March 12
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees both have book deals in the works after their remarkable Super Bowl season. Payton's book, titled "Home Team," is scheduled to be released in the first week of July and will center on the unique relationship between the Saints and the city. The details of Brees' book have not been announced, but he confirmed that he plans to become a first-time author through a tweet Thursday night. "I never thought this would happen, but I am writing a book. A great opportunity to make a difference in the lives of many," Brees said on his Twitter account. Payton's book will be written in collaboration with Ellis Henican, a columnist for ..."
March 6
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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Virtually all the spoils of his success -- going to Disney World, appearing on TV shows with Letterman, Ellen and Oprah and most recently, playing 18 holes in a foursome with Jack Nicklaus as his specially invited guest -- are new to Drew Brees, still the people's choice everywhere he goes. However, receiving the Maxwell Club's Bert Bell Award as NFL Player of the Year along the Jersey shore was different. It is more the fulfillment of a promise he made to himself long ago that frankly no one expected him to keep. That is what had to make it as special as anything that's come his way since Brees and the Saints climbed their stairway to heaven just four weeks ago in winning Super Bowl ..."
February 9
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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After about 2 1/2 hours of sleep, Saints quarterback Drew Brees said he woke up Monday morning and turned to his wife, Brittany, and asked her, "Did yesterday really happen?" His coach, Sean Payton, woke up next to the Vince Lombardi Trophy, which he said he took to bed with him at around 3 a.m. after a raucous victory celebration at the team hotel in downtown Miami after their thrilling 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. "This thing laid in my bed next to me last night. I rolled over a couple times, probably drooled on it," said Payton, who said before he climbed in bed, he took time to pray, thanking God for the opportunity to coach this Saints team and play a ..."
February 8
Miami Herald
columnist Linda Robertson
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Like New Orleans, Drew Brees once was left for dead. He was damaged. He became a reclamation project. Few had faith in his future. ``Who dat?'' might have been a question about Brees when he came back from shoulder surgery. But not now, not after Brees led the New Orleans Saints to a 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. Not after his acceptance of the MVP trophy started a celebration back home in the City That Care Forgot, a celebration that will make the typical Mardi Gras seem like a tea party. One day, it will sound like a fable: Quarterback decides to reincarnate his career in New Orleans, ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, so he can help reincarnate the city. While ..."
February 8
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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Sunday started in New Orleans with the Rev. Monsignor Crosby W. Kern celebrating Mass with a Drew Brees jersey underneath his vestments. It ended in Miami Gardens with Brees standing atop a gridiron altar to accept the Pete Rozelle Trophy as the MVP of Super Bowl XLIV after his near flawless performance led the New Orleans Saints to their first world championship. They elected a new mayor in New Orleans on Saturday. They will crown a new king of Carnival next week. But New Orleans is and forever will be Brees' town. He'll never buy another drink, never purchase another meal and never pay another parking ticket. It's his faubourg. We're just living in it. The Saints quarterback etched his ..."
February 7
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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Drew Brees should probably start deciding whether or not he likes Wheaties. Experts say the Super Bowl spotlight has already put the 31-year-old New Orleans Saints quarterback on track to begin tapping higher-profile national endorsement deals. Even landing a spot on a Wheaties cereal box, where numerous athletes have been showcased over the years, is not out of the question for Brees if the Saints win today. "I'd be surprised if we didn't see him on a Wheaties box (if they win)," said Gabe Feldman, associate professor of law and director of Tulane University's Sports Law Program. Win or lose, the Super Bowl opens up a higher tier of endorsement opportunities for athletes like Brees, who ..."
February 7
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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The record for combined touchdown passes in a Super Bowl is seven. That 14-year-old mark could be eclipsed tonight. When Drew Brees and Peyton Manning square off in Super Bowl XLIV tonight at Sun Life Stadium, it will be one of the great quarterback matchups in the NFL's storied history. The league's two most prolific quarterbacks will meet at the peak of their stellar careers in the biggest game of their lives. It has the potential to rival some of the best quarterback showdowns in Super Bowl history. John Elway vs. Brett Favre in Super Bowl XXXII. Elway vs. Joe Montana in Super Bowl XXIV."
