Drew Brees
 

He's the greatest QB!

I don't understand how this caliber of a QB makes some of the decisions he made today. I mean, 3 INTs. I know great QBs have bone headed games from time to time. We do need more beef on the OL. But that was not the problem on his turnovers today. It just seems he's having more of those kinds of games of late. At what point do the fans call him on it? How much does the rest of the team shoulder part of this?

Re: Drew Brees
 

Hard to hold his feet to the fire when he has led our team to places we may never see again. He makes mistakes but it by far the best player on the team. Pressure today was insane. He could not get comfortable

Re: Drew Brees
 

He is certainly not playing well recently, 6 interceptions in the past 4 games.

That may have something to do with Payton though.

Big announcement - Payton will now call plays.......we ran the ball 12 times and passed 44 times.....

Re: Drew Brees
 

The problem I have with this game is Fleener. I don't respect this and don't want accept him any longer. I just want him gone.

Also, Ingram. Ingram didn't do well today and justified a top RB would have given Brees more relief.

We don't have a big RB to help in these games, we choose to throw to Fleener when Thomas is open. I just can't.

Re: Drew Brees
 

Seriously check your stats. How could Ingram help Brees when he carried the ball 7 times?

He gained 37 yards from 7 carries, once again with a 5.3 ypc which leads the league.

Ingram has zero blame in this game, Payton was the one who chose to only run the ball 12 times total.

Re: Drew Brees
 

Yes we should have ran the ball more. We were never far enough behind to totally abandon the run game like we did. It also felt like Brees were trying to force balls to Cook this game so I hope he is happy now.

Re: Drew Brees
 

Trade Cooks for a defensive player. He's great of course, but isn't the "stud" I think New Orleans expected him to be.

Re: Drew Brees
 

There was one thing that really stood out in my mind regarding Brees in the Lions game. That last drive really hit a nerve, it appeared to me that there was stat padding going on. Down by 15, IMO should have been chunking it down the field hoping for a miracle. It looked like the only plan was to get the QB over 300 yards.

Re: Drew Brees
 

i thought carmichael was doing the play calling, has it switched?

Re: Drew Brees
 

Once again, as Drew does ever year, he throws multiple picks for 2 to 3 games

Once again Drew started to push things a bit knowing the defense was not going to hold the Lions to FG every time

Once again youth inexperience and the lack of talent due especially to injuries, shined way to bright on the field.

Re: Drew Brees
 

If people start calling for Drews head like they are Seans we deserve to go back to the 1 to 2 win seasons we had almost every year before. Back then the only thing fun was the draft and we even screwed that up.

Re: Drew Brees
 

Having former Saints on the Lions defense that could offer insight into unsettling Brees may have had something to do with the loss...

Tyrunn Walker and Rafael Bush were good players that should still be wearing the fleur-de-lis...

Re: Drew Brees
 

I'm just glad the "Home TD Streak" is finally over. During that streak we've had too many games like this one - didn't show up at home, but hey since we can't win let's rack up yards and score a token TD at the end for the fantasy football dorks. Some of those games were blowouts where we should have given the backup QB some playing time, but no no those stats and records are more important.

Want to know what a real remarkable record/streak is? Tom Brady's 201 wins. That's one to go after.

Re: Drew Brees
 

2000:10-6
2002:9-7
2003:8-8
2004:8-8

Re: Drew Brees
 

And Brees is less than 150. It's not possible to catch that record.

Re: Drew Brees
 

I just feel that Brees losing a game like this at home to a team that scores points underscores the main fact that he's not Brady. Brady torched this team in 2014 and that lions defense was just as good as this year. You can say that Brees was unsettled but I cannot help but feel Brees has too many flaws to be in Brady and Manning's leagues.

I don't like this Brees but he's older so trust me when I say this. When we do get back to contending it's gonna be hell getting back to the sb. Playoff experience matters.

This is the kind of game that will get Brees disrespected. Sorry to say. I don't think the lions are that ferocious on defense. I feel that Brees is a shell of his former self. Don't come off with that crap next week "who says Brees is declining?" when he goes off against a bucs team that is not that great on defense and a division rival. It's when he plays these top defenses where his vulnerabilities are exposed.

Re: Drew Brees
 

I don't know. I was ticked at Ingram from the second play of the game.

