The Myth of Aaron Brooks

Okay, it's time to put all the B.S. about "That Grinning Jackass" in a dumpster where it belongs. What B.S you say? The incredibly nonsensical garbage about Aaron Brooks being the "2nd best QB in Saints history" or "Best QB is Saints history until Drew Brees came along."

The problem with a phrase like "best" is that it is a qualitative term based strictly on the user's point of view and limited to that person's knowledge of the subject while also being colored by whatever bias they may have. As opposed to a phrase like "most" (as in most yards, most completions, most touchdowns) which is a quantitative term and can be easily determined by facts.

And here is where the Brooks supporters get themselves into deep donkey crap. They are basing their idea of "best" on the FALSE assumption that Brooks had the "most" in various passing categories (until Brees), so therefore, he is OF COURSE the "best" (until Brees).

Wrong, Godzilla-rific poop breath.

If Brooks was indeed the all-time leader in various statistical categories and held the majority of Saints passing records until Drew Brees hit the scene, that still wouldn't make him the best. Not any more than Emmitt Smith having the most rushing yards makes him better than Jim Brown, or Brett Favre having the most passing yards makes him better than Joe Montana, or Trent Dilfer having a Super Bowl win makes him better than Dan Marino.

Sometimes, most can mean best, but other times, it just means that - most.

But, guess what Saints fans? The "Brooks Brothers" have spent so much time peddling their nonsense of Aaron Brooks being 2nd best because he has "better numbers than anyone until Brees", they haven't even bothered to notice that he WAS NOT the all-time leader in a majority of various passing statistics (behind Brees) like they thought.

Yup....their entire argument is a mirage built on a house of cards.

Most passing yards? Most completions? Attempts? Nope. Highest completion percentage? HA! Oh, don't make me laugh!

Brooks never cracked 60% in completions in his entire career. And UNLIKE every other starting quarterback in Saints history (not named Brees), Brooks had the luxury of playing in the passing friendly 21st century when completion percentages are higher due to rules changes and the prominence of the short passing game. This is in contrast to down-the-field passing of previous decades which had lower completion percentages but higher yards-per-attempt.

In previous eras, breaking the 60% barrier in completions was an accomplishment because of how the game was played. In the 21^st century, you're SUPPOSED to be slinging the rock at a minimum 60% clip or you're just another fraud waiting to get exposed. Wait? What? Is that sCam Newton I hear crying over in the corner, clutching his NFC South title after getting choked out in his first playoff game?

So, how did these folks arrive at their erroneous assumptions? Simple. By looking at Brooks' passing numbers inside of a vacuum. Let's take a look.

Year	G	GS	W-L	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	TD	Int	Lng	Y/A	Y/C	Y/G	Rate
2000	8	5	3-2	113	194	58.2	1514	9	6	53	7.8	13.4	189.3	85.7
2001	16	16	7-9	312	558	55.9	3832	26	22	63	6.9	12.3	239.5	76.4
2002	16	16	9-7	283	528	53.6	3572	27	15	64	6.8	12.6	223.3	80.1
2003	16	16	8-8	306	518	59.1	3546	24	8	76	6.8	11.6	221.6	88.8
2004	16	16	8-8	309	542	57.0	3810	21	16	57	7.0	12.3	238.1	79.5
2005	13	13	3-10	240	431	55.7	2882	13	17	66	6.7	12.0	221.7	70.0
Total	85	82	38-44	1563	2771	56.4	19156	120	84	76	6.9	12.3	225.4	79.7

Pay close attention to the four seasons that are highlighted - Brooks' second through fifth season. These four seasons are what Brooks' supporters are always trying to shove down everyone's throats as "evidence" of Brooks' superiority over every other QB to play for the Saints before him and Brees.

A veritable smorgasbord of asinine hyperbole.

when [Brooks] was the QB for the Saints, the franchise was at the top of their history, the best they'd ever been. You are what your record says you are

Really? Top of their history? Best they'd ever been? Um, WTF?

