We're just 39 days away from the New Orleans Saints season opener. In Kellen Moore's first contest as head coach, he'll be taking on Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals. Excitement is bubbling as the season gets nearer. A fan base that was losing life late last year feels rejuvenated. As we get closer to that day, the countdown to kickoff continues with a 39-yard screen pass from Drew Brees to Pierre Thomas.
The screen pass was the perfect call for the situation. The Chicago Bears blitzed the linebacker. Thomas faked like he was going to block the defender before leaking out. It was an all-around chef kiss of timing and execution.
From the catch point, Thomas had to evade a few tacklers, but no one made significant contact until he was well downfield. He pinballed off a few defenders until finally going down 39 yards later. Longtime Saints fans remember how proficient Thomas was in the screen game.
The Drew Brees to Pierre Thomas screen pass was a thing of beauty
Screen passes were a frequent part of the Saints offense for years in the Drew Brees-Sean Payton era. Over those years, the Saints had a lot of athletic running backs who could catch the football. Names like Reggie Bush, Darren Sproles and Alvin Kamara jump to your mind quickly.
You could make an argument that Pierre Thomas is as synonymous, if not more, than any other running back to come through New Orleans when it comes specifically to screen passes. That was his specialty. Thomas scored 12 receiving touchdowns during his eight-year career with the Saints. You'd have to wonder how many of those came on screen passes.
The screen pass and Thomas go hand-in-hand, and the pinnacle of that play was Super Bowl 44. Thomas scored the Saints first touchdown of the game, and it was appropriately a screen pass.