QBREES9

New Orleans Saints' Drew Brees' press conference transcript for Feb. 4
By The Times-Picayune

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees addresses the media Thursday in Miami.
Provided by the NFL, here are excerpts from New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees' Super Bowl XLIV press conference Thursday in Miami.

On using a lot of shifts and motions on offense" “When you shift and move, that’s a way as an offense to blitz the defense. You make them have to adjust quickly and make decisions quickly. At times defenses will have checks to certain formations or looks, depending on the personnel you have on the field or formation you’re in. When you’re able to switch guys up and move them around a lot, all of a sudden it puts the defense in a tough spot where all of a sudden they blow a coverage and a guy pops wide open. Or you get a matchup that favors you.”
On how many motion plays does the Saints playbook feature: “Every play has the potential to have motion with it. You always leave that open so that you can get in positions to leave that open.”
On the benefit of the bye week before the Super Bowl: “Rest is a huge part of it and recharging the battery and refreshing your mind. When you come into the week you know that your body is rested and your mind is ready to go. You are able to focus and put forth the work and preparation it takes to get ready to play on Sunday.

“You now really have two weeks to prepare for an opponent. Last week, even though we may not have been practicing the whole week, you are still watching film and getting ready for the opponent. That way you feel like you have a leg up on the preparation.”
On the benefit of being considered an underdog: “I don’t look at it either way. In the end it doesn’t matter if you win by one point or 20 points, or if you’re the underdog and you cover the spread, but you lose. Who cares? We’re here to win.”

On whether it shows disrespect to be considered the underdog: “You could look at it like the guys who think they know what they’re talking about think we’re going to lose. Whatever you can to provide extra motivation, I’m all for it.’

On Head Coach Sean Payton motivating the team: “Sean is awesome at that. He finds every little thing. Whatever it takes to motivate and inspire. However he can narrow the focus down to something that’s very singular, saying ‘This is what we need to do. Or let’s use this single factor as our motivation.’ He’s great at that.”

On staying focused prior to the Super Bowl: “Everyone talks about pregame taking forever – the flash blubs going off at the kickoff and all the things that surround this where it could over-hype it or take your focus off the task at hand. It’s really about getting past all that stuff initially and being able to get to the game. You have to say to yourself, ‘It’s football. It’s another game and we know how to go out and play well and win these types of games.’ It’s really about taking what you prepare all week in practice and going out and translating that to the game field and getting through all the peripheral stuff in the beginning, just to be able to get to that point.”

On whether being in Miami makes him think about what may have been had the Dolphins signed him in 2006: “Maybe a little irony, but I don’t think about it other than a lot of media asking me about it the past three days. Everything happens for a reason. I’m happy to be here.”

On whether he is nervous this week: “You can call it nerves or butterflies. I definitely have all those things throughout the course of a game week and into the game. The nerves and those butterflies, slowly as the week goes along, they continue to diminish and what replaces it is confidence. The more you know that you are prepared and ready and you visualized it and are ready to take on the moment, that’s when the confidence comes in. A little bit of nervousness and butterflies is what gives you that edge to be able to go out and play fast and react. A little bit of that is very necessary. If you don’t have any of that it may be time to get out.”
On whether he has Super Bowl memories from ones he has watched in the past: “Watching all those Cowboys’ championships from the early 90’s, being a kid growing up in Texas. I was 12, 13, 14, 15 years old and really getting into football at that age. The Cowboys being the home state team, America’s Team. It was all about those guys. At that time you can only dream about being in this position. Here we are.”

On whether he has been to a Super Bowl in the past: “I watch the Super Bowl every year on TV because I love the sport, I love football and I love to see it played at the highest level and I love to play it at the highest level. While I said I would never go to a game if I wasn’t playing in it, I certainly would watch it on TV and visualize the moment and try to put myself there.”
On being rewarded with a new contract: “I’m not worried about that, especially not right now before this game. I’m just trying to win this football game.”
On his relationship with Coach Sean Payton: “Sean gave me the opportunity to be here. He believed in me when nobody else did. I feel like we’ve grown so much together. My first year here was his first year as a head coach. It was like a new chapter in both of our lives. We were both trying to feel our way through in the beginning. It’s been fun for him to watch me grow and develop as a quarterback and a person throughout this journey in New Orleans. For me, I have had the pleasure of watching him grow and develop as a head coach. I feel like I’ve been around some great coaches – Marty Schottenheimer in San Diego and others. To watch him, I marvel at the way he is able to say the perfect thing at the perfect moment whatever it might be whether it’s a motivational word or an inspirational story. He is able to always have his finger on the pulse of the team and know this is the time to press forward and work or this is the time to back off and have a little fun. He has a knack and ability to use humor or a joke to challenge you or motivate you. It’s hard to explain unless you’re around it every day. I wouldn’t want to play for anyone else. I get a proud feeling when I think of him and the road he has traveled to get to where he’s at right now and all he has invested and how hard he has worked.”

On the synergy between himself and Payton: “We’ve played a lot of football games together. We’ve been a part of a lot of games together and big games in big situations. For us to be on the same page, it’s like ESP. I can anticipate the call before it comes. A lot of that is preparation from throughout the week and us talking through things and knowing what he is going to call before he calls it, according the situation. Sometimes when I come to the sideline and we’re both seeing the same thing, we talk about it and we communicate. We just have that type of confidence with one another that he is going to put me in the best position to succeed and lead the offense. I’m going to make him right as much as I can. It’s just a great quarterback-play-caller relationship.’

On before he became a Saint: “I think he (Payton) felt he had to do a lot more selling than I did. I came in with the mentality that I was prepared to have to sell myself because at the time my bargaining position was not too strong. It was two months after my shoulder injury and so many unknowns. I could’ve said until I was blue in the face that I was going to come back and be better than ever. You really just had to have a lot of trust and faith in me. He did that and I know he talked to a lot of people who had been around me and knew me, my personality and work ethic. Sean (Payton) is great and being able to read people. He must have seen something in me that he knew I was going to come back better than ever. He could trust me at my word and I was going to do what I say I’m going to do. The rest is history.”

On the Saints receiving corps: “I love my receiving corps. As a group, they are the best in the league. When you talk about what each one of them brings to the field and to our offense, each one of them has some very unique strengths. They all work so well together. What’s great about it is they are all very unselfish. They understand that throughout the course of a game, ‘Today might be my day. I might be able to catch 10 yards for 150 yards and 2 touchdowns. While other days I might only catch one pass, but my role is still just as important because I’m creating opportunities for other guys. It might be another guy’s big catch today.’ I think they all understand the philosophy of what we’re trying to accomplish on offense. The ball is going to get spread around and we’re throwing it to the open guy. They are really a special group.”

New Orleans Saints' Drew Brees' press conference transcript for Feb. 4 | Super Bowl Central - - NOLA.com

www.sportsshooter.com/johnjcoleman

" Anyone can take a picture Only a Photographer can take a photograph "