Payton and Brees, стр. 29

“I remember my rookie year, Chase [Daniel] and I would look over at each other and be like, ‘What is he looking at? Why is he rewinding this play again and again?’” Taysom Hill said. “But the longer I’ve been with him, what I’ve realized is he’s watching every single player on the defense. How is this corner going to play in this coverage? How is this linebacker going to play in that coverage? How’s the safety going to play? He tries to break down tendencies so he knows how a defender is going to react on any given play based on what the route is, what the coverage is. And he does that throughout the entire week.”

Over the years, Brees has become fluent in body language. He has a thorough understanding of defensive concepts and coverage responsibilities in a particular scheme. He has developed scouting reports on various defensive coordinators and knows their tendencies and personnel preferences. Consequently, he has become an expert at reading a defender’s pre-snap behavior and body language, especially in rookies or inexperienced players.

“It could be anything,” Brees said. “More often than not, there’s at least one guy on the field who’s telling you what everybody else is doing. Ten guys can put on a great disguise, a great poker face, be winning an Oscar with their disguise. And then there’s one guy who’s maybe a little nervous because he’s disguising something here, but he’s responsible for this area way over there, and he starts cheating that way. When I see that, I’m like, all right, thank you, you just told me what everybody else [on defense] is doing or where the pressure is coming from, or any number of things.”

Any tell or tendency can give Brees an edge and keep him one step ahead of the opponent on game day. In this way, Brees isn’t much different from most experienced quarterbacks. What makes him special, coaches and teammates say, is his ability to take what he finds during film study and apply it during the chaos and heat of battle on game day.

“I’m always looking for opportunities because I know that in any given game there could be that one play that’s the difference maker, whether it’s the result of that play, the momentum that it creates, if it prevents something bad from happening,” Brees said. “That could be the difference in the game. And I want to make sure that we are taking advantage of every one of those opportunities when they come.”

The Saints offensive coaching staff takes the same mindset into its work week, which is even longer and more laborious than the one Brees puts in.

For Payton and his staff, a normal work week in the NFL schedule begins on Monday afternoon for a Sunday game. After players and coaches meet as a team and in positional groups to review the previous game, the attention quickly turns to the next opponent.

Under Payton, game-planning is a collaborative effort. The entire offensive coaching staff is involved, along with Brees and the other quarterbacks. Campbell, offensive line coach Dan Roushar, running backs coach Joel Thomas, and assistant offensive line coach Brendan Nugent are in charge of the running game. Carmichael, Lombardi, Payton, and receivers coach Curtis Johnson collaborate on the passing attack. The staff meets as a group to brainstorm ideas and share initial thoughts, then they scatter to their offices to watch film and individually focus on a different aspect of the plan: empty formations, play-action passes, etc.

“Sean is always popping his head into your office, ‘Hey, I’d like to have this rep this week. Or did you see that?’” Carmichael said. “On Monday there’s a list of plays being created by guys’ thoughts on that week’s game plan.”

Throughout this time, offensive assistants Declan Doyle and D.J. Williams tabulate the run and pass plays onto separate lists for review and consideration on Tuesday morning. Before them, this was one of the tasks Joe Brady performed for the Saints in the 2017 and 2018 seasons. These are the beginning stages of the massive call sheet that Payton will use on game day.

“You get together and there’s crossover between the coaches doing the running game and passing game,” Lombardi said. “Hey, you’re running this run play out of this formation; okay, let’s change this pass formation so there’s play-action. Sean is watching film on his own and he will come in and give us his thoughts, as well.”

After a late night of film study, the entire 11-man offensive coaching staff meets at 9 am Tuesday morning to begin the tedious process of compiling the game plan. Under Payton, these game-plan sessions are collaborative, democratic affairs. All opinions are encouraged and heard, from the coordinators down to the offensive assistants.

Roushar starts the meeting by presenting the plan for the running game to Payton, who jots ideas to himself on a notepad throughout the session. Every play on the list is evaluated and discussed in detail. It’s not unusual for the group to spend an hour on a single play and then determine it won’t make the cut and eighty-six it.

“Some weeks, Sean will see the plan and say, I love it,” Lombardi said. “Some weeks, he’s like, I don’t like any of your ideas and we’re starting from scratch. But regardless, we’re still going through every play on that game plan with a fine-tooth comb. And whether it changes or not, we’re looking at it. Show me the film. Why do you like this? There’s just all of this input that comes in.”

Lombardi, who served as the offensive coordinator in Detroit in 2014 and 2015, and Campbell, who spent six seasons on the Miami Dolphins coaching staff before coming to New Orleans, say Payton’s inclusiveness makes the process stimulating and unique.

“I know when we put together a third-down plan, I might have a few ideas, but I’m gonna ask Pete Carmichael or Joe Lombardi what they think, too,” Payton said. “That