by Jeff Duncan
Brees has made these calculations throughout his career. It doesn’t always work, of course. Sometimes the defensive back turns at the right time and intercepts the ball, as Cre’Von LeBlanc did on the first play from scrimmage in the Saints’ 2019 NFC divisional playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles. But more often than not, Brees’ math skills have been rewarded.
“We’re in the business of odds,” Brees said. “When it comes to just one-on-one matchups in the passing game, you’re really playing the odds. I’m constantly doing those computations in my head. That’s the preparation during the week because you really don’t have time to think on Sundays. It has to be a reaction. The reaction comes from what you’ve inputted into the computer throughout the week. It’s if this guy or if these guys are one-on-one with this guy, I’m throwing it.”
This ability to process under pressure is one of the most difficult traits for NFL scouts to evaluate in quarterbacks. Former Saints general manager Randy Mueller toyed with the idea of developing flight simulator software to facilitate the process for NFL personnel executives. Mueller selected Notre Dame quarterback Rick Mirer with the No. 2 overall pick in the 1993 NFL Draft and recalled how impressive Mirer was during the evaluation process while throwing on the field and breaking down Xs and Os on the whiteboard. But once the Seahawks played Mirer in a game, he struggled to execute. Mirer was highly intelligent, but he struggled to process the chaos at high speed. Mirer washed out as a starter in Seattle and ended his eight-year career as a journeyman.
Of all the many strengths Brees possesses, processing under pressure might be his greatest one. Saints coaches have learned over the years not to prematurely question his decisions during games. Each can cite a play where they have gasped incredulously into their headset as Brees makes an off-script delivery, only to see the pass connect for a big gain or touchdown.
“One of his great assets is he can think so quickly,” Lombardi said. “He’s smart. But there are plenty of guys that are as smart as he is. It’s when that clock is running down and there’s a linebacker up in the A gap, and he doesn’t get nervous. He figures it all out. He’s just a calm mind when the pressure is on. That’s one of the most unique things about him. When it’s go time, he thinks even more clearly than when he’s sitting there in the meeting room. He’s better in that environment.”
Former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer, the director of Nike’s Elite 11 passing camps, remembers watching game film of Brees when Dilfer played for the Seattle Seahawks and being awestruck by his ability to stay one step ahead of the defense. Whatever the opponent threw at him, Brees always had an answer.
“It was like watching a surgeon,” said Dilfer, who quarterbacked the Baltimore Ravens to the Super Bowl XXXV title in 2001. “He literally looks at every little detail, every minuscule aspect of quarterbacking and perfects it. As a quarterback watching it, you’re like, man, I hope I can make that decision when I’m playing on Sunday. Man, I hope I see that. How did he know that? What did he study to figure that one out? How he did he make that throw? How did he know to throw it that early? You just sat there in admiration of he had all the answers to the test before the game started.”
And it’s not just matchups Brees is computing. He’s also processing the opposing pass rush and working with the offensive line to set the protection scheme.
Stinchcomb recalled a 2009 game against the New York Jets where Brees consistently stayed one step ahead of head coach Rex Ryan and his unconventional pass rush schemes.
“Nine times out of 10 we would pick it up on the offensive line, but when we didn’t Drew was always there to make it right,” Stinchcomb said. “You’ve got a supercomputer behind you processing in a split-second. There are elite quarterbacks that would not be able to do what Drew does. There is so much that he does that he doesn’t get credit for. Part of the reason our offensive line has looked so good over the years is because of him. He makes us look good. He makes everyone look good.”
The Saints give Brees autonomy to change plays at the line of scrimmage. Many of the Saints play calls have run-pass options, which allow the quarterback to determine the play after he gets to the line of scrimmage and diagnoses the defense.
“Sean is a great play-caller, one of the best offensive minds ever, but he has always had the luxury of having a quarterback that’s going to make him right,” Mark Brunell said. “And it says a lot about Sean that he gives Drew the authority to do it. It’s just one small example of why they work so well together. It’s that trust.”
