I don’t see a scenario where Brees gets pulled for Brunell. Payton loves the guy. Yeah, Brees wasn’t all that effective in the first four games, but there’s no way he could be when he’s getting slammed onto his back and getting hurried like he was. No quarterback can be all that effective when the O-line isn’t playing well, which is what I mostly saw in those games. I believe that Jammal Brown was having unreported knee problems for most of last season, which led to his less than outstanding play. Plus, we lost our power runner in Deuce and the offense had to retool after that, which led to more passing and defenses knowing we had to pass to move the ball well.

The bottom line for me is that Brees brings a lot of mental focus, confidence, and preparation to his game. I can’t imagine him not coming out ready to compete, win some games, and make up for a disappointing last season by making the playoffs. The only way he doesn’t play and play well (providing the other ten guys on the field with him are playing well) is if he gets injured, and that’s a nightmare I’d rather not think about.

After posting the earlier post, I found this at foxsports.com (What can I say? It’s an incredibly slow work day). Peter Schrager is all about the Saints this year, he says. Scroll down to no. 6. He’s predicting that Drew Brees will be MVP this season. Of course, his MVP picks the past two season didn’t come close to panning out, so don’t get your hopes up. Like everyone else, he’s just getting guessing anyway. Nevertheless, I’m hopeful he’s right this time around. Here’s the link:

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/8253930/15-burning-questions-(and-answers)-for-NFL-offseason

I think it’s an interesting point. It happens in nearly all players’ careers, but usually at the end. However, as John Madden says, “When I first saw Drew Brees, I thought he was pretty good. Then he had a bad year….” (Heard that a few hundred times in Madden 06). Brees did have that awful year, for whatever reason, and he did stumble out of the gate in 07. I guess the hypothetical question for me is, if Brees sucks, how long before Payton gives him the hook and puts Brunell in? He’d have to REALLY suck, lose all confidence, etc. He’d probably stick with him all season. But that’s not very likely. Much more likely that Brees gets drilled or hits a helmet with his throwing hand. Brunell had better be laying off the specials at Emeril’s Delmonico and sleeping with the playbook, because I think we all expect him to play at a level far exceeding Jamie Martin. Hey, isn’t Jamie a lefty too?