Why Brees didn't have a good game? (1 Viewer)

[retthib]

How about calling 2 timeouts right before the 2 minute warning so you can leave enough time on the clock for the other team to score? And then declining the 5 yard penalty on a 4th and 4, that way if we jump offsides they get a fresh set of downs? And then after that, just taking a knee even though we just burned our last time out presumably to try to score before the end of the half? Payton had some completely messed up plays yesterday. Thankfully they didn't lose us the game like it has in the past.

What? He declined the 5 yards to aid us in field position. He kneed the ball going into half once we didnt get a good return. Not going to run plays against the wind, w/ 20 seconds left, no TOs, from your 25. You must have confidence that your STs wont go offsides, thats coaching scared.

 

[FrenchieATX]

I remember Hamilton making a 3rd and short with the Bills putting up an 8 man front. Hamilton still converted on that criticle down. I know, I know Reggie is not the same back as Hamilton but do we expect him to only play the roll of a decoy and a scat back. I understand Reggie is not an everydown back that his fault but his salary reflects that of an everydown back pay.

It's too risky in shot yardage to give Reg the ball, he gets hit for a loss too easily and frequently.

 

[bobad]

They managed to get pressure up the middle and the coverage was pretty decent. and the field.

This

The wind was also a small factor

 

[CaliSaint4Life]

They STARTED the game in a nickle package. That's why the running game was so successful. They had an extra defender playing the pass. Hopefully we'll pick this us sooner next time and run the ball when they make us. Team are going to start to notice that you can't ignore our run game and it's going to make the job easier for Brees and us harder to beat.

 

[bearze34]

The Bills constantly dropped 7 into coverage. They were able to get pressure early on with a 4 man rush. Throw in the windy conditions and this explains Brees human numbers.

I think that we abandoned our run game for a while due to Payton's stubborn play calling. He finally realized in the 4th quarter that the Bills were not going to load the box to stop the run unless we ran.

Man, if it weren't for Payton we would probably be undefeated right now.

 

[Fleured]

Very windy day and the Bills D was exceptional during most of the game.

I didn't believe it to be windy as to be any factor. There was a steady breeze but nothing to affect the passing game. Drew wasn't Dan Fouts out there yesterday but he really did not have to be. He just managed the game and didn't lose it. It was a great day.

 

[new city champ]

My Observations:

-Brees was holding the ball. Usually he's great about making quick reads and getting rid of it. Yesterday he was holding on to it.

-Bills started game in nickel and stayed in it frequently. Usually this dictates you run the ball until you pull them out. Payton seemed reluctant to be dictated to and kept dialing up passing plays.

-Drew wouldn't throw to "covered" receivers. Usually, as we have seen, Brees is very comfortable throwing to guys who are tightly guarded. Yesterday he wasn't. This might have been because the didn't want to make a mistake in a tight game. Or because he didn't trust his accuracy, which leads me to...

-It was windy. More than rain, sleet or snow, Brees doesn't like to play in the wind. He puts a huge emphasis on accuracy and precision in his throws and the wind plays hell with that. He also doesn't have the kind of arm that can cut the wind. So he was somewhat indecisive.

The answer to these problems, which the Saints got to in the second half, is run the ball until the defense is forced to come up to the line Will be interested to see how Brees comes out next week in the Dome. I predict is a good game from him, blitz or no blitz.

 

[SuePrudhomme]

We are so spoiled.

Brees didn't have a bad game; he had a game that was thoroughly average against a good defense. We're used to seeing the man do some absolutely inhuman things; yesterday he looked human for a change. I suspect it was a combination of factors--weather, slick field (I saw him uncharacteristically lose his footing a couple of times), a host of Bills in his face, receivers not getting open, probably half a dozen other things we don't see on TV--but he threw no picks and looked sharp on the first drive and again toward the end of the game.

I always hope for Brees to throw for at least a few touchdowns and to have the kind of game we've come to expect from him, but when we have a win like we had yesterday, it makes me realize all the more that what we see of him most weeks is so truly extraordinary that some of us may tend to find his merely ordinary games "bad."

Can't wait for the Jets game; I expect he'll be back to his usual superhuman self.

 

[sleepingbunch]

I feel like the long passes by both quarterbacks were pretty inaccurate throughout the game, most probably due to the wind.

In addition, Buffalo's secondary was extremely motivated and played their tails off. Props to them for the effort.

 

[Fleured]

It was funny to hear the Bills fans whisper "ooohhhhhh ****...." whenever Drew had the time to plant and throw the ball downfield like the catch was going to be automatic.

 

[ELLIASJWILLIAMS]

I think.....all the answers were on the right track but let me take a shot.

Cover-2. I think Jauron and the Bills game planned all week to stop Drew Brees.
They felt like the key to this team was Brees....which he is however the driver behind the wheel was a different person. In fact there were co-pilots the Defense and the Running game.

As i was saying i think there was a commitment to stopping brees and any deep to mid-range ball he wanted to complete. DO NOT GET BEAT DEEP, DO NOT GIVE UP BIG PLAYS.

Now being that they are a cover-2 team...they have the best defense to stop our passing game especially if executed properly...and your players are DISCIPLINED and that they were.

