Sports fans aren’t easy to please.
That’s not a groundbreaking statement, but it’s an important reminder. Our enjoyment is predicated on an athlete’s ability to produce and ultimately win championships.
Anything less, and we’re disappointed. That’s what makes investing in any particular team fun.
So what do you do when one athlete has accomplished those things and more but now sits in the twilight of his career?
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is in that position. Though he played like an elite quarterback for most of the last eight years, Brees wasn’t Superman last year. Fans started to see his greatness fade like so many aging quarterbacks before him.
Even though he seemed to embrace the task, it’s completely unfair to put the 35-year-old Brees on the same pedestal he occupied in his prime. He simply can’t win games by himself.
The 2009 Super Bowl team had three Pro Bowl offensive lineman and two other good ones, which resulted in the Saints’ sack numbers being near the bottom of the league.
Not only did that team have one of the top passing offenses, it was also the sixth-ranked rushing offense with more than 130 yards per game on the ground, creating the most explosive total offense in the league.
Brees was the face of the team that lifted the Lombardi Trophy, but the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.
Last season, the whole was not greater. In fact, the Saints weren’t good at all. They lacked all the qualities that made the ’09 team great, and they were often painful to watch. Even three straight games in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, a place where they thrived in 2013, couldn’t save the Saints’ season.
As the quarterback, Brees naturally received much of the blame. Fans wouldn’t necessarily be wrong to fault Brees for his team’s shortcomings, but to do so would be shortsighted.
While many fans claimed Brees’ arm strength is diminishing, the quarterback actually tied with Pittsburgh signal-caller Ben Roethlisberger for most passing yards in the league last season. That has much to do with his league-leading number of attempts, which is 31 more than the player in second, but it still displays his consistency from year to year.
Brees was also tied for third in the league in interceptions last season, but it wasn’t even the highest total of his career. Considering he attempted 659 passes, which was the second most of his career, I would expect to see more than 17 interceptions.
On the flip side, with the injury bug hitting the team early on, the Saints fell near the bottom of the league in passing yards, rushing yards and points allowed per game. The defense sacked quarterbacks only 34 times, 15 less than the previous season, and New Orleans held a minus 13 turnover differential, which was second to last in the league.
Regardless of the facts, draft experts still believe this is the year the Saints need to draft a quarterback. With five of the first 78 picks, it’s something the Saints should consider, but some have suggested general manager Mickey Loomis may take that chance in the first round.
With so many other holes to fill on the defense and a quarterback who has at least three more good years still on your roster, why rush?
Brees may not be the man he was four years ago, but now may not be the time to prepare for the future.
James Bewers is a 21-year-old mass communication junior from New Orleans. You can reach him on Twitter @JamesBewers_TDR.