Dein erstes Forum » and twos.The ploy isnt foolproof. It ma

METAIRIE, La. -- Bad memories of Saints quarterback Drew Brees completing 32 of 39 passes against his team on a Super Bowl Sunday back in 2010 have come flooding back to Detroit Lions coach Jim Caldwell this week.More than half a decade has passed since Brees and the Saints beat Caldwells Indianapolis Colts in the NFLs championship game. Brees had just turned 31. He was in his prime then -- and still is.Hes still obviously performing great, Caldwell said Wednesday, as the Lions prepared to visit New Orleans on Sunday.He spreads it around quite a bit, you know, and hes accurate as a day is long. You can tell by his numbers hes difficult to manage, difficult to handle.Brees play might not be generating as much attention as it would if the Saints (5-6) werent a game below .500 and struggling to stay relevant in the NFC playoff picture.But the fact is he might very well break his 2011 completion rate record of 71.2 percent, and could very well wind up leading the NFL in yards and touchdowns passing while hes at it.After completing nearly 80 percent of his passes in New Orleans past two games, Brees has a season-long completion rate of 71.5 percent.Last Sunday, Brees completed nearly 78 percent of his passes (28 of 36) for 310 yards and four touchdowns against the Los Angeles Rams, who entered the game with the sixth-ranked pass defense in the league.That marked the fourth time this season Brees has completed 77.1 percent or more of his throws in a game this season.Accuracy is part of it, but thats nothing new. Brees has been known to orchestrate accuracy competitions with fellow Saints QBs throughout training camp.In one appearance on 60 Minutes he stood on the 20-yard line and fired a ball off the crossbar. In a Sports Science episode, he hit a target with accuracy similar to that of an archer.Apparently, hes still got it.I feel like Ive become smarter, wiser through experience, Brees said. I work hard at my craft. The stats dont always tell the story.Theres certainly areas where Im continuing to try to improve. But I think, all in all, I feel good. I feel good about my preparation, about my process, and thats all I really focus on.Meanwhile, New Orleans has run the ball better lately, which forces defenses to respect play-action fakes.Also, Brees trio of young receivers has been blossoming, and running back Mark Ingram, who learned a thing or two about catching passes from his ex-NFL receiver father, has been a reliable option on screens and check-downs.When a quarterbacks completion rate is as high as Brees is, there are a lot of things that go into it,Lions safety Glover Quin said. For one, if youre running the ball well, then youre probably going to have a lot of wide-open throws.You can mix in play-action, mix in quick screens, you can mix in quick (outs) because (defenders) are so concentrated on stopping the run, Quin said.You can mix in a max-protect and take a shot down the field. Then if the guys are catching the ball, the completion percentage is probably going to be high.The offensive line has played pretty well, too, giving up 18 sacks, which is tied for sixth fewest in the NFL.We have a generational player at quarterback. Like, you hope you get the one in five -- thats the level hes at. For some reason he doesnt get that type of recognition, Saints right tackle Zach Strief said.You see lists and hes not in the top five. I mean, its just like preposterous, right? If you can give that guy time, I dont care who your receivers are and who the defense is, he will get it to some open guys.Brees leads the NFL with 3,587 yards passing and 30 TDs, putting him on pace for 5,217 yards and about 44 TDs, which would be marginally below career highs he set in both categories in 2011.A key to his completion rate this season, Brees said, has come down to decision-making, such making multiple reads and often opting for the easiest throw. The veteran QB recalled an expression he hear from Marty Schottenheimer, his former coach in San Diego, who told him, You never go broke taking a profit.At the end of the day, even if a completion gets you 2 or 3 yards, its better than taking that sack or having to throw the ball away, Brees said. Its the difference between third-and-5 and third-and-7 or third-and-8. Thats a big difference.Completions are good. Positive plays are good, Brees added. Plus I think theres a flow and a rhythm (for the offense) that goes into that as well.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---AP Sports Writer Larry Lage in Allen Park, Michigan, contributed to this report. Chicago Cubs Jerseys . