Has Father Time Arrived?! (1 Viewer)

[SaintsFan742]

Yea, it's sad to see. If he's off again this week, we may need to try someone else for a spark.

 

[woohoosaint]

1) Payton and Brees need to remove their heads from their butts
2) HoF Brees has shown no signs of life
3) Not sure what to make of our secondary (if it's as good as the Bucs game or as bad as the Raiders game)
4) Where is Cam Jordan?!?

I'm among those who believe that Brees was the GOAT.
But the past 2 weeks have shown me that there is a real issue with downfield offensive plays and that nearly everything is underneath.

 

[cygnus_ltb]

I agree with this except we partly choked ourselves out with the penalties (offense and defense). With as much talent on this defense they have to make a play on those long drives.

All or some of the Brees bashing may end up being correct, but Monday night's beating was about penalties, a few crucial drops and atrocious, pathetic defense. Raiders were 10/17 on third downs and I suspect after the first quarter, they were close to 100%.

 

[saint_drago]

I still want to believe that it's too early to know for sure that Drew is no longer able to play at a high enough level for us to win. But if that is indeed the case, how long will it take for SP to make a change? Would he ever make that change?

The big question for me is does Winston or Hill give us a better chance than a diminished Brees? At least with Winston or Hill teams would have to respect the deep ball. Seems like if nothing else that would give the offense a little room to breathe. It's like defenses are playing with 14 guys right now.

 

[schuetter]

Its not the nonexistent deep ball that worries me now (it hasnt been there since early 2018), its the inaccuracy on short/intermediate throws that scares me

I wonder if the different training he did this offseason to gain arm strength affected his short throws. His arm strength was the same last season, but his short accuracy was still great. I can only imagine this is in the back of his mind and frustrating him as much as it is us. Watching his facial expressions last night, I felt bad for Drew. He knew more than we did when he was telling guys at the Pro Bowl that he was retiring. He knew he was losing more than arm strength and would have a difficult time covering that up any longer. He’s a brilliant QB and he’ll find ways to get better and mask some of these things. The question is for how long into the season. I hope he can keep it together to go out the way he deserves to.

 

[schuetter]

I love Drew. We owe him everything. And too bad we didn’t give him better defenses along the way. But I don’t like what I am seeing. He doesn’t look good for 2 weeks in a row. No deep balls in 2 straight games. I believed that you can still make it work. But I am fearing it’s over. Watch most other teams- there are deep balls working. And that doesn’t seem to be available to us anymore. We look like we are in trouble.

Yeah watching the Seahawks for instance, the deep ball changes games. Without it, the QB basically has to play a perfect game. That wasn’t such a big deal when Drew was able to do that most outings, but now we are seeing what a lack of deep balls looks like when the dink and dunk isn’t being executed at a high level. The defense lost this game, but Drew just didn’t have “it” to bail them out and that’s the reality we’re facing moving forward. The D has to step up if we are going to have any chance to make a push.

 

[Noble Saint]

Just once, I wish we would spread the field and run everyone on fly routes. We never get PI calls because everything is a dump off and the deep routes are prominently attempts to clear defenders out.
If teams are truly playing only one safety, then he should be able to hit either Cook or our slot on a seam pattern. One safety can’t cover both. If he can, then one of the wideouts has 1 on 1 on the outside.

its like we call 2 plays and we go with the one that gives us the best shot of gaining 4 yards. We take ZERO chances that loosen up a defense and make them cover the whole field.

 

[saintmdterps]

I'm not even sure Michael Thomas' return is going to help. The Saints need to be able to keep the other team guessing by stretching the field, and they're not doing that with 10-yard routes.

 

[Saintcd]

Honestly, did anyone expect his arm to get stronger, even though he focused on that aspect this offseason? The reality is we are watching the end of Brees. It is painful because he has given this team so much life and has been nothing but great for 15 years. At this point, I really think Taysom would probably perform better, but Brees earned one more shot.

