Spencer Rattler puts Dennis Allen in his sights with preseason exclamation point

New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen is not in a position to win the 2024 season. But at the same time, he has also had plenty of instances where he did nothing to help his cause. Now we could see another one develop when it comes to the quarterback room.

One of the biggest obstacles facing Allen, of course, is the QB spot. Derek Carr is a guaranteed starter at a salary the Saints can’t really afford to do without disastrous consequences to the salary cap. That’s especially painful considering Carr was an absolute eyesore in the Big Easy a year ago.

In Sunday’s preseason finale, a 30-27 loss to the Titans, the portion of the quarterback conversation that Allen has a say in was called into question. Indeed, Allen has persisted in saying Jake Haener is the team’s backup behind Carr, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to ignore that rookie Spencer Rattler might be the best option at the job.

For example, just look at Rattler’s touchdown – the only passing touchdown of the game – to Equanimeous St. Brown and try to think if Haener has ever done anything close to that, in the preseason or not.

Rattler finished 7-of-13 for 105 yards and a touchdown, with no interceptions and no sacks as the Saints scored 24 points on the four drives he led. Haener, meanwhile, finished 8-of-17 for 87 yards, which produced just three points on the six drives he led.

It should be noted that overall, Haener has been a bit more productive this preseason. This game, however, was also the first time Rattler got to play with an offensive line other than the third line and it showed how productively he can run an offense when the trench play is just enough.

After the game, Allen praised both quarterbacks, which seems to echo the idea that Haener will remain the No. 2 quarterback, even though he liked what he saw from Rattler in the final preseason game. However, fans who already question the head coach at every turn must have the same questions about this.

Just looking at the stats before then and now, Rattler seems like the best option for the Saints’ backup job. Even as a fifth-round pick, he showed traits that might make you think he could be Carr’s eventual successor. Haener hasn’t shown anything like that, at least not outside of practice. But then again, shouldn’t games matter more than practice?

It feels like Allen is already entering this season with at least a lukewarm stance that will only get hotter if things go south for New Orleans. And if he ends up naming Haener QB2 instead of Rattler after what we saw Sunday, it could only ratchet up the heat even faster as the fan base turns even more fervently against him.