NOS.com: Drew Brees: "We Take A Lot of Pride in The Way We Play at Home"

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We always talk about playing against other quarterbacks, but are you at all intrigued about playing against Robert Griffin III?

“Yes, I think it’s exciting to see these young quarterbacks, their talent level, preparedness and just how far along they are coming into this league, compared to even when I was first coming into this league. It just seems like the style of offenses that they run in college and their coaching; there’s so much overlap between college and pro coaches and the type of systems that each are running. Typically there’s just a lot of similarities and carryover, so it just seems like with guys coming into this league, you see the numbers they put up in college and we have five rookie starters this year at quarterback, which is unbelievable. His talent and athletic ability is phenomenal. I like the guy because he’s a Texas quarterback and we stick together. I admired him afar in his college career knowing that he’s a homegrown Texas boy. I think he carries himself with a lot of confidence.”

How well do you know him personally?

“Funny enough, myself, Jimmy Graham and Tim Tebow played him and a couple of other guys in the Madden Bowl at Super Bowl last year in Indianapolis. We actually beat him on a last second touchdown to Lance Moore. We were the Saints. I can’t remember who they were, but that was fun. It was the first time I met him. I congratulated him on the Heisman. Obviously that was before the draft. We didn’t know he’d be picked up by the Redskins and we’d be opening up against him.”

You were not a full-time starter as a rookie. Are you amazed that all these rookie quarterbacks are starting from day one now?

“Right into the fire. I think their level of preparation is a little bit more than most guys just because of how far the game has come and the carryover from college to the NFL. What they see, what they do, what they’re responsible for, the type of coaching and all that stuff (are responsible). I think it’s a credit to how far the game’s come and the level of talent that comes out of that position now.”

What do you see in the Redskins defense, their front seven especially?

“They’re stout. They’re tough both against the run and getting after the passer. They have some good pressure packages. They’re a veteran group that plays hard and plays well. They’re used to playing in a physical division in the NFC East. We’ve got a little bit of a track record with these guys. In fact, every time I’ve played them it’s come down to the wire. (I’ve had) Two overtime games with them in my career. I think we know the type of team it is and the type of game it can be.”

This game will be the first game after Hurricane Isaac in New Orleans for you guys. Between that and the offseason you guys had do you think there will be a lot of energy Sunday?

“It’s kind of interesting. It’s the first time I thought about it. This will be my seventh year here. In my seven years here, in ’06, our first game in the dome against the Atlanta Falcons was the first game in the dome after Katrina. In ’08, the first game in the dome was the first game of the season after Gustav. We played Tampa. Now, here we are, first game in the dome, first game of the season after Isaac. I guess we’ve been in this situation before. It’s quite emotional and obviously a lot of people are still recovering and struggling with us as a team recognizing what it means to them for us to be out there and our motivation to play for them.”

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Drew Brees: "We Take A Lot of Pride in The Way We Play at Home"