Drew Brees

Andrew Christopher "Drew" Brees (pronounced /ˈbriːs/^[1]; born January 15, 1979) is the American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue. He wears the #9 jersey.

Brees has been selected to the Pro Bowl four times in his career – with the Chargers in 2004 and the Saints in 2006, 2008, and 2009. He was named the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year in 2004, the Offensive Player of the Year in 2008, and the MVP of Super Bowl XLIV. He was also selected by voters to be on the cover of EA's Madden 2011.

[edit] 2001 NFL Draft

Brees' college success led to projections that he would be a mid-to-late first round draft pick in the 2001 NFL Draft, but he slipped due to concerns about his relatively short stature for a professional quarterback (6'0"), a perceived lack of arm strength, and a sense that he had succeeded in college in a system designed for him. Ultimately, Brees was the second quarterback selected in the 2001 draft, chosen by the San Diego Chargers as the first pick of the second round.^[3]

San Diego originally had the first pick in that draft, but traded it to Atlanta (which used it to draft Michael Vick) in return for the fifth pick of the first round, with which San Diego drafted LaDainian Tomlinson.^[3]

[edit] Early career

Brees played in his first professional game on November 4, 2001 against the Kansas City Chiefs. He had won the starting job over Doug Flutie during training camp before the start of the 2002 season, but was later replaced during the 2003 season by Flutie.

Brees' career with the Chargers was put in jeopardy after San Diego acquired NC State's Philip Rivers. After the trade, it was almost certain Brees' days as the Chargers' starting QB were over. However, Rivers held out nearly all of training camp. This forced the Chargers coaching staff to give Brees one last look and he remained the starter throughout the 2004 season. Brees was selected to the 2005 NFL Pro Bowl following an impressive 2004 season. He was named 2004 NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

[edit] 2005

Brees became a free agent after the season and was not expected to return to San Diego, which had already committed a large sum of money to Rivers. The team eventually designated Brees a franchise player, giving him a one-year contract that quadrupled his pay to $8 million for 2005.

Under the terms of the franchise player contract, Brees was eligible to be traded or sign with another team, but the Chargers would have had to receive two future first round draft choices in return. He was not traded and continued to start the remainder of the 2005 season.

Brees continued his productive play in 2005, as he posted a career high in passing yards with 3,576. Brees also posted an 89.2 rating, which was the 10th best in the NFL.

In the last game of the 2005 season against the Denver Broncos, Brees injured his shoulder while trying to pick up his own fumble after being hit by Broncos safety John Lynch. Denver tackle Gerard Warren hit Brees while he was on the ground, causing the injury. Brees underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair the torn labrum in his right (throwing) shoulder on January 5, 2006. Subsequent reports mention additional rotator cuff damage.

Brees was selected as first alternate to the AFC Pro Bowl team for the 2005 season. He would have played in his second consecutive Pro Bowl due to the injury to starter Carson Palmer, but his own injury dictated that the AFC Pro Bowl roster would have to be filled by second alternate Jake Plummer.

After the season, the Chargers offered Brees a 5-year, $50 million contract that paid $2 million in base salary the first year and the rest heavily based on performance incentives. Brees took the incentive-based offer as a sign of no confidence by the Chargers and promptly demanded the type of money a top 5 "franchise" quarterback would receive.

After the Chargers refused to increase their offer, Brees met with other teams. The New Orleans Saints and the Miami Dolphins were interested. New Orleans made an offer that included $10 million in guaranteed money the first year and a $12 million option the second year. Miami was unsure if Brees' shoulder was completely healed and did not offer the money Brees was seeking. The Dolphins ended negotiations and traded for Minnesota Vikings QB Daunte Culpepper instead. Brees signed a 6-year, $60 million deal with the Saints on March 14, 2006.

[edit] 2006

Brees had a productive first year with the team. He threw a league-leading 4,418 passing yards, finished third in the league with 26 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions and a 96.2 passer rating. Brees was named starting quarterback for the NFC in the 2007 Pro Bowl. On January 5, 2007, Brees was named first runner-up behind former teammate Tomlinson for league MVP by the Associated Press. Brees and Tomlinson were co-recipients of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.

