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Westward Expansion: Cowboys trade first-rounder for Amari Cooper

By
Stephen Patrick
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USA Today

By: S.K. Patrick

The annual circus that is the Dallas Cowboys has given the NFL world another show. One week prior to the NFL trade deadline, the Cowboys acquired Oakland Raiders two-time Pro Bowl receiver Amari Cooper for a first-round draft pick.

The 2019 first-rounder now gives Jon Gruden’s team three selections in the opening round of next year’s draft after defensive end Khalil Mack was also traded. Clearly, the Raiders are looking to 2019 and beyond as this is a lost season, yet it’s also a sign the Cowboys believe they can compete now.

Cooper was an absolute beast coming out of Alabama. Since the Raiders selected him fourth overall in the 2015, he’s showed flashes as one of the league’s best young wide-outs. He made the Pro Bowl in his first two seasons, posting more than 1,000 yards and 11 total touchdowns. Cooper was the biggest offensive threat in helping Oakland end a 13-year playoff drought in 2016.

At 6’1″, the 210-pound receiver had a down season in 2017 as did Oakland. He posted 48 catches for 680 yards. He also missed two games due to a concussion and ankle injury. Cooper again was on track for a down year, notching only 22 catches for 280 yards and a touchdown through the Raiders’ first six games. Even so, this seems like more to do with bad QB play than anything else.

The Cowboys have lacked talent at the wide receiver slot since their controversial decision to release veteran Dez Bryant while future Hall-of-Famer tight end Jason Witten retired. They replaced him with wide receivers by committee containing free agents (Allen Hurns and Deonte Thompson), underwhelming first-round pick (Tavon Austin) and project (Michael Gallup). Austin and Gallup have combined for 17 catches; Hurns has caught less than half the ball targeted his way; and Thompson is averaging just 8.6 yards per reception with no touchdowns.

It’s safe to say the Cowboys have already lost faith in that quartet. Slot stud Cole Beasley is carrying too much of the load. Beasley should continue to get plenty of action inside.  Cooper’s arrival likely means fewer opportunities for every other active receiver on the roster.

Even so, the 24-year-old Cooper could still become a special player after a down year. He’s also cheap for now and is the most talented wide receiver the Cowboys have. They’re currently slated to land a top-10 pick in April’s draft.

But, did the Cowboys give up too much for one player? Sitting at 3-4 and 2 games out of first place, will Cooper put the team over the top in 2017? They suddenly don’t have a reasonable shot at beating the Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints or Minnesota Vikings come January.

And, if that doesn’t happen, this trade will start to look worse in the 2019 off-season.  

5 Things You May Not Know About the Dodgers vs. Red Sox World Series

By
Jeremy Evans
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Images courtesy of the Associated Press or Public Domain

  1. The last time they played each OTHER in the World Series

Once, in 1916.  The Dodgers were the Robins and played in Brooklyn, New York.  The Red Sox were the Americans and still play in Boston, Massachusetts.

 

  1. The 1916 World Series was NOT played at Fenway Park

Fenway Park, completed on April 20, 1912, was and is still is the home of the Boston Red Sox, but the 1916 World Series was played at the Boston Braves home field to hold more fans.  However, the Dodgers and Red Sox will square off 102 years later in Fenway Park.  Simply fascinating.  The Dodgers played in Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York, which was completed in 1913.  The Dodgers as you know now play 2,793.5 miles away from Brooklyn in Los Angeles, California, at Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine.

  1. There was a second Boston-based team in 1916

The Boston Braves.  There were eight teams in the Senior Circuit National League.  The Braves finished in third place that season 4 games back of the Brooklyn Robins.

  1. The iconic Vin Scully once called a football game from the rooftop of Fenway Park

Per an article from this author: “In the late 1940s before landing the Dodgers job, he called a college football game from atop Fenway Park in frigid weather, but was too humble and concentrated to call a good game for the fans to complain.  He impressed the bosses with his class and professionalism. The rest is history.”

