New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees, the greatest of all time?

There should be a great debate on whether New Orleans Saints’ Drew Brees should go down as the greatest quarterback in NFL history.

On Monday night, the city of New Orleans was electric as Drew Brees broke the all-time NFL record for most passing yards in a career. An emotional moment was shared between Brees and his fans as he passed football legends, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning, to hold such an outstanding record at the helm of the New Orleans Saints.

Tears filled the inspirational quarterback’s eyes as he left the Mercedez-Benz Superdome field with a 43-19 win over the Washington Redskins and 72,103 yards to his name. The only thing more impressive than achieving such a colossal milestone is the fact that Drew Brees still isn’t done.

Brees finished the game with 363 passing yards and three touchdowns while completing 26 out of 29 pass attempts. Saints fans were on the edge of their seats waiting to see if their star quarterback not only could break the NFL passing record, plus join the 500-touchdown club in the same game.

Sean Payton gave Brees an opportunity to get one last touchdown of the game with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter. New Orleans marched down the field but once the clock hit the two-minute warning, Brees was replaced by Teddy Bridgewater to go into victory formation, and the touchdown total remains at 499 — for now.

While the focus on Brees’ record-breaking achievement is extremely well deserved, let’s not gloss over the fact that the gunslinger only threw three incompletions after playing four full quarters of professional football.

After nearly 30 pass attempts, Brees had an 89.7 percent completion rate and continues to rank himself as the most accurate quarterback ever. Not only is Brees on pace to break Peyton Manning’s total touchdown record, but he’s also on pace to end the season with an 80 percent completion rate.

No one has the accuracy that Brees provides. By the end of his career, Brees will rest on an island of being No. 1 on countless statistics across the board. Although Brees has quietly remained a top-ranked quarterback for the majority of his career, it poses a great question to what qualifies the true title of Greatest Of All Time? Is it the championships provided, or the individual credentials?

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This debate has lingered in the NFL since the birth of the Super Bowl era. We can go back all the way to the 1970s whether people believe Terry Bradshaw or Roger Staubach was the better quarterback of the decade. Bradshaw may have won more championship titles, but did he have the luxury of also being behind the Steel Curtain? It’s the conversation that literally has accompanied the two biggest fan bases in the NFL for generations.

By the time the two legendary quarterbacks retired, a new debate flourished in the 1980s that raised the bar. Joe Montana was flawless in the 80s by winning all four of his Super Bowl appearances, and widely considered the greatest quarterback who ever played the game. Although Montana had Jerry Rice — literally the man who coined the term the “GOAT” — Dan Marino was the man who broke the records.

Marino was the first quarterback to throw for over 5,000 yards in 1984. He tossed a pigskin 5,084 yards in an era where helmet-to-helmet hits were not illegal yet. Roughing the passer was extremely lenient. Defensive pass interference was not called nearly the same as it is by today’s standards. Ever since the 80s, it has been extremely difficult for quarterbacks to reach the 5,000-yard club. Drew Brees has reached that milestone in five separate seasons and could be on pace for a sixth.

The 90s has given us a harder debate to discuss on which quarterback dominated the decade. While no one broke Joe Montana’s four-Super Bowl legacy, the Cowboys did get close with Troy Aikman winning three Lombardi Trophies. John Elway won two championships back to back, while Brett Favre and Steve Young received one Super Bowl in their honor.

Aikman may have won the rings during the 90s, but the statistics and records all point in favor of Favre. Each generation of new quarterbacks makes the debate more difficult between stats versus rings.

What if there was a separate category for honorable mention Super Bowl contenders? Where do we place a legend such as Jim Kelly? Possibly the most underrated quarterback of all time, Kelly managed to bring the Buffalo Bills to four Super Bowl games in a row, only to lose every single time.

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The road to the Super Bowl is difficult for every team, and Kelly found an open road while sharing the same division as Dan Marino. Shouldn’t Kelly receive the same recognition as Montana for doing more with less?

The 2000s sparked a new generation along with a new debate. Who is the better quarterback: Tom Brady or Peyton Manning? Brady won more rings but Manning raised the bar on quarterback expectations. His ability to study the game and read a defense still has never been replicated to this date. By this time, Favre was breaking everyone’s records, and the conversation about Montana being the best ever seemed like a forgotten argument.

Fast forward to present day and Tom Brady has been awarded the title for GOAT. Brady runs unopposed in the championship column as he carries five Super Bowl wins and eight Super Bowl appearances. By the time their collective careers will end, Brady will hold the rings, but Brees will hold the records. Which again begs the question, what is more important: the trophies or the individual statistics?

If the only argument holding Brees back is he hasn’t won enough championships, then maybe we should look at the adversity he overcame. Brees was told he was too small while at Purdue. Brees was told short quarterbacks can’t make a career at the NFL combine. Brees was replaced by Philip Rivers in San Diego after a shoulder injury. Brees was passed up by Nick Saban in Miami while in free agency. It wasn’t until Payton gave Brees a chance in New Orleans that an unbelievable journey was created.

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Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints achieved their first Super Bowl victory, defeating the legendary Peyton Manning no less. He helped bring a championship to a city that was physically and morally destroyed after Hurricane Katrina. Go to any Parish in Louisiana and they will agree that Drew Brees is the best quarterback to ever play the game.

He is more than just the Greatest Of All Time. He is a legend. He is charitable. He is hope. He is a blessing. He is a savior. He is a Saint.

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