Sports Betting Blog

Sometimes they say it is all about the money, that’s what makes the world go round. And it seems that the love affair between quarterback Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints couldn’t escape that fate. Despite the rumors that said Drew Brees was a certainly going to stay with the Saints, it has become evident that the two sides of the deal have failed to reach a middle point in the negotiation for the player’s compensation. Considering the risks involved in losing Drew Brees as a free agent this season, the Saints have opted to use their franchise tag on Brees and secure his stay in the club. The franchise tag for a quarterback currently carries a $14.4 million salary cap hit. Still, that figure could easily change and increase significantly later on this off-season when the quarterback cap numbers are re-evaluated by the NFL.

Brees and the New Orleans Saints seemed to be at least $5 million dollars apart when it comes to reaching a price. Particularly for the first three years of the contract. According to the news reports we have gathered, Brees is seeking a contract that averages $23 million per season for the first three years of his deal. To put things into the right perspective, that’s the same amount the Indianapolis Colts are paying Peyton Manning in contract in average for the first three seasons. The Saints on the other hands are offering their quarterback a five-year contract that averages $18 million a year. It seems to be a good overall offer considering that’s pretty much what Peyton Manning and the New England Patriot’s own Tom Brady is making over the same span.

But it seems that for the better part of the negotiation, it is Drew Brees who holds the best hand. His performance since arriving to the Saints in 2006 have been nothing short of amazing. And it’s not just that he’s been putting good numbers, excellent numbers to be more precise. As a matter of fact, the Saints have reached levels of play that seemed unimaginable just a few years before he arrived. Then there is the whole Hurricane Katrina factor. Drew Brees came into New Orleans just a year after the hurricane struck the coast of New Orleans. It has helped to give some faith to the people of New Orleans that their team, formerly known as the Aint’s (because they hadn’t win a thing) went on to unimaginable heights. Not only that but with 28,394 yards, Drew Brees has passed for more yards than any other quarterback in the NFL since he joined the squad in 2006.

Brees was the heart of the 13-3 season with which the Saints moved into the conference finals last season. As if that was not enough, Brees set NFL single-season records with 468 completions, 5,476 yards passing and a completion percentage of 71.2. His prolific passing numbers helped the Saints set a new NFL high for total offensive yards in a season with 7,474. And that’s certainly what’s going to make him have the best hand.

Records are made to be broken. The New Orleans Saints seem to be making that they personal motto for this season. They are looking as strong and as confident as one could wish and with this unprecedented run, they are looking more determined and focused than the 2009 squad that won the first ever Super Bowl for the franchise. And the best ingredients of that recipe for success are still here. It all comes down to Drew Brees and his extraordinary game and to Sean Peyton, a head coach that has managed to go all out and take risks in order to make every win, a very significant and boosting one.

New Orleans broke the postseason mark for total yards with 626, beating the record set 49 years ago. Brees lead an almost flawless offensive throwing for 466 yards, including two 40+ yards completions, in 33 of 43 passing, for three touchdowns and no interceptions. Just to get the record straight, that’s the most yards ever in a regulation time playoffs match.

The Saints offense, as it has usually been the case this season, chipped in plenty not only to pull a 28-45 win at the Superdome, but to prove that it was not a lucky shot that this offense set an NFL record for yards from scrimmage this season (7,474). And again, just to put this into perspective, consider that the Saints outgained the Detroit Lions on the ground 167 yards to 32.

Matthew Stafford threw for 380 yards and three TDs for the Lions. It would had been a good game for him, had he not also thrown 2 interceptions. But despite holding on tight during the first two quarters of the game, the New Orleans Saints simply blew the Lions defense apart in the second half.

Some out there have criticized the Saints coach, Sean Peyton, for taking too much risks and not knowing when to slow things down and rest his starters. Some of his detractors have insinuated that with this tendency, he is just looking at the smaller picture, rather than focusing on winning another title. On the press conference after the game, Peyton even took the time to say this: “We just focus on winning. We’re not focused on yards and records and I’m serious when I say that.”

The Lions put on a decent figth. All-Pro receiver Calvin Johnson had 12 receptions for 211 yards and two touchdowns to take the best of the Lions highlight reel. This is quite a good mark considering that this is his playoff debut with Detroit. But despite his efforts it was too little and too late to hold off the Saints who not only were brilliant in attack. As a matter of fact, the Saints’ defense ended the game in tthe fourth quarter with two decisive interceptions by Jabari Greer.

Now the Saints will travel to San Francisco to face the 13-3 49ers in the second round matchup. As of press time the Saints are a -3 ½ point favorite on the spread for this game. The 49ers will take on the field at 4:30pm ET on Saturday January 14^th.

