Saints Can Drew Brees still throw it deep? (1 Viewer)

[Complex Kid]

It's a pay site but if you download their app they give you like 3 free articles a month.

Can Drew Brees still throw it deep?: A dive into every throw on the route tree the last three years

Not having Ted Ginn Jr. for most of last season left Brees without much of a deep threat.

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Yes he can

 

[blotch1]

Not like he used to.

Everyone had to notice the underthrows last year.

He's still one of the top 3 QBs and can take the team to another SB, but if we have to throw deep consistently, it will not be pretty.

 

[ndcc]

If the timing and route running is spot-on, you'll rarely have to throw more than 50 yds. in the air.

Drew can do that all day.

 

[Rdanderson91]

It’s blasphemy around here to suggest that he can’t throw it 100 yards on his knees. But it’s natural that his arm strength has decreased a little bit over the years. He’s 40 for gods sake. Of course his arm strength has declined. That doesn’t mean he’s not great still. He can still clear 50 yards in the air And that’s good enough.

 

[jboss]

{presses lips right up against microphone}

Yes

 

[Stalwart385]

5th most accurate deep ball thrower according to PFF. He just doesn't do it a ton.

 

[Saints318]

I'm thinking teams average air yard throws of 45 yards or more about once or twice a game and the average success rate is under 50%. We did this a few times with Taysom and I don't expect that to decrease. We might even have a gadget play with Teddy doing this at some point.
Drew still poses the threat to pull this off even if he's not as good at it as he once was. Sometimes under throwing a 50 yard bomb is a way to give your receiver an advantage or draw a flag.
It could be argued he should have won the league MVP award against a young phenom who might have the strongest arm and fastest WR the league has ever seen.
Whatever regression Drew has suffered physically he's made up for mentally and remains among the very best in the league.
Drew is the best ever on short to intermediate throws. Best ever. And there's no debate. He puts the ball in the perfect spot every time.
That accuracy and timing alone will make him one of the best QB's for as long as he plays.

 

[saint_drago]

It’s blasphemy around here to suggest that he can’t throw it 100 yards on his knees. But it’s natural that his arm strength has decreased a little bit over the years. He’s 40 for gods sake. Of course his arm strength has declined. That doesn’t mean he’s not great still. He can still clear 50 yards in the air And that’s good enough.

This. The deep ball just isn't his strength anymore. There's nothing wrong with that. He's still great. He's still the best passer in the league when it comes to short/intermediate routes. He can still go deep but it just doesn't look as effortless and routine as it once did.

Drew never had the strongest arm but he was able to hit guys in stride way down the field with ease. Easily the best passer of a football I have ever seen. He's not the greatest QB of all time but he is the best passer. I think his numbers prove that.

 

[Jb25saints]

Not like he used to.

Everyone had to notice the underthrows last year.

He's still one of the top 3 QBs and can take the team to another SB, but if we have to throw deep consistently, it will not be pretty.

Yeah I agree. How many times did Ginn get under thrown last season?

 

[crosswatt]

He's forty now so obviously he doesn't have the same muscle tone or recovery period from exhertion as he used to, but it's not really a massive drop off by any metric. The truth of the matter is that Drew Brees never had a powerful arm. Not by NFL standards. It was even a ding against him coming into the draft. He is the Greg Maddux of the NFL in that his performance level has always far surpassed his talent level.


Drew Brees' arm strength coming out (of Perdue) was below average at best

How did we know this? We watched practice live and a lot of game tape. I was at a Purdue practice during Brees' final year and he struggled to complete a 12-yard out in windy conditions.

Quarterback Ball Velocity at NFL Combine 2008-2017


For the record, the only velocity number I can find for Brees is 54.7, placing him squarely in the "below average arm strength" category for essentially his entire career.

Weak arm and short stature means that Brees gets any power or velocity from his core. Not surprising that he concentrates on that very aspect of his game when training.


At 38 Years Old, Drew Brees Believes His Best Football is Still Ahead of Him

In the middle of this imaginary game, Brees is also thinking about keeping his back leg engaged through his throwing motion. It's been a point of emphasis for him throughout the offseason, as it enhances stability and allows him to sling the ball with more zip and precision. Durkin roars his approval after a particularly pretty three-step drop and delivery. The trainer's just as invested in Brees' improvement as the quarterback himself. "I was honing in on the feet and making sure his legs were coming through the ball and not lifting that back leg up. If we're doing that, we're losing power," Durkin says.

Brees' arm strength will forever be tied to his mechanics. Suggesting anything else is simply ignoring what we have known about him since college. For the record, I'm not a "Brees Forever" person either. He is at the very end of his career, and will, if he doesn't retire first, exhibit a marked decline in his on field performance. But I will always question when it is attributed to any perceived loss of arm strength, because he's never had any to speak of...

 

[Saint Spud]

The decline in interior OL play had a lot more to do with Brees underthrowing deep balls than any decline in his arm strength.

 

[dvdman]

Looks like he's been hitting the weight room more, arms look huge so maybe he's trying to build up the arm strength.

 

[Maik Jeaunz]

he can throw it over them mountains.

 

[ndcc]

This workout clip was just a year ago.


To me, he's just as fit as he's ever been.

 

[BELOWSEALEVEL]

If ur in shape, throwing 40-50 yards isn't that hard. I'm 48 and can still sling it