  1. The legendary Babe Ruth has ties to the Dodgers and the Red Sox

Ruth coached for the Brooklyn Dodgers.  Per Insider: “In June 1938, the Dodgers signed Ruth as a coach for the balance of the season.  He received $15,000, and team president Larry MacPhail said he signed Ruth for his ‘inspirational value’ to the seventh-place Dodgers . . . As a coach with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1938, Ruth did not wear his famous uniform №3. Instead, he wore №35. Infielder Pete Coscarart wore №3 with Brooklyn in 1938. Ruth’s Brooklyn Dodger uniform is currently on display as part of a baseball exhibit at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley [40 miles northwest of Los Angeles, California].”

Ruth also threw for 14 innings in the 1916 World Series game 2 matchup (a record), while the Brooklyn pitcher Sherry Smith threw for 13.1 innings.  The Robins lost the game by a score of 2-1, and eventually lost the series 4 games to 1.  This was of course before Ruth became an all-time great power hitter and before he was traded to the Yankees.  Between Ruth and Smith, they threw for a combined 27.1 innings in the game, 3.2 fewer innings than the entire Dodgers bullpen during the 2018 National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Five Hall of Fame players appeared in the 1916 World Series: Two for Boston, Harry Hooper and Babe Ruth, and three for Brooklyn, Zach Wheat, Rube Marquard, and Casey Stengel, yes that Casey Stengel.

Bonus: How could anyone forget Dodgers manager Dave Roberts 2004 stolen base and run scored for the Boston Red Sox during the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees.  Red Sox manager Alex Cora played on the same Dodgers team as Roberts during the 2004 regular season before being traded.  The Dodgers played the Red Sox during interleague regular season play in 2004 and took one of three games scoring 14 runs in the victory.  Boston went on to win the 2004 World Series Championship, their first in 86 years.  Last night, on October 20, 2018, was the 30th anniversary of the Dodgers last World Series Championship.

Baseball history is a beautiful thing.  Its history is alive and well in the 2018 iteration of the Fall Classic.  It also goes beyond the similarity of the “B’s” represented on both the Boston and formerly Brooklyn ball caps.

Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

Dollars, Incensed: NBA G-League sets a dangerous precedent

By
J.T. Clifton
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0

The National Basketball Association (NBA) announced Thursday their G-League will start offering “select” $125,000 contracts to players who are 18 years old, but not eligible to enter the NBA draft.

That statement, dumbed down, essentially says the NBA will begin playing top high school players who want money now, instead of going to college for a year.

This is dangerous, in my opinion, especially with everything that’s going on with the FBI probe into college basketball.

Here’s the problem; a NCAA National Championship is worth more to a school than $125,000. Ask Auburn. They allegedly paid Cam Newton $275,000 for their national championship. That’s for a football player who doesn’t control a game nearly as much as a basketball player with only ten players on a court at a time.

Just last year, DeAndre Ayton was accused of taking $100,000 from Sean Miller and agent Christian Dawkins in order for Ayton to sign with Arizona. The future first overall NBA draft pick eventually did choose Arizona over Kentucky and Kansas, who were also both named in the a recent Yahoo! Sports report about bribery.

Christian Dawkins was also linked to Cynthia Bridges, the mother of Miles Bridges in a Yahoo! report. It’s no coincidence these top players are named in these reports.

When it comes to giving players benefits, college basketball is even dirtier than college football  Here’s the problem; you can’t blame the athletes.

Kids start at a very young age getting benefits for playing. I coached a 7-year-old football team in Knoxville, TN, home of the Tennessee Vols. I had one of the best running backs in the league and the following year, he went to another team because they bought him a Ps4, gloves and a helmet visor. So, if an 8-year-old is getting a video gaming console valued at $400 bucks or so, what does an 18-year-old expect?

