Tyler Shough stepped into a familiar Saints tradition and made the moment count.
Before New Orleans’ preseason game against Jacksonville on Saturday, the rookie quarterback handled the pregame huddle for the first time and sounded every bit like someone trying to set a tone, not just get through a ritual. The broadcast caught Shough locked in with his teammates, staring through their helmets and driving home the message that this was a chance to show who they are.
“Hey! All I could think about last night was one word,” Shough said.
“Opportunity! This is the first time as a team that we can show what we can do.
This is the first time, if you’re a rookie this year, that you can show what you can do.”
Shough, who did not put on pads in the preseason opener, kept the energy high as he talked about how little the scoreboard mattered in that setting.
“I don’t give a f-- what the score is,” Shough said. “Week 1, Week 17, preseason.
Show them what we’re about. Play together.
From the first snap, jump on them. Let’s go.
Alright? Play for each other, bring it in.”
The Saints have long used the pregame huddle as a team-wide jolt. Drew Brees led it from 2006 through 2020, and after his retirement, New York Jets linebacker Demario Davis took over the job. With Davis back with the Jets this offseason, Shough appeared to inherit the responsibility of getting New Orleans fired up before kickoff.
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