Drew Brees' Week 3 Preseason Performance Is Great Sign for Saints' Playoff Hopes

Drew Brees will always be the key component of the New Orleans Saints.

Throughout the 2012 off-season, it was certainly a concerning time for Saints fans everywhere and rightfully so, because Brees was coming off a record-setting performance and without him the playoffs were a long-shot.

Even once Brees finally came aboard, though, we still had to see the man in action before feeling good about the Big Easy's chances this fall. From the Hall of Fame game and Week 1 we didn't see much.

Fortunately, Week 2 came around and Brees gave a sense of relief in going 10-of-13 for 133 yards and one score against a tough Jacksonville Jaguars defense. Week 3 against the Houston Texans, however, was the deal-breaker.

Was Brees fully back? Or did he still need time to get re-acclimated?

Well, his 179 yards on 17 completions with two scores an no picks put to rest any rust that may have existed. Ahead, we break down Brees' best preseason performance and decipher what it means heading into the 2012 regular season.

Spreading the Defense "Like Butta"

The way in which Brees diced up the Texans' defense last week, and what he's done to any opponent since joining the Saints, relates to what the Coffee Talk skit with Mike Myers from Saturday Night Live catch phrase "like butta" was referring to.

Brees does this arguably better than any quarterback in the game today.

Against Houston, he completed 68 percent of his throws and each completion averaged out to 10.5 yards (7.16 per attempt). In addition, Brees was not sacked, didn't fumble and connected with eight different players through only one half of snaps.

For as much time as Brees missed this offseason and facing another stellar defense—Jaguars are a lot better than given credit—this was quite a show. He didn't force any pass, constantly took what the defense gave him and put the targets in a favorable position to make plays.

Unsurprisingly, 24 of the Saints 34 points in this contest came in the first half.

Schedule Lacks Elite Defenses

Other than the San Francisco 49ers, the Saints don't face any teams that present top-notch defenses.

Yes, opponents like their division rivals, the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Green Bay Packers, and Dallas Cowboys all made significant improvements. However, these defenses still must prove the ability to slow down any explosive offense.

The New York Giants are the other defense capable on San Francisco's level, simply because Big Blue provides a virtually unstoppable pass rush and play-making secondary. Nonetheless, no one comes close to San Francisco and much evidence came from the NFC Divisional matchup.

Sure it was high-scoring, but the 'Niners got to Brees and forced five turnovers all together. Now we can certainly expect every opponent to blitz the Saints and cause as much disruption as possible.

Disguising blitzes with rolled-down safeties and sinking a defensive end into coverage while attacking up the middle will occur. Fortunately for New Orleans, Brees recognizes and anticipates so well that he can audible to anything pre-snap.

The NFC South had no defense in 2011 that could stop the pass or provide a consistent pass rush, so the divisional games will be a quicker learning curve. The same goes for Green Bay and San Francisco since Brees faced both last season as well.

Passing Threat Helps the Ground Game

Last season the Saints attempted 662 passes, which was the second-most in the league to the Detroit Lions (666). To no avail, defenses failed to slow the onslaught brought forth by Brees and he made New Orleans the No. 1 passing offense.

Now to counter any explosive offense, the running game will see solid success. What the Saints proved is how effective a running game can be despite the pass-first philosophy.

Interestingly enough, New Orleans only threw the ball 60 percent of the time as it did attempt 431 rushes. Ranking No. 20 in rushing attempts, the Saints managed to average 4.9 yards per carry (ranked No. 4) and 133 per game (ranked No. 6).

Clearly, Brees' presence under center would either back off a defense or force ill-advised blitzes which opened up a quick passing lane. The efficient running game was simply a byproduct of Brees' production and it's an obvious choice when the defense refuses to stack the box or press the outside.

Against Houston last week, the Saints accumulated 151 rushing yards on 31 attempts. Although it's just a preseason game, New Orleans ironically averaged 4.8 yards per carry (near 2011 average) and threw the ball almost 59 percent of the time (60-40 pass-run in 2011).

The indication of Brees at the helm is that of a maestro conducting an orchestra.

There's balance, efficiency and explosion on an at-will basis.

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