Brooks was 38-44 as the starting QB for the Saints. The Saints won 10+ games in a season only once during the Jim Haslett era with their only playoff appearance in the same year, 2000, when Jeff Blake was the full-time starter and had 7 of the Saints 10 wins before getting injured. After Brooks was given the starting job in 2001, he had only one winning season (9-7 in 2002) and the Saints NEVER made the playoffs with him as the full-time starter.

Bobby Hebert was 49-26 when he was the Saints QB. Under Hebert, the Saints had 5 winning seasons, 3 playoff appearances and the team's first ever division title (the 4th playoff appearance during the Jim Mora era was with Steve Walsh). Also, the Saints won 10+ games four times and had 7 consecutive seasons without a losing record (5 with Hebert and 1 each with Steve Walsh and Wade Wilson).

The Saints were the "best they'd ever been" with Brooks? Oh, mercy. And Brooks propagandists are always the first to tell someone else to "go look it up!" whenever they're peddling their snake oil.

This particular Brooks Supporter was right about ONE thing. You are what your record says you are. Well, except when a Brooks peddler is making excuses for his losing record as a starter. It's okay for them to crap all over Archie for his record, but whenever Brooks' record is brought up, you get more excuses than a Justin Beiber fan trying to explain away his latest doofus moment.

How about this one?

Brooks bested several of Archie's records before Brees broke them. Very few others can claim that.

Um, pardon me, but....the Saints only had 2 other QBs who started for the team at least two full seasons between the time of Archie and Brees - Bobby Hebert and Jim Everett. So, the "very few others" line is more hyperbolic nonsense.

Also, in all-time passing stats for a season, it was Jim Everett who broke Archie's records first until Brees came along to put them out of the stratosphere. In all-time passing stats for a career, Archie is still second in Saints history (behind Brees) in yards, attempts, completions, with Brooks only passing him in total TDs ( 120 -115). Which is still the ONLY major Saints record of Archie's that Brooks ever broke in career totals or season totals.

Wow...."bested several of Archie's records", huh? Umm, okay.

Brooks' supporters like to argue that Archie played longer for the Saints, so of course he's going to have higher career totals. Which is why they want you to look at Brooks' four best seasons in a vacuum or on a per game basis. You know, because THEN Brooks will look better by comparison. But, um, there's one little problem with that. They really don't want you to do that with any other Saints QB because their guy isn't gonna do quite so well.

Jim Everett played half as long for the Saints as Aaron Brooks (Everett - 3 seasons, Brooks - 6 seasons) and is behind him in career totals. But, on a per game basis he's near or beats Aaron Brooks in the same way that Brooks beats Archie under that same scenario.

What's the matter Brooks peddlers? Y'all didn't go look that one up either?

Funny thing about Everett and Brooks. They're almost the same guy. Except one is white and one is black. Everett was 6'5" 212 and Brooks, 6'4" 220. Both men had unquestioned physical talents as quarterbacks, but both had big questions when it came to certain intangibles. It was well known that Jim Everett was "Hell on wheels when he had time to throw but crumbled like a stale cupcake under pressure" during his time with the Rams. This was emphasized in the NFCCG against the 49ers and Matt Millen, the Niners' LB, made that quote after the game.

Similarly, there was never a question of Brooks' talent, but there were HUGE questions regarding leadership, decision making, and yes, heart. Like Everett, Brooks could sling it with the best of ‘em (TWSS - shut up, Hans) when he had time to throw, but when under pressure, he flopped around and made some of the most boneheaded nonsensical plays in Saints history. And, of course, all the while grinning like a hyena who backed into a cattle prod and found out that he liked it. So, he did it again. And again. Until he passed out and then woke up and did it again.

Oh, good grief.

Just look at their career numbers as Saints QBs.

