Zero Passes beyond 20 yards (1 Viewer)

[DJ1BigTymer]

Who said anything about "suddenly"? People have been saying it on this forum for the last 4 years that his arm strength is visibly less every year. What's ridiculous is to think that this decrease in arm strength happened overnight. It didn't. Brees has been losing arm strength little by little over the last 4 years at least. He never had a rocket to begin with. So, it's become a glaring problem this year. He is now Checkdown Charlie. No way around it.

2015

...I see it differently! I see a QB that is unsure of himself and is holding the ball entirely too long on several occasions. It seems like the O-line is breaking down, and that may be true sometime, but there are times when they hold up pretty damn well and then the QB holds and holds and holds the ball. To me, it's like he thinking "can't make that throw, can't make that throw, can't make that thro...sacked!!!" Take the first deep throw to Cooks, that should have been a TD throw! Thank God we scored that drive! The next time was the first sack he took, everyone says our WRs can't get open, but on that sack, Cooks was open in the endzone with NO safety help. Brees pumped, pumped, held and then he was sacked.

In response to Underhill's comment about the short passing game

I get it now, from my perspective, the Saints have not discovered "something new" about their offense because they have been doing what Underhill is reporting for a few seasons now. From Underhill's , and your, perspective this is something new. It's probably new to you all because of the fact it was not Brees throwing all the short passes and you weren't watching the game with your I <3 Brees goggles. The only difference between the Carolina game and the TB game was the o line pass protection was better.

2015ish But even more true today:

Therein lies the problem. We are limited on what we can do on offense because we no longer have elite guards to protect Drew and his passing lanes. Couple that with the fact that defenses are choking the middle of the field and making it hard for the offense to get going. Drew is good enough and I'm not saying he is done, but he's not the same guy he was in 2011; he is older.

I also believe that we could be better on offense because I believe we DO have a talented receiver corps. I read over and over on this site that our receivers cannot get separation. There is Zero chance of getting separation when all the routes are 10 yard stick/curls. We do not challenge defenses outside the numbers enough and I don't know how we can fix that going forward.

Now, having said that, our offensive problems pales in comparison to our pathetic defense. If we had an average defense, we would still have a winning record because like you said, Drew Brees is still good enough.

 

[efil4stnias]

It's become pretty clear he doesn't have confidence going downfield anymore, and it's only getting more obvious and teams are adjusting accordingly. It could be lack of confidence in the o-line's ability to protect, it could be a lack of chemistry or confidence in his receivers, but I think it mostly a lack of confidence in his arm strength to fit the ball in tight windows like he used to be able to. It's like a prize fighter at the end of his career, where he can see the opening he just can't take advantage of them anymore.

This can't be repeated enough.

 

[Gorf]

The spark is there. There were some nice intermediate throws by Brees in the second half. In fact, I would say he was starting to find his groove until that Taysom fumble.

 

[Outbackjack]

I saw Drew check down to Kamara when Harris had his man beat by 5 yards down the sideline. Announcers even commented and showed the replay from Drew's POV. Soooo, did you take a bathroom break at some point?

He sure did.
And 2 plays later we scored a TD.

 

[UFCSaint]

And Winston has? Like on any resemblance of consistency?

He consistently turns the ball over

 

[JLaneSaints]

It means we are still scoring 30 points and still have no defense and everyone is ludicrously deluded into expecting to win 40-35 every game, while other teams are being normal football teams and winning while only having to score 24 points.


If you all would expect the defense to be 1/8 as good as the offense we'd be 3-0 right now.

 

[Super44]

I know Saints fans don't want to hear this but I think Brees is done. It's Winston time. Drew Brees can't carry the team anymore and the defense isn't strong enough to carry the team like Peyton Manning's last season. This is not a Superbowl team.

Drew is highly likely done, and I can agree with that. But let’s now anoint Winston as his successor, a guy with horrible reads of defenses and now expect him to run arguably one of the most cerebral type of offenses in football. Give me a break.

The heir apparent to Drew, is not yet on the roster. If he (Hill) was, and Payton was comfortable with it, they would have not entertained the Brady option and would have professionally and quietly allowed Drew an easy exit into retirement after the pro bowl.

