Atlanta Falcons will not offer thanks to Drew Brees

FLOWERING BRANCH –

Strange things happened when Matt Ryan and Drew Brees met for the first time on a football field. Chevis Jackson racked up 95 yards in the Georgia Dome to sew a Falcons victory and break the four-game winning streak of 9 as their quarterback.

When Ryan and Brees compete on Thursday night at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, the Falcons will want more.

This can be hope against hope. This guy is crazy, as if he had reinvented the watch position.

Brees currently completes 76.9% of his passes, far exceeding the NFL's 72.0% record in one season with 25 touchdowns and one interception. A.

It was different this first time.

Brees played against the Falcons 26 times, including 20 with the Falcons quarterback (Ryan) and in the first run of November 9, 2008 at the Georgia Dome, he was unusually common.

He had already beaten the Falcons (4-6) four times in a row after joining the Saints (9-1), but that day he only completed 53.5% of his passes (31 on 58), his lowest rate of his career against the Falcons. , with two touchdowns and three interceptions.

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Jackson was placed in front of one of his last throws and when the old half-corner ran on almost the length of the football pitch while he remained 1:17 to play for give the Falcons a lead of 34-13, the result became formal. A typical of Brees, he continued to fight and threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Lance Moore as time passed.

He did not stop. Since that match, Brees is 13-7 against the Falcons.

Overall, he is 17-9 against the Falcons, including a loss to the Chargers, a 12-8 record when Ryan also plays (he missed a game against New Orleans in 2009 with a foot injury), his passes for 8,053 yards, 49 touchdowns and 26 interceptions in 26 games against the Birds.

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Ryan threw the ball less than half of Brees' frequency in his first game, but he was much more efficient by completing 16 of 23 passes for 248 yards and touchdowns over Roddy White and Jerious Norwood without an interception.

Nevertheless, he marvels in front of his great rival NFC South, who plays in his 18th season in the NFL.

"He played a high level for a long time and this season is no exception. He's a great competitor and he's just relentless, "Ryan said. "He goes there week after week and achieves excellent performances. This is proof for him, because he has been doing it for as long and as consistently as he is, regardless of the year of his career in the league. "

Brees, 39, will participate in many MVP conversations, which would be something new. Although he has made 11 professional tournaments and set many NFL records one season and career, he has never won this award.

It may well this season, as New Orleans receiver-catcher Michael Thomas has become the ultimate target and forwards Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara have helped to tie the Saints' offense as never before.

They scored 40 points or more in six games and averaged 48 over the last three games.

Brees is not as deep as most years, but Ingram's return from suspension to the fifth party has greatly diversified the attack on New Orleans. It's a crazy balance, and the guy pressing the keys was like Oz behind the curtain, while the Saints won nine straight wins.

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"You talk about the constancy of quarters in this league. You always hear me talking about Drew first. Drew is with Tom Brady in our day and in constant, "said Falcons defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel. "… it's a different challenge and he's playing well. He is the maestro, and the maestro does a great job under pressure. "

It's not like Ryan did not play well against the Saints.

The NFL's most valuable player in 2016 completed 65.1% of his passes against New Orleans for 5,977 yards, 37 touchdowns and only 12 interceptions.

When they met earlier this season, the Falcons did not lose 43-37 against the Saints in overtime because of Ryan. He scored 26 out of 35 passes for 374 yards, five career touchdowns (three for rookie receiver Calvin Ridley) and not a single interception.

Brees, however, orchestrated a late-minute drive to force extra time when he scored on a 7-yard scrum with 1:15 to play in the settlement. In one way or another, the maestro did like a magician and walked away from the so – called forwards Robert Alford and Brian Poole on this subject.

Then, during the first round of overtime, he ended the game with a stealthy jump of one meter. These are the only two touchdowns he scored in 26 games against the Falcons.

Oh, and before that, he completed 39 of his 49 passes for 396 yards and three scores.

Brees feels better than ever.

"It's a big statement for a guy who has done it very well for a long time," said Falcons coach Dan Quinn. "… It was as difficult as you imagined to challenge men. But the precision, the decision to go where to go with the ball, I always felt going against him, it was the decision of where to go …

"But to say that he's doing it better than ever, he's been doing it pretty well for a long time, so I'd say he's certainly doing it as well as he's always done."

The things that make Brees so good are his sense of pocket and his sense of timing to get rid of the ball and its accuracy.

The Falcons have sacked him 30 times in 26 games, while the Saints have sacked Ryan 36 times in 20 games. He was sacked nine times in 10 games in New Orleans.

This is beneficial to him, as when the Falcons had fired him five times on December 21, 2014 and had beaten New Orleans 30-14. Brees, however, is getting rid of the ball as quickly as ever and he may be playing behind the best offensive line of his career.

"Like a lot of quarterbacks, No. 1, you have to find ways to pressure, and the pressure does not mean, you know, like five or six guys and a blitz. But you have to find ways for the quarterback where he gets hit or he has to move, "Quinn said.

"… I would say more than anything, just find ways to put pressure on him, which is not easy to do. It's hard with regard to their way of playing, and his determination he has seen most looks and pressures over the years, like a lot of good quarters.

The Saints have fired Ryan five times in a game three times, and New Orleans has won all of them: 17-13 on November 21, 2013, 31-21 on October 15, 2015 and 23-13 on December 24 in the # 39, last year. .

Ryan had good days against the Saints, including the first game this season, but that does not mean the Falcons have won.

On November 11, 2012, he raised 411 yards in New Orleans, but the Saints won 31-27.

He spent 448 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions on Sept. 7, 2014 at the Georgia Dome, but the Saints won 37-34.

Ryan and Brees probably will not talk about the game after the game, but they have been talking to each other from time to time, mainly at the Pro Bowls.

They do not really want to help each other and it's not like Ryan is struggling. He finished 71.1% of his passes in a career high, he is about to score for a career record of 5,289 yards and he has launched only four interceptions.

But they can get closer from time to time.

"I got to know Drew over the years. I do not think any of us disclose secrets because we fight each other twice a year in the same division, "Ryan said. "More than anything … being together at the Pro Bowls, it's just a consistency, how he takes care of him during the off season.

"How he takes care of his body and how he prepares to go from year to year, more things like that."