Drew Brees 'all for' Ben Roethlisberger's two-point philosophy

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Drew Brees said he is "all for" Ben Roethlisberger's idea to go for two points after every touchdown.

"Personally, I feel like if we went for two that we could make it more than 50 percent of the time," the New Orleans Saints quarterback told The Dan Patrick Show. "And I think fourth down, depending on where you are on the field, I feel like if you’re in a manageable situation, we could convert most fourth downs. So I'm all for it."

But Brees said he doesn't think he needs to suggest the idea to coach Sean Payton.

"I don’t need to tell Coach Payton to be more aggressive," Brees said with a laugh. "I think we've got that part of it taken care of."

Brees' answer isn't too surprising, considering both the New Orleans Saints and the Pittsburgh Steelers routinely field one of the NFL's most prolific offenses. Last year, they ranked second and third, respectively, in yardage.

Patrick mentioned the Golden State Warriors when he first asked Brees if he likes Roethlisberger's idea.

"Bring the 'Splash Brother' philosophy to the NFL, huh?" Brees said. "You know, I think there’s probably something to be said for it. Especially now that they’ve moved the extra point back...

"I think there’s some people that would argue that you would go for it on fourth down a majority of the time as well. I think it's depending upon the offense that you're in and the guys that you have. But certainly the weapons that the Steelers have maybe they should be going for it on fourth down and going for two every time. I think everybody would love to see that."

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Saints quarterback Drew Brees wants to spend more time on the field this season, and see his punter and kicker on the field less.

Asked today on the Dan Patrick Show if he believes the Saints should go for it on fourth down more often, and go for two after most touchdowns, Brees says he absolutely thinks they should.

“Personally, I feel like if we went for two, we could make it more than 50 percent of the time, and I think fourth down, depending on where you are on the field, if you’re in a manageable situation we could convert most fourth downs. So I’m all for it,” Brees said.

Most statisticians who have studied the matter agree with Brees on fourth downs: The analytics people say it’s clear that NFL coaches are too quick to punt and too hesitant to go for it.

As for going for two, last season across the league extra points were good 94.2 percent of the time, while two-point conversions were good 47.9 percent of the time. That means two-point conversions were actually a slightly better bet than extra points.

So the math is in favor of Brees, and of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who said yesterday that he wants to go for two after every touchdown. And most fans surely agree, as it’s always more fun to see teams go for it on fourth down or go for two than kick. The only question is whether any NFL coach will buy into that strategy. So far, NFL coaches have proven themselves to be more cautious than fans and quarterbacks might hope.

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