Also, most of the kids who are top players don’t come from ideal socio-economic situations. Take Miles Bridges. He came from Flint, MI where residents don’t have access to safe drinking water. Do you think he’s going to turn down $100 grand? Absolutely not, and I wouldn’t expect him to.

So, the NBA has now created a bidding war for top college teams with the floor being $125,000. None of the smaller schools will be able to get a top player anymore and it will create more disparity in a sport that’s spectacular because of March Madness. The top revenue teams will get a few super stars and the rest will go to the G-League.

I am all for players receiving pay to play, because athletes create more revenue for schools than most of the other students combined. It’s a billion dollar industry and the players see none of that (legally). Doing things illegally creates a bidding war and bidding wars create many other social and ethical dilemmas.

The solution: Let high school standouts test the draft. If they do not hire an agent, they can come back to school. Players like LeBron, Kobe and KG had no business in college. They were built for the NBA. There will be players like those three in the future, and they have no need to go to the G-league or college. They’ll be ready to step into the limelight right away.

The mantra is no longer, “let the kids play!” It’s, “let the kids get paid!”

Hungry like a Wolf: NC State rising in ACC ranks

By
Stephen Patrick
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USA Today

North Carolina State University’s 5-0 (2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) start is good enough to keep them rising in the ranks of college football.

NC State is now No. 16 in the Associated Press Poll and No. 15 in the Coaches Poll. With multiple ranked teams losing over the weekend and dropping, NC State broke from their bye and reaped the benefits. Penn State, Miami, Wisconsin and Colorado lost. By comparison, the highest ranking the Wolfpack received last season was No. 14 in the AP Poll.

The Pack won a 28-23 victory over Boston College in their last outing. The win was NC State’s fifth consecutive this season and they’re one of the few undefeated teams in the nation. Additionally, it’s their first, five-game winning streak since 2002 and their seventh one dating back to the 2017 season.

With one of the best running games in the conference, their half backs went off in predictable fashion. Reggie Gallaspy, Jr. finished with 104 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Their passing game remained explosive, despite two picks from NFL prospect Ryan Finley as Kelvin Harmon tallied nine catches for 128 yards with a touchdown and Jakobi Meyers got back on track with ten receptions for 99 yards of his own. They simply have the best offense in the ACC.

NC State used their bye week to recover from injuries before traveling to Death Valley to take on the reining conference champions Clemson Tigers. The Tigers are also undefeated at 6-0 (3-0 ACC) with blowout wins against Georgia Tech and Wake Forest in ACC play. An epic battle for the ACC Atlantic Division is looming.

Clemson comes in at No. 3 in the Coaches Poll and No. 3 in the AP Poll this week. With a win Saturday, Clemson will have an open path of light competition until the ACC championship game.  the Tigers have been a mainstay in the Top 5 of both polls for years under Dabo Swinney, typically making them the highest-ranked opponent NC State faces each year.

While Clemson has won the last six and 13 out of the last 14 games in this rivalry, the last two games have been separated by a single score. This year, the Tigers are vulnerable with a young QB under center. Clemson pulled out the last home game in overtime, 24-17, after a missed field goal by NC State at the end of the game. The Wolfpack made the game tight again last season at Carter-Finley Stadium, with a final of 38-31.

The Pack’s offense has even more firepower this year with Ryan Finley having six different receivers making their mark of the offensive side of the ball, a balanced running game and a defense that’s surprised many thus far this season.

While Clemson’s line is elite, the offensive output of the Wolfpack can throw them off. If Dave Doeren and his program want to have any chance of an ACC Championship Game appearance this year, knocking off the Tigers in Death Valley is a necessity.

Pruitt’s feel for the game makes him stand out

By
J.T. Clifton
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0
USA Today

It took Jeremy Pruitt six games to win his first road Southeastern Conference game against a ranked opponent.

