Rugby Saint II

If our O-line stays relatively healthy will we get separation this year with basically the same receivers?

halloween 65

I think so with the addition of Cook it should open up nicely. Run game will need to be good to keep opposing D's off balance..The major factor will be Brees arm strength as the season gets longer.

CHA_CHING

Brees' health and arm strength is the biggest concern. He is 40 years old and for the final month of last season, he looked like he had fallen off a cliff. It was like late 2014 Peyton Manning with how his numbers tanked.

Our run game started to struggle last year with the o-line injuries, so that also is a concern.

Rell&Gold

I promise you the only one worried at the moment

TheOak

I find the evolution of this discussion interesting. Yes, Brees has had a drop in strength over the years but his accuracy is still on par and his arm strength drop has been on the long ball. We have evolved from 'he will throw them open' to ' if can they get open'.

I wont attribute all of that to his arm strength, at one time he had receivers that weren't as high of a risk when trying to throw them open.

If you look at Drew's split stats 1-7 vs 8-16 he was injured the second half, it wasn't just strength. When the line goes to ****, QBs get injured.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/spli...580/drew-brees

jeanpierre

More happened in the Dallas game than will be told in the next ten (10) years...

The Dude

Yep. I’ve been saying this all year. It’s not just coincidence that his numbers dropped around the time Armstead went down. By the time he got back Peat was pretty banged up. Same for Unger and Rami. His entire offensive line crumbled and we still managed to get as far as we did.
I question our offensive line and running game more than our receivers.
We have a rookie center, Peat and Armstead have both been injured already and I question our running game.
People also forget about Ingrams blocking.
TB was running for his life behind our number 2s, I doubt Brees would be much better with that kind of pressure.

"Where life had no value, death, sometimes, had its price. That is why the bounty killers appeared."

SaintsBro

I'm with the Dude on this, I've also been into this idea for a long while. I'm not denying that there's nothing to the arm strength or "deep ball" worries -- of course there's a little concern, Drew is 40 after all. But I firmly believe that MOST of the accuracy problems at the end of last year, post-Cowboys game, were caused by Drew being anxious and nervous about his O line not being 100% around him, and him not knowing what was going to happen next.

Drew is a little guy. He's actually 5'11", but he made them re-measure him a second time, so he could stretch his neck out and get to 6'0". Those linemen are BIG. Basically any serious hit from any one of one of the big guys, could end Drew's career, like it almost did in San Diego. He knows this. He's already been through the gut-wrenching rehab of coming back from a serious, threatening, almost impossible injury, and he doesn't wanna do it a second time, ever again.

He's a great football player, but he's only human. If Daddy's not comfortable in the pocket at work, Daddy's not happy. And when Daddy's not happy, nobody's happy. When the O-line got banged up, Drew started to look completely different. And if you've watched him carefully for long enough, you can start to recognize the body language, the skittish footwork, the look in his eyes, and the DERP interceptions that make everybody groan. Those all happen when Drew isn't COMFORTABLE back there, and a lot of it is mental.

Because another thing about Drew being COMFORTABLE, is that Drew needs TIME to gel with the guys in his O-line, and he needs to KNOW THEM.

If the pocket is crumbling around him, Drew actually sorta knows, the mental clock in his head, and what each lineman is capable of -- he knows each lineman's skill set, their tendencies, and HOW the pocket will likely collapse under pressure around him. He knows the mental clock, for each guy -- Armstead can usually block his guy this long, Unger if he's getting beat will typically push his guy out this direction or that way, Peat can hold his spot for X number of seconds -- Drew knows how his pocket is going to crumble, before it actually does, and things like that can make all the difference in how Drew connects to the receiver.

If you change any ONE lineman in that mix, Drew has to suddenly get used to the whole new feel of the line protecting him, it changes the way the passing pocket falls apart around him, on every passing play, and that is what makes him SKITTISH. And the accuracy drops.

jeanpierre

Most, MOST, wide receivers in the NFL don't really break out effectively until their third full year in the league...

But we've one of the best pass schemes in the NFL, using WR size, with Coach Curtis' techniques, to take advantage of contemporary NFL Pass Defense Rules, using receivers' size to box out defenders...

So elite speed isn't necessary with the exception of the Flanker to hold, keep the Safety(s) back, opening the intermediate passing routes, or tearing the top of the defense off...

A really smart, prepared QB (Brees) can then make pre-snap reads and simply throw to "bucket" zones for the WR to shield off and make a catch, little faster, tighter, but essentially lobbing the ball into the paint...

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

st thomas

It’s a prove it year for me , pass MT & Cook trequan needs to blow it up. Ted G. Is a drop from out the league. Carr well still brain scratcher. Kirkwood injury prone? Maybe not. It’s why we keep so many. Now watch my little donte Harris he will get open in the playoffs. He will shake some ass up. If he’s still has 2 legs left after the real bullets start flying. Jmo.