ESPN on Brees:. (Speculation on possible decline) (1 Viewer)

Drew's "dropoff" last year began at the same time that Max got hurt. I think Drew's drop off had more to do with more pressure in his face.
 
Our whole team struggled after the cowboys game. Ram played that game with a messed up shoulder, Terron and Unger got hurt, and they held the WRs the whole game.

The big thing was that game exposed that the Saints had absolutely no deep passing game. Once that was out in the open everyone took away all the short options.

Honestly, what Drew and MT were able to accomplish while literally being the only passing threat in that stretch is amazing. All teams knew he could only throw to MT and that they couldn't go more than 20 yards down field - and they still couldn't stop them from moving the ball and winning games.
 
Drew is my favorite Saint ever, but I do believe he tailed off a bit end of last year.

However his start was amazing so a fall off was bound to happen from that torrid pace imo.

I think the tail off last year was more attributable to the fact he was playing with a patchwork group of very inexperienced group of WR’s, during the most demanding part of the season. Brees had very limited options. Think about; TQS, Kirkwood, TLL and Carr, as his targets outside of MT. And of course, strategically used; AK41, as a WR. Not a bevy of quality, highly thought of group of WR’s. Add in the TE debacle and one can see why at tbe last half of the season, his stats fell off and still should have made the SB. It is more so the lack of quality WR’s at this point. But if he starts missing open receivers, underthrowing open receivers...etc. this year, that would be the tell tale sign, the end is near. We’ll see soon enough.
 
Probably it’s been a MIRACLE that Drew kept those numbers for 11 weeks, with only MT as a reliable target. It’s outstanding. It’s historical.
Then he fell off the cliff for the reasons you all have outlined. The article states, for example, that Brees faced the same average number of pressures during the two stretches, but he got a double number of sacks: this means that the pressures were way worse, unavoidable guys in his face.
 
Drew is my favorite Saint ever, but I do believe he tailed off a bit end of last year.

However his start was amazing so a fall off was bound to happen from that torrid pace imo.

This is true but our Oline got banged up a lot at the end of the season as well, contributing to the issue. Drew was never very mobile, and hes even less so now. Oline has to keep him clean.
 
Drew is my favorite Saint ever, but I do believe he tailed off a bit end of last year.

However his start was amazing so a fall off was bound to happen from that torrid pace imo.
I think his O line tailed off a lot due to injuries, which made Drew look less effective, as it would any QB. He also only had one legit starting receiver and lacked an anove average TE.
 
Drew is my favorite Saint ever, but I do believe he tailed off a bit end of last year.
You don't think it had anything to do with the offensive line being beat to hell? We had a revolving door at multiple positions on the line once Thanksgiving hit.
 
You don't think it had anything to do with the offensive line being beat to hell? We had a revolving door at multiple positions on the line once Thanksgiving hit.

I do absolutely think that had to do with his ‘decline’.
 
I thought it was because our OL was dinged up and Brees hit his hand on a helmet while throwing, I think in the second Falcons game. I thought he may have quietly fractured something.
 
Agreed.
And I will not be one of those people. Last season end of the year was the first I’ve noticed of what I think was Father Time creeping up. And I could be wrong for sure.

If you think about it toward the end of last season when Brees's so called decline was evident throw in the fact that the entire offensive line was also resembling a walking MASH unit and also add in that Brees had one reliable receiver (Thomas...….two if you include Kamara) and a handful of rookie and FA receivers with virtually NO TE option.

But to the guys who write these articles it all falls squarely on Brees alone but if Mahomes didn't have a career season last year guess who would have been MVP!

If anyone wants to do some digging you will find that Barnwell is a Falcons homer and has written pretty much this same article for 4 or 5 years in a row now!

Time is not on Drews side anymore and eventually one of these clowns is going to get it right.
 
One day, Brees will decline, and the people who have been predicting it every offseason for the last 7 years will crow about being right.

Barnwell's major stock-in-trade, like his "the Saints will be in cap hell in two years" article that he's been writing every year since 2014. Right in the wheelhouse of "fearless predictions," like he's advising Custer whether or not to go down Medicine Tail Coulee, a common trait of these guys.

Disclaimer: I did not read the article, as I find most of his work to be a careful blending of "Captain Obvious" with just enough random speculation to make people think it's analysis. He's been getting away with it somehow since the Grantland days, because Simmons left and nobody else knows what to do with him, and he's probably cheap to keep on the payroll and he's too smart to mess that up.

If he was really smart (and it may be in there, no idea), the really interesting article to write would be how key guys on a team like Max Unger suddenly fall off the table for good in mid-season, and their teams mysteriously run out of gas. Hell, that was half the Panthers' D last year, and it showed when they collapsed down the stretch. Newton's injury had something to do with it, but not that much.

Meanwhile, let's do another article about how old the second-oldest non-kicker in the league is.

SMDH.
 

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