Tag: Drew Brees (Page 21 of 34)

      NFL Playoffs Fan Battle: Cardinals vs. Saints Preview

      January 14, 2010 /

      To get you ready for the Cardinals-Saints’ Divisional Round tilt in the “Big Easy” this Saturday, here’s a preview of the game via a mock dialogue between an Arizona and a New Orleans fan.

      Saint Fan: I bet Sean Payton couldn’t sleep after watching the Packers rip apart the Cardinals’ defense last Sunday! Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, James Jones and Jermichael Finley lit you guys up and we have similar weapons in Marques Colston, Jeremy Shockey, Devery Henderson and Robert Meachem. I can’t wait to see what that group will do against Arizona’s brutal secondary this Saturday!

      Cardinal Fan: Last week was an anomaly – the Cards’ defense won’t play that bad two weeks in a row. Ken Whisenhunt and his staff have already dissected what went wrong and are working to correct the problem. Besides, tackling was the main issue last week, which is correctable.

      Saint Fan: Payton just won coach of the year and is one of the brightest offensive minds in football. If Mike McCarthy figured out how to rack up 40-plus points on Arizona, then Payton might double that.

      Cardinal Fan: This isn’t the regular season – it’s the playoffs.

      Saint Fan: Wow, you’re just figuring this out now?

      Cardinal Fan: Hear me out; Whisenhunt is 4-1 in the postseason as the Cardinals’ head coach. He has already been to the Super Bowl and thus knows what it takes to get there. There’s no doubt Payton is a great coach, but there’s a lot more at stake for him this weekend with the Saints being the No. 1 seed and expected to reach the Super Bowl after running through the competition for most of the season.

      Saint Fan: Yeah, but let’s give defensive coordinator Gregg Williams his due. His aggressive style has changed how the Saints run their defense and he deserves just as much credit for our team’s success this year as Payton does.

      Cardinal Fan: Oh, you mean the same Gregg Williams-led defense that can’t stop the run? Once we establish the ground game with Beanie Wells, Kurt Warner is going to pick your fading defense apart with his precision passing. Plus, once we get inside the red zone we’re nearly unstoppable. We’ve scored touchdowns on 70.4 percent of our trips inside our opponents’ 20-yard line, which is the best in the league.

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      NFL Week 16 MVP Power Rankings

      January 3, 2010 /

      It’s been two weeks since we last did these rankings, and while not much has changed at the top, the teams our top two guys play for have been very shaky. In fact, Philip Rivers’ Chargers are the only one on a roll heading into the postseason.

      1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—If Jim Caldwell benching his starting quarterback in the third quarter against the Jets proved anything, it’s that Manning is clearly and unequivocally valuable. His numbers (4405 yards, 33 TDs) don’t suck either.

      2. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints—There is no question that Brees hasn’t been the same since DeMarcus Ware terrorized him two weeks ago in the Superdome. But the MVP race is not based on a few games and Brees still has a league-high 109.6 QB rating, and leads the NFL with 34 touchdown passes.

      3. Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans—This guy was racking up yards even before the Titans started winning games this season. And he’s so far ahead of the pack right now, with his sights on 2000 yards and even Eric Dickerson’s record of 2105 yards for a single season. That’s saying something.

      4. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers—Yes, he has numbers — 4155 yards, 27 TDs to 9 picks, second to Brees in QB rating with 104.5. But here is why Rivers belongs on here—because all he does is win games.

      5. Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings—Let’s not lose sight of the fact that Favre brought his Vikings back from a 17-point deficit in chilly Chicago before losing in OT. His season has been and continues to be bordering on magical.

      Honorable Mention— DeSean Jackson, Eagles; Aaron Rodgers, Packers; Cedric Benson, Bengals; Reggie Wayne, Colts; Jared Allen, Vikings; Vince Young, Titans; Elvis Dumervil, Broncos; Darren Sharper, Saints; Wes Welker, Patriots; Darrelle Revis, Jets; Andre Johnson, Texans; Dallas Clark, Colts; DeMarcus Ware, Cowboys

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      Cowboys end Saints’ run at perfection

      December 20, 2009 /

      Here are five, quick-hit observations from the Cowboys’ 24-17 upset over the Saints on Saturday night.

