32-year old Drew Brees led the Saints to a 13-3 record in 2011 and a return trip to the playoffs.  He also threw for 5,476 yards last year, smashing Dan Marino’s all-time record of 5,084 yards passing in a season, which stood for 27 years!  Brees played in 16 games (all starts) for the Saints this year and he completed 468 of 657 passes (71.2%) for 5,476 yards with 46 TD passes and 14 INTs (110.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 21 times for 86 yards (4.1 ypc) with 1 TD run this year.  Brees has now played in 154 games (153 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 3,613 of 5,479 passes (65.9%) for 40,742 yards with 281 TD passes and 146 INTs (94.0 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 283 times for 565 yards (2.0 ypc) with 8 TD runs so far in his career.  Brees is now 92-61 (60.1%) as a starting QB during the regular season in his NFL career.

25-year old Chase Daniel continues to hold the clipboard and the ball on field goal and extra points.  Daniel played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Saints this year and he has completed 4 of 5 passes (80%) for 29 yards without a TD pass or INT (90.8 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 3 times for -3 yards (-1.0 ypc) so far this year.  Daniel has now played in 29 games (0 starts) so far in is NFL career and he has completed 6 of 8 passes (75%) for 45 yards without a TD pass or INT (88.0 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 5 times for 13 yards (2.6 ypc) so far in his NFL career.

UPDATE:  (2/5/2012) – Drew Brees has been named the 2011 NFL Offensive Player of the Year.

32-year old QB Drew Brees continues to roll for the New Orleans Saints.  He has played in 13 games for the Saints so far this year and he has completed 385 of 543 passes (70.9%) for 4,368 yards with 32 TD passes and 11 INTs (105.9 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 17 times for 68 yards (4.0 ypc) with 1 TD run so far this year.  The Saints have turned into a great team from the day Drew Brees put on their uniform as they are 59-33 (64.1%) during the regular season in games started by him at QB.  Brees has now played in 92 games (all starts) in his career for the Saints and he has completed 2,405 of 3,556 passes (67.6%) for 27,286 yards with 187 TD passes and 90 INTs (97.4 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 144 times for 181 yards (1.3 ypc) with 4 TD runs so far in his career for the Saints.

25-year old TE Jimmy Graham is having a huge breakout season for the Saints this year.  He has played in 12 games for the Saints so far this year and he has caught 75 passes for 1,046 yards (13.9 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  Graham has had four games this year already in which he has had 100+ receiving yards.  Saints’ QBs have completed 75 of 104 passes (72.1%) thrown in Graham’s direction so far this year, which is pretty amazing.  Graham has now played in 27 games in his first two years with the Saints and he has caught 106 passes for 1,402 yards (13.2 avg) with 13 TD grabs.

28-year old RB Darren Sproles might only be 5’6″, but he plays big.  Sproles has played in 11 games for the Saints this year and he has carried the ball 59 times for 402 yards (6.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he has caught 62 passes for 476 yards (7.7 avg) with 3 TD grabs so far this year.  Sproles has also returned 26 kickoffs for 697 yards (26.8 avg) and 18 punts for 173 yards (9.6 avg) with 1 TD return.  So Sproles has touched the ball 165 times for 1,748 yards (10.6 yards per touch).  Sproles is averaging 158.9 all-purpose yards for the Saints so far this year.  They hope he keeps up the good work!

Drew Brees is turning in another outstanding season for the New Orleans Saints.  Brees has played in 10 games for the Saints so far this year and he has completed 299 of 422 passes (70.9%) for 3,326 yards with 23 TD passes and 11 INTs (101.3 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 14 times for 54 yards (3.9 ypc) so far this year.  The Saints are averaging 31.3 points and 319.4 yards passing per game so far this year and Brees is the big reason for that.  He is spreading the ball around so well that teams can’t afford to double team any of his receivers without paying for it.

30-year old DE Will Smith is still playing at a high level for the Saints.  He has played in 8 games for the Saints last year and he has 20 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 forced fumble and 2 passes defensed.  Smith has now played in 117 games in his first 8 years with the Saints and he has 386 tackles, 59.5 sacks, 25 tackles for a loss, 19 forced fumbles, 6 fumble recoveries, 23 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  The Saints need Smith to keep up the good work the rest of the season.

47-year old head coach Sean Payton was injured pretty badly a few weeks ago, but he has been doing a solid job from the press box in leading his team.  The Saints are 6-3 on the season right now, including a very shiny 4-0 record at home so far.  Payton has led the Saints to a 55-34 (61.8%) record in his first six years during the regular season.  He is one of the best coaches in the NFL right now and that’s not going to change any time soon.

RB Darren Sproles has really helped the special teams of the Saints this year.  He has returned 19 kickoffs for 497 yards (26.2 avg) and he has also returned 15 punts for 140 yards (9.3 avg) with 1 TD return.  FB Jed Collins has returned 1 kickoff for 7 yards for the Saints this year.  The Saints have returned 20 kickoffs for 504 yards (25.2 avg) and 15 punts for 140 yards (9.3 avg) with 1 TD return so far this year.  The Saints need Sproles to keep up the good work.

The Saints have an outstanding set of WRs for Drew Brees to throw the ball to.  It all starts with Marques Colston, who has caught 26 passes for 374 yards (14.4 avg) with 3 TD grabs so far this year despite missing a couple of games due to injury.  Devery Henderson is the speed demon of this bunch.  He has caught 15 passes for 297 yards (19.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs so far this year.  Robert Meachem has also been excellent so far this year for the Saints as he has caught 25 passes for 278 yards (11.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Lance Moore has pitched in with 32 grabs for 264 yards (11.5 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year.  The Saints have a nice quartet of WRs to team with the RBs and TEs, to give them a very explosive passing game.

The Saints have to be pleased with the overall production that they are getting at RB so far this year.  The Saints are averaging 107.8 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry so far this year.  Rookie Mark Ingram has been leading the way as far as touches in the running game this year.  He has played in all six games for the Saints so far this year and he has carried the ball 71 times for 238 yards (3.4 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  Ingram has also caught 7 passes for 23 yards (3.3 avg) so far this year.  Darren Sproles has been awesome for the Saints so far this year.  He has played in all six games for the Saints in which he has carried the ball 27 times for 201 yards (7.4 ypc) and he has caught 39 passes for 310 yards (7.9 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He is by far the most explosive back that the Saints have.  Pierre Thomas has played in all six games for the Saints this year and he has carried the ball 41 times for 165 yards (4.0 ypc).  He has also caught 15 passes for 138 yards (9.2 avg) with 1 TD grab this year.  I don’t see any reason for the Saints to change what they are doing now at RB, as all three guys have been effective.