Brees’ ability to effortlessly make these high-pressure adjustments and get the Saints out of the wrong play and into the right one has become such a staple of the Saints offense, coaches jokingly say it can lead to complacency in their jobs. If they don’t watch themselves, they’ll find themselves resting on their laurels, knowing Brees will always do the right thing and make them look good.
“Part of our job as coaches is to put the players in situations that they’re comfortable in and to not ask them to do what they can’t do,” Lombardi said. “That’s never the case with Drew. He can do more than we can give him when it comes to that. I remember in our playoff run in 2009 against Arizona, we were in a play that was a run with a check to a pass and we got a [defensive] look that we hadn’t seen. At first, we were like, ‘Ah, they got us.’ Then we were like, ‘What’s he going to do here?’ He figured it out. He recognized that both options were bad and had a plan. He audibled out of it, and we scored a touchdown.”
For this reason, Lombardi compares Brees to Harvey Keitel’s character, Winston Wolfe, in the Quentin Tarantino classic Pulp Fiction.
“Drew is a great fixer,” Lombardi said. “He’s like the Wolf in Pulp Fiction. He solves problems.”
14. Maxing Out
On Sunday, December 15, 2019, the indoor practice facility at the New Orleans Saints training complex was almost empty. The Saints had completed their walk-through practice in preparation for their Monday night game against the Indianapolis Colts about a half-hour earlier, and most of the players had retreated to the locker room to undress, shower, and head home. This was essentially the end of the work week. The only official team duties between now and kickoff on Monday night were a few meetings at the team hotel in downtown New Orleans later that night. But one Saint was still on the field: Drew Brees.
Dressed in his red No. 9 practice jersey, shorts, and a baseball cap, Brees stood at the 10-yard line of the south end zone and worked through the script of plays in the game plan for the Colts. He surveyed the imaginary defensive formation, then turned to his imaginary teammates and audibled to a new play with a pair of his hand signals. He then signaled to the imaginary center, took the imaginary snap, and retreated into a three-step drop. At the top of his drop, he looked left, checking off his imaginary receivers in the route progression of the play. Then, he looked right, shifting his body and feet for optimal balance, all the while pumping the imaginary ball in his right hand. Brees’ choreography was so true to form he even licked his fingers between plays, just as he does habitually during games.
For Brees, the visualization session is a vital part of his weekly routine. It’s his opportunity to play the game before the game, to reinforce the game plan and mentally steel himself for the approaching battle.
He doesn’t just simulate a successful completion. He also works through contingencies in each situation. What do I do if the defense double-teams my first option? Where’s my hot read if the linebackers blitz through the A gap? What if no one is open?
Over and over, he systematically works his way through each play on the call sheet. Each rehearsal takes between 20 and 30 minutes to complete, and Brees doesn’t stop until he’s comfortable with each play sequence. It’s a tedious, lonely process, but a critical one for Brees. The mental reps are just as important as the physical ones he takes in practice, a necessity for him to feel comfortable and confident heading into game
day.
“I think when you can have a very defined starting point and ending point on every play, despite what is happening all around you, I think that helps create a calmness and a poise with you as a quarterback, which you have to have,” Brees said. “I’d say that’s very much controlling the chaos. How you determine that starting point and that ending point on every play is through preparation. When you’ve visualized everything that could happen, most importantly, when you’ve visualized the worst-case scenario—‘If they do this, what’s my answer?’—if you have all the answers, and you have all the tools, then you don’t really go in worried. You almost want them to do it. You almost want them to throw you that change-up because you’re like, ‘Man, I’ve worked so hard to put myself in a position to combat this. Let’s see it.’”
Brees honed his visualization process under Tom House, the former Major League Baseball pitcher who has built a second career as a coach, throwing specialist and sports psychologist. House, who holds a PhD in sports psychology, uses neurophysiological techniques to help athletes deal with the stress and anxiety of competition. He believes mental discipline and focus are as important to successful athletic performance as physical talent, maybe more so. House often has his clients perform drills while blindfolded or with their eyes closed to enhance their mental acuity.
