Adam Forsythe / September 16, 2019

As some of you may know, I am an avid user of social media. I spend a lot of time scrolling through both Twitter and Facebook. All throughout the internet, I’ve seen many Saints’ fans wanting Taysom Hill to take over at quarterback with Drew Brees now sidelined with an injury. Brees suffered a torn ligament in his right thumb early in the team’s rematch with the Los Angeles Rams. This unfortunate injury will require surgery and is likely to keep Brees off the field for six weeks. When Brees left the game on Sunday, backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater took over for the future Hall of Famer, but he provided a less than inspiring performance. However, head coach Sean Payton says that Bridgewater will be the team’s starting quarterback, and I believe that is the best decision to keep this team competitive.

I am a firm believer that Teddy Bridgewater gives the Saints the best chance to win during this six-week stretch without Brees. Bridgewater’s game against the Rams was lackluster, but he certainly did not get much help from the rest of the team. It seemed as if the whole team checked out in the second half.

Injuries also began piling up as the Saints lost Andrus Peat and Tre’Quan Smith in the second half. The team was already without Keith Kirkwood who was dealing with a hamstring injury during pre-game warmups. Without those two receivers, the Saints found themselves very short-handed as they began running Taysom Hill at wide receiver towards the end of the game. Losing Peat was as devastating if not more because it left last year’s 7th-round pick, Will Clapp, in charge of stopping a monster named Aaron Donald, who is widely regarded as the best player in the NFL.

Sloppy penalties also harmed Bridgewater and the offense. There were several occasions where a holding penalty was called on first down, leaving the offense in a 1st & 20 situation which was often very difficult for them to overcome.

In addition to the penalties, many players were simply unable to hold on to the football. Newly acquired tight end Jared Cook dropped a couple passes they went straight through his hands. Perhaps even more shockingly, the usually sure-handed Michael Thomas let a few passes slip through his grasp as well.

With all these things considered, Bridgewater did not have a perfect game. There were a few throws that he flat out missed on, but I don’t believe he played poorly enough for people to cast him away just yet.

Taysom Hill is a very exciting player as he brings a certain electricity to the offense, so I can see why there are so many people who want him to start at quarterback moving forward. However, electricity alone is not enough to win games. Bridgewater has proven experience in this league. I am very intrigued to see what a full week of practice and a new gameplan revolving around Bridgewater’s style of play can do for this team. Unfortunately, the road won’t be easy for Bridgewater and the Saints. Next week they will face off against a very talented Seahawks’ team and then they must battle the Dallas Cowboys who have been very impressive throughout these first two games. Despite the outcry for Taysom time, I believe that starting Bridgewater at quarterback will give this team the best chance of winning against these strong opponents.

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