Barry from MS

9 passes & 3 runs in 1st Qtr for 10 (yeah, TEN) yards. 1 bad snap that could have been a disaster, 1 sack that could have been a disaster. 1 false start penalty.

So, I'm going 25/50/25 on 1st Quarter offensive blame. Playcalling gets 25%; Brees gets 50% as he checked out of plays at the line plus made adjustments on-the-spot; O-line gets 25%. Pretty sure Brees is not on a short leash like a young QB and has as much flexibility or more with in-game adjustments as Brady or Manning.

Brees has played with worse O-Lines and against better Front 7's than CLE before, but 9 (NINE) First QTR yards of total offense?. You have to ID the man pulling the trigger and making the adjustments at the line of scrimmage to exploit what the defense is showing or trying to hide.

Sorry, but Brees helped contribute to the loss in Cleveland. It's idiotic to say it was mostly or all of his fault. I'm pretty dumb, but I ain't that stupid.

"I'd far rather be happy than right any day" ~ Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
"Honor: if you need it defined, you don't have it" ~ Ron Swanson

jeanpierre

Problems I see with Brees:

1) Declining arm strength, receivers are often coming back, slowing down on the deep balls; have mentioned this the past seasons and now it's becoming more frequent; it even got Stills injury aggravated in preseason...

2) Reluctance to run, he needs to pull the ball down a couple of times even if it's for a no gain to keep the linebackers from playing so deep and make their linemen run and get winded...

3) Locking on to one receiver (especially Graham) has become a problem (and I have Graham in my Keeper Leagues), but with what is committed in pay to Colston, and with him healthier than he's been for a while, why are we forcing the ball to Graham...

And, yes, since the big payday and all the new family which I am very, very happy for him - he's playing scared and he's gonna get killed playing like he's got everything to lose, hence the Rocky referenced video clips...

It's not that my way is the right way, I just make the right way my way...

NonieT

How about Payton could and probably should have run the damn ball on that play.

Danno

Well technically that should come under the heading "Message to Sean Payton"

hagan714

A wile old Vet got you. Drew nor the center nor the guard nor PT. picked up on what was going down.

Dansby’s secret info: According to ESPN.com Browns reporter Pat McManamon, Browns linebacker Karlos Dansby said he heard the Saints’ line call on a crucial third-and-5 play at Cleveland’s 31-yard line late in the fourth quarter (that they were going to protect outside right). So Dansby said he knew he could get a free lane up the middle for a sack against Brees. Indeed, Dansby flew in untouched and knocked the Saints out of field goal range.
New Orleans Saints' biggest frustration: Not finishing - ESPN


also this might be the issue

"It's frustrating because we expect to win," Brees said
New Orleans Saints vs. Cleveland Browns - Recap - September 14, 2014 - ESPN

never expect anything in the NFL and your the player that everyone looks to. It is your job help the coaches keep this mind set from happening.

"We may have lost the game, but you'll be hurting tomorrow." Doug Atkins

Mardigras9

I thought the ball floated on Brees at first also, but the view from behind Graham looks like it was catchable. In the end the offense still did enough to win and the defense again couldn't come up with a stop.

WhoDat!656

"It's frustrating because we expect to win," Brees said
New Orleans Saints vs. Cleveland Browns - Recap - September 14, 2014 - ESPN

never expect anything in the NFL and your the player that everyone looks to. It is your job help the coaches keep this mind set from happening.[/QUOTE]

These aren't the 70s Saints; although probably none would admit it I wouldn't doubt that most Saints players in the early years KNEW they weren't going to win.

I'm not sure how long I could/would continue being a Saints fan if after a loss I heard players/coaches say they "expected to lose".

"A Veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount of "up to and including my life."

Rell&Gold

Tell that to Pierre Thomas who blew his assignment, he was throwing the ball away all game saving us from sacks, the O-line had a bad game not drew

Danno

Then throw it at PT's feet.

The O-line did not have a bad day.

exile

I thought that they were destroyed but the Browns d-line in the first quarter. By the second half they figured things out. Too little too late though.