Texans defensive end J.J. Watt has turned into quite the trash talker lately, but Saints quarterback Drew Brees kept his cool when asked about it during his Wednesday press conference.
Watt was all mic'd up and ready to go on Sunday against the Saints, and the sound showed multiple instances of him terrorizing his opponent, particularly right tackle Zach Strief, with his mouth and his play.
The Saints elected to receive the ball after winning the coin toss.
"Bad decision," Watt scoffed.
Then, he proceeded to hype his defense up by saying the Saints had disrespected their prowess by challenging them.
As the team's did battle, Watt took aim at Strief. At one point, he told him he stunk right to his face. Then, he yelled to the Saints sideline that they needed to switch strategies.
"You guys might want to try somebody else at right tackle," Watt mocked. "It's not working so well right now."
But, Brees came to Strief's defense without taking a shot at Watt, albeit three days after the fact.
"I could hear a lot of chatter on the field," Brees said. "It sounds like he is a pretty animated guy on game day. There is no doubt that he is a phenomenal player. I don’t think anybody can block him in this league. Keep in mind that our right tackle didn’t give up any sacks in this game.
"Maybe the term right tackle was used but our right tackle didn’t give up any sacks last game. Now, is J.J. Watt going to get some hits on you? Yes, I’d like to think that I am going to be able to get the ball out before he gets me"
Brees is playing a bit fast and loose with the truth in the defense of his right tackle. No, Strief didn't give up a sack to Watt. However, Watt blew by Strief nearly every time they went one-on-one with Brees just narrowly getting the ball out but getting a massive hit in the process. On one occasion for all intents and purposes, Watt did sack the quarterback on Strief's watch, but Brees did him "a favor" by taking an intentional grounding penalty instead of letting the sack happen.
Watt, of course, lamented that he doesn't get credit for a sack with teammate Brian Cushing.
Is this a start of another lame "feud" between Watt and a quarterback? Of course not.
As Watt stated on Sunday, he has affection for Brees.
"I like Drew. I don't like hitting him like that," Watt said during a trash talking tirade.
You have to wonder what hurts more -- the fact that Watt never stops talking or that he's right?
Click here to see J.J. Watt mic'd up against the Saints.
Former NFL quarterback Danny Kanell has a theory about Kirk Cousins, and if the headline didn’t already give it away, you might want to sit down for what follows.
“I think Kirk Cousins could be the next Drew Brees,” Kanell said Wednesday on ESPN Radio’s “Russillo and Kanell” show. “Tell me why he can’t.”
“Ummm,” co-host Ryen Russillo replied after a long pause. “I don’t know off the top of my head, was Brees as much of a turnover machine as Cousins has been?”
Kanell proceeded to note that Brees was, in fact, as much of a turnover machine as Cousins early in his career. In his first 28 games after the San Diego Chargers selected him in the second round of the 2001 NFL draft, Brees threw 29 touchdowns and 31 interceptions, while completing 58 percent of his passes. Cousins, by comparison, has thrown 34 touchdowns and 29 interceptions, while completing 64 percent of his passes, in 25 games.
Brees blossomed in his fourth pro season, throwing 27 touchdowns against seven interceptions, and leading San Diego to the AFC West title in 2004. Since signing with New Orleans as a free agent in 2006, he’s won a Super Bowl and set several NFL records, including highest completion percentage in a season and the most number of seasons with 5,000 yards passing.
Kanell, who, like Cousins, once made a weekly radio appearance on a local station as a backup quarterback, attempted to explain why he thinks Cousins’s career could follow a similar trajectory.
“I’d go in every morning on Kool 105 in Denver with J.J. and the Coach and we would talk about games,” Kanell said of his days as the Broncos’ backup quarterback with a radio gig in 2003. “We had just played the San Diego Chargers and Drew Brees was the starter and he looked awful. And we’re in there laughing about how bad he was, like, ‘Man, can you believe that guy’s a starter? How does this guy get it done? He’s got no future.’ And I was crushing him. I feel really stupid about it now, but, there’s a growth process and I think you’ve seen enough from Kirk Cousins, the ability to win games and those sort of intangibles that coaches talk about. I think he’s got ’em. Every coach that I’ve talked to, and [Michigan State Coach] Mark Dantonio was one of them, who has spent time with him, has talked about his ability to lead others and raise up the play of the guys around him. And when I look at his skill set, I see a very similar skill set to Drew Brees. Drew Brees was not the most athletic guy, he wasn’t the biggest, prototypical quarterback that you would look at, it just took a guy like [Saints Coach] Sean Payton to believe in him and say, ‘All right, you’re going to be our guy. You’re going to be our franchise.’ ”
Russillo wasn’t convinced.
