With 16 players from the Saints active roster not playing last night, you didn’t have much hope that New Orleans would be able to pull of a victory against a Miami team that had won six in a row. That’s exactly how it played out against the Dolphins as New Orleans lost 20-3.
Coach Sean Payton says they had guys playing on Monday night who never practiced with the team.
“We had two players getting fitted for equipment in the equipment room that had just arrived,” said Payton.
The Saints were down to their eighth offensive tackle on the depth chart. That guy’s name is Kyle Murphy and he was signed to the active roster before the game.
Rookie Ian Book started at quarterback. Book started the season as the fourth-string quarterback and threw a pick six on his second pass and was sacked eight times in his NFL debut. Payton says it’s hard to evaluate Book’s performance. because they struggled to keep him upright.
“He’s competitive and tough, he’s going to be fine, he’ll be frustrated like all of us with some plays, but it’s certainly not going to define his growth, his career or what he does,” said Payton.
Book battled out there behind a makeshift offensive line. He ended up throwing for 135 yards and two interceptions.
“It’s about moving on, don’t hang your head, it didn’t go our way tonight, I had fun being out there, obviously it didn’t go our way, but I was out there trying to bring energy, stay confident out there, just lead to those guys,” said Book.
New Orleans will close out the home schedule this Sunday against the Carolina Panthers at 3:25. New Orleans is 7-8 and needs to win the next two and hope to get some help in order to make the playoffs.
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