May 24
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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If you're a rich superstar athlete, how would you spend your weekends in New Orleans? Would you fete your wife and friends at one of the city's fine restaurants? Or maybe a quiet evening at home with your 4-month-old son, Baylen? If you were Drew Brees you would do some of that, but you'd also find time for other endeavors. On Friday night, the Saints star quarterback was on the stage at Tulane's McAlister Hall, where he delivered the keynote speech at the commencement ceremony for the first graduating class in Lusher Charter School history. Nattily attired in a double-breasted steel-gray suit, Brees was as calm and collected behind the podium as he is under center on Sundays. He held ..."
March 9
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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If it were up to Saints quarterback Drew Brees, he'd love to be reunited with close friend and former teammate LaDainian Tomlinson if the San Diego Chargers cut the former MVP tailback loose. While discussing Tomlinson's contract standoff on San Diego radio station XX 1090 AM, Brees said the "best case scenario" would be for Tomlinson to stay in San Diego because of what he's meant to the team, the fans and the community. But he also admitted, "I'm just waiting for the opportunity if he is available to come and snatch him away." When asked if he has discussed that possibility with Tomlinson, Brees said, "I think that's pretty obvious, don't you think?" When the radio hosts jokingly brought ..."
January 29
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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In a slight nod to an NFC team that shared many characteristics with the Saints in the regular season, Saints quarterback Drew Brees hinted Wednesday that he's leaning toward picking Arizona to win the Super Bowl. "I know obviously Pittsburgh's the favorite," Brees said. "But I feel like if Arizona plays like they played during the playoffs here, they've got as good a shot as anybody. I think they'd be extremely hard to beat, so it could be an interesting one." Brees was at the Super Bowl media center Wednesday, accepting what likely will be his final award from the 2008 season. Brees beat out Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner and Colts quarterback Peyton Manning for the FedEx Air NFL ..."
January 7
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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Reggie Bush's knee surgery was more serious than the Saints initially indicated last month, but General Manager Mickey Loomis said the team still expects the running back to be ready for minicamp in early June. Loomis said Bush had a microfracture procedure performed on his left knee after he was placed on injured reserve in mid-December. Bush's injury initially was reported as a sprained medial collateral ligament, which doesn't usually require surgery, but Coach Sean Payton indicated last week that Bush had an arthroscopic procedure performed by Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala. Loomis did not give details about the surgery, but he said it was not a "major" procedure. "I wouldn't ..."
January 7
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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Saints quarterback Drew Brees admitted he was "a little shocked" when he found out Tuesday morning he was chosen the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year, especially after he hadn't received a vote for the league MVP award last week. But that's the way Associated Press voters decided to solve the conundrum of Brees' prolific 2008 season, during which he became the second quarterback to throw for 5,000 yards, though his team missed the playoffs with an 8-8 record. Brees received 22 votes in balloting by a nationwide panel of 50 sportswriters and broadcasters who cover the league. Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning, who won the league MVP award last week, tied with Minnesota tailback ..."
January 6
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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Drew Brees' prolific passing season earned him the Associated Press' 2008 NFL Offensive Player of the Year award on Tuesday. The Saints quarterback received 22 votes in balloting by a nationwide panel of 50 sportswriters and broadcasters who cover the league. Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning, who won the league MVP award last week, tied with Minnesota tailback Adrian Peterson for second place with nine votes apiece. "It's a tremendous honor," said Brees, who became just the second quarterback in NFL history to throw for 5,000 yards this season. Brees was shut out in last week's MVP balloting because of the Saints' disappointing 8-8 record. But voters recognized his historical ..."
December 23
New Orleans Times-Picayune
columnist Jeff Duncan
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Saints quarterback Drew Brees will complete one of the greatest seasons by any player in NFL history Sunday and likely will have nothing to show for it. No division title. No playoff berth. Not even an individual honor, other than a run-of-the-mill backup spot in the Pro Bowl. How unjust. Not since Eric Dickerson ran for an NFL single-season record 2,105 yards in 1984 and was snubbed for MVP and Offensive Player of the Year honors has an individual player accomplished more and been rewarded less. And that year, Dickerson had the misfortune of breaking the rushing record the same year Dan Marino set the single-season mark for passing yards in a season with 5,084 yards. But there's ..."
