NEW ORLEANS — It’s a matter of simple math for the New Orleans Saints — they have more quality pass catchers than opponents have quality pass defenders.
Even against the best pass defense in the NFL.

Drew Brees put on a passing clinic Sunday against the NFL’s top-rated pass defense. He was 17-for-19 for 247 yards and three touchdowns before the game was 30 minutes old to propel the Saints to a 48-27 rout of the New York Giants in a battle of NFC unbeatens.
The Saints (5-0) scored the most points against the Giants since the Washington Redskins slapped 50 on them in September 1999. Seven Saints scored touchdowns in dropping the Giants to 5-1.
Before Sunday, New York opponents had completed a league-low 52.4 percent of their passes for a league-low 104.8 yards per game.
Brees had that by the end of the first quarter when he was 11-of-13 passes for 123 yards. Brees became the first quarterback to throw for 300 yards against the Giants in 11 games. His 339 yards were the most since Kurt Warner dinged them for 351 yards last November.
“We always want to have a balanced offense,” Brees said, “but as we watched the ⁄game‹ tapes we felt there’d be shots to be had and opportunities to take advantage of.”
For the first time this season, the Saints had four healthy wide receivers. Lance Moore led the Saints in receiving in 2008, scoring 10 touchdowns. Marques Colston led the team in receiving in 2007, scoring 11 touchdowns. Devery Henderson was a second-round pick in 2004, and Robert Meachem was a first-rounder in 2007.
When the Saints went to their four-receiver package, it was a mismatch. When they went to their three-receiver package, it was a mismatch.
“We came into the game knowing they were banged up in the secondary,” Colston said, “and their safeties haven’t been able to cover some of the top wide receivers. So we knew we could exploit some weaknesses.”
New York’s best cornerback, Aaron Ross, hasn’t played this season because of a hamstring injury, and the Giants have been forced to bring along young corners Kevin Dockery and Terrell Thomas in his absence. They could survive against a JaMarcus Russell, Matt Cassel and Jason Campbell but not against a quarterback the caliber of Brees and receivers the caliber of Colston, Moore and Co.
Brees completed passes to all four of his wideouts before the game was 18 minutes old. During one stretch in the first half, he completed 15 passes in a row. Colston finished with eight receptions for 166 yards, Moore with six receptions for 78 yards and Meachem two for 70. All three scored touchdowns.
Veteran Pro Bowl tight end Jeremy Shockey also caught a touchdown pass, and Mike Bell and Reggie Bush rushed for scores as the Saints bullied the NFL’s No. 1 defense for 28 first downs and 493 yards.
“When you get into that type of a rhythm,” Brees said, “you feel you can call anything and it will work.”
Especially when Brees called plays that put the ball in the air. He wasn’t sacked, didn’t turn the ball over and finished the day with a passer efficiency rating of 156.8. If you can’t cover the Saints, you can’t beat them.