The 2015 NFL season might only be two games old, but there is reason to be concerned in New Orleans. The Saints are 0-2 while having just lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where rookie Jameis Winston clearly outplayed Drew Brees, breaking the home win streak the team was holding on to. To make matters worse, Brees appeared to get injured while taking a hard hit and head coach Sean Payton is uncertain what his status is going forward.
According to Brees, he was merely hindered after taking a big hit in the loss. According to Payton via Nola.com, it was simply too early to tell what was wrong with the quarterback's shoulder and he was just see how he looks in practice before making call. The coach noted that Brees struggled with some throws following the issue and that he did not expect this to be a serious problem moving forward.
"Certainly we'll do the best thing for him and for where he's at. But I think it's early to say," Payton said, via Nola.com. "Certainly when he takes a shot like he took yesterday -- and I didn't see it until watching the film today -- you want to make sure he's healthy and he's upright. He's been throwing it outstanding. Then he takes that shot and obviously that can affect you, once you get hit like that. So we've got to be better in protection. Too many times he was getting hurried."
That is likely good news for Saints fans considering if Brees were seriously injured, they would be in trouble moving forward. The team is lacking the big plays they had become known for as questions continue to surround the offense. It is hard to ignore the trades made in the offseason that sent both Jimmy Graham and Kenny Stills packing. However, the players currently on the roster are not doing enough to make up for the loss.
According to ESPN's Mike Triplett, the Saints were averaging a mere 2.5 yards per play. The explosiveness once presence is simply not around anymore as Brandin Cooks, Brandon Coleman and Marques Colston do their best to make up for the absence of other players. That is clearly not enough for the Saints while Mark Ingram and CJ Spiller are not the dynamic rushing duo the Saints wanted. Brees remains optimistic about the situation as he stresses the year is early and he has faith.
"When I look back to the times when, man, we were at our best, you felt like we were calling a lot of those, a lot of them were working," Brees said, via ESPN.com. "If they didn't, we knew we were gonna come back to them. What gives you the confidence to call those and to get those kind of rolling? I think it's just the tempo and the momentum that's created offensively. If you're able to kind of move the ball and get a defense on their heels."