I just think we’re going to have to keep expectations in check. We are going to have to compensate for his shortcomings with great defensive play, something that seemed like no problem last week. The D didn’t show up tonight, and if they don’t bounce back, we’re in trouble.

I know I wasn’t expecting his arm to get stronger, but I was hoping it wouldn’t hold the team back. I’m sure the other players are just as frustrated as we are. We are fans forever, but they they only have limited time to play and get to the big game. To them, this should feel like a wasted season to appease and old QB.

 

[Mississippi Saints Fan]

I know I wasn’t expecting his arm to get stronger, but I was hoping it wouldn’t hold the team back. I’m sure the other players are just as frustrated as we are. We are fans forever, but they they only have limited time to play and get to the big game. To them, this should feel like a wasted season to appease and old QB.

I thought before the season that Drew still gave us the best chance at a Super Bowl. I know many others did, too. He played quite well last year, after all, but of course we knew his arm wasn't the same. I definitely didn't expect him to start the season looking like this. Maybe he'll bounce back. I don't know. I think you're totally wrong with the attitude that everyone should feel like it's a wasted season because our QB isn't playing great. If anything, the defense should feel like they blew the game for us last night, because the offense came out hot and put points on the board. It was the defense that could not get off the field.

Bottom line, we built this team around Drew. We knew we would need a strong defense. We knew how important Michael Thomas is for him. Last night, we were missing both, and it showed. Brees had a crappy game, but the defense was even worse. The way we beat TB, we know it's possible to play much better than last night. I'm writing it off as a horrible day at the office for everyone and moving on.

 

[savannahsaint]

I know Drew is way passed his prime, but last night was the perfect storm for a loss. Everybody wants to see forty yard bombs, but tell me what WR we have that can get behind the defense. You see five and ten yard yard dunk plays for 0 YAC if it's a completion and Emanuel Sanders, so far is not a #2 WR, he looks lost.

Micky Loomus and SP didn't draft a speedy WR in this year's draft, it would have been less expensive and a new weapon for Drew and the offence. CGM can't play. no TE action what so ever last night, and a guaranteed win to go down in history for the Raider's, there fans back in Oakland, and that new two billion dollar stadium. The NFL has to sell, sell. sell tickets, get TV revenues, and sell merchandise. The NFL just isn't fun anymore, just like everything else greed is all that matters. Yellow flags helps make the money.

And a lot of people in LV made money last night if they took the Raiders, just ask Roger G.

 

[Saintcd]

Yeah he is certainly hitting a wall but isn't not having Michael Thomas, one of the best receivers in the league, sort of a big deal?

It shouldn’t be a something that can’t be adjusted for. Many teams with no name receivers step up when needed, a lot of times when they play us. Missing Thomas should not cause last nights meltdown.

 

[new city champ]

First thing I'd say on Brees is small sample size. The second half of last season he was as sharp has he'd ever been in his career. Let's give it a few more games before making sweeping conclusions.

Second, Brees was dealing with a fair amount of middle pressure not allowing him to step up. Where have we seen this before? Oh, right. It's exactly what the Vikes did in the playoffs. Everyone knows that middle pressure is Brees kryptonite. I'd either move the pocket a little or keep a back in more often if the O-Line really can't keep the hatch bolted shut. Couldn't help but notice another Andrus Peat pirouette on the interception, just like the one that got Brees injured in the game against the Rams last season.

I, for one, would be thrilled to see the Saints running more of the "Teddy Bridgewater" offense. Controlled passing, power running, occasional shot down field. I think that's Brees comfort zone now. I agree the main thing to look at is Bree's accuracy on short and medium routes. That's where Brees lives on offense and his elite accuracy, even under pressure, is what has allowed him to have a Hall-of-Fame career as a 6' QB. If that is really diminished, then I think he'll be average at the position this year.

 

[dvdman]

No

 

[Swimmer]

Sure wish we somehow could have gotten Burrow. Oh well!