The True Greatness of Drew Brees

Shalom, Saints fans! Perhaps some of you remember me from previous threads, but I am a proud Broncos fan (I'm ready for my squad to wear their orange jerseys Monday and knock the tar out of the Steelers!) who has felt compelled to write an article on CSN today.

The impetus of my thoughts: Drew Brees.

Thus far, Brees has tossed for 16 touchdowns, six interceptions and 2,006 yards on the season and continues to impress both on the football field and the community both in and out of the Gulf Region. To me, it's still interesting how fate brought Brees to New Orleans.

In 2005, the New Orleans Saints were in one of the more challenging times in franchise history with Hurricane Katrina's decimation of the Gulf Region and horrible play on the football field marring the local headlines. As for Brees, in a game featuring my Broncos against Brees' Chargers, John Lynch incurred a serious injury upon Brees which caused him to receive little interest from most teams in free agency the following offseason.

Nevertheless, the Saints gambled and came up big. While the Miami Dolphins are managing to find ways to remain in the AFC East hunt, one could reasonably argue they'd be a clear favorite over the New England Patriots had they followed their impulse to sign Brees.

However, the Dolphins' reluctance has proved to be the Saints' gain as with all of New Orleans' weapons, such as Robert Meachem and Devery Henderson, healthy, this unit is among the most fearsome in the NFL this season.

Although Brees has thrown for well over 14,000 yards and thrown for 104 touchdowns to 52 interceptions in his tenure with the Saints (that's a 2-1 TD to INT ratio, pretty sweet!), he has done much greater things off the field.

For instance, in June 2007, he visited the Beaver (Utah) Correctional Facility, which is only two hours away from where I live, in Manti. While there, he took time to sign autographs for inmates and pose for pictures.

The last I checked, Brees is a native of Austin, Texas and matriculated at Purdue University (the same alma mater as Broncos stud Kyle Orton!) so, at least on the surface, he has no ties to Utah.

Nevertheless, he assessed a situation where he felt he was needed and while he came into Beaver quietly, he left just as he came, expecting no reward for his selflessness.

On the Monday Night Football postgame show, Steve Young, Matt Millen and Stuart Scott discussed whether or not the Saints could go unbeaten in the regular season much like New England did and they all agreed that it was possible.

While it is possible, I will not despise the Saints like I did the Patriots as this New Orleans squad consists of quality character people such as Darren Sharper and Jonathan Vilma in addition to Brees.

Hopefully, my Broncos will meet your Saints in February with a Lombardi trophy on the line at Landshark Stadium, but we'll see what happens as the season progresses. Good luck to your for the rest of the season!