http://espn.go.com/blog/new-orleans...nts-drew-brees-sean-payton-are-playing-to-win
Saints' Drew Brees, Sean Payton are playing to win the games
NEW ORLEANS -- The*New Orleans Saintsare on to something.
And, no, I don't just mean they realize scoring 52 points with seven touchdown passes from*Drew Brees*is a winning formula.
But that is part of it.
For three straight weeks now, we have seen an aggressive, attacking and confident Saints offense that took those traits to an extreme in Sunday's 52-49 victory over the*New York Giants.
"I visualized it," said Brees, who tied an NFL record for touchdown passes in a game and finished with a career-high 511 passing yards. "It wasn't quite this big; I tried to make it realistic. But I guess this is our reality."
The Saints are still only 4-4 after their first three-game win streak since 2013. And they have an awful lot of work left to do to crack the playoffs.
But it took some serious self-confidence for the Saints to pull themselves out of that 1-4 hole, and that confidence has only grown since.
Earlier in the week, Brees was channeling Herm Edwards by stressing, "You play to win the game" as he discussed some of the Saints' aggressive tendencies in recent weeks. Then he came out licking his chops against a Giants pass defense that was ripe for the picking. Brees had 300 yards and four TDs by halftime.
Even more impressive: Brees and the Saints didn't doubt they would keep scoring after New York rattled off 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to take a 49-42 lead.
"This was certainly one of the craziest games that I've ever been a part of. To be on the winning end and to continue this streak of three games here at the midway point of the season, I feel like our best is yet to come. It's out there for us," Brees said. "Every time you win like this, in this manner, where it's gotta all come together at the end and you don't know whose opportunity it's gonna be, but when you get that opportunity, you gotta make it, you can build on that."
Coach Sean Payton also was playing to win the game for the third straight week when he went for it on fourth-and-1 from the Saints' 29-yard line, down by seven, with 5:55 left.
Payton took a similar risk on a fourth-and-goal touchdown two weeks ago in a win over the*Falcons. Last week, he pulled out a fake field goal, and he and Brees decided to throw deep out of their own end zone in a win at*Indianapolis.
Payton may be the dean of aggressive, risk-taking NFC South coaches. But it feels as if he has stolen a page from the playbook that led to Ron Rivera's "Riverboat Ron" nickname when theCarolina Panthers' season was on the brink early in 2013.
Payton said he referenced his mentor Bill Parcells in his message to the Saints after the game. Parcells used to say that sometimes you play in a game that finishes 10-7 or 12-10 and it's the defense's job to hold the opponent to fewer points. Then sometimes there are games like Sunday's.
"That's the way the game was being played. Both offenses were going," Payton said. "And he'd look at that game and say, 'You've gotta score one more.'"
Payton's intensity was still ratcheted up in his postgame news conference, as he couldn't help but harp on an official's defensive holding call early in the fourth quarter. But he credited his team for bouncing back from it and compared it to the way the Saints rallied after a missed field goal attempt to beat the*Cowboys*in overtime earlier this year.
"The thing that was most pleasing was that our guys hung in there and fought back," Payton said.
The Saints' defense doesn't have too much to brag about after allowing Giants QB*Eli Manning*to throw for 350 yards and six touchdowns himself with no interceptions. But they came up with a big three-and-out in the final minute, which led to a huge punt return by Saints rookie*Marcus Murphy, which led to a an even bigger 50-yard, game-winning field goal by kicker*Kai Forbath.
"Really, (there was) no panic. No panic," Brees said.
So does that no-panic vibe apply to the way the Saints have responded to the entire past month?
"I think it says a lot about our team, that we can win in a lot of different ways, and we certainly believe in one another," Brees said. "There's just a lot of trust and confidence in each other and what we're doing. ... You feel this positive vibe that no matter what, we'll find a way."
Earlier in the week, Brees was channeling Herm Edwards by stressing, "You play to win the game" as he discussed some of the Saints' aggressive tendencies in recent weeks. Then he came out licking his chops against a Giants pass defense that was ripe for the picking. Brees had 300 yards and four TDs by halftime.
Even more impressive: Brees and the Saints didn't doubt they would keep scoring after New York rattled off 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to take a 49-42 lead.
"This was certainly one of the craziest games that I've ever been a part of. To be on the winning end and to continue this streak of three games here at the midway point of the season, I feel like our best is yet to come. It's out there for us," Brees said. "Every time you win like this, in this manner, where it's gotta all come together at the end and you don't know whose opportunity it's gonna be, but when you get that opportunity, you gotta make it, you can build on that."