“It’s being able to draw on experience that when you see this, it’s an outcome thing, when you see this, this is going to happen,” House said. “[Brees] connects dots better than anybody I’ve ever seen.”
Research has indicated mental rehearsal is helpful in various disciplines. A 2015 LSU study showed that surgeons who rehearsed their procedures beforehand performed better than those who didn’t. Astronaut Chris Hadfield said it was an essential part of his preparation for spaceflight.
Countless athletes have also employed visualization exercises over the years. One of House’s former teammates and pupils, pitcher Nolan Ryan, became a devotee of visualization during the last decade of his career. Early on the day of his starts, he would spend an hour or two going through the opponent’s batting order, breaking down the strengths and weaknesses of each hitter, and visualizing how he got them out in past meetings. It was a ritual he repeated habitually throughout his career.
Alex Honnold, the renowned mountain climber and star of the Academy Award–winning documentary Free Solo, incorporated visualization into his prep work for his historic 2017 summit of Yosemite Park’s famed El Capitan. Honnold meticulously recorded every move and technique required to scale the 3,000-foot granite face. He also mentally rehearsed contingency plans for bad weather or unexpected circumstances like falling rocks and wind gusts, the idea being, if you’ve already thought through how everything could feel, even when it goes wrong, you’re prepared if things actually do go south. Rehearsing the way certain scary moments will feel means that those moments feel “right” when they happen, instead of feeling surprising.
Brees watched Free Solo twice and was fascinated by Honnold’s preparation and mental stamina but noted one important difference between mountain climbing and football.
“The mountain is not changing, right?” Brees said. “He scripted his entire climb, but he knew where each of those cracks, crevices, and everything would be.
“There was a lot of things that you could see that maybe you didn’t expect on game day, but very similar to that, when you have the answers to the test before you take the test—‘If they do this, I’m going to do this, and if they do this, I’m going to do that’—then you feel like, ‘Man, there’s nothing they can do that I don’t have a plan for.’ You go in with a lot of confidence and a sense of peace, like, ‘I put myself in the best position to succeed today, so whatever happens, happens, and I’m just going to turn it loose.’”
Brees started the visual walk-through sessions early in his Saints career and has religiously continued them on the day before games throughout his tenure in New Orleans.
Teammates and staff members often happen across Brees during one of his sessions on their way from the weight room to the team cafeteria and say he is so focused on the task at hand that he doesn’t even notice their existence.
That was the case for Reggie Bush and some of his teammates from the Super Bowl LIV championship team on this particular Sunday. The players were in New Orleans to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Super Bowl championship. The weekend was a three-day celebration of parties and public appearances. Payton invited the team to the Saints’ walk-through practice and Bush, Scott Shanle, and Scott Fujita stumbled upon Brees going through his on-field rehearsal 40 minutes after practice.
Bush pulled out his cell phone, recorded a couple minutes of the session, and posted it on social media. The video went viral in minutes.
“This is what the leader of an organization, the leader of a football team looks like, right here,” Bush narrated to his 651,000 Instagram followers. “This is what it takes. There’s nobody in here but one man, getting his mind right, doing what he needs to do to prepare himself for greatness, for tomorrow’s game. And this is what he does every week, every day [as long as he] has been playing football now. That’s what it’s about. You want to be great. This is what greatness looks like right here. Ain’t no shortcuts in this world. You get what you put in.”
The visualization exercise is just one facet of Brees’ legendary weekly routine, which is planned almost to the minute, a regimen that amazes his teammates and coaches because of the discipline and mental toughness required to maintain it. Even after the birth of his four children and an expanding business portfolio, Brees has refused to take shortcuts or reduce his workload. Instead, he just started waking up earlier and adding more hours to his day. Brees believes the onerous daily schedule is necessary to adequately prepare his body and mind for game day. And the high standards he sets for himself have raised the bar for everyone else in the building—players, coaches, and staff members alike.