February 7
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was voted as the winner of a $100,000 Pepsi Refresh grant that will help New Orleans-based Hope Lodge provide rooms for cancer patients and their caregivers. Fans voted over the past week for the player and idea that they believed should be awarded the grant from the Pepsi Refresh Project. Brees beat out New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez and Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware, whose projects will receive $25,000 grants."
February 5
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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Saints quarterback Drew Brees finally beat Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning in something this season, earning enough fan votes to win the FedEx Air Player of the Year award for the second consecutive season. Brees finished runner-up to Manning in the league MVP voting, and Manning was chosen first-team All-Pro. But the prize that both players really want will be won on the field three days from now in Super Bowl XLIV. "He feels like he has a lot riding on this, obviously. That's an understatement," said Brees' wife, Brittany, who accepted the FedEx award on her husband's behalf Wednesday. "But he has the entire city that he wants to make proud, and he wants them to know ..."
February 5
Houston Chronicle
columnist Richard Justice
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His career has become his calling. Could there be anything better? "I believe wholeheartedly the fact that everything happens for a reason," Drew Brees said. "At times, God is going to put you in a position to wonder why this is happening to me or to us, and yet you know it's happening for a reason. It's there to make you stronger and to give the opportunity to accomplish something later on — and here we are." Four years ago, he had other plans. He preferred to remain with the San Diego Chargers. When it became clear they no longer wanted him, he got a hard sell from the Miami Dolphins. Only the Dolphins may have had some worries about his surgically repaired shoulder. The Saints and their ..."
February 4
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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At some point over the next two years, there is litte doubt that the New Orleans Saints will reward quarterback Drew Brees with one of the richest contract extensions in NFL history. But an ESPN report that suggested the Saints are close to working out a new deal with Brees is a bit premature. So far, there have been no serious contract discussions between the Saints and Brees, according to both league sources and the ESPN report. Brees, 31, has two years remaining on the six-year, $60 million deal he signed as a free agent in 2006. Typically, the Saints don't discuss contract extensions until the final year of a player's contract, but they will certainly be willing to bend the rules for ..."
February 4
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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Katie Couric got a glimpse of Drew Brees' star-power in New Orleans when she accompanied the Saints quarterback for a stroll down St. Charles Avenue. Couric was here over the weekend to profile Brees. Portions of the interview will air during Friday's "The Early Show" and "CBS Evening News," but the bulk of it will run during CBS' Super Bowl pregame coverage Sunday. "The fact that he and Brittany chose to live in the city (was) such a wonderful symbolic gesture to people, that he wasn't going to live in some isolated house out in the suburbs where he wasn't part of the community," Couric said. "I wanted to walk with them in their neighborhood, so they said, 'Why don't we go out to St. ..."
February 2
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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Joe Montana did it, so did Dan Marino and John Elway. It is the back-shoulder throw, the one that New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has seemed to master this season. Until recently, though, there has been little made of quarterbacks throwing the football to the back shoulder of his receiver, tossing passes away from the defender and against the direction the receiver is headed in. Still, the back-shoulder pass has been around awhile. "I don't know that it's a phenomenon, " New Orleans Coach Sean Payton said. "I think when you evaluate as much bump-and-run coverage that teams play, you don't see as many just go old-fashioned bombs thrown, for instance, and completed. You still see ..."
February 2
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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Dan Green has sold more than 100,000 copies of his motivational book "Finish Strong." But one sale in particular changed the fortunes of his burgeoning enterprise. Green thought it was a cool idea when New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees ordered copies of "Finish Strong" for all of his teammates. Brees distributed the 116-page book, which features inspirational anecdotes about people overcoming adversity in their lives, along with silicone rubber bracelets bearing the message "Finish Strong" to the team on the first day of the offseason conditioning program in April. At the time, it seemed like a cute little motivational ploy, like Coach Sean Payton's "don't-eat-the-cheese" ..."