The New Orleans Saints are looking strong towards the end of the season. The squad is motivated and they knew very well what it takes to make it into the Super Bowl and come out with the Vince Lombardi Trophy. In its core, this is still the same team that was guided by Drew Brees and Co. to the XLIV Super Bowl Championship ring in 2009. The Saints have won their last 8 straight games, and despite running the chance of injury, they finished the regular season without mercy and just proving that their offensive lineup is as frightening and effective as any other squad in the team, including Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.

The Saints are doing things so well this season under head coach Sean Peyton’s orders that they finished off with a 45-17 blowout of Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Sure enough, Cam Newton might finish of his first year of his pro career with the rookie MVP award, but on Sunday, it would be up to Drew Brees to show the youngster how the pros do it. On the one hand we have to recognize that this was quite a risky move for Peyton. Winning or losing against the Panthers wouldn’t have really changed much for his playoffs plans, but on the other hand, he knew that there was just a bit too much at stake just to let the bench play this one out.

In the 2010-09 season, coach Peyton opted to rest his starters on the last stretch of the 16-game stretch. He wanted to prevent injuries and rest his players. This time around, he wants to give his players a motivational boost: so he keep his starters out to finish off the Panthers and finish the season breaking all sorts of records for the franchise and the league. Check it out: the Saints broke the NFL single-season records in the following categories: season total offensive yards with 7,474; team total yards passing with 5,347 and first downs with 416.

Brees also collected some good records for his own career. Brees, who was 28 of 35, finished with a record 468 completions this season, breaking Peyton Manning’s 2010 mark of 450. He finished the season completing 71.6 percent of his passes, breaking his own 2009 NFL record 70.6 completion percentage. But perhaps the most significant record is the one he battled out against Tom Brady this same season: Most Pass Yards in a single season. For almost 30 years, Dan Marino had held the record with 5,084 total yards back in 1984. At the end, 2011 would be the year when both Tom Brady of the New England Patriots and Drew Brees of the Saints would break that record. Brady finished the season with 5,235 yards, but he wasn’t able to catch up to Brees who finished off the regular season with a whopping 5,476 passing yards.

We need to give the Carolina Panthers a little credit. Cam Newton and Co. had managed to win four of their last five games, and even managed to keep up against the Saints for the better part of the first half.  But there was simply no stopping the Saints in the final two quarters. How is this for building up momentum before the postseason: the Saints set a franchise single-game record with 617 yards of total offense on Sunday.

When the San Diego Chargers first drafted Drew Brees in 2001, many experts believed that he wasn’t the right kind of player for the NFL. Despite his success in college, many believed that his relatively short stature for a professional quarterback (6’0″) and perceived lack of arm strength were going to be influential on his performance as a professional player. Not only that, but a few writers even said that his success in the NCAA was because Purdue had build a game plan build around him, and that such an strategy wouldn’t work if you play football on Sundays and Monday Night.

Despite his detractors, Drew Brees worked his way into the elite world of NFL quarterbacks and by March 14, 2006, the New Orleans Saints had offered him a 6-year, $60 million dollar contract. It wasn’t a bad deal at all. The Saints offer included $10 million in guaranteed money the first year and a $12 million option the second year. Brees had a productive first year with the Saints. Truth be said, compared to the previous year, anything would had been an improvement. Brees had a good chemistry with his teammates and under first-year head coach Sean Payton, the Saints rebounded from its disastrous 2005 season. 2005 was a very rough year not only for the Saints but also for the state of Louisiana.

The Saints were unable to play in New Orleans due to the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina and struggled to a 3–13 record. Once Brees joined the team he guided the Saints to a 10–6 regular season record and won the NFC South division title. Just three years later, he would be guiding the Saints, the team that had been a long time underachiever, to their first ever Super Bowl. The underdog Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31–17 in Super Bowl XLIV on February 7, 2010. Brees tied a Super Bowl record with 32 pass completions and won the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award. He threw for 288 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Drew Brees threw for 4,620 yards and 33 touchdowns last season as the Saints returned to the playoffs as a wild card, losing at Seattle in the first round. But after a somewhat shaky off-season, the NFL is back in track. This is Drew Brees’ last season under contract with the New Orleans Saints, and truth is that both parties are working to find a new agreement. Rumor has it, that when the time comes, Brees could be making somewhere around 20 million a year for the next few season.  Brees said that the Saints officials and his agent Tom Condon have been holding talks and that hopefully they’ll reach an agreement soon.

The 2011 NFL season, the 92^nd regular season of the National Football League is scheduled to start on September 8^th 2011. Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints will travel to Lambeau Field, the home of the Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay Packers. It’s a long way till Super Bowl XLVI, the league’s championship game, on February 5, 2012 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis; but heck, at least we are going to have some football. Let’s not forget that for a moment there, it was even unclear if there would have been a 2011 football season after all.