New Orleans Saints 2015 Year in Review: Drew Brees
Drew Brees continued his quarterbacking brilliance for the New Orleans Saints in 2015, despite the team’s losing season and miss on the NFL playoffs for the third time in four years.
Say what you want about Drew Brees, but an NFL-leading 4,870 passing yards on top of 32 touchdowns and a 101 passer rating, to me, shows no signs of regression. Yes, he is turning 37 on Friday, he is getting older, but can we please get past the “declining” talk until he actually shows the true symptoms? And I don’t mean injuries, because those come along with playing quarterback behind an inconsistent offensive line.
While the New Orleans Saints disappointed for the third time in four years, thanks in large part to a historically horrendous defense, Drew Brees did all he could to keep his club in the middle of the pack. Without him, we’re looking at a 4-12 or 5-11 team, and that might be me being somewhat generous.
Drew Brees, again, was the Black and Gold’s most valuable player. Distributing the ball to 14 different targets through the air, he continued to showcase his uncanny ability to make everybody around him better.
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While he paved the way for veteran tight end Benjamin Watson‘s best season of his 12-year career, helped transform sophomore Brandin Cooks into one of the NFL’s biggest receiving threats, opened the doors for nobody-turned-somebody Willie Snead, and was on the other end of Mark Ingram‘s career-high 50 catches and 405 receiving yards (missed four games), Drew Brees also made his mark in NFL history.
After 2015, he remains fourth all-time in passing yards (69,903), moved up to third all-time in touchdowns (428), is first all-time in passing yards per game (280.7), and passed Peyton Manning for most career 300-yard passing games in the regular season (96). Not to mention, he’s now tied for most touchdown passes in a single game with seven. Did I miss something?
Not bad for no Jimmy Graham, right? If that’s not elite, then I don’t know what is. Given the little depth of true overall talent at the wide receiver position, inconsistency on the offensive line, and absolutely no help from the defense, I’d call Drew Brees’ season a success from a personal standpoint. However, Brees is far more concerned with winning than his own achievements. And unfortunately, the Saints, as a whole, were unable to satisfy his postseason cravings.
Regardless of the season’s outcome, Drew Brees still did his thing. He threw long-balls, he threw touchdowns, he kept the interceptions to a Saints-career low, and he broke records. He played exceptionally well in 2015 and will do everything in his power to continue his NFL dominance next year in hopes of leading his New Orleans Saints back into the playoff picture. Ladies and gentlemen, a round of applause for No. 9.