That’s tied with Jimbo Fisher for the fastest among active coaches, who also accomplished this feat in his sixth game. That leaves Joe Moorhead, Barry Odom, Chad Morris and Derek Mason still looking. For the record, it took Nick Saban 44 games, and no that doesn’t mean Pruitt is better than Saban before anyone starts yelling. It took Dan Mullen 19, Kirby Smart 15 and Gus Malzahn 20.

Pruitt won this game with a team that’s clearly overmatched when it comes to talent. The senior class at Tennessee is almost non-existent. They’re one of the only teams to not have a senior make a start yet on the offensive side of the ball. It’s Pruitt’s feel for the game that makes him stand out.

Flash back to the West Virginia game in week one. It was the third quarter and Jeremy Pruitt jumped up and down while screaming at Nigel Warrior. He backed up before the play and still got burned for a touchdown, but it was clear Pruitt knew where Grier was going on that play.

In the Florida game, Pruitt called a perfectly timed onside kick when Tennessee had some momentum and had it been executed, the Vols would have recovered the ball as there were three Tennessee defenders to the one offensive player for the Gators.

Back to the Auburn game. With the game tied 10-10 in the second quarter and again before the play, Pruitt jumped up and down while screaming at defensive back Baylen Buchanan to blitz on the play at the last second. Buchanan came in almost untouched and forced Jarrett Stidham to throw a bad interception to Jonathan Kongbo.

See, it’s all about the feel for the game with Pruitt. He doesn’t use a chart he sticks to no matter what. Pruitt knows when to take calculated risks and that’s what it takes to beat good teams. The man also doesn’t try to outcoach himself. If Tennessee needs a yard, he lines up under center. If Tennessee needs to go for two to make it a FG or TD game, that’s what he does. He relies on his instincts and that’s usually what works.

The Vols have found a football coach. He doesn’t have the best gimmicks or the best quotes, as sometimes it appears he’d rather be anywhere else in the world besides in front of the mic. But, he’s a football coach and that’s what Tennessee’s been looking for.

The Driver of Success

By
Jeremy Evans
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0
Image courtesy of the Associated Press

Recently when reading that the Creative Artists Agency (“CAA”) closed $5 billion in deals just for sports, it came to mind the principles behind driving success in business.  Specifically, in the entertainment, media, and sports space, what makes an agency, law firm, or manager successfully powerful?

 

  1. CLIENTELE

In the service industry, the start line and marathon endurance required run and maintain a successful business starts with great clientele.  The professional provides the servicing needed to the client.  The client provides the talent, consistency, and delivery.  From the client’s hard work comes the fanfare, industry recognition, and pay day.  Without great clients, there is nothing.

  1. PACKAGING

The power of a successful agency, law firm, or manager is in packaging clients with other clients and talent, products, brands, and/or ideas.  In today’s age, we have basketball star LeBron James producing content off the court, football legend Tom Brady pushing the Religion of Sports with retired professional sacker Michael Strahan.  Kevin Durant is producing and appearing on his own podcast.  Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is both a WWE and Hollywood movie star.  Many athletes like Serena and Venus Williams own and run clothing lines and professional sports franchises alike.

On the entertainment and media side, the same packaging is all important.  It is connecting talent with studios, ideas, advertisements, and basically good content that keeps your client motivated, excited, and sells to the consumer.  In the end, the clientele today are all the more flexible, multi-faceted, and, well, talented.  With a demand for new content delivered immediately, athletes and actors must perform on and off the court and stage constantly expanding their horizons.

Being an agent, attorney, or manager, requires that the vision be there to connect clientele with other people, things, and ideas.  Obviously, the greater clientele available the easier it would be to connect.

  1. RESOURCES

Resources to recruit, retain, and deliver clients and services.  An agent will talk about the pitch.  An attorney will talk about the importance of the client interview.  A manager will talk about vision and connectors.  Resources could be money or contacts.  In California, guided by the Talent Agencies Act, Rules of Professional Conduct, the Miller-Ayala Act, Guild rules, business codes, and players unions, service providers are in competition to land the best clients and to deliver services.  Money to travel and contacts help to deliver those services.

