Who here still has faith in Brees
 

With all the "Brees is greedy" threads I want to say for the record I do. I think a lot of people here and on other message boards will be eating crow once this all shakes out. I want to officially state that I am still behind Drew 100%. Who else is in? You guys are all speculating and judging Drew before we know the facts.

I too support Brees, BUT lets not forget who lead the NFLPA on last seasons lockout . I expect him to do something radical,like holding back in training camp and forcing the Saints to trade him if he doesnt get the money he wants.If he had the balls to stop an entire season of football,he can handle one team...

Just good old fashion contract negotiations. Give this thing some time to shake out. Believe me, if push comes to shove, Tom Benson will step in and resolve the matter. Brees is a team first guy, he is also probably working on the last contract of his career, he needs to make it count! In the end Brees will be with the Saints, and will be the highest paid player in the NFL.

While I sorta agree with some of the stuff you said compairing his contract to the lockout negotiations are apples and oranges. During the lockout he was a face that represented the entire NFL players assoc along with other players in the league or past. Here he is simply negotiating his contract. It happened the same way with Manning. It takes time to get these things done and he knows it. We are sweating this a lot more than either Brees or the FO.

I'm not 100% sure about this so enlighten me if I am wrong, but didn't Brees have a back-loaded contract with the Chargers and when he got injured, that was it. He lost a lot of money because of how it was structured. If that is the case, wouldn't he be stupid not to try and get a deal where the money came in the early years in case it happened again? Once bitten and all that. I am 100% behind Brees and it suprises me that more people aren't waiting to see how things are before making decisions about the man. Also, and I have been trying to get an answer for this;when did the offer last year happen? I never heard or saw a thing about it but people are saying he was offered a big deal last year.

I honestly dont know. You can tell me this and that, but here's what I know:

1. Im have season tickets and travel 5 or 6 hrs. each game to watch the saints. its expensive, but its been part of my life.

2. Brees turned down a $30 million $$ signing bonus.

3. I just paid $75 to fill up my tank. $75 is still a lot of money to me.

4. apparently, we live in different worlds.

I support Brees, but at the same time I see no harm in debating the issue and exploring all the alternatives.

Just as you state that we don't have all the facts to deem that Brees' side has been solely pursuing self interest over team interest - that same lack of facts doesn't allow us to know that he has an intent to work it all out in the end.

Therefore, I welcome the speculation going both ways, and that is what these boards are for in the end - not to serve as evidence to judge later on who was right and who was wrong.

I still have faith in brees, but I've also lost a lot of respect for him this offseason

^^This^^

I can understand the man wanting to GET PAID but what they were asking for is not feasable at the moment. I like AG's theory that this was all a ploy to not have Knicks tagged. It forced our hand on the issue and it just suckes to realize how much influence an agent can have on a franchise.

I have faith in Brees regardless of whether or not he's being selfish or greedy about his contract.

He's a top 3 QB and a stand up guy, but too many people think he's a perfect angel which bothers me, so I do play devil's advocate quite a bit with this whole contract situation.

IDK, can't begrudge a guy for acting in his own best interest. At the end of the day, it's a business, and team/franchise/fan loyalty aside, you have to protect yourself. If I ever had the opportunity to negotiate a multi-million dollar contract, I'm sure I'd grab for the brass ring also.

I still have faith in him.

Speaking for myself; I was one of Drew's biggest "Don't worry guys. Everything isgonna be ok". Don't believe me??? Go back and check the first threads about this whole subject.

Having said that, I say this (For the 5th or 6th time);

DREW CAN CLEAR UP ALL OF THIS DOUBT AND DOOM BY MAKING A SIMPLE INFORMATIVE INTERVIEW FOR THE FANS. (Sorry, I didn't mean to shout)

Not one person here, or an NFL fan can say that New Orleans would have been better off without Drew. Because the entire free world knows he is the best thing to happen to this team.

You mention "Faith". "Faith" is different from person to person. Look at how many different Christian religions there are. They all believe in Christ; they just have different opinions on the little things. Well, right now, just us on this board are is disagreement about the "Little" things. I can only imagine how the rest of the Saints Nation is split with this same subject.

So to answer your question. Yes, I have "faith" in Drew. But right now my "faith" in Drew is in his on the field performance. His off the field performance is what has my "faith" shaken. So I will say it again....

Drew can stop the nay-sayers and doom-platoon; by simply talking to the "Fans" and assure us everthing is going to be okay. My problem with Drew, is that he hasn't done this yet.

I believe.

No need for me to put my two cents in. Well said.

