Drew Brees

[ELVIS]

Weren't the New Orleans Saints more interesting when their fans were wearing grocery bags over their heads? (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/lopresti/2009-09-21-brees-saints_N.htm)

Maybe not. But now that the Saints have turned into Texas playing Louisiana-Monroe — scoring 45 points one week and 48 the next is supposed to happen in the Big 12, not the NFL— it is hard to be sure what to think of them.

It's this little guy slinging around all the passes, Drew Brees. The one who has to look up to call the plays for the Saints. Quarterbacks get all the attention, and we know which ones invariably draw the most. Being either a Manning, a Brady, a Favre, a New Yorker, or recently released from a federal correctional facility usually helps. But while trying to keep track of the NFL on television with the remote control the first two weeks, we seem to have spotted a trend.

There's Brett Favre on the field, and all the talk about a divided Minnesota locker room seems to have vanished faster than you can say "The Vikings are 2-0."

Brees is throwing a touchdown pass.

Not only are the New England Patriots proving unable to make the New York Jets pay for all the yapping, there seems to be a moat in front of the end zone that Tom Brady can't penetrate.

Meanwhile, Mark Sanchez for mayor. Or is it governor?

Brees is throwing another touchdown pass.

Does Peyton Manning have enough capable receivers this season when he starts pointing around at the line of scrimmage like a traffic cop at 5 o'clock?

Another touchdown pass for Brees.

All is forgiven in Chicago. Jay Cutler is no longer the biggest scapegoat in town since Mrs. O'Leary's cow.

More touchdown passes, maybe replays. Is it Brees or is it Memorex?

Cowboys vs. the Giants and 105,000 people are there to see the game, some not even Tony Romo's past girlfriends. He's having such a tough night, Terrell Owens will soon be ripping him from a thousand miles away via Twitter.

Brees is being interviewed. We suddenly realize what is missing. For two weeks, every time we've seen him, the New Orleans kicker is jogging past him to line up the PAT.

At the moment, Brees has a 75% completion rate, with nine touchdown passes in two games. That's on pace for 72 touchdowns, which would be good for a video game. Might he now be the fairest quarterback of them all? You could make the argument and not look foolish.

He won't keep this up, of course. For one thing, he doesn't get to face the Detroit Lions again — a pity. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Eagles were apparently too distracted with their own quarterback issues Sunday to play defense.

For another, defensive coordinators — alarmed at New Orleans' statistic sheets — will be cooking up trouble.

"We've played two games. We're still looking to get better in a lot of areas," Saints coach Sean Payton said at his press conference Monday about the team's rapid-fire start. "I think they're smart enough to know long the season is."

But just the mere fact the words "Saints" and "scary" have been used in the same sentence lately is disorienting. This is a franchise that has been around 43 seasons and owns two playoff victories. There was a day when The Sound of Music was scarier than Saints game films.

They went 8-8 last season, losing five games by a field goal or less. The remedy for such close-call blues has been to win by 18 and 26.

It is a start so dominant to demand a spot for the Saints and Brees at the A table. But is it real? New Orleans plays the Buffalo Bills this week, and up ahead soon are the Jets and Giants. Then we'll know more.

So far, it's been even more entertaining than waiting for Michael Vick. At 6-feet, Brees is easy to lose in the glitzy quarterback crowd.

But not when he's passing.


:elvis:

[sadaist]

Man, I hate hearing about Drew. He was a Charger and we let him go for Phillip Rivers. Now, Rivers is good...but Brees is great. Super nice guy too. Seems like whenever San Diego gets rid of a player they go off to great things. We are always trading away the greats rather than trading for them. Oh well. Curse of being a San Diego fan.

Either way, I hope Drew Brees keeps on doing great. I quietly root for him as most San Diegans do.

[Mr Walker]

Brees > Brady, Manning and any other NFL QB...

unfortunately I can't help but think that with the Saints, he'll wind up being no more than the Dan Fouts of our era.

[ELVIS]

Maybe not...but Bush needs to either pick up his game or get traded...

[sadaist]

he'll wind up being no more than the Dan Fouts of our era.


See what I mean? Another squandered San Diego talent. :(

[Mr Walker]

Looking forward to the Jets/Saints match up

[Va Beach VH Fan]

And just think, I actually put him on waivers for a week a year or two ago...

