Former NFL quarterback David Carr believes Jameis Winston is the answer at quarterback for the Saints, and he made a ridiculous comment while making his point.
Carr, who is an analyst for NFL Network, was talking on Monday about New Orleans’ future at quarterback without Drew Brees. Carr believes the Saints can stop looking for a quarterback because they have found the answer with Winston.
Carr believes that Winston’s pairing with Bruce Arians in Tampa Bay was a poor one. He thinks the quarterback will fare much better under Sean Payton.
“I think what went on in Tampa Bay with Jameis when Bruce Arians came in was probably the worst-case scenario for him,” Carr said. “I think that he gets in there with Sean Payton and he finds someone in Sean that can give you completions, that can settle you down. And then you just let his, really, limitless potential and physical ability take over.”
At this point, there was no issue with anything Carr said. But then he took his praise of Winston to a ridiculous level when he said Winston was more talented than Brees.
“(Jameis) is much more talented than Drew Brees, physically. Throwing the ball down the field, that offense will actually widen a bit. It will open up. And I think the only thing holding him back is his ability to understand what Sean wants to do in each play. I think (Payton) will be fantastic for Jameis,” Carr said.
Maybe Winston will perform better in New Orleans than he did in Tampa Bay, but don’t even try to tell me Winston is more talented than Brees. That is laughable.
Brees led the NFL in completion percentage six times and has the highest completion percentage of any retired quarterback in NFL history. His accuracy was always his greatest physical tool. Winston, meanwhile, threw 30 interceptions in his last season as a starter — the most by an NFL quarterback since 1988.
Until Winston can put the ball exactly where he wants almost on demand the way Brees did, he won’t come close to matching his predecessor's physical talent.
Carr should have just said that Winston will enable the Saints to throw the deep ball, which they didn’t do under Brees last season, and left it at that. Because in no world is Winston more physically talented than Brees, who is headed to the Hall of Fame.
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