could create a higher risk of recency bias after the game
• Naming a QB as early as possible can allow the team to rally/build chemistry around the newly named starter faster
• If a QB was named before the third preseason game, more time can be dedicated to the Cardinals’ game plan
• One of either Rattler or Shough could be put into an unfair situation based on whether they are playing opposing starters or if they are playing with their own starting group.
  • This may sound confusing, so here is an example of what I mean. Shough or Rattler’s start against the Broncos (third preseason game) and play against the Broncos’ starting unit. Whoever is the starter may look worse if they are not playing with their starting unit. We have already seen this from both Rattler and Shough in their respective starting preseason games. If there were four preseason games, and each QB could get their own starting game again, this would be another story.
  • This could also be unfair on the flipside if they allow one of the QBs to play with the starting unit against the Broncos’ backups
• More risk of the future starter getting injured