Drew Brees: Patriots are ‘game-plan machines’

Drew Brees knows plenty about the Super Bowl LI opponents.

The New Orleans Saints’ quarterback faces the Atlanta Falcons twice per year in the NFC South, so they always command a large chunk of his attention. But Brees also has spent time studying a lot of videotape of the New England Patriots.

‘Atlanta has done as good a job as anybody of playing complementary football’

“I’d say this, Atlanta has done as good a job as anybody of playing complementary football between offense and defense,” Brees told Alex Marvez during SiriusXM NFL Radio’s Pro Bowl coverage. “Obviously, their offense is very explosive. They scored a lot of points. They also take really good care of the football, so they don’t put their defense in many tough situations.

“And then the defense gets out there and they’re revved up and they’ve got some great pass-rushers that can pin their ears back and go get you. And the corners are playing really well. They’ve got some young players on defense, too. They’re all playing beyond their years.”

‘You know the Patriots are going to have a plan for Julio Jones’

The Patriots? Brees expects them to stay true to their well-prepared form.

“They are game-plan machines,” the quarterback said. “You know they’re going to have a plan for Julio Jones. And when their offense is on the field, I think it’s going to be that New England offense that just takes positive play after positive play and convert first downs and go down and score points.

“I watched a lot of their tape this year and you’re watching their game and it’s maybe nothing spectacular. Tom Brady is being Tom Brady, completion after completion, throwing a screen here and maybe a down-the-field shot there, but at the end of the day, you look up at the scoreboard and it’s 35-13 and they just won the game. You say, ‘Well, how did they do that again?’

“But that’s their formula. They do the best of it. That’s why they are who they are.”