Year	G	GS	W-L	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	TD	Int	Lng	Y/A	Y/C	Y/G	Rate
2000	8	5	3-2	113	194	58.2	1514	9	6	53	7.8	13.4	189.3	85.7
2001	16	16	7-9	312	558	55.9	3832	26	22	63	6.9	12.3	239.5	76.4
2002	16	16	9-7	283	528	53.6	3572	27	15	64	6.8	12.6	223.3	80.1
2003	16	16	8-8	306	518	59.1	3546	24	8	76	6.8	11.6	221.6	88.8
2004	16	16	8-8	309	542	57.0	3810	21	16	57	7.0	12.3	238.1	79.5
2005	13	13	3-10	240	431	55.7	2882	13	17	66	6.7	12.0	221.7	70.0
Total	85	82	38-44	1563	2771	56.4	19156	120	84	76	6.9	12.3	225.4	79.7

Year	G	GS	W-L	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	TD	Int	Lng	Y/A	Y/C	Y/G	Rate
1994	16	16	7-9	346	540	64.1	3855	22	18	78	7.1	11.1	240.9	84.9
1995	16	16	7-9	345	567	60.8	3970	26	14	70	7.0	11.5	248.1	87.0
1996	15	15	3-12	267	464	57.5	2797	12	16	51	6.0	10.5	186.5	69.4
Total	47	47	17-30	958	1571	61.0	10622	60	48	78	6.8	11.1	226	81.1

Notice how their careers as Saints QBs almost mirror each other, except, cut exactly in half by total seasons (6 to 3) and most productive seasons (4 to 2). Also, Brooks first season was spent as backup to Jeff Blake, while Everett started immediately.

If you look at their seasons as the team's full-time starter, the similarities are striking. Each QB was very good statistically, but they could not lead their teams to the playoffs and had very mediocre results as winners. Then, each player had a final season in which they were not as good statistically and the team completely went into the toilet. Their passing stats and won-loss records in their final seasons are almost identical.

As matter of fact, if you were to take their best seasons and place them inside the same table, you'd be hard pressed to tell them apart

Year	G	GS	W-L	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	TD	Int	Lng	Y/A	Y/C	Y/G	Rate
1994	16	16	7-9	346	540	64.1	3855	22	18	78	7.1	11.1	240.9	84.9
1995	16	16	7-9	345	567	60.8	3970	26	14	70	7.0	11.5	248.1	87.0
2001	16	16	7-9	312	558	55.9	3832	26	22	63	6.9	12.3	239.5	76.4
2002	16	16	9-7	283	528	53.6	3572	27	15	64	6.8	12.6	223.3	80.1
2003	16	16	8-8	306	518	59.1	3546	24	8	76	6.8	11.6	221.6	88.8
2004	16	16	8-8	309	542	57.0	3810	21	16	57	7.0	12.3	238.1	79.5

See how seamlessly Jim Everett's two best seasons fit in so perfectly with Aaron Brooks' four best seasons? It's like they're the same guy. Same passing stats and same mediocre team results. The Saints were not a bad football team with either of these guys, but, they weren't good either

If I didn't include the year and shuffled the seasons, I'd dare you pick which QB is which. But, there is one sure fire way to tell. As I said before, Aaron Brooks NEVER cracked 60% in completions as the Saints QB.

Jim Everett and Aaron Brooks - Brothers from other mothers.

Okay, enough of that. Let's get on to the career passing numbers and then shut this puppy down. Only 17 QBs in Saints history ever passed for more than 2000 yards in their career with the team, so for comparison's sake I've included them below.

RK	Player	GS	W	L	T	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	TD	Int	Rate	Y/A	Y/G
1	Drew Brees	127	80	47	0	3356	4990	67.25%	38733	283	124	99.0	7.76	305.0
2	Archie Manning	129	35	91	3	1849	3335	55.44%	21734	115	156	67.4	6.52	162.2
3	Aaron Brooks	82	38	44	0	1563	2771	56.41%	19156	120	84	79.7	6.91	225.4
4	Bobby Hebert	75	49	26	0	1202	2055	58.49%	14630	85	75	79.1	7.12	187.6
5	Jim Everett	47	17	30	0	958	1571	60.98%	10622	60	48	81.1	6.76	226.0
6	Billy Kilmer	39	11	29	0	592	1116	53.05%	7490	47	62	65.1	6.71	152.9
7	Dave Wilson	31	12	19	0	551	1039	53.03%	6987	36	55	63.8	6.72	131.8
8	Steve Walsh	19	10	9	0	336	620	54.19%	3879	25	22	72.0	6.26	176.3
9	Ken Stabler	22	11	11	0	326	570	57.19%	3670	17	33	62.4	6.44	146.8
10	Billy Joe Tolliver	11	2	9	0	249	467	53.32%	3343	15	20	69.2	7.16	196.6
11	Bobby Scott	14	4	10	0	237	500	47.40%	2781	15	28	51.4	5.56	67.8
12	Ed Hargett	8	1	5	1	205	437	46.91%	2727	11	10	66.0	6.24	62.0
13	Wade Wilson	14	7	7	0	241	416	57.93%	2629	12	15	71.3	6.32	146.1
14	Richard Todd	14	6	8	0	177	344	51.45%	2369	14	23	59.4	6.89	139.4
15	John Fourcade	11	7	4	0	159	313	50.80%	2312	14	15	70.1	7.39	96.3
16	Billy Joe Hobert	12	4	8	0	157	313	50.16%	2031	13	14	66.1	6.49	135.4
17	Jeff Blake	11	7	4	0	184	303	60.73%	2025	13	9	82.5	6.68	168.8