“If this is who [Cousins] is now, I’m more open to the idea that he can be a guy, but will he be one of the five most efficient, productive QBs for a decade like Brees was?” he asked. “That’s a leap.”
“It’s a leap for sure,” Kanell replied. “But I’m trying to look for potential. I’m willing to go out there and find something, instead of just sitting back and criticizing. I think we criticize way too many young quarterbacks across the board. … He’s winning games, he’s starting to play better. Yeah, if you put him on a team that doesn’t have talent around him, I don’t think he’s the type of quarterback that can lift everybody up at this point in his career, but could he be? Absolutely.”
Well then. If the Redskins think Cousins can become anything close to “the next Drew Brees,” one would think they’ll do whatever it takes to keep him after this season. Otherwise, they run the risk of watching the former Big Ten QB develop into a star with another team, like, you know, Drew Brees.
“I wouldn’t go crazy with him and give him a $100 million deal, but I think he’s absolutely worth investing in,” Kanell said.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees will not play Sunday and risk further injury against the Carolina Panthers.
Brees suffered a bruised rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder last Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"He'll be out for this game," coach Sean Payton announced Friday. "He'll travel. I think just where he's at in the rehab and the strength, I think he felt -- I think we all felt -- like it would be too early him playing this weekend. And I would say next week then, continue the process without trying to put an estimation on his return.
"He felt like he made progress throughout the week, and yet it's still not where it needs to be or where we would feel comfortable with the strength that he needs. But he did get better each day, and we'll just see where it's at next week."
The Saints will start Luke McCown against the Panthers, with Garrett Grayson as the backup.
Brees, 36, has never missed a regular-season game due to injury in his 10 years with the Saints, which began after he recovered from major shoulder surgery in 2006.
Brees sustained an injury to his shoulder during the second quarter of the Saints' 26-19 loss to the Buccaneers.
Brees has completed 62.8 percent of his passes through the first two weeks of the season, going 54 of 86 for 610 two touchdowns and two interceptions for the 0-2 Saints.
The New Orleans Saints responded Thursday to an article that said the time had come for the team and quarterback Drew Brees to part ways.
The article, posted to data analytics website fivethirtyeight.com, said the talent level around Brees had dropped to a level to which the quarterback alone could not make up for those deficiencies.
The article said the average length of time it took for a team to return to contender status after a decline such as the Saints' was 4.1 years, by which time Brees, now 36, would likely be retired.
"NFL teams have generally recognized that it's better to break up with an aging quarterback a year too early than a year too late," the report said. "And almost none of those decisions look bad in retrospect."
Drew Brees will not suit up on Sunday due to a rotator cuff injury. We break down the fantasy implications.
Update (2:11 p.m. ET): Drew Brees will not playSunday, according to Fox Sports' Mike Garafolo. Luke McCown will start.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees' status is still uncertain for Sunday's game with the Carolina Panthers, according to ESPN's Ed Werder.
Brees took an ugly hit during Sunday's loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a game where the veteran signal caller was largely ineffective. Subsequently, Brees did not throw during Wednesday's practice, and was limited during Thursday's session. It's not clear if Brees threw during Thursday's outing. Werder added that Brees is 'working hard" to get ready for Sunday, when the Saints desperately need him to play.
Fantasy impact: It would be difficult to envision Brees sitting a divisional game with his team already in an 0-2 hole. It's as close to a must-win game as a team can have this early in the season, but his health can only allow him to do so much.
There hasn't been anything encouraging to indicate that Brees will be effective on Sunday, or if he's even a sure thing to play. His fantasy owners must have a contingency plan in place at this point if they have not addressed it already, perhaps grabbing Andy Dalton or Sam Bradford off of waivers. Brees would be a middling QB2 for Week 3 if he sees the field.
With two wild-eyed McCown brothers set to start in the NFL, it’s a crazy Week 3. Let’s get a jump-start on the injury report. We will update this file Friday evening.
