2 takeaways from the Saints loss to the Vikings

New Orleans loses but remains in first place headed to bye.

1. This team can’t cover running quarterbacks

A week after letting Chicago Bears QB Tyson Bagent run all over them, the New Orleans Saints once again failed to keep a mobile quarterback in the pocket. Josh Dobbs ran for 44 yards and a touchdown and was able to scramble out of numerous situations in which the Saints should have had a sack. The Saints do lack speed in their front seven, but have to do a better job of scheming around keeping mobile QBs in the pocket and also getting them to the ground. The Falcons are the Saints next opponents, and both Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke have good mobility. The defense can’t allow whoever starts for Atlanta to do what Bagent and Dobbs just did against them, otherwise we could be in for another long afternoon.

2. Jameis Winston gives us no better chance to win than Derek Carr

I can’t remember a more hotly debated topic among Saints fans than Carr vs. Winston in a long time. The reason for this may be because there really is no right answer. Carr and Winston are polar opposites when it comes to style of play, and the boom and bust of Jameis Winston was on full display Sunday in Minnesota, as was the mediocrity that is Derek Carr. Winston brought the team back to within 8 points on two risky touchdown passes after Carr had done nothing the entire afternoon, but then threw interceptions on back to back drives with the game on the line. With Carr the offense does not move, with Winston the offense may turn it over on any given play. In 334 pass attempts this year, Derek Carr has thrown 4 interceptions, while in 42 pass attempts this year Jameis Winston has thrown 3 interceptions. Neither QB has proven good enough to play above .500 football, and say what you want about the play calling or offensive line but the fact is no QB on the roster can overcome that.

Each QB is what we thought they were. Carr is a check down machine who may be able to score once in a while, and Jameis is a guy who will launch it into double coverage the first chance he gets, which sometimes results in a TD but more likely results in a pick. Neither QB is good enough to lead this team past an 8-9 division title. It doesn’t matter if Jameis is more “fun” to watch as some were saying on social media on Sunday. Losing isn’t fun, whether you lose 27-3 or 27-19 it is the exact same thing, and anyone who tells you otherwise should just go root for the Chargers. If you want to have “fun” and watch Jameis throw risky pass after risky pass and maybe one of them works out than more power to you, but it won’t help us win any more than Derek Carr completing 25 passes for 190 yards.

I don’t want to hear the reasoning that Winston gives us a better chance because he can at times score more than Carr either. Winston’s tendency to throw the ball to the other team is too much of a hinderance, especially when you consider how poorly the defense has played the last few weeks. If Winston were good enough to overcome his turnover issues then he would have led a team to the playoffs by now, something he has never done in his NFL career. I am also not going to sit up here and say Carr is this great winner who can overcome bad play, as he only led the Raiders to a winning record twice in nine seasons. Either the play calling changes to de-emphasize the quarterback and lean on the actual good players we have on offense like Kamara, Olave and Hill, or the Saints must draft a quarterback, because I am ready to give up on both options past this season.

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