Coach Sean Payton also was playing to win the game for the third straight week when he went for it on fourth-and-1 from the Saints' 29-yard line, down by seven, with 5:55 left.
Payton took a similar risk on a fourth-and-goal touchdown two weeks ago in a win over the*Falcons. Last week, he pulled out a fake field goal, and he and Brees decided to throw deep out of their own end zone in a win at*Indianapolis.
Payton may be the dean of aggressive, risk-taking NFC South coaches. But it feels as if he has stolen a page from the playbook that led to Ron Rivera's "Riverboat Ron" nickname when theCarolina Panthers' season was on the brink early in 2013.
Payton said he referenced his mentor Bill Parcells in his message to the Saints after the game. Parcells used to say that sometimes you play in a game that finishes 10-7 or 12-10 and it's the defense's job to hold the opponent to fewer points. Then sometimes there are games like Sunday's.
"That's the way the game was being played. Both offenses were going," Payton said. "And he'd look at that game and say, 'You've gotta score one more.'"
Payton's intensity was still ratcheted up in his postgame news conference, as he couldn't help but harp on an official's defensive holding call early in the fourth quarter. But he credited his team for bouncing back from it and compared it to the way the Saints rallied after a missed field goal attempt to beat the*Cowboys*in overtime earlier this year.
"The thing that was most pleasing was that our guys hung in there and fought back," Payton said.
The Saints' defense doesn't have too much to brag about after allowing Giants QB*Eli Manning*to throw for 350 yards and six touchdowns himself with no interceptions. But they came up with a big three-and-out in the final minute, which led to a huge punt return by Saints rookie*Marcus Murphy, which led to a an even bigger 50-yard, game-winning field goal by kicker*Kai Forbath.
"Really, (there was) no panic. No panic," Brees said.
So does that no-panic vibe apply to the way the Saints have responded to the entire past month?
"I think it says a lot about our team, that we can win in a lot of different ways, and we certainly believe in one another," Brees said. "There's just a lot of trust and confidence in each other and what we're doing. ... You feel this positive vibe that no matter what, we'll find a way."
Saints' Drew Brees, Sean Payton are playing to win the games
NEW ORLEANS -- The*New Orleans Saintsare on to something.
And, no, I don't just mean they realize scoring 52 points with seven touchdown passes from*Drew Brees*is a winning formula.
But that is part of it.
For three straight weeks now, we have seen an aggressive, attacking and confident Saints offense that took those traits to an extreme in Sunday's 52-49 victory over the*New York Giants.
"I visualized it," said Brees, who tied an NFL record for touchdown passes in a game and finished with a career-high 511 passing yards. "It wasn't quite this big; I tried to make it realistic. But I guess this is our reality."
The Saints are still only 4-4 after their first three-game win streak since 2013. And they have an awful lot of work left to do to crack the playoffs.
But it took some serious self-confidence for the Saints to pull themselves out of that 1-4 hole, and that confidence has only grown since.
Earlier in the week, Brees was channeling Herm Edwards by stressing, "You play to win the game" as he discussed some of the Saints' aggressive tendencies in recent weeks. Then he came out licking his chops against a Giants pass defense that was ripe for the picking. Brees had 300 yards and four TDs by halftime.
Even more impressive: Brees and the Saints didn't doubt they would keep scoring after New York rattled off 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to take a 49-42 lead.
"This was certainly one of the craziest games that I've ever been a part of. To be on the winning end and to continue this streak of three games here at the midway point of the season, I feel like our best is yet to come. It's out there for us," Brees said. "Every time you win like this, in this manner, where it's gotta all come together at the end and you don't know whose opportunity it's gonna be, but when you get that opportunity, you gotta make it, you can build on that."
Coach Sean Payton also was playing to win the game for the third straight week when he went for it on fourth-and-1 from the Saints' 29-yard line, down by seven, with 5:55 left.
Payton took a similar risk on a fourth-and-goal touchdown two weeks ago in a win over the*Falcons. Last week, he pulled out a fake field goal, and he and Brees decided to throw deep out of their own end zone in a win at*Indianapolis.
Payton may be the dean of aggressive, risk-taking NFC South coaches. But it feels as if he has stolen a page from the playbook that led to Ron Rivera's "Riverboat Ron" nickname when theCarolina Panthers' season was on the brink early in 2013.