2nd and 7. Drew dumped off to him in the flat. Ingram catches it, runs six and a half yards and stepped outta bounds to avoid taking the hit, from a frickin DB, short of the first down. Total wuss move. He shoulda put a shoulder down, hammered Glover and picked up that extra yard for a first down. I don't blame the whole game on him but that play did seem to typify the offensive fire for the rest of the game.

And yes he did have 5.3 yards per carry but 22 of those yards came on one play. The other six carries, he only managed 15 yards. He also caught 5 passes for only 16 yards.

The whole offensive unit didn't seem to have any fight in them till the 4th quarter. Linemen getting pushed around like they were on roller skates, receivers that weren't getting separation, running backs going down on the first contact... And the Lions aren't some defensive juggernaut. For the season, they're a below average defense any way you measure it. Giving up a 4.2 yards per carry and allowing over a 100 passer rating. The offense certainly didn't seem motivated.

Re: Drew Brees
 

Even Legends have a bad day... take it from me. LOL>

Re: Drew Brees
 

Wtf? Brees threw some pics but I wouldn't blame the loss solely on him. And Ingram? The guy only had 7 runs because they abandoned the run game in the second quarter.

Cmon man. Get a grip.

Re: Drew Brees
 

It's not that easy. People always throw out trades. This isn't baseball. Player for player trades are very rare. There are multiple years of salary caps involved. They just aren't done.

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.

Re: Drew Brees
 

The defense played well, minus a big play off an all out blitz.
The real reality is, Drew has to have perfect games for us to have any chance of winning, so an off day is a guaranteed loss.

Re: Drew Brees
 

Reality check: Can we expect more or less games like this out of Brees in the coming season? Would anyone be hesitant about seeing what we could get for Ingram if he dropped 3 turnovers in a single game (which could have been 4 if the fumble weren't recovered)?

No 'yeah but' excuses anymore. The team should be in rebuild mode starting with a QB that can be the franchise for the next 10 years and not waiting for another 2009 to happen again...'cause it ain't!

Love him, but for the good of the franchise, we have to move on!

Re: Drew Brees
 

At the end of the game stats were padded, I never count those. Meaningless. This entire team dropped the ball from the top to bottom, I was partiuarly got amused about the blitz that ended up as a Lions touchdown, kind of broke our backs but it reassured me of Allens calls and his D. There has been a few low score game that Brees hasn't looked good against the better D's this season but looked great othertimes. As far as rebuilding with another qb. I would have to agree, with the Saints FO and always trying patchwork D's with basically the same D coaches and staff I think we waisted our best run with Brees never having a D to speak of.

Re: Drew Brees
 

The offense never got into a rhythm.... Drew Brees was never comfortable in the pocket.... I noticed we called a lot of play in the bunch formation and the lions were kicking out butts when we spread the formation out we did better but ugh the screen plays were terrible....

Re: Drew Brees
 

It may take 15 years to find another QB that could be a franchise QB for ten years. I guess we could pick one off that magic QB tree.

Re: Drew Brees
 

Have to agree here. People routinely talk about our next franchise QB, but can anyone say for sure where or when we might find him? By my count we've had 2 truly great QB's in our entire history, and they were separated by decades. Maybe we get lucky and find that next guy sooner than later, but in the meantime I think you ride your future HOF QB until he can't go anymore.

Re: Drew Brees
 

They ruled him down on the play and blew the whistle. The only way it would have been reviewable is if there were a fumble, in which case you can review for a change of possession, but you can't allow advancement of the ball after the whistle. This was a challenge to review whether or not he was down, which is not reviewable because you can't reverse the call after you blew the whistle and everyone stopped playing.

I think the ref either blew it by not remembering that (refs DO screw up the rules from time to time, not just the calls) or he justified it in his own head by telling himself that maybe he might change the spot to be slightly closer to the goal line. But you CANNOT go and change that to a touchdown when the whistle had blown. How is that reviewable? I'm just not seeing it.

But yeah, it was pointless to begin with.

Re: Drew Brees
 

I suspect it grows in Wisconsin.

Re: Drew Brees
 

In our history there is only one other great QB. He looked like crap but damn everything is on his shoulders week in and week out. He had a bad game. It happens. They killed us on both sides of the line of scrimmage also.

Re: Drew Brees
 

Man o man y'all hard to please.......and was somebody seriously comparing MI to DB....