Plain and simple if they are going to beat us it wont be with Drew they will have to beat us with the running game. Play Action plays that would normally open up the field for Drew to throw allowed us almost no yardage...wonder why? They were told not to bite...so lb's were able to get depth and provide solid coverage. They provided pressure when they did blitz, and when they only came with 4-men they still got good enough pressure to be disruptive. As we have seen disruption can stop any QB.

They attempted to lean on the pass all game thinking we couldn't win with our running game...the were wrong our defense held up and since they were keyed on the pass of course there would be openings in the run

Think about it..you tell your linebackers to get depth in their coverages...the more they back up the more pressure you put on your line to make plays in the backfield. With good blocking that means that the 4defenders you have on the line are going to get ate up by blockers and since your lb's are further down the field you have more rushing lanes....Pierre, Reggie, and Hamilton all took advantage of the holes in the D

Halftime....with the wind being a Deciding factor..two terrific but TIRING defensive efforts....a FRESH PIERRE THOMAS, And Drew Brees still being a leader and not wanting to force anything.....the saints switch gears AND LEAN ON THE RUN GAME...while the BILLS still ATTEMPTED TO PLAY THE PASS and got SQUASHED FOR IT


NEXT WEEK
Not many teams will shut down our offense like that.......i say next week Drew re-ups and has a big game. I see a lot of man to man being played next week..and though they have Revis to play lockdown corner...he can't lock down all our receivers. Especially if moore plays next week.

I think we rebound and whip the jets. Drew will go back to being Drew..and as good as a QB as sanchez is...i don't think he can muster up 30sumthin points on every drive. The jets defense will have to play lights..out. If they cant...easier win than most people are thinking......whyyyyy because we aren't a one dimensional team anymore.

We are a complete team. Special Teams...check, Passing Game..check, Run Game..check, Defense...check, Ability to close games and winning attitude...check.

PS...Did i mention that i think the saints wanted to throw the ball in the first half but just COULDNT...BECAUSE THE BILLS WERE FOCUSED ON IT...and getting GREAT FRONT FOUR PRESSURE WITH 8 IN COVERAGE. THEY TEED OFF ON US...EVEN ON 2ND DOWN THEY WERE STILL RUSHING THE PASSER.

We got this next week...WHO DAT

 

[WeatherNLU]

Just quickly glancing, we had 33 plays in the second half and 21 were runs. They knew they could run the ball and they did.

 

[Htown Saints Fan]

I think it was really windy out there. There was a pretty high variability in kicks depending on direction. That combined with the pressure hampered him.

Exactly! I was at the game yesterday and it was definitely an issue. The wind was very off and no, so it was tough to factor in with the passing game. I also think it was part of the reason that we didn't throw downfield more.

I read in the Buffalo paper today a quote from Trent Edwards on the pass in which he overthrew TO deep - it was the deep pass where TO had a step on Greer. Edwards said that he factored in the wind with his throw, but the wind didn't end up swirlng when the ball was in the air, which was part of the reason the ball was overthrown.

 

[NateDaGreatSaint]

I didn't watch the game so some of you could tell me why.

1. The weather and the slippy field.

2. The blitz package by the Bills.

3. The law of average caught up.

4. The kid cried at night all week and Britney had a headache.

Any other ideas?

I think the game plan was to run against the Bills. Although Drew admitted this morning on 870AM that the game plan ended up to beat them on the ground because the passing game wasn't as effective, I think they went into the game knowing they would need to do that to win... I think if "push come to shove" Drew could have beat them with his arm, but he followed the coach's game plan to win with the ball on the ground. Obviously, being diverse wins more games in the long run.

 

[truck man]

I agree with this! Once Brees starting to lose his confidence, it became problematic for our passing game....the pressure was great, and they had good coverage on our WRs. First & 10, and the pass went incomplete, then we run on 2nd down, picking up 1-2, or 3 yds, which assured a 3rd & long situation, which brought in the crowd. And it is really hard to concentrate in that environment.

We had a golden chance to go up 10-0....remember?......on our 2nd drive instead of kicking the FG, , we went on a 4th down, and Reggie got stuffed for a loss, which brings me to a serious problem which needs to be addressed.....that was a momentum swinging play, and the Saints offense came to a halt for about 2 qts....

Why is it, that when there is a pressure situation, like a 4th & short.....Sean Payton looks to Reggie as the solution. The fact is, teams know that too, and are zeroing on Reggie sometimes with 3-4 players monitoring his every move. In that situation, the Saints offense becomes very predictable.......to his credit, Sean Payton called a QB sweep on the next 4th down situation, when Drew ran for the 1st down easily, as every defender was busily attacking Reggie who was a decoy.......we should start doing it more often, till the coverages on Reggie loosens up that he has a decent chance making a play.......I see this as the biggest reason Reggie is not effective right now......teams know that Reggie will have about 15 touches, and they're well aware of every play going his way.....unless the Saints start taking advantage of this great attention to Reggie.....he will have a tough time making game changing plays....

had Brees not stumbled on that play he may have been able to find another WR or could have gotten the ball to Reggie earlier so he wouldn't have been stopped. guess you didn't factor that into it huh? he pretty much had to go to Reggie cause he was falling that way.