The New Orleans Saints have a difficult challenge ahead as they ship up to Buffalo for a showdown with reigning MVP Josh Allen and the Bills.
So how would an all-time great QB go about limiting Allen if he was the Saints? That's what Drew Brees broke down with Bobby Hebert in their QB to QB segment on WWL Radio this week.
"Any time you're going up against a quarterback like Josh Allen and, I mean, just put him in the elite category, the same approach you would take with any elite quarterback, is you’re trying to figure out a way for them to get two less possessions a game," Brees said.
Hear the full interview with Drew Brees in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
But what does that mean exactly? Well, as Brees explains, if a team is expecting 10 possession, limit them to eight. You can do that in a variety of ways, but the simplest is by running the ball and controlling the clock. The Saints could also be aggressive on special teams, though that was a part of the game they struggled in during a loss to the Seahawks that featured a 95-yard punt return touchdown, a blocked punt deep in Saints territory and a 60-yard kickoff return.
NFL teams typically look at a formula where every 100 return yards equates to 7 points. The Seahawks piled up 226. Mark that under the can't happen if you want to give yourself a chance in Week 4 column.
"Those little things add up and that’s the type of game this is," Brees continued. "On the road, hostile environment, a team that’s a Super Bowl favorite, an elite quarterback, all right, let’s control the game, control the clock, just like, be methodical, limit their possessions, try to frustrate them, like, that’s all the stuff that’s gonna result in a win here.”
Related
The Saints (0-3) face off with the Bills (3-0) at noon central up in Orchard Park. Catch all the action on WWL and Audacy.
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MORE FROM BREES
Reaction to blowout loss vs Seahawks
“It’s a tough ... pill to swallow, because obviously you certainly didn’t expect an outcome like that, especially since it just felt like it was just getting away from us so quickly. Look, obviously they made some plays, they made some special teams plays, just some stuff that, you know, obviously that’s a tough place to play and I’d say that’s a team that has high expectations on the other side, that’s really building a lot and I think is going to be a real contender in their division. Regardless, when you’re looking at us, whenever — especially starting a season like this, it’s a new staff, kind of a new era, new system, new quarterback, all of these things, I think you just have to find your identity, like, what is our identity going to be on offense, what is our identity going to be on defense, like, what are we really hanging our hat on and let’s go out and really establish that, you know, and I’m just not sure if we’ve established that yet, but that’s priority No. 1.”
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Thoughts on non-aggressive offense through first 3 weeks
“I think the offense has the ability to be as aggressive as it wants to be, and a lot of that has to do with how the quarterback continues to progress and mature and the pieces around him and feeling good about, you know, how aggressive you want to be and then when you need to be aggressive. I think there’s a lot of variables in that, it’s not just the system, it’s not just the quarterback, but look, again, I think Rattler — Rattler has shown that he can do a lot of things. He’s a really dynamic player, man, I’m still impressed with what he does outside the pocket, and I think he’s a very natural thrower of the ball. I really like our scheme and I know it hasn’t resulted in a win yet, but I feel like it’s the momentum is, like, it’s coming — it’s coming, and I think we all have to trust that. It’s frustrating as you sit here at 0-3, especially coming off the performance in Seattle, but you know, we always say never as bad, never as good. The wins are never as good as you thought when you start looking at the film, the losses are never as bad, you start to say how, man, we did this well, we did that well, there’s a lot of things to build on. I think that’s how we’re looking at this game.”
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What would being inducted into the HOF in 2026 mean to you?
“Just to be considered is an incredible honor and my biggest goal is I hope Jahri Evans gets in. That’s my biggest goal right now, because there’s not a guy that’s more deserving and that meant more to our team and our program during his run, so no, it’s — I had a chance to go up and watch Antonio Gates go in this year, you know, he was a teammate of mine with the Chargers and just being up there, I mean, I’ve been up there a few times now, I went up there for LaDainian Tomlinson as well, who was another former teammate, and when you’re up there, man, it’s really, really special and you just feel like if that opportunity ever comes you’re part of a very elite and unique club.”