re: "New" Saints O being built around Brees' changing abilities

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drake, I didn't see it that way, he wasn't accurate as in the past. Brees likes checking off receivers and thats where he kills you. But with Stills gone, at this time we really dont have anyone to go deep.

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This is especially since Brees was one of the NFL’s best deep passers in 2014, as, per PFF, he was “accurate” (using PFF’s accuracy percentage) on 51.6% of his throws that traveled beyond 20 yards, and only Ryan topped him there.

With a QB Rating of 134.9 on throws to his deep left, I don’t think Brees had any issues getting the ball to playmakers like Kenny Stills. He’s never been known for his arm strength, but it’s a stretch to say, “HAHA, he can’t throw the deep ball anymore!”

Since he averaged 10.9 yards per completion this season, the only difference is that he threw the deep ball less, and that has to do with the increased amount of pressure he faced this season. Among 25 qualifying quarterbacks, only Ryan Tannehill threw the deep ball less than Brees, so the Saints offense traded big plays for efficiency. Per Advanced Football Analytics, Brees had the second-highest success rate%, which measures the percentage of successful plays a player had, based on down and distance factors. First and third? Aaron Rodgers and Tony Romo, respectively. His SR% and lack of deep targets shows that the Saints offense wanted him to focus on consistency instead of splash plays.

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