Ride the season out with Drew. Do not embarrass him, by forcing him to the bench, especially during a season with no fans to give him all the attention he deserves to go out with.

 

[Outbackjack]

For the past three years....

* We have been 28th or below in "distance of passes thrown"...as the stat was shown on TV.
* We have won more games the last 3 years of any team in the NFL.
* We are one of the top 3 teams in POINTS SCORED.

Conclusion- Throwing the ball over 20 yards is completely irrelevant to being a winning offense.

PLEASE STOP WITH WE NEED TO THROW IT OVER 20 YARDS.

It can work for some, but we have proof over and over and over that we don't need that particular part of an offense to be one of the best in the NFL.

This year alone, we've scored 41, 24, 30. That's 3-0 offense.

 

[NOLAJM504]

You can officially scratch #3 off the list of possibilities. We have Deonte Harris. Tonight, he had his man beat by five yards on a go pattern 10 yards from the end zone. Brees looked right at him and then checked down to Kamara for the first down. Five years ago, maybe even two years ago, Brees throws a strike to Harris for the TD.

This. Read it, and let it sink in, guys. It’s over, unless he either trusts himself more and start attempting these throws at the very least. We haven’t seen an honest deep attempt from him in some time. He needs to either get out of his head and let one rip, or hand over the reigns to Winston or Hill.

 

[DaveXA]

For the past three years....

* We have been 28th or below in "distance of passes thrown"...as the stat was shown on TV.
* We have won more games the last 3 years of any team in the NFL.
* We are one of the top 3 teams in POINTS SCORED.

Conclusion- Throwing the ball over 20 yards is completely irrelevant to being a winning offense.

PLEASE STOP WITH WE NEED TO THROW IT OVER 20 YARDS.

It can work for some, but we have proof over and over and over that we don't need that particular part of an offense to be one of the best in the NFL.

This year alone, we've scored 41, 24, 30. That's 3-0 offense.

Pretty much this. Well said. We had a good shot at winning the game up until the three and out and Hill fumble. The Packers loss was definitely a team loss, but the offense sputtering in the 4th quarter due to poor play calling has to be on Payton and has nothing to do with Brees' arm strength. Brees had a nice game. For most, it would be a great game, but with our spoiled expectations it rates as just ok.

Ultimately, I think Brees and the offense will be fine. And let's not forget, we're missing only the best WR in the NFL. I think having MT would have made a difference when the offense stalled in the 4th.

 

[Usmfan84]

For the past three years....

* We have been 28th or below in "distance of passes thrown"...as the stat was shown on TV.
* We have won more games the last 3 years of any team in the NFL.
* We are one of the top 3 teams in POINTS SCORED.

Conclusion- Throwing the ball over 20 yards is completely irrelevant to being a winning offense.

PLEASE STOP WITH WE NEED TO THROW IT OVER 20 YARDS.

It can work for some, but we have proof over and over and over that we don't need that particular part of an offense to be one of the best in the NFL.

This year alone, we've scored 41, 24, 30. That's 3-0 offense.

I mean. Its not like we've won 3 trophies the last 3 years either.

In 2017 it was new offense. They competely revamped it. No film. It worked. In 2018 teams started to catch up with it around week 10 and it no longer worked as well. The defense started carrying the team some. It was very apparant in the NFC championship game where Brees wasn't looking great. In 2019 Brees got a lot rest, obviously. MT was on another level last year and was unstoppable but you could see teams adjusting.

Then it all fell off a cliff in the wild card round. The Vikings played the entire game in a box and Brees was useless. He couldn't escape even average pressure let alone when they were making him rush out of the pocket. He truly looked 40.

That offense you've seen the last 3 years? Teams have it figured out man. It's obvious. Against the Packers they were practically begging Brees to hit the 10-15 yard intermediate routes and yet..they didn't deliver. He can barely do that now. He had multipe throws where he could have hit Harris or Sanders when they were released 10 yards down the LoS and Brees refused to pull the trigger.