January 25
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
columnist Ethan J. Skolnick
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Calling something a "Super" Bowl doesn't make it so. South Florida can speak to that. This region has hosted 10 of these monumental contests, more than any other. Yes, that many, including the most memorable, Super Bowl III, which went to the Jets by a score of 16-7. You are forgiven for forgetting the last three, with their average margin of victory of 16.7. You aren't likely to forget this one. Finally, after two decades of duds, a South Florida Super Bowl game that promises to be worthy of its name. Finally a fair fight, because there's not a Stan Humphries or Chris Chandler or Rex Grossman in sight. Colts. Saints. Peyton Manning. Drew Brees. Perfect. Or close enough. Yes, it could have ..."
January 21
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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There certainly is a big shiny red panic button concerning the matchup of New Orleans Saints left tackle Jermon Bushrod and Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen. Many experts, and a few chicken-little fans, are ready to press it. Bushrod is a 2007 fourth-round draft pick who was seldom used before an injury to Pro Bowl starter Jammal Brown pressed him into starting duty this fall. Allen is a Pro Bowler with a mullet and an attitude, with back-to-back seasons of 14 1/2 sacks and a sack in each of his three career postseason appearances. "(Allen) should be thrilled because he'll be facing Saints left tackle Jermon Bushrod, a third-year veteran in his first season as a starter, " ..."
January 21
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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In his book "Outliers, " Malcolm Gladwell claims that we need at least 10,000 hours of dedicated practice to master a skill or complex task. As examples, he cited the Beatles, Mozart and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, among others. By any measure, the two quarterbacks in Sunday's NFC championship game would be considered masters of their craft. Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre has won three MVP awards and is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer. Favre has seen, heard and felt it all in his stellar 19-year career. Because of Favre's vast experience, New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith said its defense probably won't be able to do anything to rattle him Sunday. The same ..."
January 16
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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From a fan's seat, NFL passing plays look pretty simple. The quarterback gets the ball, he looks for an open receiver, then throws. No problem. Of course, if it were that simple, there would be many more "franchise quarterbacks" playing -- and playing for a lot less money. The truth is much more complicated. Trent Dilfer, a former NFL quarterback who won a Super Bowl ring during his 14-year career and now is an NFL analyst for ESPN, helped explain why playing quarterback in the NFL at an elite level is as much about brain power as arm strength. The following scenario is an example of the decisions New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees might have to make on just one play in an NFC ..."
January 16
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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OK, Who Dats, here's the multiple choice question of the year: Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints and Kurt Warner of the Arizona Cardinals are among the few elite quarterbacks in the game today because of their: A. rocket arms B. quick releases C. work ethics D. processing speed in their prefrontal cortex, orbital frontal cortex and great connections in their basal ganglia, cerebellum and thalamus. ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer, who won a Super Bowl during his 14-year NFL career, knows the answer. "You need great physical talent and work ethic, but a lot of guys have that, " said Dilfer, a former quarterback. "What makes them different is how effectively they use that information. Their ..."
January 14
New Orleans Times-Picayune
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Saints quarterback Drew Brees is backing up Peyton Manning again. Manning was named the first-team All Pro quarterback by the Associated Press, with Brees landing on the second team. Manning received 36 1/2 of the 50 votes by media members across the country, with Brees receiving 12 1/2 votes. Two Saints players were named first-team All-Pros -- guard Jahri Evans and safety Darren Sharper. Sharper was a near-unanimous choice with 46 votes. Evans finished second among guards with 28 votes."
January 5
New Orleans Times-Picayune
columnist Jeff Duncan
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One benefit from the New Orleans Saints' otherwise forgettable 23-10 loss at Carolina on Sunday: It might have boosted quarterback Drew Brees' chances of winning the NFL's MVP award. Brees might have bolstered his case by NOT playing. Consider it Exhibit A in how valuable he is to New Orleans' offense. With Brees on the sideline, the Saints posted season-low totals of 10 points and 213 yards against the Panthers. With Brees under center in two previous starts against the very same Panthers, the Saints averaged 30.5 points and 473 yards. The play caller was the same. The receivers were the same. The offensive line was the same, and the running backs, with the notable exception of Pierre ..."