Saints Will Be Tested By The Lions
BRETT MARTEL,AP Sports Writer
METAIRIE, La. (AP) — The last time the Saints lost a game, Drew Brees took a beating, and the entire offense took it personally.
Brees has not been sacked since, and the Saints have not lost since, either, winning three straight.
Brees said after Wednesday night's practice that only some of the changes made where schematic, such as using running backs or tight ends to give more help blocking as needed. There were also elements of pride and determination involved coming off an Oct. 30 loss in St. Louis in which Brees was sacked six times.
"It's a combination of both," Brees said. "Anytime you have a game like that ... obviously it was a performance that not any of us were proud of — you go back and you say 'These are corrections we have to make.'"
This week, Saints blockers will be tested again by Detroit, which ranks 10th in the NFL in sacks with 29.
Even if starting tackle Ndamukong Suh's suspension for his Thanksgiving Day outburst is upheld, the Lions still have a strong defensive line, Brees said.
"When you look at this defensive front, it's one of the best pass-rushing fronts in the league," Brees said. "There's no doubt about it, not only the number sacks they have but I'd say that a lot of their turnovers are directly related to their pass rush, making quarterbacks get rid of the ball before they want to, tipped balls, strip-fumbles. They're very good at that."
The loss to the Rams was the low-point for an offense that, even in games the Saints won, had been allowing more pressure on their franchise quarterback than in recent seasons.
Through the first eight games of this season, Brees had been sacked 19 times, more than he was sacked for the entire seasons of 2006, '07 or '08, and only one fewer than all of 2009.
Part of the recent improvement could be attributed to the return of starting right tackle Zach Strief, who missed five games with a sprained right knee before coming back three games ago.
But left tackle Jermon Bushrod said the entire offensive line came away from the Rams game disgusted.
"It wasn't good. It did not sit well with myself or anybody else on this team," Bushrod said. "We just don't really want to feel that way again."
Coach Sean Payton routinely pounds home to his players how crucial turnovers can be to winning and losing, and reminded them after the Rams game that pressure on the quarterback is one of the root causes of turnovers, be it an interception stemming from a hurried throw or a sack-fumble.
So the Saints went back to work on improving not only pass protection, but run blocking as well, the idea being that a more balanced offense would lessen pressure on Brees and lead to fewer of the third-and-long situations where defenses tend to bring more pressure in the backfield.
"We put a value on turnovers, but you've got to look at what causes turnovers," Payton said. "It's easy to say we just can't turn the ball over, but when the quarterback's got less time, or tipped balls or hurried passes, that's one area that can lead to more turnovers. We've improved in that area. It's something that I think has been a valuable area for us to look at specifically and point to and say, 'This is vital each week with what we do offensively.'"
Two of the past three teams the Saints have beaten — Tampa Bay and Atlanta — are not among the league-leaders in sacks. The New York Giants are, however, and the Saints were able to neutralize their pass-rush with 205 yards rushing. Brees, meanwhile, threw for 363 yards and did not turn the ball over.
"When you can go rush for 200 yards, throw for 350-plus. That feels good," Bushrod said. "We've got to continue to build on what we've had going these last three weeks. We've got to continue to run the ball ... no negative plays, try to get postive plays every time we take a snap."
NOTES: DE Turk McMcBride (left ankle) did not practice Wednesday, while LB Jon Vilma (left knee) and CB Jabari Greer (right knee) were limited. ... Payton said rookie Greg Romeus, a seventh-round draft choice out of Pittsburgh, has been placed on injured reserve after spending the first part of the season on the physically unable to perform list. Payton said the Saints expected all along that Romeus, who had a major knee injury in college, would not play in his rookie season. He also said the Saints' staff was "real encouraged" by his progress.
