Who Dat Dish
Fansided

Saints’ success remains tied to their elite passing attack

By Justin Dunbar

Dec 25, 2020; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) is defended by Minnesota Vikings cornerback Jeff Gladney (20) in the second half at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 25, 2020; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) is defended by Minnesota Vikings cornerback Jeff Gladney (20) in the second half at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports /
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(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

Analyzing Brees’ Play Down The Stretch

Unfortunately for the Saints, Brees has a history of slowing down over the course of the season.

In 2018, Brees averaged 6.5 yards/attempt over the past five games of the season.

Remember, he was the clear MVP frontrunner before that stretch. In the playoffs, he averaged just 7.05 yards/attempt, including a poor showing (6.23 yards/attempt, 88.4 passer rating) in the NFC Championship game against the Rams.

In 2019, he averaged 5.5 yards/attempt against the Vikings in the wildcard round of the playoffs. Plus, from the eye test, his arm strength had clearly regressed.

The 2019 decline is particularly concerning. Brees was part of a pass-heavy attack in 2018, but he missed five games in 2019. Thus, shouldn’t he have been able to handle the load of a playoff run?

This season, Brees’ arm strength has already been much worse.

If the Saints make a Super Bowl push, what could it look like in the end. It is already a detriment in terms of them producing big plays, but if it starts limiting his ability to be merely accurate, as it did at the beginning of the season, the Saints could be in trouble.

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