Falcons game was off game for Brees! (1 Viewer)

[BigA3723]

Just wanted to point out some stats that I found interesting. This is not a negative on Brees but pointing out how this was a team win.


First off, Brees had a great game compared to the average QB, but in comparison to his performance since bye week, he was slightly off. In his previous 4 games his passer rating was 129.6, 129.6, 110.2, and 149.2. Against Falcons he was 96.8. The last time he had a passer rating under 100 was the Rams game where he ended up with a 73.

Also his accuracy which was 76% and 80% the last two games dropped to a more human 59%. In all actuality, Ryan had the much better rated performance with higher passer rating, less interceptions, and more accuracy.

It wasn't until I read the PFF article on the game did I even notice that Ryan actually graded much better and I believe was only hit 2 times.


So what does this mean? Here are my quick thoughts.

Almost every drive was going down for a TD with almost 300 yards in first half. Then in second half, Brees admitted some of the players told him he was really close, and suddenly three 3 & outs and he's unable to complete any passes. Apparently the record was on his mind and was affecting his play. I believe Payton saw how much it was affecting Brees being so close to record and as a coach didn't want this record over Brees head all week and is why he had him give it another shot at the end.

Further, the fact Brees had a statically off game and Ryan had a very good game and yet the game was so lopsided speaks volumes about our team. First off, Bree's is clutch. Yes he missed more passes than usual, but was 10/10 on 3rd down conversions to keep drives going and TD throws to end them. On the other hand, multiple drives were being stopped by our defense with great 3rd down pass breakups of Ryans throws and open field tackles short of 1st down mark!

When the Falcons defense made great plays to pick off Brees, both times our defense stepped up and stopped them with a 3 and out and a forced fumble to the house on the second one.

Finally, the special teams play has been so huge this year. Our guy Sproles ran back almost every single punt and kick except 1 (or maybe 2). On the other side, Legatron had one kick ran back only because of the 15 yard penalty and two punts of which neither was returned. When you have a home run guy like Sproles and you have 10-15 times to run back punts/kicks in a game as opposed to 0-2 chances for the other team, that's just amazing.


I know a few articles are talking about the Falcons wanting a rematch to fix their bad play, although all the comments are from "anonymous falcons player". But when I started looking closer at the game and realized that they essentially played fairly well while Brees was slightly off, I can only think that next time could be much worse for Falcons. No doubt the record was on our teams mind and eventhough our run game was completely in control and looking unstoppable, we got away from it probably trying to go for record and lost our play slection balance.

I believe this pass heavy plan along with nervousness about the record made Brees slightly more human than normal, but a rematch with Falcons will be a more balanced gameplan.


The Saints are just a much better team than Falcons this year. The game earlier this year was no so close a game until the defensive backups let them get back in the game, otherwise, take away those last 4 minutes of first game, and you have a Falcons team unable to compete with us past one qtr!


Any thoughts? Agree or Disagree with Record slightly affecting Brees and the pas heavy gameplan?

 

[new city champ]

No question, I agree. It was a very average--maybe below average--game for Brees, given the standard he has set. Especially in the second half he seemed to be pressing at times. It really looked like all the record hype may have gotten to him.

All to say so what. Even a below average game for Brees at this point is pretty darn good. Four touchdowns to two INTs and a 60+ percent completion average with a QBR around 96? Not too shabby for an "off" day.

 

[CHI-TOWNSAINT]

I don't think there's any question Brees got tight because of the record....and I don't blame him. It's only natural. If Graham catches the TD instead of letting it go through his hands, Brees QB rating is in the 100's and everything looks a lot better.

One thing I'll bring up off-subject a little, is MJ seems to like when Quddus is on the field. I don't know if they're good friends, or if I'm completely fabricating this opinion from thin air, but he and the back 4 seem to play with a little more swagger when he's in the game. I've noticed bigger hits when he's in the game as well. I could be seeing something where it's not there, but it's something that I've noticed.