On January 13, 2007, in his first playoff game for New Orleans, Brees was 20-32 in passing attempts with 1 touchdown and no interceptions vs. the Philadelphia Eagles in the Louisiana Superdome. On January 21, Brees led the Saints to the franchise's first NFC Championship Game. Though he completed 27 of 49 passes for 354 yards against the Chicago Bears, and two touchdowns, Brees committed three costly turnovers. He was penalized for an intentional grounding in the endzone, resulting in a safety. The Saints lost 39-14.^[4] Brees dislocated his left elbow during the first quarter of the Pro Bowl.

[edit] 2007

The following season Brees passed for 4428 yards and tied a then team record with 28 touchdowns. He also set the NFL record previously held by Rich Gannon for pass completions in a single season with 440. However, the Saints missed the playoffs.

[edit] 2008

In 2008, Brees finished 15 yards short of the NFL record for passing yards thrown in a single season set by Dan Marino in 1984. He finished the season with 5,069 yards and became the second quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 5,000 yards in a season.^[5] He passed for 300 yards ten times during the season, tying Rich Gannon's 2002 record. He was named FedEx Air Player of the Week for his performances during weeks 8 and 12 and was named the AP 2008 Offensive Player of the Year.^[6]

[edit] 2009 Super Bowl Season

In the first game of the 2009 season against the Detroit Lions, Drew Brees set a career-high and franchise-tying record with six touchdowns, going 26 for 34 with 358 yards with a quarterback rating of 137.00. He also set a record for most passing touchdowns on opening weekend. The next week, Brees led the Saints to a 48-22 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, throwing three touchdowns with a passer rating of 118.6. Brees also tied the record for most touchdowns by the end of week 2 with 9.

In week 7, Brees led a dramatic comeback victory on the road against the Miami Dolphins, 46-34. The Saints quickly faced a 24-3 deficit in the second quarter, trailing for the first time all season at that point, and failing to score on their first possession as they had in all of their previous contests. Brees had a poor outing, but provided two crucial rushing touchdowns, one just before the second half to narrow the deficit to 24-10, and one in the third quarter to give the Saints their first lead of the game, 37-34.

The next week, Brees threw for 308 yards on 25 of 33 passing along with two touchdowns and one interception in leading the Saints to a 35-27 victory and franchise tying best start at 7-0 against the rival Atlanta Falcons. In week 9, Brees helped guide the team to a 30-20 victory over the Carolina Panthers in the Louisiana Superdome. This would be Drew's first victory over the Carolina Panthers in the Superdome and allowed the Saints to take their best ever start in franchise history at 8-0.

In week 12, Brees led the Saints to an 11-0 record, defeating the New England Patriots 38-17 on Monday Night Football. Drew Brees totaled 371 yards passing, posting a perfect quarterback rating of 158.3.

After close victories over the Washington Redskins and Falcons in successive weeks, Brees and the Saints succumbed to their first loss against the Dallas Cowboys in week 15. The team continued to slide in the coming weeks, losing in Week 16 and 17 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Carolina Panthers, respectively. The Saints finished the year with a 13-3 overall record, tops in the NFC.

Brees' individual statistics led to numerous accolades^[7], including a Pro Bowl selection, the Maxwell Football Club's Bert Bell Award, and runner-up in voting for the AP MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, and All-Pro awards. He finished the season with a completion percentage of 70.62 which established a new NFL record.^[8][9]

In the divisional round of the playoffs, the Saints routed the Arizona Cardinals 45-14 to advance to the NFC Championship, where they defeated the Minnesota Vikings 31-28. Brees completed 17 of 31 passes for 191 yards and 3 touchdowns.

The Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV on February 7, 2010. Brees tied a Super Bowl record with 32 successful completions to win the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award. He threw for 288 yards and 2 touchdowns. It was the first world championship in franchise history.^[10