New Orleans Saints quarterback Ian Book (16) stetches during NFL football training camp in Metairie, Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/Derick Hingle)
I am aware I’m actively inciting a firestorm, and this is mainly in jest. But let’s be clear: Ian Book is at minimum making the roster as QB3. To me, Book got nearly if not as much time under center as the two potential starters.
Given Trevor Siemian’s pro experience, the fourth-round rookie prospect has frankly outperformed him as the reps clearly reflected today. The biggest criticism coming out of his time at Notre Dame was his propensity to scramble at the first miniscule sign of a collapsing pocket. Book’s pocket presence immediately stood out to me the first time I saw him last week; today simply reinforced this hunch, particularly in the Turner play. When he was throwing simultaneously with Siemian, he had cleaner footwork, quicker reads, and more timely releases.
I noted more “good” Book passes today than any other quarterback by far; that’s not to say he didn’t have his missteps. When asked in the pre-training camp presser which traits Sean Payton considers unfixable in quarterbacks, his answer was illuminating: “intangibles.” Read: leadership reminiscent of Brees. There was a play that for some reason didn’t pan out between Book and Kawaan Baker. After the drill died down, it looked like Book wanted to run it again, and threw a quick solo pass to Baker as initially intended. He later threw a poor pass to Tommy Lee Lewis whose valiant effort nearly saw him hit the goalpost. I watched Book track down Lewis across the field, have a quick conversation, and ended with a fist bump. If we’re talking intangibles, Book has displayed them in spades thus far.
Oh, and his pump fake in the last team session that led to a wide-open completion by rookie back Stevie Scott III elicited a wild reaction on the sidelines. Specifically, my notes read: “Wait, how did he just do that?”
