Evolution Of Drew Brees
September 6th, 2018
Long-time nemesis of Bucs DC.
Few coaches have had to devise gameplans to battle Saints quarterback Drew Brees as much or as often as Bucs defensive coordinator Mike Smith.
In 10 of the last 11 seasons, Smith has had to face off against Brees as either a head coach or a defensive coordinator. The first time the two rivals were on opposite sides of the field was in 2007, when Smith was the Jaguars coordinator, a 41-24 Saints win.
In every season since (with the exception of 2015 when Smith was between jobs), Smith has had to craft a defense twice a year to try to throttle the future Hall of Fame quarterback.
That’s 19 times watching Brees and studying Brees, and trying to figure out a way to stop Brees after hours upon hours of watching tape of Brees.
“Too many!” Smith joked when Joe mentioned this. But what Joe wanted to know from Smith is if he noticed any sort of change or evolution in Brees, now 39, through the years.
Yes, Smith said, Brees is a slightly different quarterback than his younger days but that doesn’t mean he is a lesser quarterback. Smith noted Brees is now more apt to kill a defense with paper cuts using short passes, whereas in his younger days, Brees was more of a gunslinger rifling the ball deep downfield.
“I think he has,” Smith said of Brees’ evolution. “His short-passing game is a little more prevalent now. The ball isn’t going down the field as many times. He still has the ability to throw the ball down the field.”
Where Brees has gotten better and may be the best, Smith said, is the mental game. Like an old, wise lawyer, Smith said there likely isn’t a look or a blitz or a stunt or a trick anyone can throw at Brees that would be new.
“He has seen it all,” Smith said. “When you start talking about guys that are pushing 40 and still playing quarterback, there is only so many things you can do with 11 guys on defense that at some point in time they’ve probably seen it. You might want to only give [the look] to them one or two times because if you give it too him too many times, he’s going to get you.”
So for Smith, it seems like the Bucs are in for more of a mental battle with Brees than a physical struggle.
But, as Joe’s old man used to say, it’s hard for a quarterback to complete a pass while he’s laying on his @ss. If the new-look Bucs defensive line can hound Brees all afternoon, it will go a long way to helping the Bucs escape New Orleans eating a W.
September 6th, 2018 at 7:17 am
Gotta make Brees go deep down the field. He’s been thriving on short to intermediate passes since they’ve drafted Kamara. Pressure him up the Andretti him off his mark.
September 6th, 2018 at 7:28 am
goals: make him look old on sunday
September 6th, 2018 at 7:30 am
*Pressure him up the middle and get him off his mark*
September 6th, 2018 at 7:57 am
QBs like Bree’s and Brady use a ton of three step drops where the ball is out before the D line even gets out of their stance. In this case they are not much help.
September 6th, 2018 at 8:12 am
Why did the Chargers let this guy go? He was a talent from the time they drafted him! They made a big mistake between Rivers and Brees. Bucs have beaten Brees before. So has MSmith. Design a bunch of blitzes. You have the talent now!
September 6th, 2018 at 8:12 am
Sadly this game will be the beginning of what is to be a really bad season. The blame for this is on ownership mostly for bringing back a loosing coach and GM and for not hiring a president of football operations soon after the departure of Chucky. It’s become painfully obvious to this season ticket holder that the Bucs have no plan or solution and if we love our Bucs we must stop living in fantasy land and face reality. Sunday will be a curb stomp similar to the ones we have endured at the hands of Carolina in the post chucky era. I wish we had a better coach and GM and a reliable qb. Brees will punish us for our lack of preparation and inadequate coaching. will cheer for my Bucs in defeat I will cheer. Go Bucs
September 6th, 2018 at 8:21 am
Blew out his throwing shoulder in a contract year.
September 6th, 2018 at 8:39 am
Brees is one of the Best QB’s ever, but he seems to play even better against soft coverage.
Hopefully, Mike Smith does not go with soft coverage
September 6th, 2018 at 8:41 am
Since Brees is known for three step dropbacks, the cornerbacks need to be in press coverage. If Mike Smith allows a 10 yard cushion on the receivers, there is no way he should be kept past game 1 as the coordinator. Time to bully the receivers and hit them at the line of scrimmage. Make them work for a change and give the dline a chance to pressure the qbs.
Koetter has said he wants a bad ass football team. time to stop messing around and actually do it
September 6th, 2018 at 8:53 am
I have a baaaaad feeling his short to intermediate throws are gonna eat us up again on quick outs and crossing patterns and have me throwing stuff at the T.V.
