by Jeff Duncan
When Brees was in San Diego, for example, one of Chargers quarterback Doug Flutie’s favorite plays was 678, which featured a dig route (No. 6) by the X receiver or split end, a corner route (No. 7) by the tight end, and a post route (No. 8) by the Z receiver or flanker. When the Saints added the play to their offense, they simply called it “Flutie.”
Payton compared the difference between the West Coast and Coryell systems to the difference between using a Mac operating system and Windows.
“All systems can give you the same type of plays,” Payton told ESPN.com in 2018. “It’s just, ‘How is it communicated? Are we naming the formation? Are we numbering the protection and then naming the route?’ It varies—and all are effective. All of us, though, are searching to streamline that constantly, so you find yourself with words that you’re implementing to be one syllable—you know, ‘wasp’—or those terms that come out of your mouth cleanly and quickly. In your hurry-up or no-huddle [offense], you might just say a word, and then everyone’s understanding, ‘It’s this play.’”
When tagging the plays, the staff tries to employ some logic or familiarity to make them easier to learn. Some are references to players. One of receiver Robert Meachem’s key plays during his time was called “Volunteer,” the nickname of his alma mater, the University of Tennessee. One of the Saints’ key plays to receiver Michael Thomas is tagged Buckeye. Another Saints play is called Shark because it features four routes: a skinny post, a hook, an alley read, and a cross.
“S.H.A.R.C.” Lombardi said. “It’s easy to learn that way. You try to come up with something that makes it learnable or relatable.”
Regardless of the terminology, the basic philosophy of Payton’s offense is to attack the defense on all three levels—deep, intermediate, and short—with all five skill position players on every play. The backs, both halfbacks and fullbacks, are incorporated into the passing attack and are targeted as often as the receivers and tight ends.
Where the Saints offense differs from most West Coast attacks is in their downfield attacking philosophy. Payton calls them “shot plays,” and he tries to set up and call a handful of them a game to keep defenses honest. That’s why former Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Larry Coyer described the Saints offense before Super Bowl XLIV as “a mix between dinkin’ it and lettin’ ’er go.” It’s also why the Saints almost always have a speed receiver like Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem, or Ted Ginn Jr. on the roster.
“Sean has a very aggressive approach,” said Marrone, who was the offensive coordinator on Payton’s original staff. “When people hear West Coast they think horizontal passing, and you really don’t see that in the offense. Sean is always looking to attack you deep.”
Because Brees throws so often to spots in anticipation of where his pass-catchers are going to break, the Saints receivers, backs, and tight ends must be good at reading defenses—especially on option routes, which are a staple of the Saints offense.
More than perhaps any team in the NFL, the Saints obsess over the details of their pass routes. Every factor is considered down to the minutest details: splits; alignment; personnel on each route.
The routes are synchronized to the quarterback’s drop. Three-step drops are married to quick pass routes, five-step drops to intermediate routes, and seven-step drops for deep passes. Ideally, the receiver will be breaking open at the same time the quarterback plants the last step of his drop.
Payton has a phrase for this sophisticated choreography: “Painting the picture for the quarterback.”
“Quarterback is a funny position,” Payton said. “The other 10 guys on offense need to paint the picture for this player, be it the receivers, the protection, the back. And when they’re able to do that, you can see him function very well.”
Few NFL offenses are more reliant on the synchronization of this timing than the Saints. Brees’ hallmark accuracy and innate anticipation skills allow him to fit balls into tighter windows than most quarterbacks who have ever played the game. The Saints’ sophisticated use of receiver splits and alignment creates leverage against opposing coverage schemes.
“This whole offense is about precision, timing, execution,” said Rich Gannon, a former NFL MVP quarterback who now serves as an NFL analyst on CBS.
The Saints do such a good job of exploiting defensive weaknesses with their scheme that they don’t necessarily need a fleet of elite players at the receiver positions. Receivers still need to be athletic enough to get open, but intelligence, discipline, and reliability are valued almost as much as athleticism. That’s why undrafted players like Lance Moore, Willie Snead, and Austin Carr have been able to carve out productive careers in New Orleans.
“It’s all about spacing,” Lombardi said. “There’s this timing to how plays develop for a quarterback. That’s why for so long we had super smart, good route-running receivers, but not necessarily guys that you could just put outside the numbers and say, ‘Go win a 1-on-1 matchup.’”
Because Brees has never had a particularly powerful passing arm, he relies on timing and anticipation to make his throws. The Saints’ entire passing attack is built around this facet of Brees’ game. It’s why every detail of the offense—the splits, alignments, and timing of the routes—is fine-tuned to the smallest detail.
When Brees leaves, Payton will morph the offense and tailor the playbook around the strengths of the next quarterback. If it’s Taysom Hill, for example, the offense will feature more read-option runs and downfield passing.
“Everything we do offensively is predicated by who’s in the building,” Payton said. “You’re looking for certain pieces. When we drafted Reggie [Bush] and had Deuce [McAllister] we had certain packages that took advantage of those guys. It all goes back to, what do these guys do well, and it’s up to us to have them try to do those things.”
