Drew Brees’ Exclusive with Fletcher Mackel, Plus Saints’ Glaring Needs 1 and 1A

This week on Black and Gold Rush, WDSU-TV sports anchor/reporter Fletcher Mackel joins host Rachel Jones for another great New Orleans Saints conversation. Fletcher and Rachel both were born and raised in New Orleans, so they talk about their early years following the Saints, even before Drew Brees and Sean Payton arrived to resurrect the franchise from years of futility.

Now though, the Saints face an uncertain offseason for many reasons, and Fletcher just had an exclusive interview with QB Drew Brees after his retirement. He and Rachel explore the top takeaways from that interview, and discuss whether Jameis Winston will seize his opportunity at redemption and earn the starting role in 2021. It’s been a while - try 20 years - since the Saints had a legitimate quarterback battle, but Fletcher and Rachel both remember it!

Plus, Fletcher outlines what he believes are the Saints’ glaring needs “1 & 1a” - cornerback and starting linebacker. Stay tuned for the weekly random round (starts at 26:50!)

LISTEN FOR THESE QUOTES

(5:28) “I don’t know what life was life without a twin or somebody else there. Now as an adult, it’s definitely a unique concept because we work together and we do the same thing. So that's a bit more of a novelty than just growing up as a twin.”

(8:16) “That was something that was a really great part of the interview was [Drew Brees] talking about New Orleans not just as a party city, but as a place that you can start a business and raise a family. As somebody like you who’s from here, those are the things you want to hear because you want to be proud of New Orleans.”

(16:05) “Talking about Jameis is two-fold to me. Jameis the human being is one thing - maturing, trying to become a better person, getting past his past transgressions. Jameis the player is another thing. Is he going to be a turnover machine like we saw at Florida State or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? I think the Saints are going to put him in a role reminiscent of what we saw with Teddy Bridgewater, where Teddy was a game manager for those five games.”

(18:46) “Do I think that Sean Payton will take more shots down the field with Jameis Winston as his quarterback? Absolutely. Because he has the ability to do it. … I think the Saints are going to be very game-plan heavy from game to game.”

(23:00) “As far as the glaring needs, I look at two as 1 and 1a: starting cornerback and starting linebacker next to Demario Davis.”

(26:08) “Going back to the Billy Joe Hobert & Billy Joe Tolliver days, which were some dark days in Saints history, it’s been 20 years since we’ve had an all-out quarterback battle.”

CONNECT WITH US / LINKS MENTIONED

Fletcher Mackel Twitter

Fletcher’s Exclusive Interview with Drew Brees

Watch WDSU-TV online

Rachel Jones Twitter

Rachel Jones Instagram

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