Dont’ get me wrong i know it’s critical to stop the run, if we can do that effectively, but on the other hand that means they gotta throw and that’s the main concern I have. This will be the perfect test for our secondary as whole.
September 6th, 2018 at 9:02 am
The old man was a wise man. The only chance they have is to get him off his spot. The game where Jacques Smith blew up always comes to mind. Pressure him and he looks average at best. The guy gets away with more intentional grounding than anyone Ive ever seen though. Instead of taking sacks he tosses it anywhere. Hope the refs are calling it by the book cuz it might be their only “sacks”.
September 6th, 2018 at 9:06 am
Certainly agree with Joe’s explanation of why the Chargers let him go…shoulder.
Philip Rivers made the decision very easy though.
Usually we like to believe a trade or player move is good for one side and not the other. Sometimes it works for both sides. The Chargers have Rivers a top tier QB and Brees has a SB.
September 6th, 2018 at 9:19 am
We need to keep him off the field as much as possible. Ball control is a must.
September 6th, 2018 at 9:31 am
Sean Payton’s offense is predicated on getting the ball out quickly to elusive playmakers, coupled with a power run game to keep the defense looking towards the short game. Next comes play-action deep over the top, while safeties bite.
Brees is all about timing (ala P. Manning) so throw off his timing (as previously stated: quick slants, outs, and dumps to RBs) and throw off the Saints.
Sunday cannot come soon enough!!
September 6th, 2018 at 9:33 am
If Smith plans to use a lot of soft coverage in this game then the Bucs will have already lost before the game is played.
September 6th, 2018 at 9:33 am
My point with the ‘timing’ comment is that although mobile IN the pocket -Newton, Wilson, Rodgers, Watson, etc. – he is not.
September 6th, 2018 at 9:51 am
After the Chargers let him go, Miami had a chance to sign Brees and did not trust his shoulder being 100%, so Miami passed and Brees went to NO. How is that working for you now Miami?
September 6th, 2018 at 10:19 am
smitty….watch the damn screens and swing passes!!!!!!!
#NOEXCUSESIN2018!!!!…#PRESSURESONTHECOACHES!!!!…GO BUCS!!!!
September 6th, 2018 at 10:25 am
All qbs make Mike Smith look foolish..Backup qbs carve him up lime.beer can chicken.
The guy is hopeless
September 6th, 2018 at 10:53 am
Sack him (if you can) early a few times and get him off his rhythm a little bit early and we have a chance.
That worked on Favre back in the day – he developed happy feet after Sapp got to him early
September 6th, 2018 at 11:00 am
Press receivers at the line.
Hit Brees early and often.
If those things happen, we have a good shot. If not, it’s gonna be a long day in the superdome…
September 6th, 2018 at 11:11 am
@JOE
John Lynch blew out Brees shoulder on a sefety blitz.
September 6th, 2018 at 11:13 am
“it’s hard for a quarterback to complete a pass while he’s laying on his @ss.”
I used to sit in AOL football chat back in dial up days and use that line all the time against opposing teams fans. Of course that was when we had Rice, Sapp, Brooks, Barber, Lynch and the gang.
September 6th, 2018 at 12:38 pm
Out of curiosity, what is Smith’s record in those games… and how many points a game did Brees score…and his stats? Would love to know… but I’m pretty sure that Brees has the upper hand over our defensive “guru”. If I was speaking to you guys in person, “guru” would be surrounded by air quotes!
September 6th, 2018 at 1:18 pm
Smith’s comment on Brees’s mental game is so right on. Brees has seen every single defensive alignment that trying to fool him is a foregone conclusion. We have to get to him and protect against his short game. Plain and simple right? ..right
September 6th, 2018 at 1:41 pm
people seem to forget that not only did Brees hurt his shoulder, he wasn’t nearly the qb he is now until he got to the saints. For perspective, his first three full seasons he had 55 tds and 38 picks. Jameis has 69 tds and 44 picks over his first three, while missing four games. My point is be careful what you wish for to those who just want to throw Jameis to the curb. It takes time to develop.
September 6th, 2018 at 2:01 pm
Drew Brees knows his Super Bowl window is closing. The Saints didn’t trade for Teddy Bridgewater to hold a clipboard for 5 years. I wouldn’t be surprise if the Saints win it all this year. Bridgewater is the perfect QB for the Saints offensive scheme.
September 6th, 2018 at 5:17 pm
Wusa,
Soft coverage is not an automatic loss. If you’re looking compare . Press coverage is far more likely to be exploited by the saints. Unfortunately, the team has issues with both and the safest or conservative approach is zone. So I think that’s what you will see.