This customization is a key ingredient in the Saints’ success. When new receivers come to the Saints, Payton will have them run every route in the route tree with the quarterbacks during practice to identify their strengths and weaknesses. The offensive staff then marries the route concepts to the specific receiver when compiling the game plan for a given game. This is also true of the backs and tight ends.
“Sean will always say, ‘Hey, this route is not for everybody,’” Carmichael said. “He’ll figure out that some guys can run this specific route and then other guys have other routes that they can run. He puts guys in spots that are doing things that they can do well.
“Sean is very specific about personnel. What kind of receiver do we need? Those inside routes that Lance Moore, Marques Colston, and Michael Thomas run, those inside routes aren’t for everybody. The guy has to a feel for or a knack for finding the void or running a route off a certain defender.”
Meachem was Exhibit A in this case study of the Saints’ successful customization. The 6´2˝, 214-pound Meachem came out of the University of Tennessee as a highly coveted speedster, but when the Saints got him on the field they quickly learned he lacked the natural hip flexion to make quick cuts and change directions. When he ran routes that required him to break down and change directions quickly—hooks, comebacks, outs—he was easy for NFL defensive backs to cover. So during his time in New Orleans, the Saints only ran him on routes that didn’t require those kinds of movements: posts, seams, and corners.
Meachem thrived as a complementary piece in the Saints system. During his first four years, he averaged 35 catches and six touchdowns a season and posted a healthy average of 16 yards per catch. In March 2012, the San Diego Chargers signed him to a four-year, $25.5 million contract and made him their No. 1 receiver. But the Chargers lacked the Saints’ vision, and the marriage proved to be a disaster. Meachem failed to land a starting job. He caught only 14 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns and was released a year later.
The Saints re-signed Meachem and plugged him back into their system. He enjoyed two more
productive years with the Saints before retiring after the 2014 season.
“San Diego thought Robert Meachem was terrible, and they threw him out after a year,” Lombardi said. “Well, Robert did some things very, very well. He had speed, and he was strong, and he was excellent at tracking a ball downfield. He was not a great transition guy, breaking down and changing directions. For him, the route always needed to be a 200-yard dash or rounding second to third, where he can kind of make circular cuts. The minute he had to break down he’d get covered. So we just said, let’s never have him do the things that he’s not good at. It’s all about moving the chess pieces around.”
The Saints have stayed true to this maxim over the course of the Payton-Brees era. Over the years, the Saints offense has strayed from its West Coast roots and morphed into its own unique system, but it will always play to the strengths of the players on the roster in any given season.
When the Saints had star running backs McAllister and Bush in 2006, the offense morphed into a more run-based attack. When they won the Super Bowl in 2009, the offensive plan featured the team’s quartet of receivers: Colston, Meachem, Moore, and Devery Henderson. When Jimmy Graham came on board, game plans were highlighted by plays to the tight end. In recent years, the staff added a read-option run package to the playbook to take advantage of quarterback Taysom Hill’s skill set.
“Coach [Payton] and Pete [Carmichael] and Joe Lombardi and the rest of that offensive staff put so much time and attention into every little detail,” Hill said. “What makes those guys special is they never ask anybody on our team to do something that they can’t be successful at.”
When players leave the Saints, the plays are not discarded entirely. The plays remain in the playbook. But the game plan changes year to year, according to the available offensive personnel.
“When you watch the Saints, you’re not seeing necessarily seeing the old-school, West Coast–type offense,” said former Saints offensive assistant Joe Brady, who is now the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers. “You’re seeing more conventional plays. You’re going to see a little bit of everything in terms of a Sean Payton’s vision for an offense molded with what you know Drew and players on that year’s particular team are good at.
“When you’re game-planning and you’re watching Coach Payton, Pete [Carmichael], and Joe [Lombardi] put together these plays, it’s fascinating how they find ways to put their players into positions to be successful,” Brady said. “They know this is what this guy does best, let’s get him on this spot on this play. It sounds simple but it’s really difficult to do at the level they do it at.”
Of course, none of this Xs and Os wizardry works if you don’t have time to execute it. Brees and the receiving corps can be world-beaters at their respective crafts, but if the opposing defensive line is dominating the Saints offensive line, none of Payton’s offensive mastery will matter.
Consequently, the Saints have always fielded strong offensive lines in the Payton-Brees era. Payton learned the importance of having a dominant offensive line from Parcells, and the Saints have invested heavily in this area throughout his tenure. Guard Andrus Peat, tackle Ryan Ramczyzk, and center Cesar Ruiz were first-round draft picks. Center Erik McCoy was a second-round pick. Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armstead was selected in the third round. The Saints traded for center Max Unger in 2015 and made guard Larry Warford a priority signing in the 2017 free agency period.
“[Payton] totally understands the importance of the offensive line, the front office understands it, Mickey [Loomis] understands it,” Strief said. “And I think a huge part of it, too, is you want to make Drew’s career go as long as you can and the single best way to do that is to have him not get abused every week.”
