Week 9 QB projections • NO Stats
QB Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
HT: 6-1, WT: 220, Born: 1-15-1979, College: Purdue, Drafted: Round 2
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Stats and Week 9 Projection
| WK | OPP | RES | CMP | ATT | PYD | Y/A | PTD | INT | RSH | YD | Y/R | TD | FPT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | vs NYG | W, 48-27 | 23 | 30 | 369 | 12.3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | 39 |
| 7 | at MIA | W, 46-34 | 22 | 38 | 298 | 7.8 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 2 | 26 |
| 8 | vs ATL | W, 35-27 | 25 | 33 | 308 | 9.3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 0 | 24 |
| SEASON TOTAL | 157 | 230 | 2006 | 8.7 | 16 | 6 | 15 | 24 | 1.6 | 2 | 183 | ||
| 9 | vs CAR | PROJ | 21 | 31 | 249 | 8.0 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 0 | 20 |
Week 9 Injury Status and Other News
He was not listed on Friday's official injury report. Opinion (from The Upgrade/Downgrade/Waiver Report): Brees has five turnovers in the past few games, but most fantasy owners will be happy with his version of a slump. The Saints quarterback exceeded 300 yards and threw two touchdowns Monday night, demonstrating the best accuracy of any QB in the league. He routinely threw open his WRs, placing the ball only where they could make the catch. Two examples were sideline fades to Jeremy Shockey on a third down conversion in the first quarter and Devery Henderson on a deeper pass later in the game. Brees' interception was simply a great play by CB Brent Grimes who demonstrated a shockingly good vertical leap to snag the pass. Brees' fumble was on a delayed safety blitz up the middle. Despite reasonably good pressure from the Falcons defense Brees continued to stand in the pocket and calmly make plays illustrating what makes him an elite QB and what separates him from a very good young QB like Matt Ryan. Brees remains a must-start.Week 9 Matchup Info
vs Carolina Panthers (Tough matchup) - The Panthers' pass D has been pretty respectable this year, actually, averaging a mere 160.6 net yards allowed per game, with nine passing scores given up vs. eight interceptions and 17 sacks generated (they are in the middle of the league in terms of interceptions and sacks generated so far this year). Two weeks ago, Ryan Fitzpatrick was held to 11/22 for 114 net yards, one TD and zero interceptions thrown. Kurt Warner was frustrated to the tune of 27/46 for 226 net yards, two TDs and five interceptions thrown last week, and nobody disrespects what the Cardinals' offense has to bring to the dance.However, the Panthers will face a difficult task when they invade the Louisiana Superdome this week - Drew Brees is tied with Matt Schuab for the most TDs thrown to date (16), and he's gone over 2,000 yards passing in just seven contest this year, with 2,006 yards passing so far. Brees has just six interceptions thrown, and he's only been sacked 11 times to date (tied for sixth-best in the NFL). Marques Colston is the sixth-best fantasy WR in points per game (PPR format), with 36/551/6 receiving this year - Jeremy Shockey is eighth among fantsy TEs with 31/376/3 so far. Take a look at last week's game vs. Atlanta for an example of Brees at his best; eight different receivers (led by Colston, 6/85/1, and Shockey, 5/72/0) caught at least two balls during the game, with four players going over 40 yards receiving (Robert Meachem had 2/47/0; Devery Henderson was next with 4/46/0). This team deploys a plethora of options for Brees to utilize, and yet manages to run the ball very effectively as well.
The Panthers have a great pass D this year, and they humbled a high-flying passer in Kurt Warner last week. Can they do it again? One thing is for sure, Brees and company are in for a tough divisional fight - but we can't see sitting the red-hot Saints even though this has the look of a tough game.
