"It's halfway crazy, in my opinion," Wannstedt said during his day-after-the-game press conference. "You've got a guy that's won 22 games around here in two years, had hip surgery, is back one week and he doesn't play well in a quarter and a half of a preseason game. It is a little out of perspective at this point."Do I agree that we've got work to do and he's not ready to start the season? Sure. But he told you that, too. There's nobody denying that. Nobody is trying to sugarcoat this thing. We know what we've got to get done. But it's also too premature to overreact."
Wannstedt said Fiedler's problem against the Saints was physical, not mental, and should be easily corrected after a full week of practice.
"He was making good decisions," Wannstedt said. "The positives were he was making the right reads and trying to get the ball to the right person. But he was out of rhythm. The interceptions magnified that he was out of sync."
Fiedler's problems against New Orleans stood out even more because backup Ray Lucas performed well for the second time in four nights.
Lucas wanted no part of any quarterback controversy after the New Orleans game, saying Fiedler was the starter and he understands and accepts his role.
As far as Wannstedt was concerned, Lucas' impressive preseason showing is a good thing, not a problem.
"Don't take anything away from Ray Lucas," the coach said. "I look at that as a positive. Ray is performing very well. The way I'm looking at it, I know Jay is going to be fine and I'm excited that Ray is playing good."