  1. RELATIONSHIPS

Green Bay Quarterback Aaron Rodgers said it best, “They are able to connect the dots better than any representation I’ve ever had” referring to his current agency.  Relationships are listed last in this article, but they are the most important.  The ability to make them, keep them, and utilize them genuinely.  Relationships are the driver to meeting clientele, keeping clientele, packaging with other clientele, products, brands, studios, content, and ideas, and producing and generating resources.

In summation, the four R’s of driving success comes down to getting referrals, maintaining great relationships, keeping a wonderful reputation, and taking seriously the representation of your current client’s success as serious if not more than your own success.

Bryant’s Song: Clemson’s former QB hunting fresh game

By
Stephen Patrick
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0
USA Today

The clock’s ticking for former Clemson University quarterback Kelly Bryant. The Tar Heels host Virginia Tech Saturday and Bryant has one year of eligibility remaining in the 2019 college football season. North Carolina has a home game against Clemson on its 2019 schedule. Also, he’s announced he’ll visit Arkansas.

“I’m going to take my first official visit to Arkansas,” Bryant said Wednesday. “I’m excited to get down to Fayetteville and see what all Arkansas has to offer.”

Since leaving the Clemson football team last month, Bryant has been taking graduate classes while working out to stay in shape. His plan is to wrap up the academic semester at Clemson before enrolling early at the school of his choice in January.

Standing at 6-3, 225 pounds, Bryant was 16-2 as a starter for Clemson. He sat for two seasons behind national championship QB Deshaun Watson. Bryant started all 14 games in the 2017 season for a Clemson team that reached the national semifinals. Last season, he threw for 2,802 yards and 13 touchdowns with eight interceptions, completing 65.8 percent of his passes. On the round, he had 665 yards and 11 touchdowns on 192 carries. Bryant looked to take his game to the next level this season, but it was not to be with a major signing.

Bryant started the first four games for Clemson this season, splitting snaps with freshman sensation Trevor Lawrence. Bryant passed for 461 yards with a 66.7 completion percentage, with two touchdowns and an interception with 130 yards and two scores. Upon being informed Lawrence would start game number five, Bryant opted to leave the program. Bryant, who has NFL dreams, knew he had to make a move to showcase himself for NFL scouts.

“I feel like it’s what’s best for me and my future,” Bryant said of his decision. “I was just going to control what I could control and try to make the most of my opportunity, but at the end of the day, I just don’t feel like I’ve gotten a fair shot. I’ve been with this senior class for four years. Seeing how much we built and poured into this program, it’s tough to walk away from it. But at the same time, I’ve got to do what’s best for me. And I feel like this is the best situation for me.”

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has one of the worst Atlantic Coast Conference QB situations and could certainly use Bryant’s services. Currently, UNC sits 125th in passing rating through four games, despite its offensive line ranking T-15th nationally in sacks allowed per game (1.0). UNC has a 4-12 record during that span.

Fourth-year junior Nathan Elliott has started in all four games in 2018. Third-year junior Chazz Surratt, a 6-3, 215-pound left-handed sophomore from Denver, N.C., tore a ligament in his right wrist against Miami two weeks ago, according to TarHeel Illustrated, which was the first to report the news and is reportedly out for the season. UNC’s quarterbacks have combined in 2018 to pass for 798 yards, with three touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Since announcing his decision to transfer and receiving his release from the Tigers, more than 15 Power Five programs have reached out to Bryant. In addition to UNC and Clemson, Bryant is also reportedly working to schedule official visits to Louisville and Missouri, with those dates to be determined.

Sports Real Estate: It’s all in the Development

By
Jeremy Evans
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0
Images Courtesy of USA Today

There was a time when professional sports franchises shared baseball and football fields in one stadium, not built as a true home to either sport.  Some teams like the Oakland-soon-to-be-Las Vegas Raiders still share baseball and football facilities.

