What We Learned: Brees nearly flawless against Giants

QBREES9 · 10-18-2009, 06:36 PM

NEW ORLEANS — Five things we noticed while watching the New Orleans Saints' surprisingly easy 48-27 victory over the Giants in a matchup of previously unbeaten NFC powers.

1. Drew Brees' passing. Saints quarterback Drew Brees added another impressive performance to his thick NFL portfolio. With his line giving him plenty of time to set up in the pocket and his receivers continuously finding holes in the New York pass defense, Brees threw with ease.
He was nearly flawless, completing 23 of 30 passes for 369 yards and four touchdowns before Mark Brunell replaced him with 5:57 left in the game. Brees doesn't get quite the same high praise Peyton Manning and Tom Brady get, but he has turned into one of the most prodigious quarterbacks in the NFL. He makes New Orleans a scoring machine and a threat to beat any team.

2. The Saints O-line. Let's give a French Quarter shout-out — raise your Hurricane glasses, please — to the quintet of center Jonathan Goodwin, guards Jahri Evans and Carl Nicks, and tackles Jermon Bushrod and Jon Stinchcomb. They kept the Giants defenders off Brees — he was barely touched all day — which gave Brees plenty of time to pick out his open receivers and pick apart the Giants. Bushrod, who has replaced the injured Jamaal Brown and was coming back after missing a game with an ankle injury, performed remarkably well against Osi Umenyiora, one of the league's best pass-rushing ends. The line also created holes effectively for running backs Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell and Reggie Bush (a combined 36 carries for 123 yards).

3. Eli Manning's homecoming. The Giants quarterback won't look back on his 77th consecutive start as one of his fondest NFL memories. Archie and Olivia's boy struggled in front of family and friends in his first NFL game in his hometown. Saints cornerback Roman Harper strip-sacked Manning late in the second quarter, forcing a fumble that was recovered by the Saints. That set up a touchdown in the final minute of the first half that gave New Orleans a 34-17 halftime lead. After almost being intercepted in the first half by safety Darren Sharper — the play was nullified by a penalty — Manning was picked off by cornerback Jabari Greer in the third quarter.
Manning, who still is battling a case of plantar fasciitis, finished the game with 14 completions in 31 attempts for 178 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Related Links
Recap: Saints move to 5-0 overall
Brees reaches 100 TDs as Saints QB
Scoreboard: Week 6 action
The Trenches: SN's NFL blog

4. Suspect special teams. If there's one area the Saints need to clean up, it's the kick and punt coverage teams. New Orleans allowed the Giants to get favorable field position several times because of its inability to stop return man Domenik Hixon. In the first half, Hixon returned two kickoffs for 45 and 68 yards, setting up the New York offense at the 50 and the New Orleans 38. In the third quarter, Hixon returned a punt 27 yards to his own 35 even though the Saints tacklers should have pinned him back inside the 20. The Giants also blocked a Saints extra-point attack, which didn't set well with coach Sean Payton.

5. A potential key loss. Giants right tackle Kareem McKenzie had to be carted off the field late in the first half when he suffered a groin injury. Rookie Will Beatty replaced McKenzie. Depending on how much time McKenzie is forced to miss, his absence could adversely affect one of the league's premier offensive lines.
Sunday marked the 43rd time in the last 44 games that the unit of McKenzie, David Diehl, Rich Seubert, Shaun O'Hara and Chris Snee had started together.

Dennis Dillon is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at ddillon@sportingnews.com.

What We Learned: Brees nearly flawless against Giants - Dennis Dillon - NFL - Sporting News

hagan714 · 10-18-2009, 09:03 PM

What I learned: The saints are ready to play smash mouth football with the best the NFL has to offer. I can now stand up and say bring'em on. Long time coming but it has arrived for me.

First thing first
@Dolphins

Do not under estimate this team.

QBREES9 · 10-18-2009, 10:06 PM

Originally Posted by hagan714

What I learned: The saints are ready to play smash mouth football with the best the NFL has to offer. I can now stand up and say bring'em on. Long time coming but it has arrived for me.

First thing first
@Dolphins

Do not under estimate this team.

Dude you are right they are a Dangerous team.

rich006 · 10-19-2009, 02:25 AM

QBREES - can you include the source in your article posts?

Hagan, as usual you are right. There's no way to say now that this team isn't for real. However, Miami has looked solid and can't be overlooked.

Rugby Saint II · 10-19-2009, 03:42 PM

We learned that Drew is still the man in New Orleans.

