Age: 30
9th season in pro football, 4th with Saints
College: Purdue
Height: 6’0” Weight: 209
Prelude:
Chosen by the San Diego Chargers in the 2nd round of the 2001 draft, Brees spent a year as backup to veteran Doug Flutie before taking over as starting quarterback in ’02. A good first year as starter was followed by a season in which he had difficulties, and the Chargers swung the deal that brought rookie Philip Rivers to San Diego in 2004. Brees bounced back that year with a Pro Bowl season in which his passer rating was 104.8. Brees badly injured his shoulder in the last game of the ’05 season, the final year of his contract, and with the team committing to Rivers, he signed with the New Orleans Saints. He was a consensus first-team All-Pro and was selected to the Pro Bowl in ’06, leading the NFL with 4418 passing yards and guiding the Saints, with a high-powered offense, to the NFC Championship game. Brees started poorly and the team didn’t do as well in 2007, but he recovered to lead the league in pass attempts (652) and completions (440) while throwing for another 4423 yards. He had another Pro Bowl year in ’08 in which he led the NFL in passing yards (5069), TD passes (34), pass attempts (635) and completions (413).
2009 Season Summary
Appeared and started in 15 of 16 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Passing
Attempts – 514 [10]
Most attempts, game – 49 at Washington 12/6
Completions – 363 [4, tied with Brett Favre]
Most completions, game – 35 at Washington 12/6
Yards – 4388 [6]
Most yards, game – 419 at Washington 12/6
Completion percentage – 70.6 [1]
Yards per attempt – 8.5 [3, 1st in NFC]
TD passes – 34 [1]
Most TD passes, game – 6 vs. Detroit 9/13
Interceptions – 11
Most interceptions, game – 3 at Miami 10/25
Passer rating – 109.6 [1]
400-yard passing games – 1
300-yard passing games – 7
200-yard passing games – 12
Rushing
Attempts – 22
Most attempts, game - 6 (for 8 yds.) at Buffalo 9/27
Yards – 33
Most yards, game – 8 yards (on 6 carries) at Buffalo 9/27, (on 2 carries) vs. Dallas 12/19
Yards per attempt – 1.5
TDs – 2
Pass Receiving
Receptions – 1
Yards – -4
Average gain – -4.0
TDs - 0
Scoring
TDs – 2
Points - 12
Postseason: 3 G
Pass attempts – 102
Most attempts, game - 39 vs. Indianapolis, Super Bowl
Pass completions – 72
Most completions, game - 32 vs. Indianapolis, Super Bowl
Passing yardage – 732
Most yards, game - 288 vs. Indianapolis, Super Bowl
TD passes – 8
Most TD passes, game - 3 vs. Arizona, NFC Divisional playoff; vs. Minnesota, NFC Championship
Interceptions – 0
Rushing attempts – 5
Most rushing attempts, game – 3 (for -3 yds.) vs. Arizona, NFC Divisional playoff
Rushing yards – -4
Most rushing yards, game - 0 vs. Minnesota, NFC Championship
Average gain rushing – -0.8
Rushing TDs – 0
Awards & Honors:
NFL Player of the Year: Bert Bell Award
1st team All-NFL: Sporting News
2nd team All-NFL: AP
Pro Bowl
Saints went 13-3, winning their first 13 games, to top the NFC South while leading the NFL in total offense (6461 yards), points scored (510), and touchdowns (64). Won Divisional playoff over Arizona Cardinals (45-14), NFC Championship over Minnesota Vikings (31-28), and Super Bowl over Indianapolis Colts (31-17).
Aftermath:
Brees went to the Pro Bowl for the third straight year, and fifth overall, in 2010 after throwing for 4620 yards and 33 touchdowns and leading the NFL in completion percentage (68.1). However, he also threw a career-high 22 interceptions and, while the team qualified for the postseason as a wild card with an 11-5 record, the Saints were upset in the first round of the playoffs by Seattle.
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MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or Player of the Year in the NFL, AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press, Pro Football Writers Association, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, Maxwell Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league itself).
[Updated 2/15/14]
[Updated 11/28/14]