Tyler Shough said Wednesday that he shares the frustrations of Saints owner Gayle Benson, who a day earlier called New Orleans' 1-4 start "unacceptable," ESPN reported. Pro Football Talk's headline carries his other message: the team "can't let Gayle Benson's comments affect our daily process." ESPN says head coach Kellen Moore also responded to the criticism. The feed summaries we have don't include his comments.
PFT's Josh Alper noted that Benson was unusually blunt in airing her disappointment in public, and that she rarely shares her views on the state of the franchise. That is why her comments drew so much attention. The reporting we have doesn't say what she wanted changed, and it doesn't mention any personnel decision.
The Saints are 4th in the NFC South and have lost three straight. They lost 35-27 to Las Vegas on Sept. 27, 45-24 to Atlanta on Oct. 5, and 23-13 to Minnesota last Sunday. They have allowed 80 points in the first two of those games and scored 13 in the third.
Shough's season line shows part of the problem. He has completed 137 of 205 passes (66.8%) for 1,299 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions, and has been sacked 13 times in five games. His output has dropped sharply in the last two games. Against Las Vegas he threw four touchdown passes for a 106.2 rating, but he has thrown only one touchdown pass in the two games since. He went 30-of-48 for 286 yards against Atlanta. Against Minnesota he went 16-of-25 for 96 yards with two interceptions, a 38.1 rating and 3.8 yards per attempt. He also had 410 yards on 35-of-56 passing in the Week 1 loss at Detroit, with five sacks and a lost fumble.
Moore is in his first season as the Saints' head coach. Our coaching table lists his record at 1-3, which doesn't match the team's 1-4 mark, so we won't lean on that figure. Shough's answer, as reported, points to the same route as Moore's: keep the weekly routine and fix the results within it.
The next chance comes Sunday, Oct. 18, when New Orleans plays at the New York Giants.
Sun, Oct 18, 1:00 PM ET
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