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| At the rate the Saints are going, this face may be replaced by some local personalities. 3 |
Let me be very clear from the opening: I am big fan of quarterback Drew Brees of my home town team, the New Orleans Saints. I wouldn’t trade him for anyone at that position. He is a Top 5 NFL QB by any set of reasonable criteria.
The opening week loss by the Saints to the Washington Redskins was not all his fault. Yesterday’s road loss to the Carolina Panthers was not all his fault. Under most other circumstances, Brees did enough to lead his team to victory. I have complete confidence that Brees will help get the difficult situation in New Orleans turned around.
FORTY MILLION REASONS WHY IT DOESN’T MATTER WHOSE FAULT IT IS
Drew Brees was in a much publicized, contentious offseason contract negotiation with the Saints that ended just before the start of Saints training camp. The result was a $100 million contract with $60 million in guarantees and $40 million in guaranteed money this season. To whom much is given, much is expected. To whom the most is given (as was Brees' contract at the time he signed it) the most is expected.
When a quarterback is a rookie, a veteran backup, or an average starter earning $4 million per season, fans should be pleased, in spite of an 0-2 start, with a QB averaging 332 yards of passing per game (on pace to break the single season passing yardage record he set in 2012), averaging two touchdowns per game, and an offense averaging 30 points per game (second in the NFC). There are a lot of positives, on paper, with the performance of Drew Brees and the Saints’ offense.
When the quarterback is a perennial Pro Bowler, an All-Pro, a Super Bowl MVP, and a future Hall of Famer earning $40 million this season, nobody cares what the other issues affecting the team are. That player, Drew Brees, is expected to find a way to win the games regardless of which players and which units are not carrying their weight and regardless of whether the Head Coach is severed from the team for an entire season. Brees is well aware of this; I have no doubt.
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| Charles Godfrey (Panthers, left) thinks that Brees throws a great (pick six) touchdown pass. 2 |
To be clear, the Saints most glaring player personnel problem is their defense. Fix the defense (and by “fix” I mean “play slightly worse than the average NFL defense”) and the Saints will rise to the Top 10 in the league power rankings. The defensive unit is suffering from three major challenges: injuries, a new and complex defensive coaching scheme, and lack of depth.
Cornerback Johnny Patrick missed yesterday’s game with a leg injury; starting cornerback Jabari Greer missed Week 1 and was very limited in action yesterday; defensive lineman Turk McBride, on a D-line already struggling with depth, was out yesterday with an ankle injury; defensive captain and starting middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma is on the Physically Unable to Perform list, meaning he cannot play until the team’s seventh game (if NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell allows Vilma to play at all this season relating to Vilma's alleged role in the Saints Bountygate scandal), with a knee injury. Outside linebacker Chris Chamberlain, formerly under new Saints defensive coordinator Steve Spagnulo with the St. Louis Rams, is out for the season with a knee injury. Defensive end Greg Romeus, who was drafted in 2011 but has yet to play an NFL game due to a knee injury, will miss the entire 2012 season rehabbing the same type of injury this year.
The Saints defense, which was not very good in 2011 to begin with, is beaten up and battered. On top of that, by all accounts, Spagnulo’s system is more complicated and detail oriented than that of former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. The next game I coach in the NFL will be my first, but I know that “new” and “more complicated” in any profession takes time to learn to a point at which the execution is smooth. Add in personnel that was low on productivity a year ago and short on total team health and the defense is going to have serious issues in the first few games of the season.
It shows. The Saints are dead last in the NFL in total defense. But while injuries and scheme changes, to the degree the Saints are experiencing them, can be overwhelming, NFL players have no excuse for missing routine tackles and dropping interceptions. That has happened too many times this season, especially considering the problems beyond the players’ control.
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| If you were unsure of how valuable coaching and veteran leadership are, look at the Saints right now, especially the defense. They are missing Jonathan Vilma like the desert misses the rain. 4 |
Again, it doesn’t matter that the Saints defense is made of Swiss cheese or more porous than (father of 10) Jets cornerback Antonio Cormartie’s preferred brand of condoms. Drew Brees and the organization were aware of this challenge and others heading into training camp. If the D gives up 35 points, it is on Brees’ and the offensive coaching staff’s shoulders to figure out a way to score 36 or more (which the Saints have done often in years past). It is what it is.
The defense did not throw an ill-advised and rushed pass into the flat, deep in Saints’ territory, that resulted in a touchdown…for the Panthers. The defense did not make Brees rush throws in both last week’s and this week’s games, on a potential game-tying drive, that resulted in overthrows that were intercepted, slamming the door on any chance of a Saints win.
When a star player is earning $40 million in a single season, the answer isn’t, “I need a little more help,” even if he clearly does. The answer is, “This is what we have to deal with it and we will find a way to deal with it.” Drew Brees knows this. Drew Brees would probably say this or something similar. Git ‘er done, Drew!
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| Brees is going to find a way to get it done. 1 |
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1) Image from www.boston.com
2) Image from www.canalstreetchronicles.com
3) Image from www.sportsgrid.com
4) Image from www.usatoday.com
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