What we learned:

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Saints’ Ben Watson and Drew Brees turn back hands of time in 43-37 overtime win vs. Falcons On a day that saw the Saints defense meet their weekly quota for yards given up (more on that later) Cheap Alex Anzalone Jersey , it was the contributions of two old timers turning back the hands of time that stood out. Throughout the game, there were moments where Drew Brees and Benjamin Watson looked like Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon 4, as both took their lumps while proving they could still hang athletically with the young guns in their 18th and 15th NFL seasons respectively.The ageless Watson showing a spring in his step reminiscent of well...last year, as he hauled in 5 receptions for 71 yards on 6 targets, one of which included a magnificent diving 27-yard catch that highlighted Brees’ ball placement (Hello Rev) and trust in the former New England Patriots tight end. This coming only five days after head coach Sean Payton called out that group saying, “We have to do better at the tight end position, that’s for sure.”Is this better, Sean?Watson and playoff Josh (Hill) would go on to combine for 82 yards on the day. Would you believe that’s the 6th most production the Saints have gotten from the TE position in the last 32 games or two years?Crazy!Drew Brees, on the other hand, hopped inside a time machine and went back to 2011. The Saints clearly relied on his arm to carry them this game, as he attempted a whopping 49 passes for 396 yards and 3 TDs. He connected with the usual suspects, as Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas combined for a ridiculous 30 targets, resulting in 25 receptions for 253 yards and a long of 35.Midway through the 2nd quarter, Brees would go on to torch history in his own special way by casually breaking Brett Favre’s completion record with a throw to none other than Thomas. Oddly enough, it was his work with his legs that would generate the biggest excitement for Saints fans.The goal line leap to win the game was vintage Brees and highlighted his still exceptional vertical, but the 7-yard TD run where he smashed the ‘B’ button to nimbly pirouette off two Falcons defenders before diving in for the score, possibly goes down as one of the sweetest Drew Brees moments in his decade long tenure as a Saint.Only Steve Erwin (RIP) could deliver “a beauty” well enough to capture the essence of this play!Conversely, his counterpart Matt Ryan didn’t fare so well and became one of only 2 QBs in NFL History to ever throw for 350+ yards and 5 TDs, but still not win the game. The other is Eli Manning in 2015 — and both lost to Drew Brees.It’s even more fitting to know that Ben Watson was on that team in 2015 too.Miscellaneous NotesRushing three men in the red zone isn’t yielding great results. That playcall/wrinkle from DC Dennis Allen worked best when the Saints had Nick Fairley over the nose to get quick pressure.Now, it only gives QBs up to 5 seconds to find a receiver with 8 guys in coverage.Unacceptable!The Saints second series was all about Alvin Kamara proving he’s human.Up 7, he first failed to field the punt and lost yardage on the play, and then followed that up with not being on the same page with Brees resulting in an incomplete pass on 2nd down.Saints would punt two plays later, and the Falcons would go on to tie 7-7 — but they had momentum and could have gone up 10-0 or better.Marcus Davenport saved P.J. Williams from another loss on a double move, as he was beat on the play, but Matt Ryan had no time to release the ball as he found himself in the grasp of the rookie for the first sack of his NFL careerOffensive line had an off-game penalty wise, but get a pass as the crowd noise likely had a lot to do with it.Wil Lutz was inches away from going full Zane Gonzalez (never go full Gonzalez) when his first field goal attempt bounced off the post before creeping its way back inside the uprights.Cris Carter had his gaffes, but provided amazing insight. Him chiding the ref for allowing the WR/DB to get behind him as he got caught peeking in the backfield was funny, even it did occur on a play the Saints could have been flagged on.The Saints at one point were confident enough to allow Alex Okafor to rush from LDE and Davenport to rush from RDE to give Cam Jordan a few snaps off.4th Quarter Jordan with 1st Q effort is a nightmare for opposing offensive lineman.These Saints-Falcons rivalry games are quickly becoming known for having a pivotal special teams play take place.This time it was a blocked punt by Okafor, as he joins Steve Gleason and Michael Mauti in statue making moments.Michael Thomas is continuing a dominant start to his 2018 campaign by shattering a record set by Julio Jones, in his house nonetheless http://www.thesaintsfootballauthentic.com/tyeler-davison-jersey-authentic , with 35 catches through 3 games, most ever in NFL History.P.J. Williams and Ken Crawley were beat mercilessly during the game yet still found ways not to be liabilities late.Solid mental toughness gentlemen.Cameron Meredith‘s first catch as a Saints was a huge one that resulted in a TDDefense played the run marvelously, and this aided them in controlling the clock but for the third week in a row played 60+ snaps.Those numbers need to come down...brutal!I’m running out of Nails to bite as the Saints insist on causing heart palpitations for their entire fan base through three weeks of the NFL season.The Saints defense gave up 5 TDs and to Ryan and continued to look bad in divisional play.Yet, I said this game would probably come down to whichever defense could make a key play and when the Saints needed a stop they were able to force the punt that preceded overtimeFalcons offense would never touch the ball again.Saints OTA Observations: Michael Thomas, Nate Stupar highlight Thursday’s action Thursday’s OTA session was moved indoors due to the heat and potential for rain in the area, and gave us some pretty nice moments.Attendance: Not spotted were Tre’Quan Smith, Brandon Coleman, Mark Ingram, Kurt Coleman, Daniel Lasco, Alex Okafor, and Andrus Peat. Trey Hendrickson and Cameron Jordan were present, but not participating.New Face: Sharrod Neasman, a defensive back, was present wearing No. 38 - per The Advocate’s Joel Erickson, Mykkele Thompson was waived to make room for him.Lineup Notes: John Fullington handled first-team offensive line reps with Andrus Peat not in.Jonathan Williams once again was the No. 2 running back, with Taysom Hill also being the primary backup to Drew Brees. Hill was also handling holder duties on special teams.For base defense, Al-Quadin Muhammad and Marcus Davenport were the defensive ends on the first-team defense, with David Onyemata and Tyeler Davison anchoring the middle. Your starting linebackers were Demario Davis, Manti Te’o, and Hau’oli Kikaha, with Ken Crawley and Marshon Lattimore at corner and Vonn Bell, Marcus Williams at safety. During 7-on-7 drills, Alex Anzalone saw primary reps alongside Demario Davis, with Patrick Robinson handling slot duties.Highlights: There were a few good moments on Thursday, with Michael Thomas stealing the show. He and Marshon Lattimore had some very interesting clashes on the day, with Thomas primarily coming out on top. Patrick Robinson made a very good pass breakup on Thomas during early solo drills. Tommylee Lewis also stood out on the day, hauling in the majority of his passes. He had a real nice catch on a deep route from a Brees after executing a double move against De’Vante Harris.Taysom Hill connected with Boston Scott on a well-executed wheel route. Scott left Manti Te’o behind with ease with the safety being late in coming over.Nathan Stupar had the lone interception on the day against J.T. Barrett. Stupar made a great individual effort to leap and haul in the pick on a ball that probably shouldn’t have been thrown in the first place.One of the other things I observed was some of the Marcus Davenport rushes. There was an instance where Davenport used a great swim move against Terron Armstead, but Armstead recovered and was able to push Davenport out of the way. Armstead wasn’t having any of Davenport today.
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