Danno

Poor Play at Guard, Center Is Making Life Difficult for Saints QB Drew Brees
By Brent Sobleski ,

The New Orleans Saints offense isn't built like a traditional offense. Unlike most NFL teams, the Saints place a higher value on their interior blockers along the offensive line than their offensive tackles. When those interior blockers aren't playing well, which they aren't this season, then it makes life far more difficult for the undersized Drew Brees to be an effective passer from the pocket.

Overall, the middle of the Saints offensive line is getting old and deteriorating.

New Orleans once invested heavily to keep Brees clean and happy in the pocket. But those contracts are nearing an end, and the play of those veterans hasn't been up to snuff.

Most NFL teams usually make their left tackle the highest-paid player along the offensive line. After all, the left tackle is tasked with protecting his quarterback's blind side. The left tackle needs to be athletic and gifted to complete his mission at a high level.

The Saints haven't bought into the same theory since signing Brees as a free agent, though.
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The Saints have a history of keeping the cheaper alternative at one of the game's supposed cornerstone positions.

However, the organization doled out plenty of cash to its talented guards.


Brees isn't at typical quarterback. At 6'0", he struggles to see over his offensive line. The quarterback is often seen on his tiptoes leering at defenses from the pocket from underneath his facemask (see: picture). Brees generally needs good throwing lanes as well. Thus, the play of the guards and center become even more important for this particular franchise to make its quarterback as effective as possible.

Guards who don't surrender ground while pass blocking are vital. Brees isn't nearly as effective with the pocket collapsing in front of him because he can't see over it to make the quick throws and get him out of pressure—whereas he can step into the pocket if there is edge pressure given up by one of the offensive tackles.

The problem this season is the precipitous drop in play from those interior blockers, and it starts with Evans.

CBSSports.com's Pete Prisco succinctly described Evans' play this season:

The pride of Bloomsburg University has been stellar for so long, it's hard imagine he's finally hitting his decline. At 31 years old, that appears to be the case.

During his previous seven seasons, Evans consistently graded positively as one of the top guards in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). This season has been completely different.

Among the 78 guards graded by Pro Football Focus, Evans is ranked 45th with a minus-4.6 overall effort. The once-great interior blocker has been easily beat off the line of scrimmage this season, and he is no longer the type of offensive lineman who simply stones defenders at the point of attack.

Through nine games, the guard already allowed 20 quarterback hurries. That's more than he gave up over the entirety of the last two campaigns.

Age and injuries eventually get to every great player. Evans' decline looks to have already started.

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At left guard, Grubbs has been better than Evans, but his play has been far from stellar. The Auburn product also received a negative grade from Pro Football Focus through the first half of the season.

Like Evans, Grubbs hasn't been as strong as previous seasons in pass protection. The Saints' left guard surrendered 18 quarterback hurries.

For those keeping track, that's 38 quarterback hurries already given up by the Saints' once-reliable guards. Pressure isn't just coming from the edges. Brees is having to deal with defenders coming up the middle, which is the worst predicament for the quarterback and the offense.

Upheaval at center has also been a concern.

Veteran Jonathan Goodwin has been dealing with an MCL injury. He returned to the lineup Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers after missing the previous two games.

For example, the center, who is now in his 13th year, had one of this worst games of the season against the 49ers. He scored his second-worst grade from Pro Football Focus this year after giving up two quarterback hurries and one hit.

It's easy to lay the blame at the feet of the quarterback. The position generally gets too much of the credit and the blame. Brees hasn't been as great this season as seen during previous years. But he's also struggling to find receivers due to a collapsing pocket caused by poor play from the middle of his offensive line.

If Evans, Grubbs and Goodwin can't keep the middle of the pocket clean for Brees during the rest of the season, the Saints will struggle to maintain their slight lead even in the mediocre NFC South. Those three are experienced and formidable enough to pull it together and allow their quarterback to play at a higher level.

Without strong pass protection, the Saints offense will quickly become stagnant.

Poor Play at Guard, Center Is Making Life Difficult for Saints QB Drew Brees | Bleacher Report