Saints fans should be more comfortable with Andy Dalton at quarterback

Andy Dalton (Google Images)

The New Orleans Saints made notable news on Wednesday when they announced that Andy Dalton will be the starting quarterback for the Saints on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders. This news is rather noteworthy because according to Jordan Dajani of CBS Sports, Jameis Winston is reportedly ‘healthy’ in quotation marks.

The reason why there are quotation marks around healthy is up for debate. That is because even though Saints head coach Dennis Allen says Winston is healthy, there are concerns that Winston is still feeling the effects of a back injury he suffered a month ago.

Both Winston and Dalton could be considered reliable second-tier quarterbacks. Winston led the NFL in receiving yards (5109) and passing yards per game (319.3) while with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019. Dalton meanwhile has 36225 passing yards, which is 28th all-time in NFL history, and is seventh among active quarterbacks, only behind Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford, Joe Flacco and Russell Wilson.

The issue with Winston throughout his career has been interceptions. While with the Buccaneers in 2019, he led the NFL that season with 30. In 86 games, Winston has thrown 96 picks. Yes, Dalton has thrown 136 career interceptions (including two pick sixes last week in a 42-34 Saints loss to the Arizona Cardinals), but those have come in 156 career games. Dalton’s experience could benefit New Orleans over the next while.

The Saints are 2-5 and tied with the Carolina Panthers for third place in the NFC South. However in this wacky division, the Saints and Panthers only find themselves one game back of first place as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons are co-leaders at three wins and four losses. One of these four mediocre clubs at the moment will be postseason bound at year’s end.

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