Archie Manning thanked Brees for fulfilling his dream

Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning originally supported his son’s team before the Saints played the Super Bowl XLIV game against the Indianapolis Colts. After his former team beat Colts to win their first Super Bowl championship in club history, Archie Manning was just as happy as any true Saints fans and expressed his appreciation to Drew Brees for leading the Saints to the historical victory.


Archie Manning was drafted by the Saints in 1971 as a second overall pick and he spent most of his NFL career with the team, which was one of the worst in the league at that time. Although he was highly expected to bring the Saints out of misery with his talents in football, Manning eventually ended his tenure with the team in 1983 without winning any one of his 12 seasons in New Orleans. However, he has been still taken as one of the best Saints quarterbacks. Dreaming of a Super Bowl ring but finishing NFL career without it, Archie Manning always takes that as the most regrettable thing in his life.

As Brees managed to achieve what Archie failed to do, the former leading quarterback of Saints said he was feeling so lucky for being able to witness the most glorious moment as a life-long Saints fan himself that he would like to wear back the Archie Manning jersey to play as a backup for Brees if he was still young enough to do that.

Saints starting QB Brees received new prize

Leading the New Orleans Saints to the franchise first Super Bowl championship has brought quarterback Drew Brees more than a Super Bowl ring and Super Bowl MVP title. Recently a new prize was given to the quarterback in No. 9 Saints jersey-being the cover model for this year’s “Madden NFL”.

According to the announcement made by the EA Sports on Thursday, Brees will appear as featured image on the front of “Madden NFL 11,” the latest installment of the best-selling football franchise. Expressing his gladness for being selected, Brees said that landing the cover of “Madden” was “a great way to cap off an amazing year.” Indeed, a Super Bowl win is enough for him to be honored in that way and there are still other reasons for him to make appearance of the cover of “Madden”.

Since joining the Saints in 2006 after being released by the former team San Diego Chargers, Brees has devoted a lot of his life to the city. He is not only the starting quarterback of the city’s football team but also the spokesman for the city’s reconstruction after the Hurricane Katrina. Without telling what he wants to be like on the cover, the quarterback hopes that people could pay more attention to what happened to New Orleans upon seeing the Saints’ fleur-de-lis logo on the cover.

Saints are also planning to give their No.1 QB contract extension

While recent reports said that the Indianapolis Colts are planning to sign contract extension with their four-time MVP quarterback Peyton Manning, their Super Bowl opponent, the New Orleans Saints will do similar thing to Drew Brees.

While Manning’s contract is to expire after the 2010 season, Brees’ current deal will not expire until the end of the 2011 season. The current contract has made Brees the 17th-highest paid QB in the NFL this season. As the Colts plan to offer Manning the highest pay of the league, I guess the Saints’ offer for contract extension will give Brees some rise in quarterbacks’ payment ranking.

Perhaps it depends on the result of the Super Bowl game on this Sunday. At least Brees’ agent Tom Condon will do his best to strive for largest profit to his clients in both teams’ NFL jerseys- if Manning, who is also represented by Condon, is to get the highest pay, the Saints should show equal sincerity in keeping Brees as the Colts have shown in keeping Manning.

Saints won 13th straight game by beating Falcons 26-23

Along with the Indianapolis Colts, the New Orleans Saints kept their clean streak of winning games. The Saints went closer to a perfect season with another tight win: a 26-23 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

Quarterback Drew Brees, linebacker Jonathan Vilma and kicker Garrett Hartley were among the main contributors. Brees was 31 for 40 and threw for 296 yards and three touchdowns, Vilma came up with two huge defensive plays when Falcons rallied from 14 points down, and Hartley made a 38-yard field goal with a 4:42 remaining.

Anyway the Falcons did not play a bad game, but they did not have two of its biggest stars: quarterback Matt Ryan and running back Michael Turner, who have been out for second game because of injuries. If both starters would have put on their Falcons jerseys to play the game, the result might have been different.

Brees back with Saints, ready for playing in preseason game

Quarterback Drew Brees returned to the New Orleans Saints’ practice field and was ready for Saturday’s preseason game against the Houston Texans.

Brees skipped practices because he went to attend the funeral of his mother, Mina Brees, who died Aug. 7 in Colorado. Upon the returning on Thursday, Brees said that time has helped him deal with his mother’s death and that he can focus on his work as an athlete wearing nfl jersey now.

“When my mom first passed away, it was just such a shock,” he said. “And now that it’s been almost two weeks, and we’ve already had the memorial services, so to have those and feel like there’s some sense of closure, that makes it (where) I’m able to compartmentalize that enough and try to think about football.”

Brees expressed his gratitude to the team’s support. Saints owner Tom Benson let a group of players and coaches use his private jet to attend Monday’s service. He said that he would get back into rhythm in shortest time and be ready to start the Saturday preseason game against the Texans.