New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees

Attached Thumbnails · 11-12-2009, 12:15 AM

New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

You talked a lot about the importance of finishing strong. How do you go about preparing to have the kind of success that you’ve had in the fourth quarter this year?

“A lot of it is conditioning – how good of shape you’re in – because obviously the game wears you down gradually as you go along for the first three quarters. Typically the teams that are well-conditioned – both mentally and physically – end up succeeding in the fourth quarter. And I think it’s very much an attitude as well, just that we’re going to play our best football when it counts. When we really need to, we’re going to make the plays that we need to make to win the game in the fourth quarter. So I think it’s very much an attitude too.”

How concerned are you with the turnovers you’ve had in the last few games?

“Very concerned, because that’s what gets you beat. We’ve been lucky up to this point because we’ve gotten some turnovers of our own. Defensively they’ve done a great job of taking it away. But I think by turning the ball over we’ve put our defense in some tough spots as well as squandering some opportunities that we otherwise might have had. You look at these last two games and we scored 35 and we scored 30 having turned it over as many times as we did in each – and I guess the game before that we turned it over four times and scored 46. Like I said, there was some help from the defense there but it just makes you think about how good we could really be if we take better care of the football and end up scoring points on those times where we’re giving it away.”

How much do you take those turnovers to heart, especially the more uncharacteristic turnovers you had against Carolina?

“That’s not me. Of course interceptions happen from time to time, and even sack/fumbles happen from time to time, but it has been too frequent for my liking. At times, their guys have made good plays or just caught me right at the wrong time or when I was pulling that ball back to throw or just in that throwing motion and I’m vulnerable and they’re getting it out. There are some of those and they’re good players and they made the plays. But definitely the ones, the interceptions that you don’t want are bad decisions. At times, you’re going to have a poor throw, a misjudged throw, or maybe a tipped ball. But it’s the bad decisions – that’s why I study so much and watch the film that I do and do all those things, so that I know where to go with the football, I know where I can get rid of it, so I can play with a lot of confidence. That’s something that I’m going to get fixed. I’m disappointed in myself for some of these turnovers in the last few games.”

On the interceptions by Grimes and Gamble the past few weeks, were those just good plays by them?

“Grimes’ was a great play. The ball was just a little bit underthrown, but I felt like it was getting over his head and he just climbed the ladder and got it. He made a great play. The one to Gamble was a bad decision; I shouldn’t have thrown it there.”

Was he cheating on a back-shoulder throw on that one?

“Yeah, but I shouldn’t have been throwing it there, number one. But number two, if I am going to throw it there, there’s a higher place I can throw that ball. I’m throwing it to Marques and I just threw it way too low for the type of throw I was trying to make.”

Other than the turnovers, is there anything that you think this offense needs to be doing better?

“I think we can continue to make improvements in the run game. Everybody has something that they can do better. We’ve gotten to this point and have been pretty successful and if you look at the statistics, they’d say that we’re doing pretty well in some of those areas. But that doesn’t mean that we’ve reached our potential. I don’t think we’ve reached our potential yet.”

If you didn’t have the turnovers and you were hitting on all cylinders for four quarters, what would that game be like?

“I’d like to think that we would be scoring 40-plus a game and would be tough to stop. You’re always striving for that perfect game. You’re always striving to be hitting on all cylinders. We just understand that it doesn’t have to be perfect. It never will be perfect; that’s what you’re striving for. Really when you talk about the critical things for an offense – taking care of the football is priority number one without a doubt. Your ability to run the ball effectively, throw it and catch it, get yourself in third-and-manageable situations, therefore you’re converting more third downs, therefore you’re sustaining more drives, therefore you’re keeping your defense off the field and you’re scoring points and creating momentum – all those things are important. Like I said, if you look at the stats, we show up in the top five in just about everything, but have we reached our potential? No, we still have a ways to go.”

How do you feel having all these different receivers step up in different games to play a big role?

“It’s great. That’s what our offense has thrived on and prided itself on in the last few years, guys stepping up and performing very well and now becoming somewhat of household names. Nobody had heard of Marques Colston until mid-way through the 2006 season when the seventh-rounder from Hofstra was coming out and making plays and getting opportunities and making the most of them. Devery is really coming into his own; Meachem – the more opportunities he gets, he’s playing great. Lance Moore was on the practice squad when I first got here and now he’s a great player. You name it, guys like Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell – guys that got here through free agency or however – have really stepped up and taken advantage of their opportunities. That’s something that we pride ourselves on as an offense – being those kinds of guys with chips on our shoulder.”

