Drew Brees Injury Hasn't Ruined the Saints' Season ... Yet

Drew Brees is concerned concerned about his thumb injury and is seeing a specialist. Who Dat Nation holds its breath — in between complaining about inequitable officiating — and hopes its future Hall of Fame quarterback will get back on the field sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, that is not quite the case, as Brees will officially have to undergo surgery for a torn ligament. On the plus side of things, he is currently expected to miss only six games. and this roster has enough depth and versatility to tread water and make a playoff rush.

As far as backups go, Teddy Bridgewater is not terrible. He was an underwhelming 17-for-30 and 165 yards in relief duty against the Rams. The veteran is, however, a guy you can tailor a gameplan around to put him in maximum game-management situations. Alvin Kamara is one of the best running backs in the league and a hell of a safety valve near the line of scrimmage. Michael Thomas’ ability to get open buoys even the most pedestrian of quarterbacks.

Then there’s the Taysom Hill factor. It feels that when he touches the ball, good things happen. Wouldn’t this be the time to increase his workload under center, perhaps even giving him 10 snaps there? Times aren’t desperate, but they call for some creative thinking.

Through two games, the Saints defense has been quite unimpressive, surrendering 28 and 27 points, though they did post a touchdown that went uncalled yesterday. They’ll have to step up and carry their weight if Brees isn’t walking through that door until late October.

Schedule-wise, things could be worse.

Going 4-3 through this stretch leaves Brees a 5-4 record upon his hypothetical return, with seven games remaining:

• at Tampa Bay
• Carolina
• at Atlanta
• San Francisco
• Indianapolis
• at Tennessee
• at Carolina

No team in the NFC South has solidified itself as the frontrunner. Atlanta was one play away from being 0-2. The Panthers are a mess and Cam Newton is messier. The Buccaneers have Jameis Winston and an 8-8 season. If the Brees news comes down and it’s not the worst-case scenario, there’s no reason for Saints fans to panic.

Yet.