[TAKIN WHISKEY]

Brees is the real deal and I think the Saints are too. Phillip Rivers is a great QB. I can't blame the Chargers for going that direction. It had to be a tough decision.

[POJO_Risin]

I agree TW. Brees is a fantastic quarterback that certainly benefits from a system that employs a hole lot of passing. Now, you need a fantastic quarterback to do that.

San Diego had to do something at the time. Brees had a history of injuries, and even though had good seasons in San Diego, had made some mistakes. If I remember correctly, Brees was the guy they took the year they COULD have taken Vick...but either took him with a later first round pick...or in the second. Rivers was a top five pick...and had the pedigree...big kid...unorthodox...but big arm...moxie...

Paying both big bucks...

Had to choose 1...and they went with the younger, more prototypical looking QB. In all honesty, I don't think they could have gone wrong with either.

If they don't make it to a super bowl...it won't be Rivers fault...

[TAKIN WHISKEY]

Poj, spot on. I think the Eagles might be having to deal with the same type of decision between McNabb and Kolb. I know Kolb hasn't had a lot of playing time, but he sure does look good for a young kid. I think the Eagles, faced with that decision next season,should go the younger route. It should be a little easier for them though, because McNabb is older than what Brees was at the time.

[POJO_Risin]

And now you have Vick in the mix...but I do agree...this Kolb kid looks good...

Still...you have to wonder...especially after Garcia's success there...

Could this offense be that type of offense that creates great QB's? Kolb certainly has earned himself a sweet deal based on a couple of games...

[TAKIN WHISKEY]

I think some of it is the system and some of it is the coaching in place there, setting guys up to have success, and some of it is the evaluation of talent to fit the system. It doesn't hurt to have the type of players around you that Philly has either. Throw it all in the melting pot and I think the Birds have found a keeper.

[ELVIS]

October 4th...Saints killing the Jets!!


:elvis:

[POJO_Risin]

17-3 in the NFL isn't that big a lead with a full half left...

especially with Reggie Bush fucking around...

[ELVIS]

I agree...Bush needs to be jettisoned...

[ELVIS]

Who Dat ?!?

[ELVIS]

Saints intercept with 4:00 in the fourth...

24 - 10 Saints!

[ELVIS]

I know you fags are avoiding this thread, but the Saints are the team to watch!

New Orleans!!!


:elvis:

[ELVIS]

*bump*


LMAO!


:elvis:

[Little Texan]

Damn! 48-27 over a good Giants team. This may be the Saints year! They are dominating teams like the Patriots did a couple of years back.

[lesfunk]

Brees > Brady, Manning and any other NFL QB...


What a bunch of horseshit! He is excellent but really...

[ELVIS]

Brees becomes a SUPERSTAR tomorrow night!!!

[redblkwht]

Brees becomes a SUPERSTAR tomorrow night!!!

Look at the numbers the career, he already is..
and all those teams that passed on him after the chargers, worried
about his shoulder, umm...think its ok huh? Idiots.
Glad for him & kinda like seeing them win, i dig the underdog
making a comeback saints been bad team ALL those years.

[ELVIS]

Saints do it AGAIN!!!


:elvis:

[ELVIS]

Can they do it to the Panthers ??

[ELVIS]

I guess they can...;)

[NATEDOG001976]

Don't get me wrong, the Saints are good. I just think the Vikings play a more physical style of football, and that could be the difference if they meet in the NFC title game. Vikings have a great run D, and great pass rush. It's too bad these team don't play in the regular season, cause that would be a great game!

[ELVIS]

I agree...

[TAKIN WHISKEY]

I can't wait to see the Cowboys play in New Orleans in December. Not because I think the Boys can beat them, but to get a good idea how good my team is heading down the stretch.

[ELVIS]

Welp...

Here we are again...Can the Saints hold on to their winning streak ??

I imagine so today, as the Rams suck...

hahaha...:D

[ELVIS]

28 - 23 !!!

Saints move on to 9-0 !!

How 'bout dat ?!?


:elvis:

[ELVIS]

Saints' ugly win is still a victory

Nov 16, 2009 (http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=11512394)

http://neworleanssaints365.com/uploaded_images/new-orleans-saints-cheerleaders-791765.jpg

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:VS9fft9IAtrWwM:http://www.sportslogos.net/images/logos/7/175/full/0iu3h5pjaqmhp9svx7gt.gif

They say there’s no such thing as an ugly victory. Well, the Saints certainly tested that theory Sunday in St. Louis.

