It’s been easy to overlook Brees
QB quietly goes about record-setting career
Why do we take Drew Brees for granted?
He isn't a quote machine.
He doesn't have a fistful of rings. He isn't married to a supermodel. He's never been MVP of the NFL. (You read that correctly.)
He hasn't hosted Saturday Night Live.
He doesn't have that gunslinger swag. He isn't one of the league's blue bloods.
He's never had that "laser rocket arm" or 4.4 speed.
He's never played his home games in a major media market.
He hasn't been part of many indelible moments looped endlessly by NFL Films.
He's never been at the center of a controversy that would wind up elevating his profile.
He was the 32nd pick of the 2001 draft, which, at the time, didn't even qualify him as a first rounder.
And, generously listed at 6 feet tall, he's never looked the part of a franchise quarterback ordered up from central casting.
But Brees most certainly has the numbers, adding one of the NFL's most prestigious records to his already impressive collection Monday.
So, just maybe, from this point forward he'll have a bit more of the respect his legacy quite obviously warrants.
Brees, 39, cruised past Brett Favre and Peyton Manning on
becoming the most prolific passer in the 99-year history of the league with a 62-yard touchdown pass to Tre'Quan Smith. When the dust settled in a 43-19 rout of the Redskins, Brees had 72,103 yards (nearly 41 miles) and 499 career TD passes — he'll join Manning, Favre and Tom Brady in the exclusive 500 club with his next one.
"He doesn't get the credit that he deserved because he played in the era with Manning and Brady," Hall of Famer and FS1 analyst Shannon Sharpe said.
"It's kinda like the early '80s — you played with Bird and Magic, no matter what you did, they were talking about them."
That's why it seems to take an eventful performance like Monday's for Brees to even be appreciated as the living legend he is.
Even though he's been a Super Bowl MVP — perhaps his enduring moment occurring as he held 1-year-old son Baylen while the confetti fell on the Saints' one and only Lombardi Party.
Even though he's become a civic institution in New Orleans, helping the city rebound in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina — both with his sublime play on the field and his community activism away from it.
Even though he's been an inspiration to many, resurrecting his unlikely rise to stardom even after his right shoulder was left in tatters on the final play of the 2005 season — the point when the San Diego Chargers summarily jettisoned him for Philip Rivers.
Even though the only Hall of Famers he may ever count as teammates are all from those San Diego days — Junior Seau, LaDainian Tomlinson, surely Antonio Gates and, ironically, maybe Rivers.
Even though he's already etched his name throughout the record book with simply silly numbers we've come to expect — as if merely anyone could amass such achievements. There have been nine 5,000-yard passing seasons in NFL history — Brees has five of them, while no other quarterback has reached the plateau twice. An 11-time Pro Bowler, no quarterback has more completions than Brees or a higher completion percentage — there have been nine seasons featuring a quarterback with a 70% completion rate ... Brees has four — you guessed it, no one else has even two — including a record 72% last year.
Even though his competitive fire and leadership skills are legendary ... and even though, by definition, such unquantifiable commodities can't be off the charts.
Even though he's unfailingly been the consummate pro.
On a personal note, I'll never forget attending the Monday morning press conference after the Saints won Super Bowl XLIV over Manning's favored Colts.
Brees was bright-eyed as he accepted his MVP hardware and answered more questions about a historic moment in his franchise's history. (Off to his right ... well, let's just say New Orleans coach Sean Payton was laboring to survive his media obligations after a deserved night of revelry.) Thanks, Drew.
And congratulations.