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Struggling Saints
11/10/08 - 09:08 PM
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METAIRIE, La. (AP) - Drew Brees could very well set the NFL’s
all-time record for yards passing in a single season while playing
for a losing team.
History shows that’s a very hard thing to do. Then again, the
New Orleans Saints have found creative ways to disappoint their
long-suffering fans before.
Brees threw for 422 yards in New Orleans’ 34-20 loss to Atlanta
on Sunday, which dropped the Saints to 4-5 and marked the second
time this season the Saints’ quarterback has thrown for more than
400 yards in defeat. Against Denver in Week 3, Brees threw for 421
yards; New Orleans lost that game 34-32.
Brees has now thrown for a league-leading 2,985 yards, putting
him on pace for a record-setting 5,309 yards.
Dan Marino holds the current record of 5,084, which he set back
in 1984 with Miami. The Dolphins made it to the Super Bowl that
season. Second place in that category belongs to Kurt Warner, who
threw for 4,830 yards with the St. Louis Rams in 2001. That team
also went to the Super Bowl. Third place is Tom Brady, who threw
for 4,806 yards last season with the New England Patriots. Surely,
everyone remembers where that team ended up.
True, all three of those teams lost in the Super Bowl, but
there’s a big difference between losing a championship game and
failing to make the playoffs at all.
New Orleans isn’t out of the playoff picture yet, but the Saints
trail every team in the NFC South Division by no fewer than two
games, meaning they’ll likely have to string together five or six
victories in their last seven games to have any hope of a
postseason berth.
At this point, New Orleans has yet to win two in a row, which
has Brees feeling a little hollow about his gaudy passing numbers.
“I really don’t care” about leading the league in passing,
Brees said Monday. “The fact that we haven’t been able to put two
good consistent games together in a row is frustrating.”
Brees’ passing totals are in part a refection of coach Sean
Payton’s play-calling. Payton, who also played quarterback in
college and very briefly in the NFL, subscribes to a “West Coast”
style of offense in which short passes are similar to runs.
Brees never threw for more than 3,576 yards in a single season
during his first five years in the NFL with San Diego. His lowest
total in his first two full seasons in New Orleans was 4,418 in
2006. Incidentally, the Saints made the NFC championship game that
season, when they also ran the ball more effectively than they have
since. Deuce McAllister rushed for more than 1,000 yards that
season and Reggie Bush added 565 yards on the ground.
Last season, when McAllister missed most of the season with knee
injury, Brees threw for 4,423 yards, but New Orleans’ running
totals fell by about 300 yards and the Saints finished 7-9.
Despite his preference for passing and involving Brees’ accuracy
and decision-making in as many plays as possible, Payton said he is
taking a hard look at the way he manages the game plan.
“As the head coach, I have to be mindful of how we do things
and be just as critical of myself as we ask our players to be
critical of themselves,” Payton said. “We’re always evaluating,
trying to internalize. We know we need to be able to run the
football more, for instance.”
Payton said he intended to unleash a slew of running plays at
the Falcons, but was forced to change plans after the Saints
settled for field goals in their first couple scoring opportunities
and fell behind by double digits.
Brees ended up with three interceptions, one of which was
returned for a touchdown. The woeful play of the Saints’
injury-depleted defense only made matters worse, but Payton was not
ready to blame one unit over another.
“We’re going to have to play better defense down the stretch to
do some of the things we’re talking about doing, but that also
starts with us on offense in possessing the ball,” Payton said.
The Saints will be challenged to improve. Three defensive
starters - defensive end Charles Grant and cornerbacks Mike
McKenzie and Tracy Porter - have been lost for the season to
injuries in the past six weeks. Defensive end Will Smith and
McAllister both could be suspended four games later this season
because diet pills they took included a substance banned by the
NFL.
Indeed, the Saints are dangerously close to missing the playoffs
for a second straight season, passing records or not. But it’s too
early to give up, Payton said.
“At a time like this, you find out a lot about players and
coaches,” Payton said. “It would be a lot harder to sit here with
three games left in the season and the questions then would be
about onto next year, evaluating young players. ... We have half a
season left and we have to play this next half better.”

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User Comments

Same old song, just a different beat.  New Name “Caints”

Posted by  on  11/10  at  09:21 PM
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