As you can see, Brees is across the board #1. What's interesting is who's number two in each category.

Wins - Bobby Hebert

Attempts - Archie Manning

Completions - Archie Manning

Completion PCT - Jim Everett

Yards - Archie Manning

Touchdowns - Aaron Brooks

Passer Rating - Jim Everett

Yards Per Game - Jim Everett

Yards Per Attempt - Bobby Hebert

Note: Completion PCT, Passer Rating, YPA, and YPG leaders were based on minimum 750 attempts.

Okay, for you cats who say career totals hold an advantage for longevity with the team (which is code for, "You're making Archie look good!"), we'll also look at season statistics. Ten QBs in Saints history have passed for more than 2000 yards in a season - thirty times.

RK	Player	Year	G	GS	QBrec	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	TD	Int	Lng	Y/A	Y/G	Rate
1	Drew Brees	2011*	16	16	13-3-0	468	657	71.2	5476	46	14	79	8.3	342.3	110.6
2	Drew Brees	2012*	16	16	7-9	422	670	63.0	5177	43	19	80	7.7	323.6	96.3
3	Drew Brees	2013*	16	16	11-5	446	650	68.6	5162	39	12	76	7.9	322.6	104.7
4	Drew Brees	2008*	16	16	8-8	413	635	65.0	5069	34	17	84	8.0	316.8	96.2
5	Drew Brees	2010*	16	16	11-5	448	658	68.1	4620	33	22	80	7.0	288.8	90.9
6	Drew Brees	2007	16	16	7-9	440	652	67.5	4423	28	18	58	6.8	276.4	89.4
7	Drew Brees	2006*+	16	16	10-6	356	554	64.3	4418	26	11	86	8.0	276.1	96.2
8	Drew Brees	2009*	15	0	13-2-0	363	514	70.6	4388	34	11	75	8.5	292.5	109.6
9	Jim Everett	1995	16	16	7-9	345	567	60.8	3970	26	14	70	7.0	248.1	87.0
10	Jim Everett	1994	16	16	7-9	346	540	64.1	3855	22	18	78	7.1	240.9	84.9
11	Aaron Brooks	2001	16	16	7-9	312	558	55.9	3832	26	22	63	6.9	239.5	76.4
12	Aaron Brooks	2004	16	16	8-8	309	542	57.0	3810	21	16	57	7.0	238.1	79.5
13	Archie Manning	1980	16	16	1-15	309	509	60.7	3716	23	20	56	7.3	232.3	81.8
14	Aaron Brooks	2002	16	16	9-7	283	528	53.6	3572	27	15	64	6.8	223.3	80.1
15	Aaron Brooks	2003	16	16	8-8	306	518	59.1	3546	24	8	76	6.8	221.6	88.8
16	Archie Manning	1978*	16	16	7-9	291	471	61.8	3416	17	16	71	7.3	213.5	81.7
17	Bobby Hebert	1992	16	16	12-4	249	422	59.0	3287	19	16	72	7.8	205.4	82.9
18	Archie Manning	1979*	16	16	8-8	252	420	60.0	3169	15	20	85	7.5	198.1	75.6
19	Bobby Hebert	1988	16	16	10-6	280	478	58.6	3156	20	15	40	6.6	197.3	79.3
20	Aaron Brooks	2005	13	13	3-10	240	431	55.7	2882	13	17	66	6.7	221.7	70.0
21	Jim Everett	1996	15	15	3-12	267	464	57.5	2797	12	16	51	6.0	186.5	69.4
22	Archie Manning	1972	14	14	2-11-1	230	448	51.3	2781	18	21	66	6.2	198.6	64.6
23	Bobby Hebert	1989	14	13	6-7	222	353	62.9	2686	15	15	54	7.6	191.9	82.7
24	Billy Kilmer	1969	14	14	5-9	193	360	53.6	2532	20	17	52	7.0	180.9	74.9
25	Wade Wilson	1993	14	14	7-7	221	388	57.0	2457	12	15	42	6.3	175.5	70.1
26	Dave Wilson	1986	14	13	6-7	189	342	55.3	2353	10	17	63	6.9	168.1	65.8
27	Richard Todd	1984	15	14	6-8	161	312	51.6	2178	11	19	74	7.0	145.2	60.6
28	Bobby Hebert	1987	12	12	10-2	164	294	55.8	2119	15	9	67	7.2	176.6	82.9
29	Billy Kilmer	1968	12	11	4-7	167	315	53.0	2060	15	17	51	6.5	171.7	66.9
30	Jeff Blake	2000	11	11	7-4	184	302	60.9	2025	13	9	49	6.7	184.1	82.7