Do you anticipate Marques Colston being able to bounce back from a game like he had Sunday?

“Yeah. I’m not worried about Marques. Not one bit. Not at all.”

How important has your ability to score in the last two minutes of the first half been?

“It’s very important if you get the opportunity. We feel confident enough that given really any reasonable amount of time that we can execute the two-minute offense and get down and score points. Not only does it give you points, but it creates momentum going into halftime. I can think of a few occasions – more specifically at Miami – scoring the touchdown with no time left on the clock pretty much to go in only down 24-10 and that was huge for our momentum and confidence going into the second half. And then last week at least getting down and putting together a drive and getting a field goal. It was big just for momentum.”

Today is Veteran’s Day. What does that mean to you with the connections you’ve made with people and the people you’ve met?

“They definitely deserve more than just one day to be recognized. It’s great to see a lot of the networks covering from a lot of different bases around the world, talking to the troops and reminding all of us what our Armed Forces are doing on a daily basis. It’s definitely great to be able to set aside some time to thank those guys and appreciate them. I’m going to continue to do everything I can to support them and think about them.”

If you weren’t playing professional football, could you see yourself in the military?

“Growing up having had both grandfathers in World War II and just having the respect that I have for the military, I considered it if things hadn’t have played out like they did, obviously having the opportunity to go to college and play football and then play in the NFL. But I can tell you, I have a tremendous amount of respect for those guys and what they go through in order to become a Marine or join any branch of the armed services, and obviously to serve like they do and made the sacrifices that they do. I have a lot of respect for them.”

Is it hard to get as fired up for a match-up against a 1-7 team as opposed to going up against an unbeaten team?

“A win is a win and it doesn’t necessarily matter who it is against. It’s been proven that any week, anybody can beat anybody on any given Sunday. When you start looking at this team, teams coming off a bye win a majority of the time in this league. They’re coming off a bye, so they’ve had a lot of time to prepare for us. Also, there are quite a few guys on this team that were here in 2007 when an 0-8 St. Louis team came in and put it to us in the Dome. This would be a great win for a lot of reasons. Obviously because it’s the next game. The Saints had never been 8-0, but that means we’ve never been 9-0 either in the history of the franchise. So we continually have the opportunity to make history every time we step on the field from here on out as long as we win and we recognize that.”

New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees media session transcript - Wednesday, November 11, 2009

BIGEASY504 · 11-12-2009, 03:25 PM

How concerned are you with the turnovers you’ve had in the last few games?

“Very concerned, because that’s what gets you beat. We’ve been lucky up to this point because we’ve gotten some turnovers of our own. Defensively they’ve done a great job of taking it away. But I think by turning the ball over we’ve put our defense in some tough spots as well as squandering some opportunities that we otherwise might have had. You look at these last two games and we scored 35 and we scored 30 having turned it over as many times as we did in each – and I guess the game before that we turned it over four times and scored 46. Like I said, there was some help from the defense there but it just makes you think about how good we could really be if we take better care of the football and end up scoring points on those times where we’re giving it away.”

If we play an offense similar to the Saints (that can score) Arizona, Colts etc we could be in trouble.

How much do you take those turnovers to heart, especially the more uncharacteristic turnovers you had against Carolina?

“That’s not me. Of course interceptions happen from time to time, and even sack/fumbles happen from time to time, but it has been too frequent for my liking. At times, their guys have made good plays or just caught me right at the wrong time or when I was pulling that ball back to throw or just in that throwing motion and I’m vulnerable and they’re getting it out. There are some of those and they’re good players and they made the plays. But definitely the ones, the interceptions that you don’t want are bad decisions. At times, you’re going to have a poor throw, a misjudged throw, or maybe a tipped ball. But it’s the bad decisions – that’s why I study so much and watch the film that I do and do all those things, so that I know where to go with the football, I know where I can get rid of it, so I can play with a lot of confidence. That’s something that I’m going to get fixed. I’m disappointed in myself for some of these turnovers in the last few games.”

The last Drew fumbles when he was stepping up in the pocket his receivers were covered so he should have taken off. Drew does the sneaks etc but opposing defenses really don’t expect Drew to just take off (like Vick) so when he does it’s always a good play.

On the interceptions by Grimes and Gamble the past few weeks, were those just good plays by them?