November 25
New Orleans Times-Picayune
columnist Peter Finney
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Apparently, it took the Saints a 43-day vacation from their home at the Superdome to show they mean business in beating the long odds to keep playing in January. The 51-29 pasting of the Green Bay Packers was the best performance of the season by Sean Payton's football team. It's the first time the team has won two games in a row, the kind of confidence builder any coach would welcome with division foes Tampa Bay and Atlanta next on the menu. And to state the obvious from the opening kickoff of the 2008 season: So long as Drew Brees remains healthy, the Saints have a shot to beat anyone in the league. What Brees did Monday night was pretty much what he has been doing since September, ..."
November 10
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Coming into the season, the Falcons secondary was an unknown quantity. Halfway through the season, it's not like they were household names. Last week in Oakland, DeAngelo Hall got more pub playing against the Falcons and later getting released than any one of the cornerbacks the Falcons have now. But after Sunday's 34-20 win over New Orleans and the top-rated passing offense in the NFL, some names are starting to emerge. Chris Houston: The rookie corner put an end to Saints' realistic comeback hopes by picking off Drew Brees in the end zone with 4:21 left. • Chevis Jackson: The rookie nickel back ruined what Brees' said was an attempt to throw the ball away with an interception at the ..."
October 13
New Orleans Times-Picayune
columnist Peter Finney
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If you listen to right tackle Jon Stinchcomb, who spends a good part of his Sundays in the huddle with Drew Brees, here's his story on the Saints quarterback. "What you see on Sunday," he said, "starts on Monday. You think about all the work he puts in. He's the first to show up, the last to leave. No one holds himself to a higher standard than that man." No one Saint at any position, Stinchcomb could have added -- had he been around to witness the long history of this franchise -- has ever matched No. 9 in consistently high-level performances over three seasons. In one way, it's so expected, it has become monotonous. Take Sunday. As Brees applied his scalpel to the Oakland Raiders ..."
September 29
New Orleans Times-Picayune
columnist Peter Finney
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The quarterback did a great job." That's what the coach of the Saints said. Sean Payton could have added: "This is a recording." There was a special sweetness to Sunday's 31-17 victory against the San Francisco 49ers. The defense hounded 49ers quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan, sacked him six times, intercepted him twice in the end zone, and kept his team out of the end zone until the game was history. Deuce McAllister came out of dry-dock, kept moving the pile to the tune of 73 yards on 20 carries, and was seen leaping across the goal line for the last of the Saints' four touchdowns as his teammates filled the air with verbal pompoms. Yes, this was no one-man triumph. In a 22-man game, ..."
September 9
New Orleans Times-Picayune
columnist Jeff Duncan
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Overlooked amid the uplifting play of the defense and the electrifying work of Reggie Bush in the Saints' 24-20 victory against Tampa Bay on Sunday was the stellar play of Drew Brees. The new-look defense received the credit for preserving the win, and rightfully so. It was excellent. But Brees was the reason the Saints were in position to win. His accurate right arm and astute decision-making produced all three Saints touchdowns. Each a momentum-turning, Category 5-type game-changer. Each a product of his beautiful mind. On the opening drive, the Bucs took away Brees' first option -- Lance Moore -- in the left flat. Undaunted, Brees hitched and promptly found David Patten, who had ..."
August 1
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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Saints quarterback Drew Brees has shattered records and generated unprecedented results since he arrived in New Orleans in 2006. The Saints' passing offenses have ranked first and third in the NFL, and Brees has the most passing yards and completions of anyone in the league the past two seasons. So does he have improvements to make? "Yeah, there always are," Brees said. It was an unusually succinct answer from a player who typically has colorful and enlightening responses. What improvements does Brees want to make? "I can't tell you," he said more seriously than not. Then, he opened up, just a little. "There's always little things that I just consciously work on, and I'd bore you ..."
July 22
Orange County Register
columnist Marcia C. Smith
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The point of Drew Brees' visit to the Cathedral Catholic High gymnasium a few days ago was to share some lessons with youngsters about the daily importance of healthy diets and 60 minutes of exercise. The former San Diego Chargers-turned-New Orleans Saints quarterback guided 40 kids – all of them 10 to 13 from a local Boys"
March 26
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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If you're curious what kind of guy Drew Brees is, this nugget should tell you all you need to know:
When Brees arrived in New Orleans over the weekend, he was excited to find out that the team got new carpet in the locker room."
September 3
New Orleans Times-Picayune
(registration required)
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Since the end of July, Saints quarterback Drew Brees, at least, has looked ahead and seen nothing but darkness."