In case you missed it, New Orleans beat the Rams 28-23 to improve to 9-0 on the season. That 9-0 start is the best in the 43 year history of the franchise.

The game was tied 14-14 at the half, and the Saints opened up a 28-17 lead at one point in the 4th quarter. But the Black and Gold were never able to deliver the knock-out punch, and former Saint qb Marc Bulger, now an NFL veteran, was able to make it a 5-point game late in the 4th. A last-second ‘Hail Mary’ sailed out of bounds, preserving the 9th straight win of 2009 for the Who Dats.

For the third week in a row, the Saints offense struggled.

Now, I know it sounds weird to say an offense that put up 217 passing yards and 203 rushing yards struggled, but I guess it’s more of a ‘flow’ thing.

For the first 5 or 6 weeks of the season, it seemed like Drew Brees and his offensive weapons could do no wrong.

And now, although they’re still putting up big points and gaining lots of yards, it almost looks like they’re working out there!

But hey, this is the NFL, and no matter how bad a team is (ex. St. Louis), it’s tough to win games in this league, and it’s even harder to blow teams out week after week.

There are two big issues that the Saints and their fans should be concerned about: turnovers and injuries.

On the turnover front, Drew Brees has thrown one more interception (seven) than touchdown passes (six) in his last four games after throwing 13 scoring passes and just two interceptions in his first six games.

After Sunday’s 2 TD, 2 INT performance, Brees told the media, "We're just not content with where we are. And not content with how we've played over the last two weeks. Really just talking specifically about turnovers. You know, they were able to get it away a few times. It's still a problem that we've got to get fixed. And we need to get it fixed quickly too."

Brees is right. With upcoming games against New England and Dallas and at Atlanta, turnovers will cost you victories. And victories mean home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

On the injury front, the Saint defense has been decimated recently.

Sedrick Ellis injured his knee at Miami. The defensive lineman, who’s expected to be back in action in the next week or so, has been sorely missed as a run stopper up the middle.

Darren Sharper, the biggest free agent acquisition of this past offseason, missed the Rams’ game with a knee injury. Don’t expect Sharper to be out much longer. He and Jonathan Vilma are the anchors of the defense, and Gregg Williams’ scheme runs at its best when Sharper’s out on the field jumping routes and intercepting passes.

The biggest injury from Sunday’s game was cornerback Tracy Porter’s in the third quarter. Porter, who broke his hand in the middle of the year last season, injured his left ACL and was taken to the locker room on a cart. Porter will have an MRI done on his knee on Monday and if he’s lost for the year, that will be a huge loss for this team.

Add to that Jabari Greer’s injury, and the Saints are down 3 of 4 starters in the secondary…YIKES!

Up this week for New Orleans, a visit to NFC South rival Tampa Bay. The Bucs have been downright awful this season and once again, the Saints will be favored on the road.

It’s tough to win on the road in the NFL, even when one team is 9-0 and the other is 1-8.

And of course, after that, the Patriots come to town for Monday Night Football. If the Saints don’t get caught looking ahead, they should take care of business in Tampa and enter MNF at 10-0.

And that brings me back to the first sentence of this blog: There are no ugly wins.

I’ll be turning 32 in January. And for the better part of 31 years, I’ve watched this franchise find ways to lose games like Sunday’s in St. Louis.

But as I’ve been saying for two months now, this isn’t the Same Ole Saints. This team, this group, this coaching staff is different.

After Sunday’s win in St. Louis, I wasn’t upset that the Saints almost blew it.

I was happy they held on - something that’s been a rarity through the years, and I’m not going to dwell on what could’ve been.

I’m going to enjoy what is, and that’s the fact that the Saints are finding a way to win, every week, for 9 weeks.

WHO DAT!!!


:elvis:

[ELVIS]

Saints' ugly win is still a victory

Nov 16, 2009 (http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=11512394)

http://neworleanssaints365.com/uploaded_images/new-orleans-saints-cheerleaders-791765.jpg

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:VS9fft9IAtrWwM:http://www.sportslogos.net/images/logos/7/175/full/0iu3h5pjaqmhp9svx7gt.gif

They say there’s no such thing as an ugly victory. Well, the Saints certainly tested that theory Sunday in St. Louis.

