Drew Brees doesn’t have many days like this. In fact, the New Orleans Saints quarterback isn’t sure if he has ever had a day like this in a training camp practice.
“It was a rough day. Probably one of the rougher days I’ve had in a long time. Maybe ever, in a training camp practice especially,” said Brees, who threw three interceptions during full-team drills and at least one more in 7-on-7 drills.
According to those who observed the practice, Brees got picked by undrafted rookie Ken Crawley in both team drills and 7-on-7 (Crawley also got Brees during team drills earlier in the week). Brees then had a pass tipped by defensive end Cameron Jordan that was caught by linebacker James Laurinaitis for a likely touchdown return. And then he threw an interception to first-year safety Erik Harris late in a two-minute drill, which left Brees the most frustrated of all.
🚨 INT! 🚨
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) August 6, 2016
Ken Crawley (@RIPGADGETT) continues his strong play #SaintsCamp pic.twitter.com/2wf0gG016G
Play of the Day: @camjordan94 with the swat 👋🏿 and @JLaurinaitis55 catches it - takes it home! #SaintsCamp https://t.co/BT3oP8qJVX
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) August 6, 2016
Erik Harris picks off Drew Brees https://t.co/BQPXgvm90P
— Amos Morale III (@Amos_MoraleIII) August 6, 2016
“Some of 'em bad luck, some of 'em anticipating where the ball should be and for whatever reason it gets tipped or not quite the execution we expected,” Brees said. “The one at the end [to Harris] 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 has now thrown seven interceptions in full-team drills during the first nine days of Saints practice. That’s a far cry from last year, when Brees didn’t throw his first pick until well into training camp.
However, it shouldn’t be great cause for concern. Although the interception total is unusually high, Brees and the defense always take turns winning and losing every summer. And Brees has still looked plenty good throughout much of this camp, helping to generate buzz for the young receiving trio of Brandin Cooks, Willie Snead and Michael Thomas.
“Oh yeah, I’m able to turn the page very quickly,” Brees insisted. “The part that bothers me is if there’s an error made that you just say, ‘That shouldn’t happen. I’ve played enough football, I know the situation. That mistake can’t happen.’ Those are the ones that bother me.”
Saints coach Sean Payton pointed out that at least one of the interceptions was due to a busted route and a receiver not coming back to the ball.
"The thing that was encouraging was we got some takeaways, and it's the one thing we've really struggled with," Payton said of his defense. "But typically there's an ebb and flow, and I'm sure those guys on offense will want to come out there tomorrow and right that and have a good practice."
When asked if the offense deserves blame or the defense deserves credit, Brees said, “Probably both.”
“We can certainly be doing better just detailing some of these fundamentals, technique. So much of the offensive passing game is timing, anticipation and trust,” Brees said. “So we didn’t have our best day today, and the defense played pretty well.”
Likewise, it’s hard to get overly excited over the Saints’ defensive performance so early in camp. But it can’t help but boost the confidence of such a maligned unit, which shattered NFL records for most touchdown passes allowed in a season (45) and highest opponents’ quarterback rating (116.1) last season.
Cornerbacks Delvin Breaux and P.J. Williams and rookie safety Vonn Bell had the three other interceptions earlier in camp.
“I think they’ve improved,” Brees said of the defense. “I really like [defensive coordinator] Dennis Allen’s scheme … I see those guys playing with confidence, I see them coming together, I see them believing in the scheme, and that’s first and foremost.
“I like the leadership on that side of the ball, too. Guys are jelling together, guys are pushing one another.”
The Saints’ defense will get to test itself against another premier opponent next week with two days of joint practices and a preseason game against the New England Patriots.
