NFL New Orleans Saints

New Orleans Saints Need To Establish Vertical Passing Threat

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By @chrisbreezy91

Drew Brees New Orleans Saints

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On paper, the New Orleans Saints’ offense appears to be one of the NFL‘s best; and as the league’s leader in yards, it is. In order for the Saints to return to being a juggernaut in the NFC, they must play from ahead and allow their defense to take chances. This all starts with a more prominent vertical threat.

In order for a vertical offense to be successful, there usually has to be an effective ground game. Through five weeks, the Saints have been wildly efficient running the ball, averaging 133 yards-per-game while averaging five yards-per-carry.

So far this season, Drew Brees is on pace to tie his second highest interception total of his career. It’s safe to say it’s no coincidence that he’s also on pace to attempt a career-high number of passes.

In their Super Bowl run five years ago, Brees only attempted 514 passes, 119 fewer than his yearly average since coming to New Orleans. On the year, Brees averaged 8.54 yards-per-attempt. This led to three receivers bringing in more than 700 yards, and each averaged more than 15 yards-per-catch all while Brees threw for his lowest yardage total as a member of the Saints.

Currently, the team is headed in the opposite direction as Brees is on pace to attempt a career-high 698 passes while averaging only 7.22 yards-per-attempt. Only Marques Colston is averaging more than 15 yards-per-catch while being on pace to bring in more than 700 yards for the year. In other words, the downfield threat doesn’t exist in New Orleans.

They have the pieces, but the gameplan hasn’t been where it should be. Rookie receiver Brandin Cooks is the fastest and arguably most dynamic player on this offense, but he is only averaging eight yards per catch. With his speed, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be more involved with vertical routes.

The same goes for second-year player Kenny Stills, who as a rookie led the NFL in yards-per-catch with 20. This year that number is down to 14, which alone isn’t bad, but when he only has 10 catches through five games, he’s essentially non-existent in the offense.

Not only are the options there, but Brees is actually a better downfield passer than he is a short-game passer. In his five seasons in New Orleans with the fewest interceptions, he finished with his five highest yards-per-attempt.

It’s not necessary for Sean Payton to abandon the short-game altogether, but with the effective ground game and Brees at quarterback, it only makes sense to establish more of a play-action, deep threat scheme. If this unit is going to be expected to carry the entire team, they must return to their winning formula from 2009 and involve more downfield plays.

Chris Lehman is a New Orleans Saints Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisBreezy91, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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