Drew Brees: Unconventional Greatness
What is there left to say about Drew Brees?
Apparently, quite a bit. At least by national sports media pundits. For as inarguably brilliant as Brees as been, even the most easy going of Saints fans hold a kernel of resentment in their stomach. For all the real estate at the top of the all time stat sheets and fond memories of an unforgettable Super Bowl run that doubled as an exorcism for one of sports most nervous, tortured and frankly fucked-up fan bases, Saints fans have never quite been satisfied with the amount of praise heaped upon their quarterback. I feel it in my stomach right now, as the lineup of ESPN studio shows just neglected to mention Brees even in passing in the lead up to the game.
Drew Brees’ resume is unique in the annals of sports history in the fact that it reads in equal parts like a true ‘greatest-of-all-time’ athlete as it does a real life folk legend.
Brees doesn’t possess the conventional features of a GOAT. He’s short, seemed to start balding in the middle of his athletic prime, has a facial birthmark that would attract passing glances in the middle of a conversation by even the most polite of conversationalists. While a one time Champion with a capital C and role as the engine that nearly single handedly powered one of the greatest offenses in NFL history for an entire decade, his time in the league couldn’t really be described as a time of dominance. Even as he scratched and clawed his way to 7–9, the Saints were weekly participants in the leagues highest scoring shootouts. By contrast, the NFL’s quintessential win-machine, the New England Patriots do a great job at stomping out great performances by their opponents before they even happen. Nearly every week, the NFL player-of-the-week award nominees had Saints defenders trailing behind or quite literally falling on their face in the background. Since 2006, the Saints have been great, but rarely dominant.
In spit of all of that, Brees stands at the precipice of rarefied air: the title of All-Time leader. With only a single pro bowl season from a wide receiver in 13 years in New Orleans, with a half decade worth of unsalvageable seasons due to complete organizational incompetence (usually in the flavor of the worst defenses in NFL history), the Drew Brees aerial assault rarely every stopped rolling.
There have been many, MANY data mined deep dives into the brilliance of Drew Brees. Better than I could ever hope to accomplish. An attempt to do so would come off as wildly ineffective. Hearing that there are 9 instances of QB’s throwing 5000 yards and Brees was 5 of those times (no other QB has ever done it more than once) is undeniably impressive, but it just doesn’t grab you the way All Time Leading Passer does. It will at least get more burn in your local barbershop. A complete football novice could load up Pro Football Reference, glance at the numbers and come away knowing that Brees is one of the best quarterbacks of all time.
It is all the more impressive when you take a step back and look at the story from beginning to where we are now.
For each and every snap of Brees’ career, he has disappeared from sight behind a charge of bloodthirsty defensive lineman and the hog molly’s recruited to keep their gunslinger upright. Even when he climbs the pocket and throws to the open receiver, Brees rarely looks effortless. His body pointed at an awkward angle to see over his lineman (a little thing you stop thinking about, but in a vacuum is still totally fucking insane) and arm taking a strange launch angle to put everything he’s got into every throw out of sheer necessity. The two quarterbacks he is chasing tonight both towered over their offensive lines and were gifted with talented arms. From his tip toes, Brees eviscerated NFL defenses on his way to the top. Despite not easily seeing the field without an act that can best be described as equal parts genius level pre-snap diagnosis and bull fighting, Brees will most likely comfortably finish as the most accurate passer (In terms of completion percentage and the eye test) in NFL history on top of being it’s most prolific mad bomber.
I feel it’s important to also touch on the setting of Brees’ story. At the risk of not making any sense, New Orleans is one of 5 best sports towns, but isn’t a great sports city. Let me explain:
Football in New Orleans has a flavor that is distinct. It’s a city of colorful characters, especially their athletes. But these characters are almost never the main characters in the national sports consciousness. Even during Brees’ outstanding 2011 campaign, he was upstaged by Aaron Rodgers for MVP. It’s a short list of cities that carry with them the dizzying coverage no matter if they’re good or not. That means even when teams play outstanding, they can still be left out in the cold. That’s still kind of the case in New Orleans now, but Brees provides a brief respite. It is still insane that Brees calls New Orleans his home, and has for so long. This just doesn’t happen to New Orleans pro athletes.
Guys like that aren’t supposed to be GOAT’s. They’re often novelty acts. Muggsy Bogues will live in NBA fans hearts forever by navigating mountains of men on his way to the hoop but doesn’t belong in any conversations about the best hoopers of all time. Drew Brees easily could be more Doug Flutie than Tom Brady; a side show act that puts together a few pro-bowl worthy years and then is passed by. And the amazing second act of his career easily could have not happened after having his arm nearly turned to shrapnel at the bottom of a scrum for a fumble. For as long as I have watched Drew Brees, this has not been lost on me each time he took the field. From the very first time I saw him live as he stepped up and delivered a strike to Devery Henderson to become the all time leader in consecutive games with a touchdown pass, to his most recent act of Houdini-like escapeabillity (Seriously, how in the fuck?), the improbability of Brees’ success sticks with me. Oh, and to add one more improbable twist to this story, he’s pushing 40 and playing some of his best ball.
And yet, that kernel of resentment Saints fans hold. Despite the incredible feats, Brees has been slighted. The MVP award is noticeably absent from the Drew Brees trophy cabinet. His unprecedented run of excellence, for whatever reason has, not resulted in the recognition it should. Four All-Pro selections doesn’t feel like nearly enough.
Maybe it’s because of the 7–9 seasons, where Brees was married to some of the most pathetic defenses of all time. Maybe it’s the lack of deep playoff runs, which would be unfair because all three of the Saints biggest playoff failures of the Brees era have come with #9 on the sideline. Fair or not (it’s not) Brees is inarguably hurt by this.
Whether you view Drew Brees as a legitimate claim to the throne or as one of sports great side-show acts, Drew Brees, will likely solidify himself as one of the all time greatest athletes of all time tonight.. whether media will award him that title or not (or, more likely, they will sing his praises tonight and then forget to give him his props at the end of the year, and likely the end of his career). It’s a rare honor, and one thought unbelievable for fans of New Orleans sports. Enjoy it, Saints fans.
