Payton, and Carmichael's, total commitment to Thomas in play design is reminiscent of their dependence upon Jimmy Graham several years back. It might not be a bad thing for Thomas to miss a game to force Payton to get some other receivers, like Smith, more involved.

I’m not so sure that it’s a top down paradigm that’s in play wrt MT#13. Yes, there is definitely a “dependence”. But CGM isn’t the #1 read on every play now, no different from Jimmy Graham not being the #1 read then. It’s very simple, it’s a cerebral QB who gets “locked” in with an individual, and regardless of playcalling and/or the game plan, will, out of habit, or trust, or whatever reason, go through his reads until he gets the guy he likes, maybe it’s a trust thing, I don’t know. I know I read a stat the other day that stunned me, and I can no longer find it. Since MT#13’s arrival, he has more targets and completions than ALL other WR’s who are on the roster now, or who have left. COMBINED.

That’s not a system, imho. That’s a HOF QB recognizing he’s got a young superstar of a WR, one that refuses to fail, and he looks to feed him the ball, every time he can. Nothing wrong with that, it’s actually smart..., unless you no longer have him all of a sudden, like now. Regardless, it’s my belief that DB#9 knows how to spread it around, and now he will be forced to. I truly hope we have a healthy vertical game with DB#9 under center. I’ve grown weary of gadget plays, and dink/dunk, but that’s just little old me. I want to see Brees to Cook (or any other on our team) for 46 yards down the sideline 17 times a game! (17 is a bit excessive, hyperbolic, but I think you get my point).