It was Camden Yards in Baltimore that changed the course of history when baseball a franchise turned back the clock in terms of making new look retro and as teams looked to real estate development beyond the field of play as a brand generator and revenue source.

As we look to the future, there are three important reasons why professional sports franchises are looking to entertainment and real estate to grow the bottom line, fan interest, and revenues.

  1. A Place to Call Home

The Hollywood Park Entertainment District in Inglewood, the Green Bay Packers housing and shops development, and even to some extent the Los Angeles Dodgers outfield shops are all aimed at creating an environment and area that is friendly to families, fans, and the casual attendee.  In the NBA, 52-56% of a franchise’s budget goes towards paying player salaries, so it makes sense that teams are looking for real estate investment opportunities that bring money back into their coffers.  With professional hockey and basketball likely due back in Seattle soon, there is no doubt that Hollywood Producer and owner Jerry Bruckheimer and his executive team will be investing in real estate around the new-Key Arena to grown the fan base and revenues as it is all about creating a home base.

  1. A Place to Visit Year Round

In the past, teams mostly left their venues empty throughout the offseason.  Now fans can see Red Bull events and hockey games at ballparks and stadiums in “Winter Classics” during the offseason.  Concerts are also booked during the season and offseason.  Political rallies, conferences, and events are commonplace and should be at our favorite venues.  Interestingly, the cathedrals of our past, Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, Yankee Stadium, etc. were treated with deference when it came to having one event played inside their hallowed corridors, a game.  Thankfully, ownerships got smart and began opening their doors and utilizing their beautiful spaces to welcome all people for all types of events and entertainment beyond the game.  The result is a home to visit year round for fans and Joe Citizen alike.

  1. A Place to Invest in the Brand

Once ownerships realized that their venues could be used for events and entertainment beyond the game, they began to spend more money in building, upgrading, and maintaining their arenas, ballparks, and stadiums.  Part of this is cyclical; an investment in the brand is an investment in increasing revenues, increased revenues means the availability to invest in technology, player salaries, winning games, fan safety, business expenses, and community engagement, which fans and casual observers can appreciate, while continuing to invest their time and money back into the club.  Where fans have demanded more of their favorite teams, teams have had to invest more in the brand, and therefore the entertainment of every fan and patron.

The result has been fantastic venues like U.S. Bank Stadium in Minnesota, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, and upgrades to Wrigley Field and Fenway Park, AT&T Park in San Francisco, PNC Park in Pittsburgh, among many others that have been completed or are in the development stages.  It is any surprise that third party and vendor brands have scampered to partner with professional sports teams in naming rights deals as a successful bid means significant brand trust, recognition, and exposure.

For professional sports franchises, growth of the brand is directly related to real estate development, entertainment, fan engagement and happiness, generally benefited by a great media deal that pushes copyrighted content through a distribution partner for good money.  Sports real estate development is where a successful sports franchise begins and ends.

Back to the Future: The Patriots and Brady still have it

By
J.T. Clifton
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0
Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Every year, it seems the dreaded “Patriot Panic” grips the NFL. A couple of years ago, the Patriots were throttled on Monday Night Football by the Chiefs.

This year, New England saw former assistant Matt Patricia and the Lions hold the ball nearly the entire game en-route to a 26-10 win. After that game, it occurred again. The Patriots finally hit their wall. Brady didn’t have it anymore after throwing for 133 yards and an interception.

Fast forward two weeks, and the Patriots have it again. They’ve won two games in a row and those two games weren’t even close. Brady threw two picks last night, both of which were drops by his receivers Chris Hogan and Gronk. It’s like clockwork. Death, Taxes, Atlanta Braves playoff losses and the Patriots turning things around after an early loss.

