Drew Brees was rusty for a little bit. No question about it. He needed some time to dial in, get comfortable with his arm and what he was doing, and see the defense. He said so himself, and his first two passes of the game reflected this. He didn’t spot an underneath receiver on his first attempt and almost threw an interception trying to go deeper down the sideline, and the second pass he threw was a little behind Tre’Quan Smith, even if it was still a catchable pass. On the next one, Frank Clark read the swing pass out of the backfield, and Brees had to adjust his throwing motion. Then came the interception, a risky throw, but the pocket closed in on him, and the wide receiver didn’t run a very crisp route. That’s where the rust ended. There were issues after this point, to be sure, but Brees looked like Brees from here on out. If you look at it like a scout and just evaluate the traits, there were things about his performance that were better than we’ve seen from him in a long time. The layoff was good to him, and there’s reason to believe he could be more effective than he was earlier this season once everything gets dialed in.
Saints film room: How much of Drew Brees’ first start back suffered from rust? How much was the result of other factors?
