Drew Brees, All-Time Greatest Saints Quarterback? Vote (1 Viewer)

Drew Brees will be the pro football hall of fame one day and he will go in as a Saint.
Archie Manning was talented but with out his progeny I doubt he would be respected anywhere close to where he is on a national scale. Brees may be the best or at least in the top thee of free agent signings in NFL history. He was hurting, we were hurting and we have rejuvinated together. He may not have started out as a Saint, but Phillip Rivers' place in Chargers history will allow the Saints to claim Brees as an all time Saint. To question Brees' status on top the list of all time Saints players in my opinion can only be compared to Willie Roaf and Rickey Jackson, to entertain the notion of comparing Brees to any of the other qb's in our franchise's history is for the most part a homer argument for local flavor and nostalgia.

It's one of the unfortunate facts of life that history, for the vast majority of people, is only what occurred during their lifespan. If you were never saw Archie play in the Dome, then you simply can't appreciate what the man did every Sunday for the Saints over his tenure here. A few brief reminders:

1.) In 1972 he led the league in pass attempts and completions, and led the NFC in passing yards, though the team's record was only 2-11-1;
2.) In 1978 he was named the NFC Player of the Year by UPI, despite the team's 7-9 record. That same year, Archie was also named All-NFC by both the UPI and The Sporting News.
3.) He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1978 and 1979.

Keep in mind the following
1.) By the time Archie hung up his cleats, he’d been sacked 396 times. Archie’s middle son, Peyton, is now entering his 12th year, the same amount of time Archie played in New Orleans. Peyton has been sacked only 207 times. When Archie left the Saints after 12 years, he'd already be subjected to 350 sacks.
2.) God knows how many times he was hit after throwing the ball. Back then, there was no illegal hit penalty on QBs. Though, because of Archie’s stature as a respected player, defenders were often seen helping him up off the grass after hitting him. They respected Archie that much.

So you see, Archie earned the respect of his NFL and his peers long before his boys became NFL stars.

I want to make clear that I'm not looking to compare Drew to Archie. As a life long Saints fan I can't tell you how happy I am to have Brees. As I indicated in my initial posts, comparisons like this are too apples and oranges to be meaningful. However, to simply dismiss the argument that Archie wouldn't've been exceedingly successful having a Sean Payton as head coach, having the offensive tools Brees has, and having the above average defense the Saints have now, is simply intellectual laziness.

As far as "homerism" and "nostalgia", there's no doubt that that's an element here, but that's a double edged sword. Saying Brees is better then XYZ quarterback also entails at least a bit 'homerism'. Why else be a fan of any team if you're not willing to "homer-up".

But above and beyond that, you should always look to defend and support people Archie. For 8 years, he was practically the ONLY reason the Saints got ANY respect whatsoever. If that isn't reason enough for you to support him, I don't know what is.
 
Archie will always be one of my favorites, but Brees is a once a lifetime talent. Enjoy this ride, fellers.
 
Brees is now & future alltime Saints QB, I love Archie to, grew up watching him, but no QB has ever been this prolific & special for the Saints, & also for most of the league.
 
with Brees only in his fourth year here, his legacy will be disgustingly evident if this team holds reasonably together for the remainder of his career. Who would want to leave with an offense that gives a team a chance?
 
Anyone who votes otherwise is just a sillyface and may even be a borderline poo poo head.
 
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I loved Archie Manning. Went to see him play many times while living in the New Orleans area back then. He did more with a bad team than a man should be expected to do. However, I believe that even he would vote for Brees on this one.
 
Drew Brees is probably the greatest player the Saints have had in their entire history. Having said that Archie will always be Mr. Saint. Growing up so close to New Orleans and raising his entire family in New Orleans Archie is one of the founding fathers of the New Orleans Saints and the cornerstone of it's history. His importance could not possibly be overstated. In the pantheon of Saints history our Giants are great players like Drew Brees, Deuce McAllister, Archie Manning, Ricky Jackson, Sam Mills, William Roaf, Morten Anderson, Dalton Hilliard, and on and on. It's pointless to compare importance to the city and team of players, they are all important and Drew and Archie stand near the top; but, in terms of greatest football players or greatest quarterbacks in the history of the Saints there is little doubt that Drew Brees is the best of a very small group of real QBs. Drew Brees will win a Superbowl for the Saints and the city of New Orleans - this season is my prediction and when he does automatically becomes a Hall of Famer.
 
:mwink: Archie wins, only if he can bring his entire family into the contest.
 
We've never had a QB like Drew, very few teams have. As an aside, one of Rome's sit ins today was listing the top QBs in the league, and said 1. Peyton Manning, 2. Drew Brees, 3. Phillip Rivers, and 4. either Tom Brady or Ben Rothleisburger(sp).
 

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