10-18-2009, 06:36 PM	#1
QBREES9 Moderator Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: New Haven Ct Posts: 23,985	What We Learned: Brees nearly flawless against Giants NEW ORLEANS — Five things we noticed while watching the New Orleans Saints' surprisingly easy 48-27 victory over the Giants in a matchup of previously unbeaten NFC powers. 1. Drew Brees' passing. Saints quarterback Drew Brees added another impressive performance to his thick NFL portfolio. With his line giving him plenty of time to set up in the pocket and his receivers continuously finding holes in the New York pass defense, Brees threw with ease. He was nearly flawless, completing 23 of 30 passes for 369 yards and four touchdowns before Mark Brunell replaced him with 5:57 left in the game. Brees doesn't get quite the same high praise Peyton Manning and Tom Brady get, but he has turned into one of the most prodigious quarterbacks in the NFL. He makes New Orleans a scoring machine and a threat to beat any team. 2. The Saints O-line. Let's give a French Quarter shout-out — raise your Hurricane glasses, please — to the quintet of center Jonathan Goodwin, guards Jahri Evans and Carl Nicks, and tackles Jermon Bushrod and Jon Stinchcomb. They kept the Giants defenders off Brees — he was barely touched all day — which gave Brees plenty of time to pick out his open receivers and pick apart the Giants. Bushrod, who has replaced the injured Jamaal Brown and was coming back after missing a game with an ankle injury, performed remarkably well against Osi Umenyiora, one of the league's best pass-rushing ends. The line also created holes effectively for running backs Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell and Reggie Bush (a combined 36 carries for 123 yards). 3. Eli Manning's homecoming. The Giants quarterback won't look back on his 77th consecutive start as one of his fondest NFL memories. Archie and Olivia's boy struggled in front of family and friends in his first NFL game in his hometown. Saints cornerback Roman Harper strip-sacked Manning late in the second quarter, forcing a fumble that was recovered by the Saints. That set up a touchdown in the final minute of the first half that gave New Orleans a 34-17 halftime lead. After almost being intercepted in the first half by safety Darren Sharper — the play was nullified by a penalty — Manning was picked off by cornerback Jabari Greer in the third quarter. Manning, who still is battling a case of plantar fasciitis, finished the game with 14 completions in 31 attempts for 178 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Related Links Recap: Saints move to 5-0 overall Brees reaches 100 TDs as Saints QB Scoreboard: Week 6 action The Trenches: SN's NFL blog 4. Suspect special teams. If there's one area the Saints need to clean up, it's the kick and punt coverage teams. New Orleans allowed the Giants to get favorable field position several times because of its inability to stop return man Domenik Hixon. In the first half, Hixon returned two kickoffs for 45 and 68 yards, setting up the New York offense at the 50 and the New Orleans 38. In the third quarter, Hixon returned a punt 27 yards to his own 35 even though the Saints tacklers should have pinned him back inside the 20. The Giants also blocked a Saints extra-point attack, which didn't set well with coach Sean Payton. 5. A potential key loss. Giants right tackle Kareem McKenzie had to be carted off the field late in the first half when he suffered a groin injury. Rookie Will Beatty replaced McKenzie. Depending on how much time McKenzie is forced to miss, his absence could adversely affect one of the league's premier offensive lines. Sunday marked the 43rd time in the last 44 games that the unit of McKenzie, David Diehl, Rich Seubert, Shaun O'Hara and Chris Snee had started together. Dennis Dillon is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at ddillon@sportingnews.com. What We Learned: Brees nearly flawless against Giants - Dennis Dillon - NFL - Sporting News
	www.sportsshooter.com/johnjcoleman " Anyone can take a picture Only a Photographer can take a photograph "

10-18-2009, 09:03 PM	#2
hagan714 LB Mentallity Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 15,870 Blog Entries: 68	Re: What We Learned: Brees nearly flawless against Giants What I learned: The saints are ready to play smash mouth football with the best the NFL has to offer. I can now stand up and say bring'em on. Long time coming but it has arrived for me. First thing first @Dolphins Do not under estimate this team.

10-18-2009, 10:06 PM	#3
QBREES9 Moderator Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: New Haven Ct Posts: 23,985	Re: What We Learned: Brees nearly flawless against Giants Originally Posted by hagan714 What I learned: The saints are ready to play smash mouth football with the best the NFL has to offer. I can now stand up and say bring'em on. Long time coming but it has arrived for me. First thing first @Dolphins Do not under estimate this team. Dude you are right they are a Dangerous team.

10-19-2009, 02:25 AM	#4
rich006 100th Post Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 335	Re: What We Learned: Brees nearly flawless against Giants QBREES - can you include the source in your article posts? Hagan, as usual you are right. There's no way to say now that this team isn't for real. However, Miami has looked solid and can't be overlooked.
rich006 100th Post Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 335	Last edited by rich006; 10-19-2009 at 02:32 AM..

10-19-2009, 03:42 PM	#5
Rugby Saint II Bounty Money $$$ Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 5800 Airline Dr. Metairie, LA. Posts: 24,052	Re: What We Learned: Brees nearly flawless against Giants We learned that Drew is still the man in New Orleans.

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