Gumbo
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- Mar 19, 2019
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The New Orleans Saints have situated themselves in such a way that Taysom Hill appears to be the quarterback-in-waiting for when Drew Brees elects to retire from the game. But with Hill essentially being a gadget player through his first three seasons in New Orleans and having attempted just 13 passes in regular season games, it’s understandable to wonder whether Hill is capable of the job he’s penciled in for in a post-Brees era with the Saints.
Saints head coach Sean Payton understands that Hill’s competency for the job will be questioned by those that aren’t able to see him play quarterback regularly. But in an interview with 105.7 The Fan in Baltimore on Thursday, Payton said they have supreme confidence in what Hill is capable of as a quarterback in the NFL.
“For those that aren’t sold, it’s probably because they haven’t seen enough of him in games and I can certainly understand that,” Payton said, via Luke Johnson of the New Orleans Advocate. “Now, that being said, we’ve seen hundreds of reps that weren’t necessarily regular season games and we’ve seen some of the things we feel he can do on a consistent basis.
“That’s often the case with any new player, new meaning that time comes where Taysom is transitioning into quarterback-only, people are excited or anxious to see, hey, how does this guy function down-in and down-out at that position?
“We think he’s going to be an outstanding NFL quarterback. He’s a very good athlete. But I think that’s a normal reaction for any fan relative to someone that is getting ready to play that position and they haven’t had the same amount of snaps to look at.”
Hill has completed just six of 13 attempts for 119 yards with an interception over the last two seasons. He’s been most successful as running back and receiver, carrying the ball 64 times for 352 yards and three touchdowns over that same span. He also caught 19 passes for 234 yards and six touchdowns last year for New Orleans.
Hill completed 36 of 49 passes for 365 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in the 2018 preseason and was 40 of 59 for 443 yards with three touchdowns and one interception last August for the Saints.