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. Brandon Morrow Jersey . There was no hesitation from the 40th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, B.C., who admitted that he cut back on his training sessions over the last few days to conserve energy as the long ATP season finishes next week at the Paris Masters. http://www.thecubsteamshop.com/Cubs-Jose-Quintana-Kids-Jersey/ . The deal is pending a physical, assistant general manager Bobby Evans said. Traded from Seattle to Baltimore on Aug. 30, Morse also can play first base and right field to give manager Bruce Bochy some flexibility in writing his lineup. Kris Bryant Cubs Jersey . Ryan Garbutt had a goal and two assists as Dallas snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Ernie Banks Jersey . Newcastle dominated in the early stages but City weathered the storm and then raised its game in extra time. Negredo broke the deadlock from close range after a simple move in the 99th minute before Dzeko took the ball round goalkeeper Tim Krul to seal the victory in the 105th. Batsmen get punked in the subcontinent. Big time. England, for example, spent the best part of two days watching India pile on the runs but when it was their turn, the ball began keeping low, it started turning. It caused problems even when it did nothing and went straight.Indias total of 455 seemed like a garish example of excess. Picture a solid gold super car. So why get stingy with the close catchers? Ajinkya Rahane at slip was a constant. So was a short leg. Occasionally there was a gully or a leg slip. The rest were protecting singles and boundaries.Consider the five wickets that India took in Visakhapatnam. Alastair Cook was conned by Mohammed Shami. The proud seam of a brand new SG ball was pointing towards the left of the keeper. It should have moved away. It did not. It came in off the pitch and broke the off stump in two. Englands captain would be within his rights to find the nearest coaching manual and yell, you filthy little liar. Haseeb Hameed was run-out. Ben Duckett wrapped himself up with a neat little bow for R Ashwin. Joe Root played a bad shot. And Moeen Ali was done in by less spin than he expected.All but one of those bear the mark of batsmen making mistakes and they happened because India did not give away easy runs. Only 14 balls out of Ashwins 13 overs were scored off. If thats put down to his experience and ranking as the Worlds No. 1 bowler, what explains Jayant Yadav allowing England to profit from only seven of his balls in seven overs? He is a Test debutant.Tactics, perhaps? The men India had saving singles were alert, and well placed. The bowlers were accurate enough to make the job a bit easier. And without the rotation of strike, the pressure on a batsman can seem starker than it is. Even to someone batting past a half-century, as it turned out.Roots down-the-track mow into the leg side that ended up caught off a leading edge looked quite awful. But India allowed him only nine runs in 33 balls since his mix-up with Hameed led England off course. There were other close calls as well, including an offbreak that breached his bat-pad gap. India sensed something. They brought mid-on up, and had Umesh Yadav, a goodd athlete and a fine catcher, about 20 yards from the mid-off boundary.dddddddddddd Upon seeing the miscue, he backtracked smoothly to his left and did the needful.Ashwin, the bowler, punched the air and let out a roar. He doesnt usually celebrate like that - unless it was the culmination of a plan. Its a very very different pitch to what we saw in Rajkot. Its not one of those easy-paced wickets, he said at the post-match press conference. He [Root] jabbed at one, one went through the gate. and he nicked one, almost, to short leg. So we were expecting a shot like that, and thats why we put the mid-on.It wasnt the first time Root had been starved out either. Misbah-ul-Haq had done him the same way at Lords earlier this summer.Still, where was the harm to have a few more men catching? At least, it would show the batsman who was on top. Yes, but what if Virat Kohli thought it might show something else as well? Gaps, which could be exploited to release the pressure he wanted built. Runs which would mean his spinners cannot get their rhythm right. And a momentum shift with England having a considerably long batting line-up. So, instead, he forced the opposition to take sizeable risks for singles and twos.The ploy isnt foolproof. It may not have yielded such dramatic results either had a few of the visiting batsmen shown a bit more patience. But there was a certain merit to it. Close-in fielders are most useful when the pitch is turning alarmingly and affording extra bounce. In such cases, a captain cant quite decide where inside and outside edges would go so he has to cover his bases. Things havent quite reached that stage yet in Visakhapatnam. Ashwin was beating right-handers with drift more often than he did with turn. Besides, isnt cricket notorious for fielders being put into places after edges fly through them? Not much of that happened here. Natural variation and the ball keeping low were the major problems and by tying a batsman down at one end, India made them play on Englands mind and seem considerably larger. ' ' '