“Grimes’ was a great play. The ball was just a little bit underthrown, but I felt like it was getting over his head and he just climbed the ladder and got it. He made a great play. The one to Gamble was a bad decision; I shouldn’t have thrown it there.”

Glad he recognize he under threw the ball

Was he cheating on a back-shoulder throw on that one?

“Yeah, but I shouldn’t have been throwing it there, number one. But number two, if I am going to throw it there, there’s a higher place I can throw that ball. I’m throwing it to Marques and I just threw it way too low for the type of throw I was trying to make.”

Glad he recognize he under threw the ball

I like Drew alot but the turnovers will kill us against a good team that can score

roughneck85 · 11-12-2009, 05:47 PM

we cant be having those turnovers against the patriots

Rugby Saint II · 11-12-2009, 07:51 PM

I can't see Drew having turnover problems very often. He usually takes good care of the ball, but it seems like lately he's getting rattled in the pocket.

rich006 · 11-13-2009, 06:33 AM

Drew has always been turnover-prone under heavy pressure, like any QB. What hurt in years past is he would get rattled and stay rattled. This year he has seemed to bounce back quicker, either from experience or just having more confidence in his running game and defense, knowing that he doesn't have to win the game on his own.

jnormand · 11-13-2009, 10:47 AM

The problem is that Drew is getting pressured, hit and sacked more this year.

Through 16 games last year he was sacked 13 times. Through 8 games this year he has been sacked 12 times.

fhotard · 11-13-2009, 12:36 PM

Yep, defenses seem to being going after Drew pretty hard in the last few games. And, to some extent, it's been working for them.

QBREES9 · 11-13-2009, 05:37 PM

Drew will fix the problem not to worry.

homerj07 · 11-15-2009, 01:13 AM

yes lets trade TOs for TDs - Please!!

