Athletes - Drew Brees

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	Athletes - Drew Brees

Drew Christopher Brees (born January 15, 1979 in Austin, Texas) is an American football quarterback who formely played for the San Diego Chargers in the NFL. In 2006 he signed a contract with the New Orleans Saints.

College career

Drew Brees was the Texas Class 5A Most Valuable Player in 1996 while leading Westlake High School to a 16-0 record. Brees attended Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. He left Purdue with Big Ten Conference records in passing yards (11,792), touchdown passes (90), total offensive yards (12,693), completion percentage (.611), completions (1,026), and attempts (1,678). He also led the Boilermakers to the 2001 Rose Bowl, Purdue's first appearance in Pasadena since 1967. Brees was a finalist for the Davey O'Brien Award as the nation's best quarterback in 1999. Brees won the Maxwell Award as the nation's outstanding player of 2000. Brees was also fourth in heisman voting in 1999 and 3rd in 2000. As a senior Brees was named the Academic All-America Player of Year, the first Purdue Boilermaker since Bruce Brineman (1989) to earn national academic honors. Brees also was awarded for his humble and productive attitude when he was the recipient of Purdue’s Leonard Wilson Award for unselfishness and dedication.

Draft

Brees was drafted by the San Diego Chargers with the first pick in the second round (32nd overall) in 2001. Brees was the second quarterback selected (behind Michael Vick) and San Diego's second selection of 2001, after San Diego traded the first overall pick to Atlanta Falcons for for the 5th overall pick, which they used to select LaDainian Tomlinson. This particular draft is notable for San Diego and Brees. Firsly, San Diego forfeited the opportunity to select Michael Vick in favor of Tomlinson, despite the fact that the quarterback position was the more pressing one. It was expected that the Miami Dolphins or Detroit Lions would select Brees in the first round, however both teams allowed Brees to slip to the second round, where San Diego happily drafted the QB. Additionaly, the draft was significant for Brees because, while Brees was a senior at Purdue and attending the Heisman awards ceremony with the then TCU runningback Tomlinson, the two joked about how it would be great if they could be on the same team. Evidently as it turned out they did end up on the same team. During the draft, Tomlinson and Brees greeted each other and made a vow to turn the Chargers team around. . He played in his first-career game on November 4, 2001, against the Kansas City Chiefs. Brees won the starting job over Doug Flutie during training camp before the start of the 2002 season, but was later replaced during the 2003 season by Flutie.

Early NFL Career

In his rookie season, Brees played only one game under head coach Mike Riley but did arguably well, garnering a passer rating of 94.8. In his second year, Brees wasn't able to silence critics who complained about his poor arm strength. Brees posted reasonable numbers, passing for 3284 yards and 17 touchdowns under new head coach Marty Schottenheimer. The Chargers looked to turn Brees' second season into a successful one as they stared 4-0 against a difficult schedule. However, a series of losses forced the Chargers into a .500 at 8-8, and forced Brees to settle for a 76.9 rating on the season. Brees was named the starter of 2003, but failed to prove himself worthy of the job as he posted his worst season ever, with a career low 2108 yards and 67.5 rating. The Chargers went 4-12 under the poor leadership of both Brees and Flutie. San Diego earned the first overall pick with said record, and looked to draft a quarterback.

Comeback

Drew's career with the Chargers was briefly put in jeopardy after San Diego drafted N.C. State's Philip Rivers with the fourth pick in the first round of the 2004 NFL draft. In fact, it was almost certain Brees' days as the Chargers' starting QB were over. However, Rivers held out during all of training camp and most of the preseason for big money, he eventually settled for pretty much what was offered prior to the opening of training camp. This forced the Chargers coaching staff to give Brees one last look and Drew perservered to remain the starter throughout the 2004 season and jump to near the top the league's statistical rankings. Brees held the third best rating in the NFL, at 104.8 (behind Peyton Manning and Daunte Culpepper) and posted the best single season record in Chargers history, easily breaking the previous record held by Dan Fouts. Brees was selected to the 2005 NFL Pro Bowl as a reward for his impressive 2004 season. Brees was also named 2004 NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

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Athletes - Drew Brees

College career

Draft

Early NFL Career

Comeback

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