This is getting crazy.  The New England Patriots will play their seventh undefeated opponent of the season when they visit the 10-0 New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football.  The Patriots started the season playing the 0-0 Buffalo Bills, 1-0 New York Jets, 2-0 Atlanta Falcons, 3-0 Baltimore Ravens, and 4-0 Denver Broncos.  Of course, they played the 8-0 Indianapolis Colts in Week 10 on Sunday Night Football.  The 1SKILLZ Gameplan will be released later in the week, but for now I wanted to focus on comparing the Saints’ #1 scoring offense this season with that of the 2007 New England Patriots.  That Patriots team scored an NFL record 589 points while going 16-0 in the regular season before losing Super Bowl XLII to the New York Giants 17-14.

This year’s Saints are averaging 36.9 points a game and winning games by an NFL high average of 16.5 points per game.  Compare those numbers to the 2007 Patriots: 36.8 points a game, winning games by an NFL high average of 19.7 points per game.  The Patriots probably had the more prolific passing offense in 2007.  QB Tom Brady, then 30 years old, threw an NFL record 50 TDs, 23 of them to WR Randy Moss (also an NFL record).  Brady averaged 300.4 yards passing a game, and only threw eight INTs.  He completed 68.9% of his passes on his way to a 117.2 passer rating.  Moss, also 30 in 2007, was in his first season in New England.  He provided Brady with a deep threat, averaging 15.2 yards on his 98 receptions.  WR Wes Welker, also in his first season in New England in 2007, was perhaps an even bigger surprise.  Welker caught 112 for 1,175 yards (10.2 yards per reception) and eight TDs.  Another WR in his first year with the Patriots in 2007, Donte Stallworth, provided a second deep threat.  Stallworth caught 46 passes for 697 yards (15.2 yards per reception) and three TDs.  The only WR that wasn’t new in 2007 was Jabar Gaffney, who joined the Patriots in 2006.  As the 4th WR, Gaffney was fourth on the team in receiving yards, catching 36 balls for 449 yards (12.9 yards) and five TDs.  Brady also had RB Kevin Faulk (47 receptions, 1 TD) and TE Ben Watson (36 receptions, 6 TDs) at his disposal.  Brady averaged 8.3 yards per attempt, and the Patriots had the top passing offense in 2007.  Brady’s offensive line (LT Matt Light, LG Logan Mankins, C Dan Koppen, RGs Stephen Neal and Russ Hochstein, and RT Nick Kaczur) only allowed 21 sacks the entire season despite Brady passing 578 times.

This year after ten games, Saints QB Drew Brees has 22 TDs and nine INTs.  Brees has found nine different targets on his TD passes, led by WRs Marques Colston and Robert Meachem (six each).  Brees (who, like Brady in 2007, is 30 years old) is averaging 274.6 yards per game and is completing 68.1% of his passes, giving him a 105.8 passer rating.  His top target is Colston, who like Moss is a huge WR at 6-4, 225 pounds.  He has 44 receptions and despite lacking blazing speed is averaging 15.6 yards per reception.  WR Devery Henderson DOES have blazing speed (like former Saints draft pick Stallworth), and has 31 receptions for 521 yards (16.8 yards a catch).  Former Giants TE Jeremy Shockey seems rejuvenated this season, contributing 39 receptions so far this season, and former Patriots TE David Thomas has added 16 receptions.  RBs Reggie Bush (29 receptions) and Pierre Thomas (17 receptions) both contribute in the Saints passing game.  Bush in particular is used much like the Patriots use Kevin Faulk in the passing game.  The wild card in the Saints passing attack has been Meachem.  He has 333 receiving yards and six TDs on only 16 catches, a staggering 20.8 yards per reception and a TD every 2.67 receptions.  The Saints also have 2008 leading receiver Lance Moore on the roster.  Brees is averaging 8.6 yards per attempt as the Saints have the 6th best passing offense in the league at this point of the 2009 NFL season.  And despite not having Pro Bowl LT Jamaal Brown this season, the Saints offensive line (LTs Jermon Bushrod and Zach Strief, LG Carl Nicks, C Jonathan Goodwin, RG Jahri Evans, and RT Jon Stinchcomb) have allowed only 13 sacks of Brees through 10 games.

The significant difference this season for the Saints compared to other seasons and the 2007 Patriots is the presence of a balancing running game.  The 2009 Saints are averaging 32.4 rushing attempts a game, compared to the 2007 Patriots’ 28.2 rushing attempts per game.  While the 2007 Patriots mostly relied on RB Laurence Maroney (185 attempts, 835 yards, 4.5 yards per carry, 6 TDs), the Saints use Thomas, Mike Bell, and Bush.  Bush is averaging a career-high 5 yards a carry on 55 attempts, but his 277 rushing yards is only third behind Thomas (584 yards, 5.6 yards per carry, 5 TDs) and Bell (514 yards, 4.5 yards per carry, 4 TDs).  While the 2007 Patriots averaged 4.1 yards per carry and were 13th in the league in rushing, the 2009 Saints average 4.8 yards per carry and are currently 5th in the league in rushing.

So who has the better offense?  The 2007 Patriots surely had the star power and the early blowouts: Of the 2007 Patriots’ first ten games, nine of them were won by at least 17 points.  The only exception was the 24-20 comeback victory at Indianapolis.  But I believe the 2009 Saints offense is more diverse right now.  They have withstood injuries at every position offensively except QB, yet have the depth to compensate.  Stopping Brees is made difficult by the fact that he not only spreads the ball to so many receivers, he also has three backs to hand the ball off to.  The Saints do turn the ball over more than the 2007 Patriots did (Patriots had fewest turnovers in 2007 with 15, while the 2009 Saints already have 19 turnovers), but the Saints have been able to make up for it by forcing a league-high 29 turnovers after ten games.  The 2007 Patriots may have had more talent, but the 2009 Saints appear to be more battle-tested.  We’ll see if the 2009 Patriots have anything to say about that.

-1SKILLZ