In case you missed it, New Orleans beat the Rams 28-23 to improve to 9-0 on the season. That 9-0 start is the best in the 43 year history of the franchise.

The game was tied 14-14 at the half, and the Saints opened up a 28-17 lead at one point in the 4th quarter. But the Black and Gold were never able to deliver the knock-out punch, and former Saint qb Marc Bulger, now an NFL veteran, was able to make it a 5-point game late in the 4th. A last-second ‘Hail Mary’ sailed out of bounds, preserving the 9th straight win of 2009 for the Who Dats.

For the third week in a row, the Saints offense struggled.

Now, I know it sounds weird to say an offense that put up 217 passing yards and 203 rushing yards struggled, but I guess it’s more of a ‘flow’ thing.

For the first 5 or 6 weeks of the season, it seemed like Drew Brees and his offensive weapons could do no wrong.

And now, although they’re still putting up big points and gaining lots of yards, it almost looks like they’re working out there!

But hey, this is the NFL, and no matter how bad a team is (ex. St. Louis), it’s tough to win games in this league, and it’s even harder to blow teams out week after week.

There are two big issues that the Saints and their fans should be concerned about: turnovers and injuries.

On the turnover front, Drew Brees has thrown one more interception (seven) than touchdown passes (six) in his last four games after throwing 13 scoring passes and just two interceptions in his first six games.

After Sunday’s 2 TD, 2 INT performance, Brees told the media, "We're just not content with where we are. And not content with how we've played over the last two weeks. Really just talking specifically about turnovers. You know, they were able to get it away a few times. It's still a problem that we've got to get fixed. And we need to get it fixed quickly too."

Brees is right. With upcoming games against New England and Dallas and at Atlanta, turnovers will cost you victories. And victories mean home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

On the injury front, the Saint defense has been decimated recently.

Sedrick Ellis injured his knee at Miami. The defensive lineman, who’s expected to be back in action in the next week or so, has been sorely missed as a run stopper up the middle.

Darren Sharper, the biggest free agent acquisition of this past offseason, missed the Rams’ game with a knee injury. Don’t expect Sharper to be out much longer. He and Jonathan Vilma are the anchors of the defense, and Gregg Williams’ scheme runs at its best when Sharper’s out on the field jumping routes and intercepting passes.

The biggest injury from Sunday’s game was cornerback Tracy Porter’s in the third quarter. Porter, who broke his hand in the middle of the year last season, injured his left ACL and was taken to the locker room on a cart. Porter will have an MRI done on his knee on Monday and if he’s lost for the year, that will be a huge loss for this team.

Add to that Jabari Greer’s injury, and the Saints are down 3 of 4 starters in the secondary…YIKES!

Up this week for New Orleans, a visit to NFC South rival Tampa Bay. The Bucs have been downright awful this season and once again, the Saints will be favored on the road.

It’s tough to win on the road in the NFL, even when one team is 9-0 and the other is 1-8.

And of course, after that, the Patriots come to town for Monday Night Football. If the Saints don’t get caught looking ahead, they should take care of business in Tampa and enter MNF at 10-0.

And that brings me back to the first sentence of this blog: There are no ugly wins.

I’ll be turning 32 in January. And for the better part of 31 years, I’ve watched this franchise find ways to lose games like Sunday’s in St. Louis.

But as I’ve been saying for two months now, this isn’t the Same Ole Saints. This team, this group, this coaching staff is different.

After Sunday’s win in St. Louis, I wasn’t upset that the Saints almost blew it.

I was happy they held on - something that’s been a rarity through the years, and I’m not going to dwell on what could’ve been.

I’m going to enjoy what is, and that’s the fact that the Saints are finding a way to win, every week, for 9 weeks.

WHO DAT!!!


:elvis:

[ELVIS]

Saints!

Again!


Saints!


:elvis:

[NATEDOG001976]

Nice win.

Just sucks that the Vikings & Saints don't play in the regular season..

I think Favre sold his soul to the Devil this year, he's having his best season ever!

[ELVIS]

You dickheads still denying the Saints ??

[ELVIS]

How 'bout now ??

[ELVIS]

Terry Bradshaw

I'm a little worried about my Saints. This is two weeks in a row now that they've rushed for under 100 yards. You know I'm old school. Championship teams have to run the ball at the end of the season and New Orleans managed only 95 yards on 26 carries against the Falcons on Sunday.