Although the Saints claim Drew Brees (shoulder) made progress every day, he has been ruled out for the Sunday game at Carolina. A charmed life for the Panthers: they’re facing Blake Bortles, Ryan Mallett and Luke McCown in consecutive weeks. Other than RB Mark Ingram, there isn’t a single New Orleans skill player I’d feel good about starting this week (and Ingram is merely slotted as a RB2 because that position is such a mess).
A late-afternoon shocker from Seattle: Marshawn Lynch has a calf injury and is a game-time call for Sunday against Chicago. Fred Jackson's stock takes a sizable jump. We'll keep close tabs on this one.
[Yahoo Daily Fantasy Football: Enter our $1 Million Week 3 contest]
The Bears won’t have Jay Cutler (hamstring) or Alshon Jeffery (hamstring) for the ominous Week 3 trip to Seattle. Jimmy Clausen is the stand-in quarterback.
Eddie Lacy (ankle) did individual drills Friday, as expected. He's far from a sure thing for Monday's game against Kansas City, so have James Starks stashed away, as needed.
Although DeMarco Murray (hamstring) is listed as questionable, nothing is guaranteed for him, given the offensive line in front of him (playing rather poorly) and the nasty draw in front of him (the Jets). If you forced me to play a Philly running back this week, I’d gamble on Ryan Mathews.
The Jets consider Chris Ivory a game-time decision for Sunday. He’s dealing with groin and quad injuries. Bilal Powell is worth a speculative pickup in any league. Eric Decker (knee) is another game-time decision, though context clues suggest he’s closer to the doubtful side. I’d look for a different option right away.
Todd Gurley (knee) and Tre Mason both received first-team reps in the leadup to Sunday’s home date against Pittsburgh. Gurley seems likely to make his NFL debut this weekend, but it’s hard to say how many touches the Rams are ready to give him.
The Falcons weren’t optimistic about Tevin Coleman (ribs) all week, and he was officially scratched Friday. Devonta Freeman becomes the starting tailback at Dallas.
Andre Ellington (knee) is listed as doubtful and remains on a week-to-week watch. He won't play against San Francisco.
The Texans welcomed DeAndre Hopkins (post concussion) back to practice Friday, though he still needs to pass a baseline test before he’s cleared for the home date against Tampa Bay. Arian Foster (groin) remains week-to-week; he's out for Sunday.
Ladarius Green is coming off a pair of concussions and while he’s listed as questionable on the injury report, I wouldn’t risk a thing on him for Sunday. The Chargers are two weeks away from getting Antonio Gates back.
Delanie Walker (wrist) appears ready to return to action. The Titans list him as probable.
Dwayne Allen (ankle) is a no-go for Week 3, which should lead to more opportunity for the thus-far invisible Coby Fleener.
Jason Witten (knee/ankle) is expected to go Sunday, par for the course with him. He’s listed as probable. Remember his rookie year, when he played through a busted jaw?
It is fair to wonder where the New Orleans Saints are headed — with or without Drew Brees.
In the short term, they are headed to Carolina for what already amounts to a must-win game with their hopes pinned on the arm of journeyman backupLuke McCown.
In the long run, the Saints have the look of a team headed for more heartbreak, far from providing Brees with the support that it will take to win another championship.
While Brees, 36, recovers from an ailing rotator cuff that will cause him to miss a game due to injury for the first time in career, the Saints are contending with another type of pain: the reality that they may no longer be a Super Bowl contender.
They are staring 0-3 right between the eyes, and you know what 0-3 means. Goodbye season. Since the current playoff format was established in 1990, just three teams rallied from 0-3 to make the postseason. The 1998 Buffalo Bills the last to circle such a wagon.
So for a Week 3 tilt, this is about as big as it gets for the Saints — who couldn’t even handle Tampa Bay last weekend at the Superdome, which is no longer a house of horrors for visitors.
But this is also a sobering reminder that not even Brees can be an elite quarterback forever.
That’s not to suggest the injury, which apparently occurred as Brees was yanked while in the pocket last Sunday, signals some sudden physical deterioration that spells the beginning of the end.
He’ll be back, although the timetable is unlcear, despite Brees and coach Sean Paytonflirting until Friday with the idea that the quarterback would play against the Panthers.