Game Summaries
Week 1 vs DET - Drew Brees had no trouble carving up the Lions' defense, spreading the ball around and taking advantages of mismatches in man coverage and holes in the Detroit zones to great success. Rarely flushed from the pocket, Brees had time to go through his progessions and wait for routes to develop downfield. Brees did try to force balls into coverage and missed a timing route or two, but his performance was nearly flawless. His lone interception came on an underthrown deep pass on a flea flicker in the first half.Week 2 at PHI - You would think that a team without their top running back would struggle with being one dimensional. It would add weight to that argument when the same team threw for six touchdowns in the first game of the season. Couple all of that with the pass-happy QB slated to face a team that forced seven turnovers in Week 1 and it would be easy to expect a bad day for the Saints if they decided to throw often. Well, so much for that. Brees was beyond comfy in the pocket most of the day, only getting pressured on a few occasions as the Saints' line blocked well and Brees found his wideouts or Reggie Bush in plenty of space. He was in total command all day and showed that his big day against Detroit was no fluke. It would be hard to pick a QB to start over Brees while he is playing at such a high level.
Week 3 at BUF - This was a sub-par outing for Drew Brees, no question. He did just enough to keep the chains moving in the second half while letting a strong running game control the clock. Not to say he played badly; he didn't. No passing touchdowns is a rarity for this team, but also he had no interceptions. His main targets are all reliable (Bush, Colston, Shockey) but he was under pressure for most of the day and, since the ground game was basically dominating while the defense kept Buffalo off the score sheet, they didn't throw the ball as much as usual. Brees was efficient in leading his team to victory, and seemed to be just fine with the slightly different game plan. Just don't expect it to happen again too soon.
Week 4 vs NYJ - For the second week in a row Drew Brees was held without a touchdown pass and managed a pedestrian 190 yards through the air. But Brees did complete 20 of 32 throws and started the game with 5 straight completions leading to a New Orleans field goal. Brees only attempted three passes of more then 10 yards, completing 2, one each to Jeremy Shockey and Devery Henderson. Brees calmly weathered the mixed-looks offered by the Jets defense, using short passes to successfully negate the pass-rush.
Week 6 vs NYG - Brees had a masterful performance, that was only marred by a deep pass that Brees missed to a wide open Devery Henderson. Everything Brees did worked, he was barely under pressure all day, and his receivers kept making plays for him. His field vision, decision-making, timing, and accuracy were magnificent, and Brees kept successfully throwing the ball in the general vicinity of receivers to give them chances to make individual plays. With Lance Moore and the running game all completely healthy now, this offense looks like the early season juggernaut we saw before weeks 3 and 4 slowed down this attack.
Week 7 at MIA - Brees stood tall despite being harassed all day by unstoppable blitzes from the Dolphins. The Saints were constantly in terrible down and distance situations early, and Brees coughed the ball up twice when he got snowed under by pass rushers. He also threw an early INT on a miscommunication with Devery Henderson. The only score the Saints had until late in the first half came after a long kickoff return. Finally late in the half, Brees drove the Saints down and scored on a QB sneak on a play that could have left the Saints empty-handed if it didn't work because there was only a few seconds left in the half. The successful blitzing didn't stop in the second half, but there were more plays that the Dolphins just sent four, and Brees carved apart the 'Fins defense when he was given time. He scored on another sneak in the second half, and threw a TD to Marques Colston on a rollout play deep in Miami territory. Brees had two other interceptions on a tipped ball, and a pass at the goal line that was taken away from Colston. Colston couldn't get another possible TD that he had both hands on late in the game. Even though Brees had more turnovers than TDs, his energy and efforts helped turn the game and surge the Saints past the Dolphins in the end.
Week 8 vs ATL - Brees didn't exactly have his way with the Falcons secondary, but he teamed up with his receivers to get big plays at key moments, and defeat a Falcons defense that was getting decent pressure and covering pretty well against the juggernaut Saints passing offense. Brees fumble that was returned for six came on a play with a delayed safety blitz that Brees underestimated. His interception could have been a big play, but Brent Grimes made one of the DB plays of the year with a levitating, explosive leap to pick the ball out of the air. Otherwise, Brees was putting the ball up in places for Colston, Shockey, and company to make one on one plays, and they didn't disappoint. Brees didn't dissect the Falcons as much as he just let his playmakers outplay them.
