In defense of Winston ( gulp )

Disclaimer upfront: his injuries are affecting his play enough to warrant a switch to Dalton, IMO.

If I tried to pinpoint the biggest two negative aspects the injuries are having on his game is:
1) It is causing him to be an "arm thrower." Not getting his body into the throws like he's used to. He has a strong arm and can somewhat get away with it, but it is also holding him/the Saints back.
2) Last season, when he was healthy, he scrambled for quite a few first downs and kept drives alive. He's not doing that or feels he can't do this year and it is killing some drives.

Non-injury related, his mental aspects of the game have regressed. Holding onto the ball and not processing plays shouldn't be happening. He's an intelligent man and has a lot of experience. That is the most alarming part to me because that shouldn't be happening. Loomis gave him a smart contract that won't kill us if he doesn't pan out.

And looking around the league, the other recycled QBs aren't faring any better. As much as I want to be winning and playing better, I'm glad we didn't break the bank for Watson, Wilson or gone after guys like Trubiski, Ryan, Mayfield or Garoppolo, etc.

Finally, Winston is a part of the problem, but so many other areas are very disappointing. The capabilities of Dennis Allen and Carmichael are in question. Where's the pass rush? Injuries! Special teams (even Gilliken looks mortal, now).

All of our games are very close and are winnable and one or two breakdowns, bad calls or stupid penalties are the difference between a W or an L.