Since 2001, in the month of September the Patriots are 39-16 (.709). Not a bad record by any means, but it doesn’t match their post-September record of 209-63 (.768). In 2001, the Patriots started 1-3 and ended up 11-5 and won the Super Bowl. Last year, New England started 2-2 and were embarrassed by the Chiefs once again on opening night and ended up in the Super Bowl.

So, it’s the same old song-and-dance for the Patriots. You can credit two people for the fix; Brady and Belichick. The greatest coach in the game and the greatest quarterback of all time. They don’t panic and neither should Patriot’s fans.

Their offense is a totally different machine with Edleman back in the lineup. He caught seven balls on nine targets, but more importantly, he took some of the double-teams off Rob Gronkowski, who caught six for 75 yards (and should have had more) but dropped a 20-yard strike that ended up a turnover. We also got a glimpse of what could be from troubled wide receiver Josh Gordon. He caught a 34-yard touchdown over two defenders in the fourth quarter, which was also Brady’s 500th career touchdown pass.

Patriot’s celebrate Josh Gordon’s first TD

If Gordon emerges as who he once was, this offense will again be one of the most high- powered forces in the league. They’ve been missing that deep threat for a while now, dating back to Randy Moss.

Another piece who’s sometimes overlooked is James White, who’s become one of the few running backs who’s stayed in Belichick’s good graces. He’s caught 24 balls for 145 yards and two TD’s the last two games. He’s also added 44 rushing yards and a TD during that stretch.

So, like it or not, the Patriots are here again. They’ve righted their ship and appear to be clicking on all cylinders again.

Pass in Review: Drew Brees and his date with destiny

By
Stephen Patrick
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0
USA TODAY Sports

After a prolific college football career with the Purdue Boilermakers, Drew Brees was selected by the San Diego Chargers with the first pick in the second round of the NFL draft.

He left school as one of the most decorated players in Big Ten Conference history with two NCAA records, 13 Big Ten Conference records and 19 Purdue University records. Playing in the same era as Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, Brees’ greatness sometimes gets lost in the shuffle. But, rest assured the future Hall-of-Famer definitely isn’t forgotten by the defenses he torched over the years.

Now, the New Orleans Saints quarterback will suit up with history just in reach. Brees, the consummate professional he is, will only focus on getting a win Monday night. Try as he might, however, part of his attention will be devoted to two records he could break during that game. One being career passing total with only 201 more passing yards, and career TD’s with 4 to go for the 500 TD club. Brett Favre and Peyton Manning are the legends in reach of the passing record.

“I never even thought, ‘Hey, I am going to have to play this many years in order to accomplish something like that,” Brees said. “When my first NFL game in the preseason was at Miami back in 2001, and I remember walking in the stadium for the first time and looking up in the Ring of Honor and seeing Dan Marino’s name and every passing record next to it that is in that Ring of Honor there. Just looking at those numbers is mind-boggling. At the time I was just hoping to solidify the backup position and eventually maybe one day be a starter. So it’s just kind of mind-boggling.”

It is indeed mind-boggling that any of Peyton Manning’s records are in danger. Rule changes have certainly helped the quarterback and offense, but that doesn’t take away from Brees’ greatness. Eventually, his records will be in danger. Brees is now the last man standing from the 2001 NFL draft class. Here he is now as one of the greatest quarterbacks to play the sport of American football. Even so, that destiny seemed grim at one point in his career.

In the last game of the 2005 season against the Denver Broncos, Brees tore his labrum while trying to pick up his own fumble after being hit by Broncos safety John Lynch. Brees, who was supposed to sign with the Miami Dolphins, instead inked with the Saints following a misdiagnosis by Miami. Brees helped spearhead the rebirth of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Now, at a time when so much focus is being placed on how long Tom Brady Will play, few question Brees’ career staying power. Perhaps Brees, who turns 40 in January, will end up playing so long, his upcoming career yardage record will stand for a very long time. The forgotten man of his era has secured his place in the history books. 

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