New Orleans Saints Forums - blackandgold.com - Danny Cox New Orleans Saints Vs. San Diego Chargers preview: 2010 preseason game three

At the end of the 2005 season, Drew Brees suffered an injury to his right shoulder that caused an entire city to collectively gasp and look on in horror. A few minutes later, that gasp was then replaced with a collective sigh of relief because Chargers' fans knew that not all was lost. Their franchise quarterback had just walked off the field holding his right arm in an elevated position, but they knew their next franchise quarterback was already sitting on the sidelines.

We all know just how fickle football fans can be.

Philip Rivers had been sitting patiently (?) on the bench and biding his time until he would step into the starting role for the San Diego Chargers, but it appeared as if Drew Brees wasn't going to give it up without a fight. The sad part is that he didn't even get the chance to figut because the injury to his shoulder opened the door for Philips to step in and Brees to...well, we escorted out. The Chargers were Rivers' team now and Brees was not content with just being a nicely paid back-up. Can't say you can blame the guy, but then again, who knew if his shoulder would ever be the same again?

The answer to that question is simple and it's Mickey Loomis and Sean Payton. Brees was brought in after being shunned by then Miami Dolphins' coach Nick Saban, and the rest, as they say, is history. Now Brees is in New Orleans as the leader of the Saints and has led the team to two NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl title. Not bad for a guy that was expected not to fully recover from an injury that seemed completely debilitating.

With that, the Saints will welcome the Chargers into the Superdome on Friday night for a preseason contest that won't have the same luster as it would were the teams to meet during the regular season or even the Super Bowl. Rivers and Brees will get their fair share of time under center and it could turn into a shoot-out before long, but then they'll be pulled so the younger guys can showwhat they can do. After all, they're the ones putting it all out there in hopes of making the team.

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