Once again, Brees is #1 across the board and we're looking at #2 in each category below.

Wins - Bobby Hebert

Attempts - Jim Everett

Completions - Jim Everett

Completion PCT - Jim Everett

Yards - Jim Everett

Touchdowns - Aaron Brooks

Yards Per Attempt - Bobby Hebert

Yards Per Game - Jim Everett

Passer Rating - Aaron Brooks

Okay, so who is the 2nd best QB in Saints history?

Well, take your pick. But, just like I stated above, that will be based strictly on your own point of view and limited to your knowledge of the subject while also being colored by whatever bias you may have.

But, looking at these numbers, it would be a clear case of bias to claim that Aaron Brooks is HEAD AND SHOULDERS above everyone else and the only QB qualified as "best of the rest" behind Drew Brees. There's a few Saints QBs who can make this same case. And I'm fine with that. Everyone is welcome to their own opinion. This was never about changing someone's mind about Aaron Brooks or proving some nothead wrong.

This was about clearing the air and showing without a doubt that there are other legitimate options in this so-called "Who's Number 2?" debate.

You like Aaron Brooks? Great, I ain't trying to change your mind. You place him at #2 on your own personal list behind Drew Brees? Have at it. I don't care who's on your list. You think he was an awesome QB for the Saints? Hey, man......so was "Steve Walsh, BABY!" for about a game or two. It don't matter to me.

What does matter is when Brooks peddlers have the audacity to act as if everyone else who doesn't agree with their opinion is a stupid revisionist who refuses to be enlightened. Because they believe they're right and everyone else is a raving homer who just won't go "look it up".

The only revisionists I've seen around here are folks who look at statistics from Brooks' four best seasons and act like no other Saints QB ever played as well (wrong). Or, who trumpet one playoff victory from a season that was made possible by wins from another QB, as the best the Saints had ever been in their history (it wasn't) while ignoring the fact that Brooks never came close to doing that again as the Saints full-time starting QB.

And then, there is the elephant in the room that a couple of real wankers have decided to throw on the table whenever they are losing the Brooks debate. The fact that Brooks is black. According to them, people who don't recognize Brooks as the 2nd best Saints QB behind Drew Brees are only doing so because they won't accept a black QB in that capacity.

I get it. You can't win on the merits of your argument, so just throw a pile of s*** in the mix to shake things up, and hopefully, no one will notice that you're completely full of crap.

So, there you have it, cats and kittys. A little more information that you can chew on for your future slobber knockers in this, uh, "debate". And the next time a Brooks peddler tells you to "go look it up", tell him ‘em to go toss someone's salad do their own homework. Or, just link to this post.

I hope it's been helpful.