Where is Drew's head at? It's not all physical. (1 Viewer)

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You've really got to wonder at this point if he's regretting coming back.

We've all talked endlessly about his physical limitations but I'm just as concerned about where his head is.

It's been widely documented that Brees was planning to retire after last season. I've heard it said that as a pro athlete, once your first thought is that you want to retire, you're mentally checked out.

I think Brees came back for a few reasons. One last run to win a SB. To continue to maintain his records vs Brady. I do wonder if Brees would have retired if Brady did.

But since his decision to come back, the world has gone to complete crap.

First of all, there was no offseason workouts, which you know for a perfectionist like Brees hurt.

Then you have him raked over the coals by his teammates. That had to hurt and you wonder, although they say publicly, that everything is fine, how they all really feel. And did it do permanent damage to his status as leader of the team? Normally, I would say no because he was the best player on the team. He's clearly not anymore. It's harder to overlook resentments when you're not performing also.

Unjustly, imo, there is a significant portion of fans who are angry at him for "bending the knee" to SJWs. So you have one segment of fans mad because of what he said and another mad because he changed his opinion. He can't win.

And I really doubt he wanted his swan song to be in front of an empty stadium. Even if things were going well, that's pretty anticlimactic for a HOF career.

Finally, I worry the criticism is getting to him. He has a vacant look in his eyes and his comments about "air yards" clearly show he's reading the critiques about him not being able to get the ball down field. We already knew this based on his specialized arm workout in the offseason.

I truly hope these first two games are an aberration. My gut tells me they aren't.

Best case scenario, he can at least get back to last year's form. It's not good enough to go deep in the playoffs but he can still go out with his head held high.

My nightmare scenario is that we limp to 8-8 and he looks bad the whole way.
 
The fact all of his teammates called him out publically over his flag stance (which he has had for years) is sooooo overlooked. A guy that thrives on trust and respect had every skill position player on his offense come out against him one way or another. Of course his head is not where it needs to be.
 
The fact all of his teammates called him out publically over his flag stance (which he has had for years) is sooooo overlooked. A guy that thrives on trust and respect had every skill position player on his offense come out against him one way or another. Of course his head is not where it needs to be.

When it all first happened, I really didn't think it would be a lingering issue but now I wonder. Guys tend to fall in line when their leader is dominating. His leadership has been challenged and now he's not backing it up on the field.

The team will not fall apart. There is too much character and strong leadership, but it's strained.
 
I don't know. I thought he looked a little tired when I saw his eyes, but honestly I think we're probably reading too much into a bad performance. He played poorly, but I don't think it has anything to do with previously entertaining the idea of retirement or a controversial offseason interview. Regardless of age, we know he's a competitor, so hopefully he will use the performance as fuel to have a great game this week.
 
You've really got to wonder at this point if he's regretting coming back.

We've all talked endlessly about his physical limitations but I'm just as concerned about where his head is.

It's been widely documented that Brees was planning to retire after last season. I've heard it said that as a pro athlete, once your first thought is that you want to retire, you're mentally checked out.

I think Brees came back for a few reasons. One last run to win a SB. To continue to maintain his records vs Brady. I do wonder if Brees would have retired if Brady did.

But since his decision to come back, the world has gone to complete crap.

First of all, there was no offseason workouts, which you know for a perfectionist like Brees hurt.

Then you have him raked over the coals by his teammates. That had to hurt and you wonder, although they say publicly, that everything is fine, how they all really feel. And did it do permanent damage to his status as leader of the team? Normally, I would say no because he was the best player on the team. He's clearly not anymore. It's harder to overlook resentments when you're not performing also.

Unjustly, imo, there is a significant portion of fans who are angry at him for "bending the knee" to SJWs. So you have one segment of fans mad because of what he said and another mad because he changed his opinion. He can't win.

And I really doubt he wanted his swan song to be in front of an empty stadium. Even if things were going well, that's pretty anticlimactic for a HOF career.

Finally, I worry the criticism is getting to him. He has a vacant look in his eyes and his comments about "air yards" clearly show he's reading the critiques about him not being able to get the ball down field. We already knew this based on his specialized arm workout in the offseason.

I truly hope these first two games are an aberration. My gut tells me they aren't.

Best case scenario, he can at least get back to last year's form. It's not good enough to go deep in the playoffs but he can still go out with his head held high.