But everything starts with Brees. It all works because of his rare ability to process the information overload, adapt seamlessly to the changing personnel, and execute flawlessly during the heat of battle on game days.
“The system is great because he’s so great; it’s because of Drew,” Lombardi said. “There’s a lot of good stuff we do, but it’s all predicated on him. Just like we try to put this receiver in this spot and that spot. Drew can do this, so let’s do it.”
What started out as a pure West Coast offense has become its own distinct entity in the Payton-Brees era. The offense has morphed and expanded and changed so often over the years and become so customized to Brees’ strengths, it’s become its own unique system.
When Lombardi left New Orleans to become the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions from 2014 to 2015, he tried to take some of the concepts and philosophy with him. But the system he ran there looked and operated nothing like what Brees and Payton ran in New Orleans.
“It’s really Sean Payton’s offense now,” Mark Brunell said. “If you look at his DNA and the influences he’s had and the people that he’s been around, it’s very much West Coast, but it’s really evolved, and Sean has put his own stamp on it. It’s just years of Sean just kind of coming up with his own system and how he wanted to do things, how he wanted to name things.
“And I think also, too, that Sean and the offense benefit from having a quarterback that’s always going to make things right. That’s why I would call it the Sean Payton offense with Drew Brees. That’s what it has become.”
8. The Winchester Mystery House
Late in the 2018 season, Drew Brees wanted to have a little fun. So he asked the offensive coaching staff to dig up a call sheet from Payton’s first season. They were stunned at how much had changed in 13 seasons.
The 2006 play calls were simple, many with just three to five words as opposed to the lengthy, almost comical 10- and 12-word calls Brees uses today. And the call sheet itself looked rudimentary, nothing like the massive document Payton has employed in recent seasons.
“Everything was so basic,” Brees said.
Lombardi joked that the Saints “couldn’t score a point” with the 2006 offense in today’s NFL.
The Saints offense today, Brees said, is “light years” from where it was when he and Payton started. He compared the 2006 offense to elementary school. The offense they run now, he said, “is like freakin’ Calculus 303.” Lombardi took it even further: “We’re at PhD level with this quarterback.”
How did it get here? Many factors played a role in the evolutionary process, but the rare continuity the Saints have enjoyed during the Payton-Brees era is the main reason they have advanced their offense from freshman orientation to graduate level sophistication. The Saints have had the same quarterback with the same head coach and the offensive coordinator in the same offensive system for 15 consecutive years. And in Carmichael, Lombardi, and receivers coach Curtis Johnson, they have three longtime assistants who know every detail of the system and how it’s supposed to work. It’s a unique situation. Even Tom Brady, who quarterbacked the New England Patriots for 20 years, went through three different offensive coordinators during his tenure.
In addition to the collective experience and familiarity, the group shares a high level of football IQ, an almost nerdy passion for Xs-and-Os play design. The continuity and expertise afford the Saints a level of experience and knowledge unmatched by any other offensive staff in the NFL.
“It’s never gotten stale between Sean and Drew and the other coaches on staff,” Lombardi said. “There’s always this drive. ‘Hey, we can’t just keep doing what we’ve done. How do we improve and evolve?’ And so, there’s been this consistency combined with the creativity.”
The evolution of the offense is partly born from necessity, the natural order of competitive sports taking its course. As defenses have evolved across the NFL, the Saints have needed to adapt their scheme to try to stay ahead of the competition.
“There’s a lot of research that goes into it,” Lombardi said. “We spend a lot of time in the offseason studying other teams, looking at our offense and seeing how defenses
have evolved to play us. We’ve run this play and it’s been so successful for us, teams are starting to see this formation and checking to certain defenses to counter-punch. So we then say, ‘Okay, they are going to play this play like that, what’s another play that we can use to attack the defense?’ It’s a constant process.”
This creative mindset has kept the Saints offense ahead of opposing defenses and allowed the team to rank among the top 10 in yards gained for all 14 seasons of the Payton-Brees era. It’s also prevented it from going stale the way it did on Mike Martz in St. Louis and Mike McCarthy in Green Bay.
“They always want to improve, they always want to look to see how they can get better,” Marrone said. “They always want to grow, so it’s never, hey, this is what we do, and we’re going to do it. It’s, hey, this is what we can do and how can we get better? The mindset is always progressing, of wanting more, give me more so I can be more productive. There’s really no limit to where we want to go.”
And where the Saints offense has gone over the course of 14 seasons is to the extreme edge of offensive football. Today, the Saints run one of the most complicated and sophisticated offenses in the NFL. The play calls are among the longest in the NFL, some containing as many as 17 words. The playbook binder is now four-to-five inches thick. And the call sheet Payton takes into a given game looks like a Cheesecake Factory menu with literally hundreds of plays.
“We started with our offense, and it’s just grown and grown,” Carmichael said. “There’s been tweaks and some stuff eliminated and added, but the majority of the stuff we were doing in ‘06 still exists but it’s just gotten bigger because you’re spending time in the offseason seeing what other teams are doing. Oh, man, what a great idea. That fits our personnel. Let’s work on it in the offseason and see how we like it.”