MEET JUSTIN PAYNE
August 12, 2015
BREAKING: Thibodaux police chief stepping down
August 12, 2015
Conventional wisdom would indicate there’s not much sand left in the hourglass that is New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees’ career.
At 36 and with his 37th birthday coming before the end of the season, Brees is going against the grain. History shows that this season might be one of the great quarterback’s last shots at being highly productive – a final stab at chasing a coveted second Super Bowl ring.
But Brees apparently doesn’t believe in conventional
wisdom. He shuns retirement talk with fury, touting that
he can play well into his mid-to-late 40s if he so chooses. And history? Yeah, Brees isn’t much of a fan of that, either. In fact, the quarterback thinks he’s better now than he’s
ever been.
The Saints are busy getting ready for the season at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia, and ol’ No. 9 is on the practice field like always – doing everything in his power to get the Saints ready for game time.
Fans and critics might believe the end is near for the 15-year quarterback.
“As you get later in your career, people are always looking for (an) excuse,” Brees said. “If you have a down game or a down year, whatever it might be, they’ll give you some type of excuse and say, ‘Oh, the aging process is setting in,’ or, ‘Oh, he’s declining …’
But the bottom line is that I approach each and every day, practice, rep or game as if I have something to prove, never that I’ve already arrived. … This year is no different. I’m trying to get better.”
BUMPY ROADS BUILD THICK SKIN
Brees hates being told that he can’t do something.
It’s something he’s had to fight his whole life. More often than not, he ends up doing what others didn’t think that he could.
As a small prep quarterback out of Texas, Brees wasn’t heavily recruited, despite elite-level production at Westlake High School in Austin.
In the modern age of “five-star ratings” for dominant high school players, Brees wasn’t given a star – not even one. Scouts said he was too small for college football. Most coaches agreed. He only had one collegiate offer – from the University of Purdue.
Brees parlayed that scholarship into a record-setting career with the Boilermakers. He started his final three seasons, and broke Big 10 Conference records in passing yards, touchdown passes, total offensive yards, completions and attempts. He’s now a member of Purdue’s Athletic Hall of Fame and is widely considered one of the best college football players of all-time.
Despite the success, scouts said Brees was too small for the pros, and that Purdue’s pass-happy system wouldn’t translate to the highest level.
Because of that, he fell to the Second Round of the NFL Draft where the San Diego Chargers took a stab at making him into a winner.
A few years later, Brees was on the winning end of the debate again. By his fourth season, he was in the Pro Bowl.
“Drew Brees is one of the most determined players that I’ve ever been around in my entire career,” veteran tight end Benjamin Watson said. “When you think you’ve seen it all, you see something more. He amazes you with his passion every day.”
Never more was that passion tested than after the 2005 season.
In Brees’ final game with San Diego, he fumbled a snap while trying to fire a pass. In a mad dash for the ball, Denver Broncos’ 300-plus-pound defensive tackle hit Brees – the weight of the mammoth human landing on the quarterback’s shoulder.
Brees tore his labrum, and had significant rotator cuff damage in his throwing shoulder. Doctors questioned whether he’d ever be able to play again.
Teams did, too. The Saints were the only team willing to give Brees a contract that paid starter’s money after his injury.
He signed, and locals know the rest of the story. In a career of overcoming doubt, Brees now has nothing left to prove, as his position at the top has already been cemented in stone. The quarterback is universally regarded as the best player in franchise history – the man who brought
a Super Bowl to the city, a feat that was once deemed impossible.
ONE CHALLENGE LEFT – WINNING IT AGAIN
But Brees isn’t satisfied. He wants more – even if history shows that it might not be possible for a player his age and with his history of injury.
In 2014, the Saints struggled, and Brees was a part of the failure.
He completed 456-of-659 passes for 4,952 yards, 33 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Sure, the numbers are still near the top in the league, but they were also below the standard he’s set.
Both the yardage and touchdown figures he posted were his worst since 2010. With 17 interceptions and five fumbles, Brees also turned over the ball more than most quarterbacks in the NFL.
And that bugs him.
Saints coach Sean Payton said Brees has been working tirelessly throughout training camp, and that the quarterback looks sharp.
The coach said Brees’ passion isn’t waning. Payton thinks it’s actually stronger than ever.
“I think he is probably his biggest critic,” Payton said. “His (high) expectation level and what he wants to accomplish (are strong). I think he obviously has a great grasp to what we are doing, and I think the ball’s coming out of his hands real well – both in the spring and so far in the summer.”
Brees said the past offseason was maybe the most productive one he’s ever had in nearly 20 years as a collegiate or pro quarterback.
The quarterback wouldn’t say it directly, but he hinted that he feels more confident in his ability to thrive because of the team’s newly-built offensive line and running game.
The quarterback also believes he’s smarter than ever, thanks to countless hours of film study and other offseason mental work.
“I’m always adding things to what I do,” Brees said. “I’m always fine-tuning and adding things – always seeking more information and trying to do whatever I can to have an edge in my training, in my work habits, in the way that I practice and the way that I recover and prepare each and every day.”
YOUNG APPRENTICE STUDYING MASTER’S MOVES
Just in case Brees’ efforts at playing forever are for naught, the Saints have a backup plan.
In the Third Round of the 2015 NFL Draft, the Saints picked Colorado State quarterback Garrett Grayson – a guy widely expected to be Brees’ future replacement.
Grayson is a little bigger than Brees, standing 6-feet, 2-inches and weighing 213 pounds. But he also is a guy who’s broken down closed doors throughout his career. Grayson wasn’t widely recruited out of high school, and didn’t become a full-time college starter until his junior season.
The quarterback was the Mountain West Conference’s Player of the Year in 2014.
Right now, he’s absorbing Brees’ wisdom like a sponge, trying to learn as much as he can from the quarterback each and every day.
“He’s one of the best to ever play the game,” Grayson said. “I’d be foolish to not use his intellect to my advantage to make myself a better, more knowledgeable player.”
Brees respects that, and is doing the best he can to help the young buck learn the ropes. The Saints are giving Brees fewer reps in practice to rest his body. Young Grayson is the beneficiary of that, and is getting a lot of the extra snaps.
But that doesn’t mean the old buck is conceding anything in the process.
Because even with his replacement hand-picked and history saying that his best days are done, Brees thinks his career is far from over.
Brees said he expects to be around for a while.
“I think some of the best is yet to come,” he said. •
