QBREES9

New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees

Post-Practice Media Availability

Tuesday, August 10, 2010 - Foxboro, Mass.
What were your impressions of the Patriots after practicing with them?
"I think they're a very good football team. They are a playoff-caliber team and they're one of those teams that each year you expect to go deep into the playoffs and be a championship contender every year. They have some very good players on defense and it's fun to play against them. We played the Patriots last year but before that it had been a long time so a lot of these guys I haven't played against a whole lot so you're back to the mentality of studying their personnel, studying every defensive look. It breaks up the monotony and makes it fun."

Do you ever get a chance to talk with Tom Brady off the field at all?
"Occasionally. His life's crazy; my life's crazy in the offseason with our families and everything else that we have going on. But I have a lot of respect for Tom, both on and off the field. We'll talk occasionally with a text message or whatever. With any quarterback around the league, there's that mutual respect and the quarterback fraternity. We all kind of know what each other is going through. There have been times when he's texted me words of encouragement or congratulations and I'll do the same for him. There's a mutual respect there."

Sean Payton said that you both have studied teams in their years coming off of a Super Bowl win. Has he shared any of that with you?
"He has, and I've done the same as have some of the other guys on our team. You'd be naïve to think that you're just going to step on the field and it's going to happen for you, that teams are going to roll over or be intimidated because you're the defending world champs. If anything, it only gets harder because everyone is gunning for you and you have the big bull's eye on your chest. I think the main focus for us is to just get a little bit better every day and to not let the little things slide; constantly focus on the details and focus on the fundamentals and all the little things that are going to get you a little bit better every day and don't look too far ahead. It's all about one week at a time, one day at a time; I could throw out all the cheesy clichés, but the fact is that they're true. That's what we're trying to do - just focus on one day at a time."

Is there an example of a team that stood out to you as to how to do it?
"The last repeat team was the Pats. That's another reason why coming up here and playing against these guys...we know what these guys stand for and their organization. What they've been able to accomplish has been unbelievable, especially in the era of free agency where you get so much turnover on a team and yet they've been able to adopt that philosophy that nobody is bigger than the team and it's all about one day at a time, one game at a time. There are a lot of things that we can learn from them."

When you hear your name mentioned with Tom Brady and Peyton Manning as the elite quarterbacks in this league, does that mean anything to you?
"It's an honor to even be considered with those two because I think they'll go down as two of the best of all time when you look at their accomplishments and the number of championships they've won. I really don't concern myself with it too much. People will say what they want - positive or negative - and I choose to focus on what I need to do to get a little bit better every day. My goals and aspirations are pretty high. I've set the bar high for myself and I just want to accomplish those things."

Speaking of Brady and Manning, are you paying attention to what's going on with their contract situations?
"Sure. Any guy who plays your position and is in a position where they're negotiating a new contract, that affects you. In a way, I'm paying attention and in a way, I'm not because it's all about playing football right now. It's not the offseason anymore. I know there was talks of that but for now it's just about winning football games and that stuff will take care of itself."

You had a perfect QB rating in the game against the Patriots last year. What went into that? Was it game planning or just being in the zone during the game?
"That was a big night for all of us because we knew the gravity of that game, playing against a team like the Patriots on Monday Night Football and wanting to keep the undefeated streak alive. It just felt like the next step in proving that we were championship worthy. For me, I'd like to think it was just like any other game, but that game was a little bit bigger than the rest."

And you were so banged up in the secondary that you probably felt you had to score a lot of points, right?
"We brought in Mike McKenzie that week and he got a big interception in the game. Chris McAlister had been brought in the week before and hadn't played so that was his first game. Our two starting corners were both guys that we had literally pulled off the street within the last week and I think that says a lot about our team and our defensive scheme and our head coach and the way were able to pull it together and win, and win in big fashion."

www.sportsshooter.com/johnjcoleman

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

OldMaid

Good interview.