The New Orleans Saints face a difficult task against the Seahawks in Week 3, but it's always a bit more complicated when a team heads up to Seattle.
That, of course, is what the team refers to as its 12th man and a notorious level of crowd noise that Saints QB legend Drew Brees remembers none-too-fondly from his time as a player. That includes in 2013 when the teams met on Monday Night Football with identical 10-1 records.
"That was probably one of the craziest atmospheres I've ever been involved in in an opposing stadium," Brees told Bobby Hebert on WWL Radio this week, "just how loud it was and it was weird weather and I swear they were piping in music, but it was loud anyway."
Hear the full, exclusive interview with Drew Brees in the return of WWL Radio's QB to QB segment, which will air every Wednesday on SportsTalk at 4:30 p.m. Can't see the embed? Click here.
That regular season meeting didn't go too well for the Saints, with the Seahawks winning 34-7. Brees said the Saints were much better prepared for the rematch in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, but the Seahawks won again 23-15 en route to a Super Bowl title. But what are the keys to succeeding in that environment?
"I think you just have to go into it where hey, it’s going to be louder, just assume that you will not be able to communicate verbally at all at the line of scrimmage," Brees said. "Everyone has to be really, really in tune with just making sure that you’re in and out of the huddle with everybody knowing what to do, so you know, a lot of times it was hey, it’s going to be a simpler gameplan, because we need to make sure that we can get in and out of the huddle, up and down with tempo and everybody knowing what to do.”
Whether the Saints and second-year QB Spencer Rattler can operate as smoothly on the road as they did at home over the first two weeks is one of the biggest questions left to answer. The Saints (0-2) and Seahawks (1-1) kick off at 3:05 p.m. (central) on Sunday. Catch all the action on WWL and Audacy.
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Thoughts on Spencer Rattler's development
“I like it a lot and I think he’s a great fit. I think Spencer is a really dynamic player. I mean, I love, like, stature-wise he’s a lot like me from a perspective of you’re not the tallest guy but you’re athletic, you can move. Man, I love the way he throws the ball. He’s made some plays running the football that have been really impressive over the last couple weeks, getting some key first downs, breaking tackles. Some gutsy performances. I know it hasn’t resulted in wins, but we’ve been right there. ... I’ve loved to watch his development, I think he’s a great fit for Kellen Moore’s offense. I really like the stuff that we’re doing offensively. We’ve got some weapons. I was at the game Sunday and I’m just, I’m looking out there at kind of the speed and versatility we have with the guys on the perimeter, and obviously [Alvin] Kamara and Juwan Johnson and so it’s fun to watch.”
On Kellen Moore and building a winning culture
“That was the first question I asked all the guys that I played with, hey, how do you like Kellen, what’s the structure like, and like, to a man, they all love him. They love the way this offseason went, how training camp went. They felt like it was … the proper mix of hey, we’re working hard but we’re taking care of you guys, right, like just the way that they structured a lot of the meeting times and practice times and just the way that they’ve … valued recovery.
"So you talk to guys like Demario Davis, Cam Jordan and others and they love playing for this guy, so that tells me a lot. Those guys, they love the culture that’s being implemented and, you know, again, they’ve been right there, you know, if they could’ve made one or two plays in each of these games and come up with a victory, we’re sitting here 2-0 and having a much different conversation, but bottom line is just about, what 70-80% of these games come down to the final possession, so it’s just about developing that winning culture, that winning belief, whether it’s offense or defense you’ve got to find a way to win and you’ve just to get the first one and break the seal.”
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On the Saints OL
“There’s no doubt that the emphasis in the draft has been around the fronts and especially the offensive line, and I think that’s really, really wise, because I think you look at any great team, it starts with those guys, and that’s something that I know the guys that I’ve been around have always taken great pride in that.
"It all works together, you know, I mean, you’ve got to to have — you’ve got to have guys that are on the same page running the football and understanding the run game, zone schemes or whatever it is and kind of where to make the cuts and how to make the cuts, QB has got to be aware of OK, how can I help these guys out at times, whether it’s protection calls or getting the ball out and that sort of thing. So it is very complementary across the board with QB and running back and how those guys work toigether, but certainly just with what we’ve invested ih the offensive line, look, I know a lot of those guys. I played with [Erik] McCoy, I played with Cesar Ruiz, right, you know, some of these new guys I haven’t, but nonetheless I think that’s just a level of pride that those guys take in that room to be the tonesetters ... they have to be the tonesetters.”