Payton said he referenced his mentor Bill Parcells in his message to the Saints after the game. Parcells used to say that sometimes you play in a game that finishes 10-7 or 12-10 and it's the defense's job to hold the opponent to fewer points. Then sometimes there are games like Sunday's.
"That's the way the game was being played. Both offenses were going," Payton said. "And he'd look at that game and say, 'You've gotta score one more.'"
Payton's intensity was still ratcheted up in his postgame news conference, as he couldn't help but harp on an official's defensive holding call early in the fourth quarter. But he credited his team for bouncing back from it and compared it to the way the Saints rallied after a missed field goal attempt to beat the*Cowboys*in overtime earlier this year.
"The thing that was most pleasing was that our guys hung in there and fought back," Payton said.
The Saints' defense doesn't have too much to brag about after allowing Giants QB*Eli Manning*to throw for 350 yards and six touchdowns himself with no interceptions. But they came up with a big three-and-out in the final minute, which led to a huge punt return by Saints rookie*Marcus Murphy, which led to a an even bigger 50-yard, game-winning field goal by kicker*Kai Forbath.
"Really, (there was) no panic. No panic," Brees said.
So does that no-panic vibe apply to the way the Saints have responded to the entire past month?
"I think it says a lot about our team, that we can win in a lot of different ways, and we certainly believe in one another," Brees said. "There's just a lot of trust and confidence in each other and what we're doing. ... You feel this positive vibe that no matter what, we'll find a way."
Earlier in the week, Brees was channeling Herm Edwards by stressing, "You play to win the game" as he discussed some of the Saints' aggressive tendencies in recent weeks. Then he came out licking his chops against a Giants pass defense that was ripe for the picking. Brees had 300 yards and four TDs by halftime.
Even more impressive: Brees and the Saints didn't doubt they would keep scoring after New York rattled off 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to take a 49-42 lead.
"This was certainly one of the craziest games that I've ever been a part of. To be on the winning end and to continue this streak of three games here at the midway point of the season, I feel like our best is yet to come. It's out there for us," Brees said. "Every time you win like this, in this manner, where it's gotta all come together at the end and you don't know whose opportunity it's gonna be, but when you get that opportunity, you gotta make it, you can build on that."
Coach Sean Payton also was playing to win the game for the third straight week when he went for it on fourth-and-1 from the Saints' 29-yard line, down by seven, with 5:55 left.
Payton took a similar risk on a fourth-and-goal touchdown two weeks ago in a win over the*Falcons. Last week, he pulled out a fake field goal, and he and Brees decided to throw deep out of their own end zone in a win at*Indianapolis.
Payton may be the dean of aggressive, risk-taking NFC South coaches. But it feels as if he has stolen a page from the playbook that led to Ron Rivera's "Riverboat Ron" nickname when theCarolina Panthers' season was on the brink early in 2013.
Payton said he referenced his mentor Bill Parcells in his message to the Saints after the game. Parcells used to say that sometimes you play in a game that finishes 10-7 or 12-10 and it's the defense's job to hold the opponent to fewer points. Then sometimes there are games like Sunday's.
"That's the way the game was being played. Both offenses were going," Payton said. "And he'd look at that game and say, 'You've gotta score one more.'"
Payton's intensity was still ratcheted up in his postgame news conference, as he couldn't help but harp on an official's defensive holding call early in the fourth quarter. But he credited his team for bouncing back from it and compared it to the way the Saints rallied after a missed field goal attempt to beat the*Cowboys*in overtime earlier this year.
"The thing that was most pleasing was that our guys hung in there and fought back," Payton said.
The Saints' defense doesn't have too much to brag about after allowing Giants QB*Eli Manning*to throw for 350 yards and six touchdowns himself with no interceptions. But they came up with a big three-and-out in the final minute, which led to a huge punt return by Saints rookie*Marcus Murphy, which led to a an even bigger 50-yard, game-winning field goal by kicker*Kai Forbath.
"Really, (there was) no panic. No panic," Brees said.
So does that no-panic vibe apply to the way the Saints have responded to the entire past month?
"I think it says a lot about our team, that we can win in a lot of different ways, and we certainly believe in one another," Brees said. "There's just a lot of trust and confidence in each other and what we're doing. ... You feel this positive vibe that no matter what, we'll find a way."
