The Seattle Seahawks will face the New Orleans Saints without Drew Brees on Sunday, after the future Hall of Famer underwent surgery on his thumb – a procedure which will cost him roughly six weeks.
Saints coach Sean Payton wouldn’t commit to a replacement, indicating that either Teddy Bridgewater or Taysom Hill could be behind center against Seattle.
While having to gameplan for either player is a bit of a challenge for Seattle, it’s still a step down from having to plan around Brees, one of the smartest, most gifted quarterbacks in the league.
However, just because the Saints will be without Brees, doesn’t mean they aren’t still a dangerous offensive team.
There are two big reasons for that: running back Alvin Kamara and wide receiver Michael Thomas.
Kamara has made the Pro Bowl in his first two NFL seasons, putting together over 1,500 all-purpose yards each year as a ball-carrier and a pass-catcher.
“They’ve got one of the most exciting players in the NFL in Alvin Kamara,” coach Pete Carroll said on Wednesday. “He’s an incredible football player and they use him. Sean knows how to do all of the tricks and figure out all the spots to put him in to make him a really dangerous weapon.”
“He always seems to be well-balanced,” added linebacker Bobby Wagner. “We just have to make sure that we pay attention to him and know where he’s at at all times.”
Kamara will require a lot of attention from the Seahawks defense, but they can’t ignore Thomas – an elite wide receiver who had a league-leading 125 receptions last season, and already leads the league with 20 through two games in 2019.
“He’s just a fantastic player – he’s got all the instincts, all the awareness, all the catches, great range,” Carroll said. “They just totally trust the guy, they just absolutely believe in him, because he’s the real deal. He’s a great player.”
Thomas was named a Pro Bowler in 2017 and 2018 – joining Kamara – and has racked up over 1,100 receiving yards in each of his first three seasons in the NFL.
“Anytime you play a receiver of his caliber, you know he’s going to make his plays,” defensive coordinator Ken Norton, Jr. added. “He’s a guy that you really have to understand his talents. He’s pretty good, so it’s going to be important for us to do a lot of film studying and do the best we can to contain him.”
Whether it’s Bridgewater or Hill – or some combination of both – playing quarterback for the Saints on Sunday, you can bet the offense will truck along just fine as long as Kamara and Thomas are in the fold.
The Seahawks will do their best to quiet them as they look to move to 3-0 on the season.
