Sean Payton On His Star Quarterback Drew Brees: “His feet and his ability to reset and throw the ball accurately is amazing.”
September 15, 2009 – 6:00 am by Michael Bean
The New Orleans Saints hit the ground running to start the 2009 NFL season by absolutely annihilating the Detroit Lions 45-27 on Sunday in the Superdome. Drew Brees and the Saints offense was firing on all cylinders. He threw for 6 touchdowns – to five different receivers – and more than 350 yards passing while the Saints running game picked up another 157 yards behind Mike Bell’s 143 hard fought yards. The Saints defense also made it tough on rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford. They picked off the number one overall pick three times and held him well under 50 percent passing for the afternoon. Saints fans must be giddy about the prospects of their team’s offense this year , but I’d of course caution them to remember that we’re talking about the Detroit Lions here. Let’s see how they do when they travel to Philadelphia to take on an Eagles defense that flies to the ball and makes it tough for opposing quarterbacks to settle in to the pocket with all the defenders Sean McDermott sends in his blitz packages.
Saints head coach Sean Payton joined WWL in New Orleans to talk about the impressive opening week win and what he’d like to see his team do better as they venture east the next two weeks for road tilts.
On how he plans to utilize his trio of running backs – Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush and Mike Bell:
“Well it’s a good problem to have. I think Pierre this week is going to get more practice snaps. And you know, we’ll be smart, I mentioned this earlier today in the press conference – they players all understand they’re all competing for touches and there’s only so many balls to go around in a given game. So whether its receiver, tight end position or the halfback, it’s the same way. Certainly Mike Bell has done a good job and has the confidence of not only his peers but the coaches as well. And Pierre’s a guy who’s been consistent and runs with a little bit different style. Same with Reggie – their skill sets are different and our job as coaches is to try to highlight and feature the things we think they do real well.”
On his superstar quarterback and what impressive him so much about the way he prepares and performs week in and week out:
“Well I think he’s a guy – and you hit on so many points – and it starts with A his ability and B his preparation and those two things are outstanding. He’s very thorough, very detailed. And one of the things I really think is a key strength for him is his ability to slide, climb in the pocket. The throw to Devery [Henderson] was one where he stepped up real quick and then the touchdown to Shockey in the first half, he slides to his left. Those subtle adjustments that take place and become line friendly – because the protection, that pocket, that area, fluctuates on every play. Sometimes it’s clean up the middle; sometimes there’s a push from the right or the left and I think his feet and his ability to reset and throw the ball accurately is amazing.”
On if the Saints will prepare differently this week knowing Donovan McNabb might not play with his cracked rib:
“Well I think you start by preparing for the offense. You start by preparing for the formations, the play designs that you see, personnel. You know, they’ve done a great job of drafting there and have a ton of skill players that can run and can hurt you. You start at the running back position – you see it there with a couple of different guys, certainly Brian Westbrook. And at receiver there’s a number of guys who possess real good ball skills and the ability to get down the field. So preparation starts with the system and the scheme. And then the nuances, if Donvan’s playing or if Kevin’s playing, you know those are some of the things you can’t control and you have to have a good week of preparation and be ready to adjust to either.”
Listen here to Payton on WWL in New Orleans
Tags: best offenses in NFL, best quarterbacks in NFL, Detroit Lions, Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints, WWL