My nightmare scenario is that we limp to 8-8 and he looks bad the whole way.

It wasn't just his character and leadership on the team that took a hit when he caved to the pressure, it was his political aspirations after football that took a hit too. He's not seen as a guy who stands by his beliefs, he's seen as someone who will cave. It sucks to see someone fall so far in such a short amount of time.

I know I'll get the clowns and dead falcons for this, but you can't over look what has happened to him over the last year on and off the field. It doesn't come without a price.
 
I think every one of the points in the OP are legit, and cumulatively, all of it has got to be wearing on Drew.

I think the biggest issue, which the OP pointed out, is the weird offseason. We've heard many many times
that Drew has a system for everything. Offseason, in-season, OTA's, camp, and game week. Routines that
he hasn't deviated from in two decades. That kind of OCD-like personal planning is hard to break away from,
and he's been forced to do it all in ways that aren't part of his routines.

I can't believe that his accuracy and ball placement simply fell off a cliff over the summer. I think it's correct to
assume that the issue is more mental than physical. And I hope so. Because if it's mental, there's at least a
chance he can go back to being Drew Brees at some point this season. Kinda find the magic and get his mojo
back. If it's physical, then it is what it is.

Then there's also the possibility that he's just had a "meh" game followed by a "bad" game. That happens to
every player in every sport from time to time. If you think about it, how often do you have a "meh" day, and how
often do you have a "bad" day? For me, both happen quite often.
 
You've really got to wonder at this point if he's regretting coming back.

We've all talked endlessly about his physical limitations but I'm just as concerned about where his head is.

It's been widely documented that Brees was planning to retire after last season. I've heard it said that as a pro athlete, once your first thought is that you want to retire, you're mentally checked out.

I think Brees came back for a few reasons. One last run to win a SB. To continue to maintain his records vs Brady. I do wonder if Brees would have retired if Brady did.

But since his decision to come back, the world has gone to complete crap.

First of all, there was no offseason workouts, which you know for a perfectionist like Brees hurt.

Then you have him raked over the coals by his teammates. That had to hurt and you wonder, although they say publicly, that everything is fine, how they all really feel. And did it do permanent damage to his status as leader of the team? Normally, I would say no because he was the best player on the team. He's clearly not anymore. It's harder to overlook resentments when you're not performing also.

Unjustly, imo, there is a significant portion of fans who are angry at him for "bending the knee" to SJWs. So you have one segment of fans mad because of what he said and another mad because he changed his opinion. He can't win.

And I really doubt he wanted his swan song to be in front of an empty stadium. Even if things were going well, that's pretty anticlimactic for a HOF career.

Finally, I worry the criticism is getting to him. He has a vacant look in his eyes and his comments about "air yards" clearly show he's reading the critiques about him not being able to get the ball down field. We already knew this based on his specialized arm workout in the offseason.

I truly hope these first two games are an aberration. My gut tells me they aren't.

Best case scenario, he can at least get back to last year's form. It's not good enough to go deep in the playoffs but he can still go out with his head held high.

My nightmare scenario is that we limp to 8-8 and he looks bad the whole way.
I really, really, really don't want this to be true.

But I really, really, really am afraid that it might be.

Of course, it is way too early to assert this as absolutely true, especially given this team's history of slow starts but this post sets out exactly my state of mind on the issue. I always felt that we'd have to sacrifice a year to honor Brees' legacy (rather than transition immediately when he faltered) and this might be it. I just hope it's not your nightmare scenario.
 
right or wrong on both sides, i think the respect has been lost by everyone for each other. team is fractured. he should have retired
 
Drew has two issues he will not mentally get over. Number one, he had retired in his mind. He checked out. He was done. He then changed his mind. Second, the attack he received by his own teammates after making his statements about what the flag meant to him, his patriotism. He backed down and he now has been emasculated. These two psychological issues have completely destroyed his confidence. He is done. This is two straight games of crappy play in a row. This offseason ended his career.
 
On the flip side, SP runs a complex office and there hasn't been much time to practice and everyone is out of sync. It will come around. However, this has to be the last year of DB. Love him, but unless he turns things around then I hope to see him in Canton shortly. (Trying to stay positive here)
 
I'm afraid he'll force too many deep balls this next game to appease the media and fans, which will no doubt lead to tipped passes and ints. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't believe I am.
 

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