Rich Eisen on Drew Brees. Case closed (1 Viewer)

[Noble Saint]

Funny to me how people get offended by someone saying Emmitt Smith is the best RB of all time because he is the rushing leader and want to say Barry Sanders is better but played on bad teams. Well, Drew is the all time leader AND played on a lot of bad teams. No one says Barry Sanders sucks because he doesn’t have rings.

 

[BlackandGoldXLIV]

Good listen.

But can't stand the "What if Brees was a Dolphin" talk.

Funny to me how people get offended by someone saying Emmitt Smith is the best RB of all time because he is the rushing leader and want to say Barry Sanders is better but played on bad teams. Well, Drew is the all time leader AND played on a lot of bad teams. No one says Barry Sanders sucks because he doesn’t have rings.

Good point.

 

[SigFreudianSlip]

Funny to me how people get offended by someone saying Emmitt Smith is the best RB of all time because he is the rushing leader and want to say Barry Sanders is better but played on bad teams. Well, Drew is the all time leader AND played on a lot of bad teams. No one says Barry Sanders sucks because he doesn’t have rings.

Noble,

Good point. For me, it’s more about how early Barry retired, due to those bad teams. Imo (and many others) Barry would have easily broken that record had he played a bit longer.

Personally I’d take him over Smith all day every day. And that’s no knock on Smith or what he accomplished.

 

[Cougar 1]

One Helluva Commentary!

“Rich Eisen....

DOG!!!!”



Craig Robertson approves of this message n it’s content! Lol

 

[bobad]

It's a travesty that Rich has no MVP vote and several pure clowns have the vote.

 

[26ISTHEMAN]

Those who don't think of Drew as an all time great have to come up with silly stuff to say about him to support their arguments. Ryan Clark said he looks like an accountant or a lawyer. Chris Simms said he can't throw a bomb and some other non-sensical stuff, certainly nothing of substance. If you go by his numbers and production, he's the GOAT, and I don't think the argument is a close one.

 

[duhonmark551]

Drew is unmatched for presnap recognition of the defense, finding the most open receiver, not forcing into double coverage, pocket maneuverability, anticipation on hitting a moving target, consistent pass accuracy, and throwing a catchable ball. He doesn't let his receivers dictate who he will throw to. He is the field general, nobody questions his alpha role in the offense.

Outside the lines he spends his bench time looking at his iPad to break down the defense instead of goofing off or pouting.

He gets better as the game goes on. If his team gets behind he doesn't hesitate to try more difficult but high reward passes. He doesn't care about his stats as can be said for Payton M and Aaron R. He is a graceful loser and a modest winner after the final gun sounds.

He is a more intelligent player than you expect to see on football field. He maximizes his assets to win games when lesser players come up short. He got all the passing records not because he wanted them, but because he is so good at his craft.

He's not Picasso, not Warhol, but he's like that guy that painted the Sistine Chapel.

 

[BiloxiSaint1]

From the Saints official Twitter...


View: https://mobile.twitter.com/Saints/status/1050182442294886400?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

 

[Sport Fan]

The one thing Eisen said that doesn't get enough positive talk is Drew Brees height. Its almost always talked about negatively, he's too short. Eisen pointed out how he has to overcome obstacles to complete all those passes. All of the other QBs mentioned as the GOAT didn't have that extra obstacle in their path to career greatness. To me this alone makes Drew Brees the GOAT

 

[ktbarthedoor]

I think his strong Christian faith is an unspoken factor. He's not Tebowing on the field or Bible-thumping in interviews, but his adherence to the principles he believes in are obvious and unashamed, and that makes some people squeamish. Read his autobiography, released by a Christian publishing house, and it's clear he believes he is fulfilling God's plan for his life. He sees the obstacles he has overcome as tests of faith and the rewards of his success as blessings.

It's easy to admire and lavish praise upon someone gifted with immense physical talents that are obviously greater than your own. But anyone can be a good and faithful servant; his example of perseverance and legendary work ethic makes many uncomfortable as it forces them to reflect on their own shortcomings.

 

[KingNene]

I love Rich Eisen. He's such a great dude (running the 40 for charity) and he almost never exaggerates for attention and clicks. His takes are almost always spot on.

 

[Swimmer]

Noble,

Good point. For me, it’s more about how early Barry retired, due to those bad teams. Imo (and many others) Barry would have easily broken that record had he played a bit longer.

Personally I’d take him over Smith all day every day. And that’s no knock on Smith or what he accomplished.

Spot on Hump. And Smith probably had the most powerful running O-line in modern history to run behind. Sanders, not so....

How many Lombardis would Brees have with the Pats, Steelers or old Ginat defenses? 5?

 

[SigFreudianSlip]

Spot on Hump. And Smith probably had the most powerful running O-line in modern history to run behind. Sanders, not so....

Swimmer as usual you hit that proverbial nail brother, right on the head. Agreed.

We have to meet and watch a game someday. Over a brew. I’m only a couple hours from Austin for the next couple of years. Even if I come in looking like the governor from The Walking Dead, or one eyed Willy from the Goonies I can use the eye that will be left to watch our boys.

 

[Swimmer]

I think his strong Christian faith is an unspoken factor. He's not Tebowing on the field or Bible-thumping in interviews, but his adherence to the principles he believes in are obvious and unashamed, and that makes some people squeamish. Read his autobiography, released by a Christian publishing house, and it's clear he believes he is fulfilling God's plan for his life. He sees the obstacles he has overcome as tests of faith and the rewards of his success as blessings.

