Just because you have an elite quarterback leading your team doesn’t mean you should ask them to bail you out every time. This seems to be the trend amongst teams that are lucky enough to have elite QBs, with the latest example shown when the Saints made the trip out to Lambeau Field on Sunday.
In the Packers 28-27 win, Drew Brees threw for 446 yards and 3 TDs and Aaron Rodgers had 319 and 4 TDs. Combined, that’s 765 yards and 7 TDs! That’s like walking the length of the field over 7 ½ times! Now just judging by this stat, does it look like much defense was played?
With the Saints sitting at 0-4, they’ve now lost 5 straight games dating back to their playoff collapse in San Francisco. Oddly enough, not much has changed since then. Their defense keeps putting them in holes, leaving it up to Drew Brees to dig them out of it. It killed them against the 49ers and it’s continuing to do so now.
Simply put, if your defense gives up those kind of yards to the opposing QB, there’s a pretty good chance that you’re going to lose. Putting up points is one thing, but stopping your opponent is another. And right now, the Saints aren’t doing much of the latter.
What happened? Was it the departure of Gregg Williams and Sean Payton’s suspension? A head coach can make a world of difference, but that’s usually when the team is bringing in a new coach when things aren’t working out with the old one. The Saints have had an established program for several years now, and it’s not likely that interim head coach Aaron Kromer – the regular offensive line coach – is changing things that much.
The Saints poor pass rush in this game was certainly a factor. Not only did the Saints not get any sacks, they only hit Rodgers once. Whatever the reason, Brees isn’t giving up. “Yeah, it’s disappointing,” Brees said. “But despite where we’re at, right now, I think this team’s going to do something.”
“But we gotta hold ourselves accountable.”
Even when Garrett Hartley missed a field goal that would have put them up with just under 3 minutes left, the defense still could have gotten the ball back for the offense. But what else do they do but give up a first down on 3rd and 3, allowing Rodgers to kneel out the clock for the win.
Of course the Saints D didn’t literally give up a first down on every pass or a touchdown on every drive. To their credit, they intercepted Rodgers once. But the mistakes far outweigh the good, and it shows in their record.
The Packers aren’t exempt from this either. Giving up nearly 500 yards through the air is certainly not winning football. Now at 2-2 – would have been 3-1 if not for some replacement ref human error last week – they also have work to do defensively. After Rodgers put them up by two TDs in the 2nd quarter, the Green Bay defense gave up 20 straight points.
If the Saints can’t clean that side of the ball up, no matter how brilliant Brees plays, this season is going to be very long… or very short, depending how you look at it.
