Drew Brees. What else is there to really say about him? When he retires, he’s a lock to be named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he’s broken records, he’s set records and when it’s all said and done, he could retire ranked number one in many statistical categories for a quarterback which wouldn’t shock me in the slightest. The one word I’ve often found myself using to describe this legend has been durable. Each week, he’s shown up and delivered to put his team in the best position to win the football game. He’s rarely missed times. Yesterday in the NFC title game rematch against the Rams, he left the game with an apparent injury to his throwing hand. After the first half as things were getting set to resume, the cameras zoomed in on him trying to get a grip on a football. He couldn’t do it. That’s when I knew something wasn’t right. Today, after an MRI, the results came back that Drew has torn a ligament in his thumb on his throwing hand which will require surgery. He will be out for six weeks.
Drew is one of the four best quarterbacks in the league right now and has been for the last 12 years or so. Just like some of his peers who also play the position, he’s seemed to get better as he’s aged along with showing no signs of slowing down even as he’s in his age 40 season. You read that right, the big 4-0. He does such a great job at selling a play to make a defense think he’s going one way, then it goes in the complete opposite direction. You zoom in on Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas, cool. He makes the read, then another guy is wide open down the field and Drew flings it to him. Bam! He’s in the endzone for six. He gets everybody the football and continues to make sure the defense has a tough time game planning for the Saints because they won’t know who to zoom in on to limit or double team. He’s pinpoint accurate and each time the ball leaves his hands, it’s getting caught. He completed 74 percent of his passes in 2018 which was an NFL record. There’s only a few quarterbacks that you can associate the term “throwing a guy open” meaning the intended receiver down the field could be covered and you place the ball in a certain area only to where your guy can get it. Number nine is one of those guys. He can make every throw on the field. The way he handles this offense is amazing. He has that command and control.
This is a huge blow to the Saints. After he went out, you saw how much his presence makes a difference. They couldn’t get into a single rhythm at all and were held to nine points. The Saints turn to Teddy Bridgewater as their starter for the foreseeable future. He’ll have a good coach behind him, and I know Sean Payton will coach Teddy to his strengths. He just needs be himself. He can’t try to do what Drew does because that can’t be duplicated. If he can help lead the Saints to at least three- or four-wins tops when Brees is back, the Saints should be fine.
