METAIRIE, La. (WGNO) — It’s been a long journey for Saints newcomer Foster Moreau, but he’s not alone on his road back home to New Orleans. This season, his former Raiders teammate Derek Carr has big shoes to fill as the new quarterback in town, but says it’s the team-first mentality Moreau is transferring from Sin City back to the Big Easy that he believes will lead the Saints to greatness this season.
After wrapping up his first day in Saints gear at Tuesday’s organized team activities, Carr is now gearing up for a season packed full of new faces. Head coach Dennis Allen says that as with anything new, Carr will be faced with a learning curve – this one set to the tune of New Orleans.
“It’s a new system, new words, a lot of similarities – things that I grew up on and that I believe in,” Carr told media on Tuesday. “It’s still a learning curve, but it’s not as big of a curve as it would be in a different [offensive] system.”
“I thought he did a pretty good job at getting in and out of the huddle, I thought he was good with his reads, knew where to go with the ball,” Allen added. “The execution was fairly decent and I think collectively on both sides of the ball, we’ve got to be a little cleaner.”
But, Carr says some things will never change, regardless of what team he’s on.
“There’s no learning curve on how to throw a football,” said Carr.
That also includes his trust in Moreau, who, like Carr, will kick off his first season with the Saints this year after a 6-11 record with Las Vegas last year. A NOLA native, Moreau brings with him a ‘glue’ that holds his team together, Carr says.
“As a teammate, he’s a glue guy. I told our guys before he signed, ‘He’s going to be great in the locker room and prove to his teammates and earn their respect. And when he does, I promise he’s going to be there every day,'” said Carr. “He’s going to be the same every day and that’s all we can ask from people is to be consistent. It’s hard to be, but he’s very consistent. It’s almost scary how consistent he is.”
From where to live, to where to find the best food in New Orleans, Carr says Foster has been a great teammate on and off the gridiron.
“He tries to be that guy for the team and you can see why he wore a special jersey at LSU and you can see why his teammates loved him there. And you can see why his teammates even loved him in high school. I met his high school tight end coach at the Pelicans game who was like ‘I love Foster!’ and that’s the Foster I still know.”
And despite the recent news of his cancer diagnosis, Carr knows Moreau will always, every time, leave it all out on the field.
“It’s pretty miraculous. I know he’s thankful and we’re praying for him. You know, he called us pretty early when he found out and he asked my wife and I to pray for him, and obviously we do because we’re family. I’m just happy that he’s out there doing something he loves to do and the fact we get to play together is pretty cool too.”
The Saints will kick off the regular season on Sunday, Sept. 10 at home against Tennessee.
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