Brees expects to be in Vikings’ crosshairs
 

Most of the attention for the New Orleans Saints’ rematch with the Minnesota Vikings has been the rough treatment administered by the Saints’ defense on Vikings quarterback Brett Favre in the NFC championship game in January.
There’s another side to that coin, of course.
Will the Vikings’ defense, one of the NFL’s best at rushing the passer, be going after Saints quarterback Drew Brees tonight in the Louisiana Superdome? Some of the Saints seem to think so.


“They’re going to come after (Brees),” Saints guard Carl Nicks said, “especially because they have a chip on their shoulder. It’s their job to destroy Drew. It’s our job to protect him.
“They’ve got a great defensive line, and we respect that. They’ve made adjustments, just like we have.”
The Saints capitalized on the Vikings’ five turnovers in the NFC championship game, winning in overtime 31-28. The Saints managed just 15 first downs and 275 yards total offense, but it would be enough to send Sean Payton’s team to the first Super Bowl in franchise history.
Tonight, in the Superdome, they’ll unfurl three banners for the breakthrough 2009 season. One of them for the NFC South championship, the Saints’ second in four years under Sean Payton, one for the NFC championship and one for the Super Bowl victory.
Brees expects Jared Allen and the rest of the Vikings’ defense to be coming full bore at him, but he doesn’t anticipate the game spinning out of control.
“If you play defense in this league,” Brees said, “you love to take a shot at the quarterback.
“A legal, clean shot, albeit you hit him as hard you can. I would expect nothing less from those guys ... Whenever the quarterback becomes fair game, he’s fair game. I don’t think our guys were trying to do that in a dirty way at all when we played them.”
Vikings coach Brad Childress thinks otherwise, and some of his players have fallen in line. Favre downplayed the angle earlier this week, but Vikings linebacker Ben Leber wants a chance to settle the score.
“There’s always a fine line between what’s legal and not legal,” Leber said. “(The Saints) definitely pushed the envelope against us.
“There’s no reason that we shouldn’t look for the same thing, us going after them and they know they’re going to go after Brett like that. It’s going to be a fun game.”
Saints cornerback Tracy Porter, who has been battling a knee injury, and middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who sustained a groin injury on Aug. 27 against the San Diego Chargers, were listed as probable Wednesday on the team’s injury report.
Multiple threats such as the Vikings’ Percy Harvin and the Saints’ Reggie Bush could also assume critical roles, and Bush said the Saints’ pass protection will play a key role in the outcome.
The Saints are 4.5-point favorites.
“We definitely know what kind of front seven (the Vikings) have,” Bush said. “We have to play fundamental football and protect Drew. If we don’t, things can get out of hand ... We are going to try to be a physical football team.”
That much was a given, on both sides.


Read more: Brees expects to be in Vikings’ crosshairs - New Orleans Saints - SunHerald.com

The more people they bring after Drew the more open receivers he has. Pressure is what makes a diamond......bring all you want but you'll pay big time for it.

Good take. Front four pressure will be key because, honestly, the Vikings' secondary is suspect right now.

Brees is actually pretty good against the blitz. He steps up in the pocket and delivers like no other.

He's up there with Brady or Manning in that category, if not the best. I don't the Vikings have got to him much.

True, but the only thing that I hate is when he get hit he almost always fumbles. He did that quite a bit last year.

Your talking to me about players with fumbling issues? You've come to the right place.

LOL ...No, No, No....I didnt say Brees had fumbling issues.....I think AP is in a league of his own when it comes to fumbling.