Michael Thomas did not catch a pass in the Saints’ season-ending loss to the Buccaneers last week, and it appears he’s putting that on Drew Brees. New Orleans’ 42-year-old quarterback clearly didn’t have the arm strength to threaten the Bucs secondary downfield (or anywhere for that matter), and, according to Thomas, that makes it so much easier for a defensive back.
After Aaron Rodgers threw a 50-yard touchdown against the Buccaneers, Thomas took to Twitter to point out how important it is for a receiver to have a quarterback who can get it to him deep.
If a DB know the QB can’t throw deep they going to play aggressive underneath with safety help over the top.
— Michael Thomas (@Cantguardmike) January 24, 2021
Anyone can cover you if you running a shallow cross all day just play underneath they not throwing over your head.
— Michael Thomas (@Cantguardmike) January 24, 2021
That sounds like a shot at his quarterback! And Thomas isn’t 100% wrong if he is blaming Brees for being shut out last week. If a defense doesn’t have to worry about the deep ball, they can be a lot more aggressive when covering shorter passes. The Bucs never had to worry about the deep ball last Sunday because Brees didn’t even try to throw downfield against Tampa Bay…
According to Next Gen Stats, his average pass traveled only 5.4 yards downfield. Because the Bucs didn’t have to worry about Brees throwing over their heads, they could flood the short and intermediate areas with defenders, and that’s where Thomas does most of his damage.
Brees is expected to retire this offseason. If he does decide to hang it up, it doesn’t sound like Thomas will be all that upset about it.
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