WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, WV – After seeing Peyton Manning drop off a cliff after having of the greatest if not the best season ever by any QB in NFL history, Saints fans and Patriots fans are hoping they aren’t the next.
There has been talk amongst those fans and NFL analysts of future Hall of Famer and New Orleans Saints QB Drew Bree’s poor season in 2015 and whether the slide has started. What Brees did in practice Saturday won’t help that conversation.
Brees threw a whopping four interceptions during just once practice. “It was a rough day,” he said after his four-pick day. “Probably one of the rougher days I’ve had in a long time, maybe ever — in a training camp practice especially.”
? INT! ?
Ken Crawley (@RIPGADGETT) continues his strong play #SaintsCamp pic.twitter.com/2wf0gG016G
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) August 6, 2016
Of course veteran and Super Bowl champion head coach Sean Payton didn’t write home about the performance. Payton flipped it to a positive, noting he was glad to see how the defense played Saturday.
According to NOLA.com, rookie cornerback Ken Crawley had the first interception while covering wide receiver Willie Snead in a 7-on-7 drill, but the next three were in team drills. One came off a pass tipped by defensive end Cameron Jordan at the line, giving linebacker James Laurinaitis a chance to make the catch. Crawley’s second was on a play where he simply fought harder for position than wide receiver Brandon Coleman.
“There’s one play where we have a bust in the route; the receiver doesn’t come back to the ball,” Payton said. “We had two or three things wrong with the pattern. But, we’ll get on the tape and get those things cleaned up.”
The final interception was the worst as it came at the end of a 2-minute drill with the offense already in field-goal range. Brees threw to the corner of the end zone looking for wide receiver Michael Thomas, and safety Erik Harris snagged the ball.
“Some of them (were) bad luck,” Brees said. “Some of them anticipating where the ball should be and for whatever reason it gets tipped, or just not quite the execution that we hope for.
“But the one at the end shouldn’t happen. That’s a critical mistake. You need to avoid those. So, those are frustrating, but I’m glad I’m getting them all out of the way right now.”
Brees will surely examine the turnovers closely before Sunday’s practice and then try to be better in the team’s final session before heading to Foxborough, Mass. on Monday for joint practices with the New England Patriots.
“Listen, I’m able to turn the page very quickly,” he said.
Here was the full press conference Brees had with the media following the bad practice:
