blacksaint

Offense tries to keep up with their QB

By LARRY HOLDER
Posted on Mon, Aug. 27, 2007


METAIRIE, La. --Reggie Bush called the preseason a time for fine tuning as the New Orleans Saints are less than two weeks from opening up the season.

The Saints running back laughed at the notion of quarterback Drew Brees needing any sort of manicuring. One quick glimpse at Brees' statistics during the preseason justifies Bush's chuckle.

Brees was near perfect throughout the preseason, completing 36 of his 45 passes for 361 yards and one touchdown. His completion percentage of 80 percent ranks at the top of the league during the preseason.

For Brees, he actually anticipated better results.

"I think it's what you expect," Brees said. "In the preseason, you want to look efficient and sharp. That's obviously what I've tried to do. I can tell you about every one of those four incompletions that should be complete. I think there's always room to improve."

Coming off a season where he launched the football for 4,418 yards, 26 touchdowns and only 11 interceptions, Brees can still nit-pick his performance as if it were only average. Perfection is his only way with this high-octane attack.

"I feel like we're moving along pretty well," Brees said. "I think we've played with a great tempo, great emotion and have moved the ball really well this preseason. Obviously, the emphasis will continue to be the red zone efficiency, wanting to score touchdowns there.

"Obviously you're also concerned about third-down efficiency. You're trying to go down the field and wear them down. We also need to take care of the football. One thing that we also need to improve upon from last year is our giveaway-takeaway ratio."

Saints newcomer David Patten may have benefited best this preseason from Brees' precision. The oft-injured wide receiver caught six passes for 75 yards and a touchdown in Kansas City last Thursday to help solidify his spot on the roster.

Patten knows a thing or two about playing with frontline quarterbacks from his days with Tom Brady in New England. When Patten arrived in New Orleans, one of the first things Brees asked Patten was about how Brady went about playing.

The veteran wideout can't find any differences between the two.

"I would go as far to say after playing with Tom Brady, he's one of the best in the league, that I have to put Drew right there with him," Patten said. "I tell you what, you never really appreciate a great quarterback until you have a chance to play with guys not as good.

"He really makes your job easy as a receiver. You know when the ball comes to you, it's going to be in the perfect spot and away from the defender. It gives you a lot of confidence at receiver knowing that when you catch the ball, you're going to be able to make a move on the defender and make a big play."

The multi-talented Bush said even he finds himself having to raise his level of play just to hang with Brees.

"Drew, he's always playing with a chip on his shoulder. That's what we love about him. He's always trying to get better. He's always going to be on his A-game. For the rest of us, we have to be on the same page as him."

SunHerald.com : Brees turns up the heat

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