“He’s been like Superman,” former Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert, now a popular radio personality on WWL, told USA TODAY Sports. “If you’re a Saints fan, you want Drew Brees to come back and kick butt. But the pressure is really on the organization and how to build around him.”
Last season, Brees tied Ben Roethlisberger for the NFL lead with 4,952 passing yards, the Saints had the NFL’s top-ranked offense and they were eighth in scoring. But they still didn’t even finish .500 (7-9). With Brees’ 17 interceptions, the lack of a running game and a leaky defense, the quarterback was the man with too much pressure to bear.
If the first two games were any indication, it will not be a quick fix.
Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis made offseason moves to emphasize toughness, particularly on the O-line, which conceivably will facilitate the type of consistent rushing attack that supported Brees during the 2009 Super Bowl run.
But the Rob Ryan-coordinated defense looks as bad as it did last year. And there’s a big hole in the offense: No Jimmy Graham.
The Saints upgraded the middle of the O-line by obtaining center Max Unger from theSeattle Seahawks, but it was an addition-by-subtraction move that could haunt them for years because it took away Brees’ most lethal red zone weapon in Graham.
Here’s a hunch: It is tougher to find a game-changing matchup problem like Graham than it is to find a savvy technician in the trenches.
The philosophical shift could ultimately work, but it may take some time. And there are no guarantees. Although Brees has said he wants to play into his 40s, the clock is ticking nonetheless.
But fat chance the Saints would do something drastic like part ways with Brees.
Sure, he’d command a draft start-up kit as more than a few teams would love to get their hands on him. Put Brees on a team with a big-time defense like, say, the Jets and Texans, and they are instant contenders.
Yet the Saints would probably take thatlong to reject a trade offer. The San Francisco 49ers dealt Joe Montana near the end of his career. But it’s not like the Saints haveSteve Young waiting in the wings.
And just think of the PR disaster the Saints would incur by parting ways with Brees, whose deep connection to the community was first established in the post-Katrina rebound.
No, even with Brees counting $27.4 million against next year’s cap, it’s still about building a contender around the star quarterback.
Yes, the pressure is indeed on the organization, as Hebert suggests.
More specifically, looking down the road — with all due respect to the potential for a miraculous turnaround this season — the pressure is on the braintrust to hit on their personnel moves.
At the moment, the Saints are carrying an NFL-high $30.8 million in salary cap dead money. At least $16 million in dead money is already on the books for next year. This largely reflects investments that backfired. And a spotty draft record is under fire, too. This is as good a time as any to take stock of this.
Because with or without Brees, the Saints need a few changes for the better.
Other items of interest as Week 3 rolls on …
Who’s hot: Tom Brady. Maybe it’s the Deflategate effect. When the Patriots were slammed for Spygate in 2007, Brady set an NFL record with 50 TD passes and led New England to the first 16-0 regular season in NFL history. Now perhaps he’s similarly fueled to make the rest of the NFL pay for the discomfort of the offseason drama. Brady is on fire, heading into Sunday’s game against Jacksonville. He threw 91 passes in the first two games — the most-ever during that span without a pick — and is the NFL leader in yards (754) and TD passes (7). And just think: Brady might be just warming up for a season of vengeance.
Pressure’s on: Chip Kelly. The big offseason moves are backfiring, and now Kelly’s woeful offense must contend at the Meadowlands against a big-play Jets defense that is the first unit since the 1992 Steelers to force five turnovers in each of its first two games. Kelly is hard-pressed to reverse the trend involving reigning NFL rushing champ DeMarco Murray, who has flopped with 11 rushing yards through two games (0.5 yards per carry). Murray’s been dealing with a hamstring issue this week, but another ailment exists with the manner in which he fits in Kelly’s scheme. Of Murray’s 21 rushes, 18 have come while in the shotgun formation — which was never Murray's ticket to success. Murray excelled in Dallas’ power schemes. With the Eagles, he’s been trapped behind the line. Kelly points to his O-line’s ineffective blocking, but it may take a different approach to get the most out of Murray and ignite what’s been the NFL’s worst rushing attack. It won’t be easy this week with New York’s stout D-line looming as a matchup nightmare.
