WhoDat!656

Man, we don't deserve Drew Brees. He is going to break the NFL's all-time passing record on Monday night, and nobody gives a (expletive). It's true. Sure, you like Drew Brees. You enjoy his games. Hell, you try to get him on your fantasy team every year. But you also take him for granted. He's so good, you just come to expect a great performance from him, like, every time he takes the field. It's like going to a movie starring Hugh Jackman. You know before you walk in the theater doors that his movie is going to be amazing. Well, not "The Wolverine," but most of those movies.

This is exactly why Brees is the most underrated player in NFL history. You heard me. In. NFL. History.

Don't believe me? Take a moment and make a list of the best quarterbacks ever. Obviously, your list starts with some combination of Tom Brady and Joe Montana. Does Brees make your top three? (He should; he's better than Peyton Manning.) Does he make your top five? Does he even make your top 10? I'm talking about when you originally jotted it down, and not when you went back to redo your list because you felt guilty.

Of course, you shouldn't feel guilty, not because you're right to omit Brees (you aren't!) but because you wouldn't be alone. Here are a couple of posts ranking the greatest QBs of all time that were compiled within the past year or two by some of the most prominent, well-respected football minds in the business. Brees doesn't crack either of these lists. And I have to point out again that these are great football minds. This isn't some kid on his Facebook page trying to garner attention by omitting him.

It's crazy that he barely registers when you consider that he's an 11-time Pro Bowler, a Super Bowl champion and a Super Bowl MVP. Now, he's never been a league MVP. Not even when he received his lone first-team All-Pro nod in 2006, in his first season with the Saints. The MVP award went to his former Chargers teammate LaDainian Tomlinson that year. (Since we're here, it's fair to point out Brees was underrated by the Chargers brass who allowed him to walk away from San Diego after the 2005 season. If you ever want to get LT going, ask him how great the Chargers would have been had they kept Brees and drafted Larry Fitzgerald in 2004 instead of picking Eli Manning and then making the Philip Rivers swap.)

But it's nuts. In addition to becoming the NFL's all-time leading passer, Brees has completed the most passes in NFL history (6,344). His 67.1 completion percentage is also tops. He's currently No. 4 on the all-time list with 496 passing touchdowns (43 away from the record, or like six more games against the Falcons). His current passer rating is 97.1 (fourth all time). He's had 30 fourth-quarter comebacks (13 away from the leader, Peyton Manning).

Let's cut to the chase and explore why he's so underrated. I've identified some key potential reasons:

Unpopular Opinions: Drew Brees is most underrated player ever - NFL.com

"A Veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount of "up to and including my life."

darksoul35

He is # 1 to me without a doubt.

The Dude

Idk, all I heard all week is how he’s going to break the record. From both local and national media. He’s getting his respect.
I do believe we have kind of wasted his talent. 12 years with a top 5 offense and only one ring to show for it. If it weren’t for our defense every year would be a Saints/Patriots Super Bowl.

ChrisXVI

I talk to fans of other teams all the time. In fact, I don’t know a single other person who I see in my daily life that’s a Saints fan. That being said, when I tell people I’m a Saints fan, every single person without fail LOVES Drew Brees. I don’t think there’s another QB out there as universally liked and respected as Brees. I don’t know where I’m going with this exactly... Maybe just trying to say that the people know, regardless of what the talking heads say.

"When you get into one of these groups, there's only a couple of ways you can get out. One, is death; the other, is mental institutions."

rezburna

He’s underrated. His statistics put him top 3 all time. A lot of people don’t even put him in the top 5. They take the likes of Marino, Young, or Elway over him. I don’t.

dam1953

Fan’s love Brees, almost universally. The sports media focuses on the big market teams and QB’s who make news. Brees......he just makes records.

jeanpierre

Am also a Patriots fan since the days of Steve Grogran, John Hannah, Russ Francis, Mike Haynes, Stanley Morgan...

But I still argue with one of my best friends that Manning was better than Brady, though I've given Brady more respect since the come-from-behind-win vs the Falcons...

This is how I finally got one in on my Brother in this debate...

We both agreed that Barry Sanders was head and shoulders a superior running back to Emmitt Smith (wasn't hard as he hates the Cowboys)...

So I brought up that Smith had three Superbowls and the rushing title and without thinking twice he responded "But that was a team effort to..."

As he said it, he realized I had finally had him...

It is much the same truth for Brees. For years, especially when it came to Brees' contracts, I'd argue that Brees is the beneficiary of Payton...

But now reflecting on Payton's tenure since 2006 with Brees, I now admit I was wrong to criticize Brees to go along with his greed-is-good agent...

I've become a more intense follower of the NFL Draft the last twelve years, and I realized it's Payton that's the failure for only winning one with Drew...

Payton is a lot like Don Shula who basically go tenure for a SuperBowl win and really has coasted with Brees, and that's a shame to waste Brees talent...

Now, like many here, I've high hopes for this squads' success this year, but I no longer extend any slack whatsoever to the Payton-Loomis front office...

And when the books are done and it's time to account for Brees' career and success - I will be very unforgiving to Payton-Loomis and the chances they wasted...

It's not that my way is the right way, I just make the right way my way...

ChrisXVI

Packers fans have started down the same path JP when it comes to Rodgers-McCarthy.

lee909

I really don't care if he breaks the record this week or next week

Win first and if the records falls it falls.

CharityMike

Phil Simms for Christ's sake, has him at 11.....ELEVEN??? best qb. I LOL'd to myself and wanted to see who are the 10 people better than him.