      1. The Saints might be a team of destiny, but they’re not perfect.
      There’s a reason why there have only been two undefeated teams in the history of the NFL: Because it’s freaking hard to run the table. It doesn’t matter that the Cowboys had lost two in a row or have always struggled in December under Wade Phillips; they had a great chance coming into Saturday night because the law of averages were eventually going to catch up with the Saints. And that’s exactly what happened.

      2. The Saints have a problem defensively.
      Three weeks ago when the Saints narrowly escaped Washington with a win, I noted that they better get healthy defensively or else they would have problems down the road. Not having DT Sedrick Ellis really hurt the Saints tonight, as Dallas churned out 145 yards on the ground and seized control of the game in the first half. New coordinator Gregg Williams has done a great job turning around the New Orleans’ defense, but this is not a unit that can overcome injuries and win a Super Bowl. They’re just not that deep.

      3. Jermon Bushrod had a tough night.
      Not to pile it on, but every defensive end that lined up across from Saints’ right tackle Jermon Bushrod abused him tonight. DeMarcus Ware was beating him so bad to the outside that on the final play of the game, Bushrod just fell over because he couldn’t get into his backpedal quick enough. (The play resulted in Drew Brees fumbling, which sealed the win for Dallas.) If Phillips’ defense can play with that much aggressiveness, energy and focus in the playoffs, the Cowboys are going to be a tough out.

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      NFL Week 14 MVP Power Rankings

      December 19, 2009 /

      The first four names on here, all quarterbacks, did nothing to hurt their MVP chances in Week 14. Each won their game, and helped their team win. Especially Drew Brees and Peyton Manning, who continue to roll along without a loss this season.

      1. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints—Against Atlanta, in what turned out to be another game too close for Saints’ fans comfort, Brees still completed 31 of 40 (77.5%) passes for 296 yards, 3 touchdowns and zero picks. His case for MVP keeps getting stronger.

      2. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—Manning uncharacteristically threw three interceptions against Denver last weekend, but he still racked up 220 yards and 4 TDs, leading his Colts to victory again. Then he went ahead and threw for 308 yards, four more scores and 1 pick that wasn’t his fault Thursday night against Jacksonville.

      3. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers—This guy throws one of the best deep balls in the game, he’s extremely accurate and he just wins. Don’t think Rivers’ Chargers can’t upset the Colts again in the postseason too.

      4. Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings—Not a great game against the Bengals, but the Vikings still won, and at this point in the season, that counts for something.

      5. Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans—The NFL’s leading rusher just keeps racking up yards and touchdowns. Johnson has 1626 rushing yards, with a realistic shot at 2000 and an outside shot at Eric Dickerson’s record of 2105 yards in a single season. He also has 42 catches for 391 yards and 13 total TDs.

      Honorable Mention— DeSean Jackson, Eagles; Aaron Rodgers, Packers; Cedric Benson, Bengals; Adrian Peterson, Vikings; Reggie Wayne, Colts; Jared Allen, Vikings; Vince Young, Titans; Elvis Dumervil, Broncos; Darren Sharper, Saints; Wes Welker, Patriots

      NFL

      Coaching staff not getting enough credit for Saints’ run at perfection

      December 13, 2009 /

      Do you know why the Saints are currently 13-0 right now? No, it’s not because of their high-powered offense, Drew Brees or their remade defense. It’s not because of their outstanding receiving corps, Darren Sharper’s playmaking ability or a trio of running backs.

      Actually, it’s because of all those things. But one thing that seems to be taking a backseat in the Saints’ run at perfection is their coaching staff, and I’m not only referring to coach of the year candidate Sean Payton either.

      There were two plays in the Saints’ 26-23 victory over the Falcons in Week 14 that had more to do with coaching and less to do with the players on the field.

      The first play came early in the third quarter when the Saints were up 16-9. The Falcons had been getting pressure on Brees by sending multiple defenders throughout the game, and with the Saints facing a 3rd and 19 from Atlanta’s 21-yard line, the Falcons decided to blitz a bevy of players in order to disrupt the play. But the Falcons played right into Payton’s play call, because Reggie Bush took a 21-yard screen pass into the end zone untouched.

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