Rookie watch:Todd Gurley. This looks like the week the NFL’s best running back prospect since Adrian Peterson will finally make his debut for the Rams, completing his comeback from a torn left ACL that cut short his fabulous career at Georgia. Gurley, drafted 10th overall, fully participated in practices this week and split the first-team reps with Tre Mason. Although coach Jeff Fisher says it will be a “game-time decision,” that sounds like gamesmanship. Fisher was pleased with Gurley’s progress in practice, and his 27th-ranked rushing attack needs a punch. St. Louis is averaging 3.7 yards per carry, and the leading rusher is a slot receiver, Tavon Austin (8 rushes, 57 yards). The Rams caught a break, too, as Steelers linebackerRyan Shazier (15 tackles vs. the 49ers) is ruled out with a shoulder injury.
Next man up: Brandon Weeden. Although just-acquired vet Matt Cassel looms as an alternative, Weeden is being banked on to drive Dallas’ offense for several weeks whileTony Romo heals from a broken collarbone. With another year in Scott Linehan’s system, Weeden has to be better than he was in his emergency work last year — which included him being flummoxed by Arizona’s blitzes and suffocating coverage in his only start. This will be a more substantial test, with the Cowboys trying to hang onto first place while missing Romo and Dez Bryant for several weeks. Add the offseason departure of Murray, and it’s quite the makeover. But at least Weeden will have time to throw behind the NFL’s best O-line, and his closeout work at Philadelphia – 7-for-7, with a 42-yard TD pass — was encouraging. Still, the Cowboys are 6-9 over the years without Romo. And with the unbeaten Falcons coming Sunday with an active, overhauled defense under new coach Dan Quinn, Weeden is trying to snap the longest active losing streak, eight games, by an NFL quarterback.
Key matchup: Kam Chancellor vs. Jimmy Clausen. The rash of quarterback injuries has resulted in a perilous proposition for Clausen, filling in as Jay Cutler nurses a hamstring injury for the Chicago Bears. He draws the Seahawks in their home opener with the return of Chancellor, the all-pro safety who ended his holdout. It’s expected that the Seahawks will ease the Legion of Boom’s versatile thumper back into the flow. Too bad Clausen, 1-10 career record as a starter, won’t have such a luxury against a team with an 0-2 chip on its shoulder. This could be an ugly blowout.
Stomach for an upset? Indianapolis at Tennessee. The Colts haven’t lost to the Titans since 2011, but conditions are ripe for the streak to be snapped at seven games when considering the struggles of the Andrew Luck-armed offense. Through two games, Indianapolis has scored an NFL-low 21 points — with no points in the first half. Last season, Indy ranked sixth in the NFL in averaging 28.6 points per game. Luck’s NFL-high six turnovers is an issue, but coach Chuck Pagano knows as well as anyone that it’s not all on the quarterback. Luck has been blitzed on nearly half of his dropbacks, with miserable support from his O-line. Now comes a matchup against a unit inspired by new defensive guru Dick LeBeau, the father of the zone blitz. Sunday’s game also marks Marcus Mariota’s home debut. It’s a trap waiting to happen.
Did you notice? The yellow flags have been flying at a record pace. In two weeks, 504 penalties were accepted — the highest number through two weeks in NFL history. That’s some sloppy football. Last weekend, 13 teams had double-digit penalties — with seven of them pulling out victories. The most egregious example? Dallas was flagged 18 times for 142 yards at Philadelphia and still won.
Stat’s the fact: Browns receiver/returner Travis Benjamin has scored four touchdowns of at least 50 yards, the first player to achieve that feat during the first two weeks of a season since the legendary Jim Brown in 1963. Three of Benjamin’s scores came on long passes from Johnny Manziel. Now let’s see if that pattern continues as Cleveland, hosting Oakland on Sunday, re-inserts Josh McCown into the starting lineup after he cleared concussion protocol.
Fantasy vs. Reality: Marion Motley Crew is off to a 2-0 start in the 20-team Super League, with Rob Gronkowski leading the way. Interestingly, with two flex slots in play, what was originally lamented as a draft-day mishap when desired big-play receivers were taken off the board, now looks like a blessing as MMC carries four tight ends (Gronk, Eric Ebron, Scott Chandler, Gavin Escobar) on a 15-man roster. In reality, the value of tight ends is blowing up with the 36 TDs scored by tight ends across the league the most ever through two weeks.
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