 

[BigA3723]

No question, I agree. It was a very average--maybe below average--game for Brees, given the standard he has set. Especially in the second half he seemed to be pressing at times. It really looked like all the record hype may have gotten to him.

All to say so what. Even a below average game for Brees at this point is pretty darn good. Four touchdowns to two INTs and a 60+ percent completion average with a QBR around 96? Not too shabby for an "off" day.

That's kinda the point I was getting at, if blowing out your best division rival is what happens when you have a bad game and their QB has a really good game, then WOW, that makes me feel even better about playoffs!




This is from the PFF article:

Atlanta – Performances of Note

Ice Nice

Drew Brees (+4.0) may have walked away with both the plaudits and the headlines, but Matt Ryan (+5.2) played a more balanced, clinical and assured game. While the Saints two interceptions could easily have been more, a few minor over and under throws were all that stood against him. He read the blitz well and usually made the right read but another drop by Roddy White (taking him to 13 on the year) and an important one by Reggie Kelly on third and one let him down.

After an unconvincing mid-season and an extremely poor game against the Lions he’s now back close to his best but even in this form he’s not the sort of player that can take over a game. He’ll need help from the defense and that unit has had a very in and out year.

*

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2011/12/28/re-focused-falcons-saints-week-16/

 

[Wingdog]

PFF is nonsense. Matt Ryan was a non-factor in the game and he gets a higher grade? Please.

 

[Saints 4 life]

He had a bad day on purpose (Falcons' Fan Logic 101)

 

[bornnraisedwhodat]

If you would have told me Drew would have 2 INT's against the Turds I would have though we would have lost.

Defense played great in that game and we were awesome in the redzone.

 

[Saint Kamara]

I thought Brees took unnecessary risks in that game and was very impatient. Much more so than anytime since the first Bucs game.

I also think some credit needs to be given to the Atlanta defense, as they are actually pretty decent and had been playing very well the last few weeks.

The first interception was on Graham. The ball hit him square in the facemask (i.e., it went right through his hands). What looked like a great defensive play was simply a player that didn't catch a perfect pass. That just can't happen in the playoffs. Graham has to step up his game as he has made some mental errors (see Vikings game) and has had the slight case of the dropsies the last quarter of this season.

Drew threw what could have been 2 to 3 more interception opportunities to Atlanta. The pass to Graham with single coverage by William Moore inside the 20 on the first drive. He threw it slightly behind him and actually allowed the defender back in on the play, otherwise should have been a huge gainer as Graham had a step on him. Another time where William Moore should have had one as Brees threw way too late on the boot leg play action pass to the left. The play may not have even been there for Brees to take advantage of, yet he forced it anyway. The long pass to Meachem with single coverage from near our goal line and was under thrown.

Way too many passes that had you saying "Yikes!". Probably the worst game of the year in terms of questionable decisions and inaccurate balls being thrown.

I assume most of it had to do with the moment and that's easily understandable.

 

[Saint Kamara]

No question, I agree. It was a very average--maybe below average--game for Brees, given the standard he has set. Especially in the second half he seemed to be pressing at times. It really looked like all the record hype may have gotten to him.

All to say so what. Even a below average game for Brees at this point is pretty darn good. Four touchdowns to two INTs and a 60+ percent completion average with a QBR around 96? Not too shabby for an "off" day.

And that's what is really crazy.

A bad game (and it was a bad game for Drew based on the protection he was given), and he still has a QB rating near 100.

That's how much he has elevated his game.

 

[BigA3723]

The pass to Graham that he caught in endzone was almost perfectly defended by Grimes, but Brees placed that ball exactly where only Graham could get it and nobody else. In slow motion, you can see Grimes time his jump absolutely perfect, as the ball is coming into Graham's hands, grimes is all the way extended and the ball literally is less that two inches above Grimes fingertips. Even more amazing than the precision of this throw is the fact Bree's was under pressure and threw this ball on run without planting his feet. Go watch the replay and you will be amazed!