I'm upset at the process and the fact he turned down the richest contract in the history of the league, but loose faith.... Yeah right, he's the best QB in the league and let's hope this contract bull gets taken care of soon

do I have FAITH right now? No, zero percent
BUT, if and when he signs I will be behind him 100% again. Right now he is like any other NFL player not on our roster. as posted above, he can fix this, and it sure wouldn't hurt if he said something, anything to the press

My concern with Brees being a big union man is this: He knows if he gets that big salary he wants, then he is also setting the bar for ALL other players, especially quarterbacks. His contract will be the new standard, so not only is he screwing with us right now, he is screwing with the owners for all of posterity

There was a reason that Brees wanted exemptions from the FA tag. He knew that the financial ramifications of the newly negotiated collective bargaining agreement would put downward pressure on "superstars'" contracts. As such he would be in a difficult situation relative to his impending negotiations.

Obviously, it is a fine line between paying market price (or what might be market price in a completely free market) for a player and fielding a championship competitive team.

There's so many things that can go wrong (see NO@SF this year) in one game that can derail a championship team that subjugating potential salary for a possible run would not be in the best interest of the player. One can't hold Brees responsible for things outside his control (except for underthrowing a WIDE open Meachem resulting in an INT during that same game)

I'm not saying Brees doesn't deserve what he's asking for. But there are legitimate competing interests. In order to meet his salary from a financial perspective, the Saints must remain a relevant team. Profitability, in the form of merchandising sales, gate sales, concessions, and parking, will directly correlate to team success.

It would be catastrophic to have a slide like that of the Rams, Colts or Vikings, up for a long time, down for a decade.

I don't know if I understand the question...

Have faith in him like as can he deliver on the field? Only for another year or 2.

I do have faith that he will be in camp with a contract or not. He isn't the type of player to hold out at all.

Now some say well he was one of the faces of the players union during the labor agreement... well that is the very reason his ass better sign the tag and be in camp on time. He needs to live up to that agreement for the players union and league. They agreed on the Tags and money those players tagged would get so to bad so sad you have to play by the rules you voted on...

Good points made, Euph.

faith in his ability...yes
faith that he is the man we thought he WAS...not so much.

(in my best Boston voice)

Dude, you are like wicked smart!

Plenty of faith here, for those so inclined ...
Drew Brees | Facebook

I honestly thought Drew was going to take a little less to help management keep key players in place. I swear to all that is holy I honestly expected him to do that. I'm not talking about a deep cut in his contract. If anyone deserves the 'highest paid player' tag it's Drew Brees.

What I know now is that we have twice attempted to make him just that - the highest paid player. I'm assuming here, but I assume his disapproval of either of those deals is due to their back-loaded nature. I understand completely why this would be of concern to him.

But in the end this squabble appears to be over chump change relative to the money he has made and will make if he signed the deal as is.

Do I have faith in him? 100% absolutely. Complete faith. I am disappointed though, and with what I believe is good reason.

I am really more annoyed by all his streams of Facebook posts that are basically really obvious advertising/endorsements-- I mean I get what he's doing and all but he's gotten way out of hand with it. That is not the same Drew.

I agree with Sapper, otherwise, it is going to be a long painful time until JULY.

Management/Smanagement LOYALTY goes both ways. It was time for the Saints to show LOYALTY to their guy the one that has been LOYAL to the SAINTS and this TOWN and in comparison was low paid for what he brought here and in my opinon so far they failed. Quarterbacks like this do not come along that often ask the twenty or so teams that would love to have Brees.

So you would be ok if the team paid Drew 100 Meellion dollars and let the rest of the team be 2nd string scrubs? Where does that get us (The Team)?

It's not like the contract, money wise, was a low ball offer. He just doesn't want what happened in San Deeago to happen here.

For those who have lost faith in Drew..... You better go find your Brooks jersey...

I am going to call you out if I see you wearing #9 this season.

If the "team" did that, I would have problems with the "team" not Drew.

I believe after all is said and done everybody will be satisfied with the results of what Mickey will accomplish with this BS.One of the main things that urks me the most is knowing that our QB is getting disgruntled.That in itself is enough to diminish production.Drew had it on his mind probably more than we think last season.

Yeah,he turned down the big payday Twice...(I'm still puzzled on that one)
So what was the underlying reason??There had to another reason besides what we were fed.
I'll back our leader until he suits up somewhere else,and I know I'd still root for him when we weren't against him.Well sure thats depending on how bad the fallout WOULD be.He isn't going anywhere in my belief but who knows right.
I just don't understand his agents posturing right now but I'm truly believing there's a bright light @ the end of this dim (Not Dark)tunnel.
Faith has kept me a Saintsfan my entire Who-Dat life!
SAINTS FOR LIFE HERE!

I think you missed the sarcasim/comical point I was making. Maybe my jokes suck, I dunno.