Have Fans Overlooked the Greatness of Drew Brees?
Throughout the 21st century, The National Football League has produced some of the greatest quarterbacks the league has ever seen. Players such as Ben Roethlisberger, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady will forever go down as some of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game of football.
While these players have and will continue to receive the praise and glory they rightfully deserve, one can question whether New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is receiving his fair share.
Being overlooked is nothing new to Brees. From Purdue, to San Diego, to his years in New Orleans, Drew Brees has always been overlooked due to both his lack of great physical stature, standing at just six feet tall, as well as the combination of him being primarily a pocket passer, where it has been widely viewed as more of a necessity for quarterbacks to be around six foot three to six foot five to be an effective NFL quarterback. Despite the odds Brees faced, it hasn’t stopped Drew Brees from putting up some of the greatest offensive numbers ever by a quarterback.
The 9-time pro bowler has thrown 433 touchdowns to just 208 interceptions, while tossing over 61,000 yards through the air. From 2008-2012, Drew Brees led all quarterbacks in touchdowns thrown four times, with the exception being 2010, when Tom Brady led the league with 36 touchdowns en route to his second MVP award.
Drew Brees has also led the league in passing yards in six of the past ten seasons, and is the only quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 5,000 passing yards in more than one season, and he has done it four times. In 2011, Drew Brees also set the record for best completion percentage in a single season at 71.2 percent back in the 2011 season. Drew Brees also set the record for most consecutive games with a touchdown pass with 54 back in 2012. Drew Brees was able to break Dan Marino’s 24 year old record set back in 1984 for most passing yards in a single season, when he set a record throwing for 5,476 yards back in 2011, until Peyton Manning broke the record two years later in 2013.
What’s most impressive about all of these accomplishments Brees has been able to put together is the time period in which he accomplished it all. The great quarterbacks of this era such as Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Aaron Rodgers, were all in their primes, and the league saw plenty of other pro bowl quarterbacks at the time such as Matt Ryan, Eli Manning, and Tony Romo who were at the peaks of their careers. Drew Brees has played in an era in which the league has been able to produce more talent at quarterback than ever before.
But that didn’t stop Brees, as he was still able to lead the league in some of the most significant categories for a quarterback at a time in which many future hall of fame quarterbacks were in their primes.
While Brees can often have his regular season accomplishments overlooked, it’s his postseason success that many people overlook. Drew Brees has played in 11 playoff games. In those games, he has thrown 24 touchdowns to just 6 interceptions, while tossing 3,539 passing yards. He has a 65.9 completion percentage in those games, to go along with 3 game winning drives, a Super Bowl Ring and a Super Bowl MVP in his lone Super Bowl in which he defeated Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts back in 2009.
Not only did Brees defeat Manning and the Colts to win his lone super bowl, but he put together one of the great Super Bowls of all time, completing 32 of 39 passes, for 288 yards, for two touchdowns and no interceptions.
The time will come when quarterbacks such as Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady will walk off into the sunset, grab a gold jacket, and forever be considered as some of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. For Brees, two of these things are for sure; Brees will walk off into the sunset someday, and he will get his gold jacket. Let’s just hope the football world, and all who follow this game get the third one right.
(All stats via Pro-Football Reference)
