Drew Brees: “Anybody can beat anybody on any given Sunday and we got to be ready.”

November 12, 2009 – 9:20 am by timgunter

The 2009 New Orleans Saints are one of the many great stories of this NFL season. They are off to their franchise’s best start at 8-0, have already matched their win total from last season and we are only at the halfway point. Head Coach Sean Payton and Drew Brees have fine tuned this offense to score more points and that is exactly what they are doing. The Saints offense leads the league in points and yards per game and what amazes me about this offense is that Brees spreads the ball evenly to his weapons and that is how they are having so much success.

Let it be known that it is not only their offense that is doing great things. The Saints defense led by first year defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams, leads the league with sixteen interceptions, including a NFL-best five returned for touchdowns. The Saints will have a tough time remaining undefeated as they have tough games left with the Patriots, Cowboys, Falcons and Panthers. I expect them to end up winning the NFC South division with a 12-4 record.

Drew Brees joined XX Sports Radio in San Diego to talk about what it is like in New Orleans, Sports Illustrated article mentioned the Saints wide receiving core had been castoffs and whether he ever talks about that with them, his thoughts on Darren Sharper and whether he is the quarterback of the defense, and the Saints being a fascinating story of all being castoffs and having success.

On what it is like in New Orleans:

“As you can imagine this is the most excited that they have ever been because we have never started off 8-0. The best start in franchise history was 7-0 so we just kind of blew up that record this last game against Carolina. Obviously everybody is extremely excited already making plans but we just have to continue to tell them that one game at a time. Nothing is promised like you guys already said that we got a tough schedule coming up in the 2nd half. It only gets tougher especially the more that you win because you get that bullseye on your chest and everybody wants to knock you off.”

Whether he got a chance to read the Sports Illustrated article last week after the big win against Miami:

“I didn’t. I didn’t read it.”

The Sports Illustrated article mentioned the Saints wide receiving core had been castoffs and whether he ever talks about that with them:  

“Yeah we do and I think that is what has helped us become successful because everybody just has a chip on their shoulder for one reason or another. Whether it was a 7th round draft pick or rookie free agent or one team let him go for whatever reason and now they are in New Orleans. I guess we all have a similar story or something that has motivated us or something that has driven us. Plus I just feel like being in this city and playing for this organization with everything that just surrounds that, kind of the resurgence of New Orleans post-Katrina. It is kind of like all these things are coming together for a reason and with the offense that we play in, the coaching staff that we have, Sean Payton. It is just like all the stars are aligning.”  

 

His thoughts on Darren Sharper and whether he is the quarterback of the defense:

“Yeah he has done a great job. He has had a phenomenal season. I think he has got 3 interceptions returned for touchdowns and a bunch more. He was a huge addition and I think playing in this style of defense, Greg Williams is our defensive coordinator we just went out and got him this year, he has done a tremendous job in kind of just changing the attitude and somewhat of the culture on that defensive side of the ball. He has worked extremely hard to do that. Our offseason was as competitive as any just going up against each other each and every day. I think it made us look better but Sharper in particular, that defense just allows him to just kind of roam and freelance a little bit and just play like a veteran free safety really wants to play which is I have seen a lot of football. I have watched a lot of tape andI can kind of dissect what an offense is doing and kind of pick my times to jump certain things and guess a little bit and just know that we are getting a lot of pressure on the quarterback and he is having to get it out before he wants and I am going to be there to make the play and he has done a great job of that.”

 

“It really is and I think we all know that we have that in common so it has been kind of one of the reasons why we have the special bond as a team and what we have been able to build here in the last few years. It hasn’t been easy. The last two years I feel like we have had good enough teams to go to the playoffs and make a run at it but yet it just seemed like it wasn’t our time for whatever reason. Things can go our way and I think we have learned from that and we have learned the hard way at times and it has all kind of culminated into this season and going out and making the free agent acquisitions that we did and going out and getting Greg Williams and just continuing to fine tune the offense. A lot of it has just been people finding their role within the team and guys like Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell stepping up and doing what they have been doing in the run game and everything else. We just want to keep rolling. It is great being 8-0 but obviously we understand regardless of we go and play at St. Louis and yeah they are a one win team and we are at Tampa and they area a one win team but that doesn’t mean anything because you know they’re going to play their best game against us. Anybody can beat anybody on any given Sunday and we got to be ready.”

Drew Brees on XX Sports Radio in SD with Scott and BR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the Saints being a fascinating story of all being castoffs and having success:

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