Brees’ path to greatness started in San Diego. After his second season as a starter for the Chargers, Brees’ career was going nowhere. He won only 10 of his first 28 games as a starter and threw more interceptions (31) than touchdowns (28). He knew he needed to overhaul his entire life if he wanted to reach his potential. In the 2004 offseason, he changed his diet, his strength training, his approach, and his attitude. He worked with performance specialist Jim Brogran on conditioning and balance work and consulted with House about throwing mechanics as part of a broad-based overhaul. He overhauled his diet after a nutritionist discovered he was allergic to wheat, barley, rye, all dairy, eggs, pineapple, and a variety of nuts. He even went online to complete a “Star Profile” to identify potential problem traits. That season, Brees led the Chargers to a 12–4 record and AFC West Division title, while earning the first Pro Bowl berth of his career.
“He realized he had more in the tank and went out and found a way to get more out of his gene pool,” House said. “He grew up to be the individual he was capable of being. All we did was put the jigsaw puzzle together.”
When Brees arrived in New Orleans as a free agent two years later, he brought his regimen with him and continued to perfect it. No stone was left unturned. He knew he needed to maximize everything within his control—conditioning, nutrition, game prep, mental stamina—to compensate for what he couldn’t control: his lack of prototypical height, speed, and strength.
To that end, Brees developed a strict daily regimen—one for the season and one for the offseason. And from Day One, he committed himself to always being the first and last player in the building.
When Jamie Martin signed with the Saints in 2006 to be Brees’ backup, he moved to the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. On the first day of the offseason training program that April, Martin left home well before dawn, afraid that the infamous lake fog along the causeway would cause him to be late on his first day. His was the first car to arrive in the players’ parking lot.
All these years later, little has changed. He’s always the first player to arrive at the Saints training facility in Metairie and the last to leave. He’s tweaked his routine to adjust to changes in the Saints’ practice schedule, but otherwise his weekly regimen has stayed largely the same.
For Brees, winning a game starts with the preparation. He firmly believes the work he does Monday through Saturday is just as important as what he does on game day. As a reminder, he keeps a plaque with a quote from Chinese military strategist Zhuge Liang on a shelf in his locker: Those who are skilled in combat do not become angered. those who are skilled at winning do not become afraid. Thus, the wise win before they fight, while the ignorant fight to win.
His week begins on Monday, which is usually a light day to review the previous game and get in some recovery work for his body. Brees grades himself on every play, as does Joe Lombardi. He gets in a workout and then calls it a day.
Tuesday is when the page turns to the next opponent. Brees awakes at 5:00 am during the season and makes the 20-minute commute from his Uptown home to the team facility. He breaks down film in the tight ends room, which is located on the first floor of the building across the hall from the main squad room. He grabs a quick breakfast and then heads back to the tight ends room to meet with the other quarterbacks for more film study at 8:30 am. He rarely leaves the facility before dark.
Wednesday begins at 6:30 am with a film-study session. He then heads to the first full squad meeting of the week at 8:30 am. Special teams and position meetings follow, then it’s off to the locker room to get dressed for practice at noon. The Wednesday practice focuses on the game plan for what is known as the base offense and defense, first- and second-down plays, with a heavy emphasis on the running game. A weight-training session follows practice; then Brees heads to the locker room, where he meets with the media for his weekly press conference with local reporters around 2:45 pm. He then visits the training room adjacent to the locker room for any maintenance work he needs on his body, grabs a bite to eat from the cafeteria, and then heads to more meetings from 4:00 to 5:00 pm, where he and the other quarterbacks review practice with Lombardi. More film study follows with the other quarterbacks before Brees finally calls it a day around 7:00 pm. He gets home around 7:30 and spends time with his kids before putting them to bed at 9:00 pm. He then retreats to the kitchen and further studies the game plan over dinner until he goes to bed.