The New Orleans Saints looked like a juggernaut in their 38-3 dismantling of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past weekend. Quarterback Drew Brees threw four touchdown passes, two of which were caught by wide receivers.
Emmanuel Sanders, who spent the second half of last season with San Francisco, was among the receivers to haul in a score. Brees has a lot of weapons at his disposal, including Michael Thomas. It's a challenge that 49ers cornerback Jason Verrett welcomes.
"My time that I had with the Chargers, I always was the guy that followed the No. 1 receivers," Verrett told reporters on Friday. "I'm always looking for a challenge. This week is definitely going to be a good challenge for me and Emmanuel (Moseley) going against Emmanuel Sanders, Michael Thomas. They have a few other receivers too that's been contributing and playing well.
"But yeah, I look forward to the best guy each and every week."
Verrett is having a surprisingly impressive season. I say "surprising" because most felt that anything the 49ers got out of the oft-injured cornerback would be a bonus. He has proven to not only be one of the team's best defensive backs, but one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL.
According to Pro Football Focus, Verrett has four games this season of allowing fewer than 10 receiving yards. The analytics site grades him as the fourth-best cornerback in the league.
And he feels healthier than ever.
"I'm definitely feeling that I'm back where I want to be," Verrett said. "I just still think each and every week I could always elevate, get better at something. As you watch film, see how teams attack you, you try to look to avoid those things going into that next week. So each and every week, I just try to find things that I've shown on film that might be a target, and try to fix those in the following game."
