It’s really a matter of perspective. Over the summer, Drew Brees spent some time immersed among sharks in South Africa. If, on the surface, that particular endeavor seemed somewhat precarious, some might argue that it was a lot less dicey than the previous offseason, when the quarterback was trying to elude critics who wanted to see him submerged as the San Diego Chargers’ starter.
“It’s an interesting thought – I’m really not sure which one was worse,” Brees said recently.
“Both of them were pretty tense situations. I think you just prepare yourself mentally so much in order to be in that situation that once you’re there, the fear just kind of backs away.
“You know you’re prepared and with preparation comes success.”
Indeed, Brees has come up swimmingly in almost every way. A major question mark entering the 2004 season, the quarterback had a year that franchise icon Dan Fouts would have been proud of as Brees threw for 3,159 yards and 27 touchdowns. Among the highlights of a season in which he was named to his first Pro Bowl, Brees completed 65 percent of his passes and threw just seven interceptions. The only quarterbacks with a better touchdown-to-interception ratio were Peyton Manning and Donovan McNabb.
The success came despite or perhaps because of the presence of rookie quarterback Philip Rivers, the Chargers’ first-round pick in the 2004 draft. Thought by many to be the team’s sure-fire starter and face of the franchise for seasons to come, Rivers attempted just eight passes a year ago.
As far as Brees is concerned, that isn’t going to change this season, the fifth-year player saying early in camp that he now considers himself firmly entrenched.
“It is my team now; that is how I look at it, absolutely,” he said. “I believe as the quarterback of this team, I’m the leader of this team. Now, I think (LaDainian Tomlinson) is a great leader of this team, I think Donnie Edwards is a great leader of this team.
“I think there’s a lot of guys who are great leaders on this team. But as the quarterback, I touch the ball on every play, everything kind of falls into my hands a lot of the time, so that’s the mind-set I have.”
But while Brees may feel that way, Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer isn’t completely on the bandwagon. While acknowledging that the quarterback is indeed a pivotal figure – “It’s always about the quarterback; he’s significant, but he’s just one part of the puzzle.” – Schottenheimer won’t say whether Brees is indeed the No. 1 guy.
“I’ve made the statement, and I stand by it, that I would give Philip Rivers an opportunity to win the job,” Schottenheimer said. “I don’t know what the likelihood of that is, but I can’t read the future. Who am I to mandate that one guy is going to be the starter?
“Drew knows where I’m coming from, we’ve talked about it. I don’t think it’s in the best interest of your football team to go out and say, ‘This guy is the starter.”‘
Schottenheimer says he expects Brees to be an even better player than he was last season, making more plays than he did last season and improving the Chargers’ offense – which is probably a scary thought for the other teams in the AFC West.
While another 2004 surprise sensation, tight end Antonio Gates, was a contract holdout through the first three weeks of training camp, all of the other pieces of an offense that was third in the NFL in scoring are in place. Tomlinson was seventh in the league in rushing, with 1,335 yards. His 18 total touchdowns were second only to Seattle’s Shaun Alexander (20).
In his second year, Gates, a former college basketball player, caught 81 passes for 964 yards and 13 touchdowns, an NFL single-season record for a tight end. Like Brees, Gates also made his first Pro Bowl.
The only possible question mark might be at wide receiver. Keenan McCardell was a welcome addition late in the 2004 season, but at age 35, he’s no longer a consistent deep threat. Help could come in the form of rookie Vincent Jackson, a second- round pick from Northern Colorado.
