Re: Drew Brees
 

LOL! You would have us revisit the Haslett years? Payton may not be perfect but good gawd man. You could have at least thrown in some of the winning seasons we had under Mora to maintain some credibility. You're off in lala land if you think the early 2000's were a better time for this team.

Re: Drew Brees
 

Im so glad some of you don't have any say in personnel decisions because a lot them would be emotional based decisions

Re: Drew Brees
 

I never said they were better. But Carolina and TB have found their way back in the mix. The NFC South is a division of parity. Vick and Ryan for Atlanta. Delhomme and Newton for Carolina. Gruden/Winston for TB. We were knocking on the door of making playoffs before Katrina. Look at how close most of those losses were in 2005. We would have had 10 wins if not for Katrina. And trust me we have already set a precedent for QBs to want to play here post-Brees. But I will say this nostalgia is bad. And sometimes the only cure for both parties is to start fresh. Brees has a better chance with other teams.

I was basically acknowledging the fact that we were not a 3-4 win team right before Katrina. And it's not like Delhomme and Williams was not in our lap. I don't think our org will ever be stupid enough to draft a read option QB, including a Manziel. This org is always going to model their QBs after Brees. Just like Big Ben is modeled after Bradshaw and Romo after Aiken.

Re: Drew Brees
 

No. I pretty much have nailed the recent QBs success rates coming out of college. I would surely know the QB to draft to replace Brees. I would surely know that after Brees we will need to change philosophy from a pass first team to a run first team so I would get a big RB and fix the mess at oline. Also, I would stay away from defense-minded head coaches and look for someone like Haley or Norv.

Re: Drew Brees
 

YOU SHOULD NEVER BLAME BREES...

Year. Team CMP% YDS. TD INT Rating
2016 Saints 71.4 3,913 30 11 105.0

Re: Drew Brees
 

Brees isn't the problem. He had a bad game for sure but without him we would be looking at our 3rd 1-2 win seasons in a row. He can still perform at an elite level. Tell me another option that's available that would be better. If we keep him protected and get some real playmakers at TE and receiver it will extend his career. For this reason getting rid of Cooks is dumb. We have money this offseason and can afford a couple good pieces.

Re: Drew Brees
 

Getting rid of Brees would be devastating. To think of it is completely ridiculous.

Re: Drew Brees
 

I had a lot of issues with this game, and I'm not sure I can name many who didn't botch something. The line was not good in pass protection, but on his first two interceptions he had plenty of time and just made horrible throws. I noticed that he kept staring down Cooks every time he threw his way. Reminded me of the later Jimmy Graham years.

The lack of balance in play calling was evident to everyone, and was miserable.

Payton cost us a timeout by challenging a call that wasn't even reviewable. Cooks was clearly not down, but they called him down and you can't change that. I can't believe that no one on the Saints sideline said anything to Payton about that, and I can't believe he didn't know that. Also, I couldn't believe the refs LET him challenge it. When something isn't reviewable, they are supposed to say that. It was a total waste of a challenge and timeout, especially when it was first and goal inside the 1.

Fleener had multiple critical drops. He is everything he was in Indy. A guy who might put up some stats, because he isn't a true tight end and can get open fairly well, but he drops way too many balls. This was common knowledge.

The defensive backfield was pathetic. They just left guys wide open all day. Breaux, in particular, got burned several times. He had perfect position on one, and seemed to literally just let Tate catch the ball. He made no effort to knock the ball away despite the fact that he was pretty much running the route for the receiver. This entire secondary has atrocious ball skills. Even when they are playing decent, they don't make big plays. There were multiple dropped interceptions, again.

I'm sure there is more, but that's about all I care to say about the negatives. Too many of them.

Re: Drew Brees
 

Yeah I thought Breaux was better than that, now however I'm not really sure why we were so excited about him coming back.

He tracked the ball and literally just watched it.

A great DB would have attacked the ball and got the pick
A good/average DB would have knocked the ball down.

Breaux watched it sail straight past him into Tate's hands.

Re: Drew Brees
 

While I agree with you that Payton definitely should not have challenged the Cooks' play, I have to disagree with you on a few of points. The play was reviewable. I know the announcer said it wasn't, but it was. Also, if it was not reviewable the refs definitely would not have accepted the review. And finally, Cooks was clearly down. Yes, he was pulled down upon the defender's body and rolled over and off, but before gaining his feet his forearm clearly hit the turf. That is down by contact.

But, with first and goal inside the one, Payton should never have taken the chance.