Yes, I understood that the Falcons played inspired football. Even though they were minus Matt Ryan and Michael Turner, their two offensive weapons, this was a division game. The Falcons still have a pretty good defense, but more importantly they were playing at home. Coach Mike Smith has done a great job with that team and that's only his third loss at home in two years now. Don't forget the Falcons were in the playoffs last year. They know the Saints well, but more importantly they weren't afraid of them. New Orleans being 12-0 meant nothing to the Falcons.

I know the Saints have been balanced all season, but I'm a little concerned about these past two games. I know that Drew Brees has to throw if the defense is stacking the line against the run, but this was a team that was fourth or fifth in the league in running the ball.

I know that Sean Payton threw a lot because the Atlanta secondary has been a mess and beat up, but still you have to keep your balance because it is good for your running backs and your offensive line. With the kind of talent that the Saints have, I think we all know that throwing the football is never going to be a problem.

And why keep giving the Falcons an opportunity with the football? Why not control the clock a little bit more? That clock becomes huge in games like these.

But still this was a big win for the Saints to keep them unbeaten. But, golly, that's four games they've had to pull out at the end. You learn from this and chances are that they will have that really good game in the final three regular-season games left where they do really well on offense.

I do think fans in Louisiana have to understand that they are still waiting on some key starters in their secondary to get healthy. They need them to be ready for the playoffs.

I tell you, I didn't like Sean Payton going for that fake field-goal attempt at the end, either. It goes back to the criticism we fired at Bill Belichick a couple weeks ago after his decision in Indianapolis. If that's what you think you have to do to get your team a win, I'm fine with it. But would I have done it? No!

That's always a political answer. If that's what you think is best for your team, you know your team better than I do, and I'm fine with it. Is that what I would have done? Definitely not?

None of my guys up here on the set of FOX NFL Sunday would have done that at the end, go for a fake field goal. Take your points when you have them.


:elvis:

[Little Texan]

Yo Elvis...






http://www.xcomment.com/g2/img/438px_Dallas_Cowboys_svg111107072248.gif









How 'bout them Cowboys? :biggrin:

[Little Texan]

I won't rub it in too much because I do root for the Saints as long as they're not playing the Cowboys, and they are having a better season than Dallas. It's great to see a perennial doormat like the Saints were transform into a team that won 13 straight games to start the season before their first loss.

[ELVIS]

Now you make a post ??

The Saints have been about to lose the last three weeks...

They are still good...

[GO-SPURS-GO]

The Saints have been about to lose the last three weeks...


I'm a die hard Cowboys fan, and I have to say that this win didn't impress me all that much. The Saints have been squeaking by for about a month now. They dropped a Romo interception that would've killed the Cowboys second scoring drive, and dropped a sure TD. If the Saints had a few timeouts left on that last scoring drive, or about 30 more seconds left on the clock, the Saints send it into overtime. You guys needed this loss. This was probably the last loss for you guys in a while, and probably the last win for us in a while. ;)

[ELVIS]

Yep...

I agree...

[TAKIN WHISKEY]

Well, I don't think this is the last win for Dallas. Hopefully they play to the level that everyone just saw on Saturday night. The Saints on the other hand should win there last two and are without a doubt a GREAT football team. The NFL is always exciting, especially going into the playoffs. The Saints just dropped a game, the Vikings just dropped a game that was very important and the Cowboys and Eagles are looking good with a potential big matchup week 17. Hold onto your hats people, it's going to be another wild ride. Oh, and by the way Elvis, I'm glad your Saints are kickin some ass and giving you a great season. I know it is long over due. I hope my Cowboys see you again in the NFC Championship game.

[ELVIS]

True dat!

[sonrisa salvaje]

Hopefully, the Saints can win this weekend, wrap up home field and rest some players in the last game. If they can rest most of their stars going into the playoffs, they are going to be hard to beat at home. If Dallas were to have to come back to New Orleans in the playoffs, after what happened in the last game, there will be hell to pay.

[TAKIN WHISKEY]

Dallas has to get to the playoffs first, and then win a game. It aint easy being a Cowboys fan.

[ELVIS]

Hmmm...

[GO-SPURS-GO]

This was probably the last loss for you guys in a while, and probably the last win for us in a while. ;)

Well it looks like I was wrong!

[ELVIS]

Drew Brees was forced to sit the game out...