11-12-2009, 12:15 AM	#1
Threaded by QBREES9 Moderator Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: New Haven Ct Posts: 23,985 Rating: (0 votes - average) New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees Wednesday, November 11, 2009 You talked a lot about the importance of finishing strong. How do you go about preparing to have the kind of success that you’ve had in the fourth quarter this year? “A lot of it is conditioning – how good of shape you’re in – because obviously the game wears you down gradually as you go along for the first three quarters. Typically the teams that are well-conditioned – both mentally and physically – end up succeeding in the fourth quarter. And I think it’s very much an attitude as well, just that we’re going to play our best football when it counts. When we really need to, we’re going to make the plays that we need to make to win the game in the fourth quarter. So I think it’s very much an attitude too.” How concerned are you with the turnovers you’ve had in the last few games? “Very concerned, because that’s what gets you beat. We’ve been lucky up to this point because we’ve gotten some turnovers of our own. Defensively they’ve done a great job of taking it away. But I think by turning the ball over we’ve put our defense in some tough spots as well as squandering some opportunities that we otherwise might have had. You look at these last two games and we scored 35 and we scored 30 having turned it over as many times as we did in each – and I guess the game before that we turned it over four times and scored 46. Like I said, there was some help from the defense there but it just makes you think about how good we could really be if we take better care of the football and end up scoring points on those times where we’re giving it away.” How much do you take those turnovers to heart, especially the more uncharacteristic turnovers you had against Carolina? “That’s not me. Of course interceptions happen from time to time, and even sack/fumbles happen from time to time, but it has been too frequent for my liking. At times, their guys have made good plays or just caught me right at the wrong time or when I was pulling that ball back to throw or just in that throwing motion and I’m vulnerable and they’re getting it out. There are some of those and they’re good players and they made the plays. But definitely the ones, the interceptions that you don’t want are bad decisions. At times, you’re going to have a poor throw, a misjudged throw, or maybe a tipped ball. But it’s the bad decisions – that’s why I study so much and watch the film that I do and do all those things, so that I know where to go with the football, I know where I can get rid of it, so I can play with a lot of confidence. That’s something that I’m going to get fixed. I’m disappointed in myself for some of these turnovers in the last few games.” On the interceptions by Grimes and Gamble the past few weeks, were those just good plays by them? “Grimes’ was a great play. The ball was just a little bit underthrown, but I felt like it was getting over his head and he just climbed the ladder and got it. He made a great play. The one to Gamble was a bad decision; I shouldn’t have thrown it there.” Was he cheating on a back-shoulder throw on that one? “Yeah, but I shouldn’t have been throwing it there, number one. But number two, if I am going to throw it there, there’s a higher place I can throw that ball. I’m throwing it to Marques and I just threw it way too low for the type of throw I was trying to make.” Other than the turnovers, is there anything that you think this offense needs to be doing better? “I think we can continue to make improvements in the run game. Everybody has something that they can do better. We’ve gotten to this point and have been pretty successful and if you look at the statistics, they’d say that we’re doing pretty well in some of those areas. But that doesn’t mean that we’ve reached our potential. I don’t think we’ve reached our potential yet.” If you didn’t have the turnovers and you were hitting on all cylinders for four quarters, what would that game be like? “I’d like to think that we would be scoring 40-plus a game and would be tough to stop. You’re always striving for that perfect game. You’re always striving to be hitting on all cylinders. We just understand that it doesn’t have to be perfect. It never will be perfect; that’s what you’re striving for. Really when you talk about the critical things for an offense – taking care of the football is priority number one without a doubt. Your ability to run the ball effectively, throw it and catch it, get yourself in third-and-manageable situations, therefore you’re converting more third downs, therefore you’re sustaining more drives, therefore you’re keeping your defense off the field and you’re scoring points and creating momentum – all those things are important. Like I said, if you look at the stats, we show up in the top five in just about everything, but have we reached our potential? No, we still have a ways to go.” How do you feel having all these different receivers step up in different games to play a big role? “It’s great. That’s what our offense has thrived on and prided itself on in the last few years, guys stepping up and performing very well and now becoming somewhat of household names. Nobody had heard of Marques Colston until mid-way through the 2006 season when the seventh-rounder from Hofstra was coming out and making plays and getting opportunities and making the most of them. Devery is really coming into his own; Meachem – the more opportunities he gets, he’s playing great. Lance Moore was on the practice squad when I first got here and now he’s a great player. You name it, guys like Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell – guys that got here through free agency or however – have really stepped up and taken advantage of their opportunities. That’s something that we pride ourselves on as an offense – being those kinds of guys with chips on our shoulder.” Do you anticipate Marques Colston being able to bounce back from a game like he had Sunday? “Yeah. I’m not worried about Marques. Not one bit. Not at all.” How important has your ability to score in the last two minutes of the first half been? “It’s very important if you get the opportunity. We feel confident enough that given really any reasonable amount of time that we can execute the two-minute offense and get down and score points. Not only does it give you points, but it creates momentum going into halftime. I can think of a few occasions – more specifically at Miami – scoring the touchdown with no time left on the clock pretty much to go in only down 24-10 and that was huge for our momentum and confidence going into the second half. And then last week at least getting down and putting together a drive and getting a field goal. It was big just for momentum.” Today is Veteran’s Day. What does that mean to you with the connections you’ve made with people and the people you’ve met? “They definitely deserve more than just one day to be recognized. It’s great to see a lot of the networks covering from a lot of different bases around the world, talking to the troops and reminding all of us what our Armed Forces are doing on a daily basis. It’s definitely great to be able to set aside some time to thank those guys and appreciate them. I’m going to continue to do everything I can to support them and think about them.” If you weren’t playing professional football, could you see yourself in the military? “Growing up having had both grandfathers in World War II and just having the respect that I have for the military, I considered it if things hadn’t have played out like they did, obviously having the opportunity to go to college and play football and then play in the NFL. But I can tell you, I have a tremendous amount of respect for those guys and what they go through in order to become a Marine or join any branch of the armed services, and obviously to serve like they do and made the sacrifices that they do. I have a lot of respect for them.” Is it hard to get as fired up for a match-up against a 1-7 team as opposed to going up against an unbeaten team? “A win is a win and it doesn’t necessarily matter who it is against. It’s been proven that any week, anybody can beat anybody on any given Sunday. When you start looking at this team, teams coming off a bye win a majority of the time in this league. They’re coming off a bye, so they’ve had a lot of time to prepare for us. Also, there are quite a few guys on this team that were here in 2007 when an 0-8 St. Louis team came in and put it to us in the Dome. This would be a great win for a lot of reasons. Obviously because it’s the next game. The Saints had never been 8-0, but that means we’ve never been 9-0 either in the history of the franchise. So we continually have the opportunity to make history every time we step on the field from here on out as long as we win and we recognize that.” New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees media session transcript - Wednesday, November 11, 2009 Attached Thumbnails
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11-12-2009, 03:25 PM	#2
BIGEASY504 100th Post Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 487	Re: New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees How concerned are you with the turnovers you’ve had in the last few games? “Very concerned, because that’s what gets you beat. We’ve been lucky up to this point because we’ve gotten some turnovers of our own. Defensively they’ve done a great job of taking it away. But I think by turning the ball over we’ve put our defense in some tough spots as well as squandering some opportunities that we otherwise might have had. You look at these last two games and we scored 35 and we scored 30 having turned it over as many times as we did in each – and I guess the game before that we turned it over four times and scored 46. Like I said, there was some help from the defense there but it just makes you think about how good we could really be if we take better care of the football and end up scoring points on those times where we’re giving it away.” If we play an offense similar to the Saints (that can score) Arizona, Colts etc we could be in trouble. How much do you take those turnovers to heart, especially the more uncharacteristic turnovers you had against Carolina? “That’s not me. Of course interceptions happen from time to time, and even sack/fumbles happen from time to time, but it has been too frequent for my liking. At times, their guys have made good plays or just caught me right at the wrong time or when I was pulling that ball back to throw or just in that throwing motion and I’m vulnerable and they’re getting it out. There are some of those and they’re good players and they made the plays. But definitely the ones, the interceptions that you don’t want are bad decisions. At times, you’re going to have a poor throw, a misjudged throw, or maybe a tipped ball. But it’s the bad decisions – that’s why I study so much and watch the film that I do and do all those things, so that I know where to go with the football, I know where I can get rid of it, so I can play with a lot of confidence. That’s something that I’m going to get fixed. I’m disappointed in myself for some of these turnovers in the last few games.” The last Drew fumbles when he was stepping up in the pocket his receivers were covered so he should have taken off. Drew does the sneaks etc but opposing defenses really don’t expect Drew to just take off (like Vick) so when he does it’s always a good play. On the interceptions by Grimes and Gamble the past few weeks, were those just good plays by them? “Grimes’ was a great play. The ball was just a little bit underthrown, but I felt like it was getting over his head and he just climbed the ladder and got it. He made a great play. The one to Gamble was a bad decision; I shouldn’t have thrown it there.” Glad he recognize he under threw the ball Was he cheating on a back-shoulder throw on that one? “Yeah, but I shouldn’t have been throwing it there, number one. But number two, if I am going to throw it there, there’s a higher place I can throw that ball. I’m throwing it to Marques and I just threw it way too low for the type of throw I was trying to make.” Glad he recognize he under threw the ball I like Drew alot but the turnovers will kill us against a good team that can score
BIGEASY504 100th Post Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 487

