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How do the New Orleans Saints look now that Drew Brees isn’t playing quarterback for them anymore? Who better to know than Brees himself? The future Hall of Famer-turned-media analyst shared his take on NBC Sports’ “Football Night in America” panel when asked by Mike Tirico about his reaction to the Saints’ 2-1 record after they demolished the New England Patriots by a lopsided tally of 28-13.
“Well defensively I feel they’re playing outstanding,” Brees began cheerily, before his tone turned more measured. “Offensively I don’t think they have an identity right now. We know who Alvin Kamara is and we know that the Saints want to establish the run game with Alvin Kamara.”
Their fellow show host Tony Dungy correctly identified Brees’ focus on the Saints offense, which he elaborated on: “Who are they throwing the ball to? What does the passing game look like? There’s a lot of new faces, a lot of young players. Michael Thomas is out, Tre’Quan Smith is out, Emmanuel Sanders no longer there, Jared Cook is no longer there. You’ve got a lot of new players playing with a new quarterback who doesn’t have a lot of experience in this system with them. But today wasn’t pretty just like last week wasn’t pretty.”
And his biggest concern is curiosity, asking whether the team will be able to execute a critical must-pass sequence at the end of a tight game. Winston’s unsteady first couple of starts and a poorly-stocked receiving corps have him feeling anxious.
Winston still hasn’t thrown for even 150 passing yards in a single game, while just one player has gained 100-plus receiving yards through three weeks (Deonte Harris, with 112). But as Brees pointed out, it’s very early — for all of them. As Winston and his teammates get more reps together, and as Thomas and Smith return from their injuries, there’s reason to believe the group continues to improve. Let’s see how much growth they can make in the weeks ahead.
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