The Saints had a pretty lousy 2014 season. Picked by many idiots (ahem, sigh, etc) as a Super Bowl contender before last year, New Orleans didn't even make the playoffs despite looking "unstoppable" in the preseason. The Saints struggled most weeks to look competent on either offense or defense.
Offseason changes were aplenty, with Jimmy Graham out the door in a trade with the Seahawks and a future quarterback in Garrett Graham drafted in the third round. None of that is snuffing out Drew Brees optimism, with him telling ESPN (via Jeff Duncan of the New Orleans Times-Picayune) he's "very convinced" he'll win another Super Bowl before he retires.
"I'm very convinced. It's what drives me and keeps me going. I love this game for so many reasons," Brees said. "The opportunity to have played it for going on 15 years is rare, it's unique. I want to continue to play for absolutely as long as I can, as long as I'm having fun, playing at a high level and maybe I'll stay healthy, why not play this game? It's a blessing. The challenges and the opportunities that come along with it each and every year, I don't know how you mimic this in any other element of life."
Brees previously talked about the Graham trade, noting that it "shocked us all," but reiterated to Ed Werder that he was "heartbroken" about losing his top target.
"I was heartbroken, because Jimmy's become a very close friend. We had five great years together, and I think just the the unexpectedness of it. We had big plans for the next few years and more so than anything else it's just not being able to see that guy every day. He's a joy to be around. He was great to play football with, but more importantly a great guy in the locker room," Brees said. "We had a ton of fun together. He's like a little brother. Obviously we just signed him to a big deal last year and you just have this long-term mindset with him. And then all of a sudden he's gone, the trade's made and listen I have full trust in this organization, Mickey Loomis and Sean Payton, and the direction that we're going.
"And you trust that but man, you're certainly going to miss a guy like that."
The Saints quarterback also continued to backtrack on his claim that he could play until he's 45,
"I said I think I could play until I was 45," Brees said.
So he's hedging? Well, yeah. Kind of.
"Do I think that's possible? Yes, absolutely. Could that happen? Yes. Would I love for that to happen? Yes," Brees said. "I'm not naïve to knowing that I'm on a series of one-year contracts, just like everyone else in the league. I feel like I can find that juice. I've got it. It's there. I'll keep having fun and keep slinging it around."
It's one thing to call Father Time out. But once you actually get in the ring with him? You start to regret what you said.
Brees doesn't have a nine-year window to win a Super Bowl -- it's probably closer to four or five years. But he's got the talent, despite a down 2014, to make his conviction reality. I'd give you some sort of concrete prediction about how it translates next year, but falling off last year's short limb still hurts.