11-12-2009, 05:47 PM	#3
roughneck85 Rookie Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 5	Re: New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees we cant be having those turnovers against the patriots
roughneck85 Rookie Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 5

11-12-2009, 07:51 PM	#4
Rugby Saint II Bounty Money $$$ Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 5800 Airline Dr. Metairie, LA. Posts: 24,073	Re: New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees I can't see Drew having turnover problems very often. He usually takes good care of the ball, but it seems like lately he's getting rattled in the pocket.

11-13-2009, 06:33 AM	#5
rich006 100th Post Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 335	Re: New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees Drew has always been turnover-prone under heavy pressure, like any QB. What hurt in years past is he would get rattled and stay rattled. This year he has seemed to bounce back quicker, either from experience or just having more confidence in his running game and defense, knowing that he doesn't have to win the game on his own.
rich006 100th Post Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 335

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11-13-2009, 10:47 AM	#6
jnormand 5000 POSTS! + Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: The Free State of Idaho Posts: 5,687	Re: New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees The problem is that Drew is getting pressured, hit and sacked more this year. Through 16 games last year he was sacked 13 times. Through 8 games this year he has been sacked 12 times.

11-13-2009, 12:36 PM	#7
fhotard 100th Post Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Pensacola, FL Posts: 263	Re: New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees Yep, defenses seem to being going after Drew pretty hard in the last few games. And, to some extent, it's been working for them.

11-13-2009, 05:37 PM	#8
QBREES9 Moderator Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: New Haven Ct Posts: 23,985	Re: New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees Drew will fix the problem not to worry.

11-15-2009, 01:13 AM	#9
homerj07 In Doh We Trust Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Central Florida Posts: 7,027 Blog Entries: 16	Re: New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees yes lets trade TOs for TDs - Please!!