When the Saints shipped Jimmy Graham to the Seahawks this offseason, they took Drew Brees' favorite target away from him, a 6-foot-7 matchup nightmare for defenses across the league. Considering the Saints and Brees were coming off a hugely disappointing 2014 campaign, the expectations for the team and quarterback lowered immediately after they parted ways with their best playmaker.

After Saturday's preseason game against the Patriots, the expectations for Brees might need to be raised.

In limited action, Brees lit up the Patriots defense, completing eight of his 10 pass attempts for 159 yards and two touchdown strikes. The performance Brees turned in was good enough for a perfect 158.3 passer rating.

And, in Graham's absence, second-year wide receiver Brandin Cooks stood out and showed why the Saints used a first-round pick on him a year ago. With Brees under center, Cooks caught three passes, including this 45-yard touchdown strike.

Even after Brees exited the game, Cooks continued to burn the Patriots' secondary, as Luke McCown connected with Cooks on a 36-yard pass. Twenty nine of those 36 yards came after the catch.

Cooks, standing at 5-foot-10, is obviously a completely different kind of playmaker than Graham. But his shiftiness and speed posed problems for the Patriots.

More importantly, Brees proved on Saturday that when he has time to sit in the pocket and survey the field, he can still play like one of the league's best signal callers.

In limited action, Brees proved that he's not done yet. (USATSI)