 

[Sainttrain713]

He just forced the ball, that's really about it. But i believe the record was on his mind so i wont fault him for that.. But he was defiantly trying to hard but thats ok

 

[Alaina]

Brees had the jitteries. That last pick he threw, it was obvious to me it was going to be in the Falcons hands before I even saw where it was going. That ball had way too much wobble on it to be a Breesy Ball!! It looked more like a.. like a Romo-in-the-clutch Ball!

 

[Smooth_Criminal]

Ryan had the much better rated performance with higher passer rating, less interceptions, and more accuracy.

All an illusion my friend. Ryan was dumping off all night. It's so comical to watch, he literally throws 5 yard pass after 5 yard pass all night. Meanwhile brees was playing very agressive to try to get the record.

 

[jdd48]

He had a bad day on purpose (Falcons' Fan Logic 101)

Funny you say that. I saw earlier on their boards a handful of fans trying to justify the loss by saying they had nothing to play for, the game plan was vanilla to not give away anything for the playoffs, and various other bits of foolishness.

 

[Mackenzie]

Just wanted to point out some stats that I found interesting. This is not a negative on Brees but pointing out how this was a team win.


First off, Brees had a great game compared to the average QB, but in comparison to his performance since bye week, he was slightly off. In his previous 4 games his passer rating was 129.6, 129.6, 110.2, and 149.2. Against Falcons he was 96.8. The last time he had a passer rating under 100 was the Rams game where he ended up with a 73.

Also his accuracy which was 76% and 80% the last two games dropped to a more human 59%. In all actuality, Ryan had the much better rated performance with higher passer rating, less interceptions, and more accuracy.

It wasn't until I read the PFF article on the game did I even notice that Ryan actually graded much better and I believe was only hit 2 times.


So what does this mean? Here are my quick thoughts.

Almost every drive was going down for a TD with almost 300 yards in first half. Then in second half, Brees admitted some of the players told him he was really close, and suddenly three 3 & outs and he's unable to complete any passes. Apparently the record was on his mind and was affecting his play. I believe Payton saw how much it was affecting Brees being so close to record and as a coach didn't want this record over Brees head all week and is why he had him give it another shot at the end.

Further, the fact Brees had a statically off game and Ryan had a very good game and yet the game was so lopsided speaks volumes about our team. First off, Bree's is clutch. Yes he missed more passes than usual, but was 10/10 on 3rd down conversions to keep drives going and TD throws to end them. On the other hand, multiple drives were being stopped by our defense with great 3rd down pass breakups of Ryans throws and open field tackles short of 1st down mark!

When the Falcons defense made great plays to pick off Brees, both times our defense stepped up and stopped them with a 3 and out and a forced fumble to the house on the second one.

Finally, the special teams play has been so huge this year. Our guy Sproles ran back almost every single punt and kick except 1 (or maybe 2). On the other side, Legatron had one kick ran back only because of the 15 yard penalty and two punts of which neither was returned. When you have a home run guy like Sproles and you have 10-15 times to run back punts/kicks in a game as opposed to 0-2 chances for the other team, that's just amazing.


I know a few articles are talking about the Falcons wanting a rematch to fix their bad play, although all the comments are from "anonymous falcons player". But when I started looking closer at the game and realized that they essentially played fairly well while Brees was slightly off, I can only think that next time could be much worse for Falcons. No doubt the record was on our teams mind and eventhough our run game was completely in control and looking unstoppable, we got away from it probably trying to go for record and lost our play slection balance.

I believe this pass heavy plan along with nervousness about the record made Brees slightly more human than normal, but a rematch with Falcons will be a more balanced gameplan.


The Saints are just a much better team than Falcons this year. The game earlier this year was no so close a game until the defensive backups let them get back in the game, otherwise, take away those last 4 minutes of first game, and you have a Falcons team unable to compete with us past one qtr!


Any thoughts? Agree or Disagree with Record slightly affecting Brees and the pas heavy gameplan?

How much do things change if Jimmy Graham would have caught that touchdown instead of having the pick? 5 TD, 1 Int and about 15 more total yards.