It's easy to admire and lavish praise upon someone gifted with immense physical talents that are obviously greater than your own. But anyone can be a good and faithful servant; his example of perseverance and legendary work ethic makes many uncomfortable as it forces them to reflect on their own shortcomings.

I never thought about your very interesting points. Is he being prejudiced against because of his faith? I dont know, but With the fickle media, Drew needs 1 more SB ring

Edit: Someone referenced Tim Duncan. Duncan is actually shy and absolutely no self promotion. But what Dunc got that Brees hasn't is like 3 works championships and deep runs in the playoffs almost every year. So Dunc got tons of national exposure every year. Not so with Drew with the many terrible defenses

 

[Hedon James]

The arguments AGAINST Drew are laughable. In fact, I think they PROVE his claim to GOAT moreso than discredit it. Any argument I've heard seems to be an attempt to marginalize Drew based on the criteria that the debater selects, but has the unintended consequence of discrediting a huge swathe of HOF QBs, rather than Drew individually. Some of my favorites, to wit:

1. His stats are "padded" due to the era he's played in. The same era that Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger and Brett Favre played in? Eliminate them from the conversation too, right? And anyone else currently playing the game who may achieve greatness later in their career...

2. Lack of SB victories. Oops...he's won the SB, so that argument doesn't work. Oh...you meant that he's only got ONE ring? Eliminate Marino, as he has none. Shall we also eliminate Brett Favre, with only 1 ring in 2 appearances? How about Steve Young? Does he still quality?

3. Lack of MVPs. Fair comment, but is this the measure of greatness over a career, or a season? I used to give credence to this argument, but it's become apparent to me that this award is a joke...a popularity contest based on who got talked about the most over the year. I also question whether an MVP should go to a player on a team that doesn't skip a beat without him (thinking about Tom Brady missing a season, and journeyman Matt Cassell still taking the Patriots to 11-5 without Brady), versus a player that single-handedly elevates his team to the upper echelon (while this applies to Drew, IMO, I'm thinking of the Colts being a playoff team with Peyton Manning, but contending for the 1st draft pick the next year without him; same story with Andrew Luck...playoffs with, top of the draft order without...)

4. Too Many 7-9 seasons. This is a new one and I give MJD credit for his originality. But this is closely tied to my observations/opinions in #3 above. Closer look (and every Saints fan on this board already knows this) reveals that those 7-9 seasons coincided with a string of "worst defenses" in the history of the NFL. Not just 32nd ranked defenses, but WORST IN HISTORY. And not by a little, but by shattering previous worst defensive stats. Seasons where the gap between the 31st and 32nd ranked defenses was greater than the gap between the 1st and 31st ranked defenses. Let that sink in. Logic should dictate that any team with a defense of that magnitude of "suck" would/should be consistently drafting in the top 5 of the annual NFL draft. Instead, they consistently hovered around the .500 mark, near the middle of the league. Not great, but not historically horrible. How is that even possible? Is it because the QB of that team consistently finishes in the top 3 offenses of the league, and has NEVER finished worse than the 6th ranked offense? Over a 12 season tenure? THAT sounds unbelievable to me! FWIW, Tom Brady is also a legitimate consideration for GOAT...I don't like the guy, in fact I kinda hate him...but I have to concede that he's in that conversation, for good reason. However, when Brady misses a season, his team went 11-5 and contended for the playoffs WITHOUT HIM! How many believe the Saints are a top 6 offense without Drew Brees? How many believe the Saints can salvage a 7-9 season with the worst defense(s) in NFL history if Drew Brees is out for the season? John Elway went to multiple SBs and lost them all before Terrell Davis showed up; suddenly Elway wins 2 Lombardies back-to-back and is mentioned as a GOAT candidate. But obviously, Elway could not and DID NOT single-handedly carry his team to SB victories...it took the right supporting cast! So either MJDs argument doesn't eliminate Brees, or it does eliminate Elway.

Can't have it both ways talking-heads and/or biased-fan gentlemen. Any criteria set forth for GOAT should apply to ALL QBs who ever played the game (it's right there in the title...ALL TIME!). Trying to eliminate Brees from the conversation only serves to eliminate other worthy contenders also. And when all the other worthy contenders are considered, I still see Brees head & shoulders above the rest, despite by fan bias. Of course the stats matter; of course the SB victories matter; of course "elevating the team" matters. But no matter how I look at this, all other contenders for GOAT have played with HOF RBs, or HOF WRs, or elite defenses with HOF defenders. Briefly:

Bradshaw/Harris/Stallworth/Steel Curtain
Staubach/Dorsett/Doomsday
Favre/Sharpe
Elway/Davis/Orange Crush
Montana/Craig/Rice
Aikman/Smith/Irvin
Brady/Moss/numerous Belichick defenses
Manning/Wayne/Harrison/James

Who would you pair with Brees? He's done this without a HOF-calibre RB or WR, and if the defense is HOF, it isn't for the "good" reason. I can't get past this one seemingly undeniable fact that separates him from ALL OTHERS:

No QB in NFL history has done more with less! THAT is the reason Drew Brees is the GOAT! And I don't know that will change in my lifetime...