Payton and Brees, стр. 16
That year, Atlanta (No. 5 overall selection), Carolina (No. 11), Kansas City (No. 12), and Miami (No. 26) were all in need of quarterback help in the draft. All passed on Brees. Only Atlanta, which traded into the No. 1 slot to select Michael Vick, took a quarterback. Brees slid out of the first round. Brees had heard pre-draft scuttlebutt that the Dolphins would select him at No. 26, but they chose cornerback Jamar Fletcher instead.
The San Diego Chargers were the beneficiaries. General manager John Butler orchestrated a draft-day trade with Atlanta to send the No. 1 overall pick to the Falcons for the No. 5 and No. 67 picks. The Chargers used the No. 5 selection to take running back LaDainian Tomlinson and the No. 67 pick to take cornerback Tay Cody. With their future franchise running back in their pocket, they rolled the dice that Brees would fall to them in Round 2. Their gamble paid off. The Chargers selected Brees with the first pick of the second round, No. 31 overall.
The selection of Tomlinson and Brees will go down in history as one of the best draft hauls in NFL history. Two overlooked prospects from the state of Texas. One a Hall of Fame running back. The other a future Hall of Fame quarterback.
6. Alike Yet Different
It didn’t take long for Payton to realize he had a kindred spirit in Brees. During the bye week of their first postseason together in New Orleans, Payton and his staff were working on a Friday afternoon at the team’s practice facility in suburban Metairie. Coaches use the open date in the schedule to self-scout tendencies and evaluate their offensive and defensive efficiency. The Saints staff was breaking for the weekend around 1:30 pm when Payton looked out the window of his second-floor office and noticed a lone figure on the practice field. It was Brees, dressed in a T-shirt and practice shorts and holding a football near the far end zone.
Curious, Payton and offensive coordinator Doug Marrone scrambled downstairs to inquire. As the coaches approached the field, they noticed him conducting passing drills on air, dropping back, going through his progressions, and throwing to imaginary teammates.
“What are you doing?” Payton asked.
“I’m just trying to stay in my routine so my body is still in condition,” Brees explained. “I’m going through a game in my mind, visualizing our offense against the Eagles defense. I’m just going through different reads and throws and putting myself in different situations.”
Payton looked at Brees incredulously. In 20-plus years of coaching, this was a first.
“Well, I hope we’re winning,” Payton said.
As the coaches walked away, Payton shook his head. Bye weeks are sacred for NFL players, a time to escape the mental and physical grind of the season and recharge their batteries. It had been a long season so far for Saints players and coaches. They had endured a grueling training camp at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, a Bataan Death March of practices in the unrelenting heat and humidity. The exhibition season and early regular season schedule had taken the Saints to Denver, Phoenix, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, and overseas to London. The open date before the divisional playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles was only the second extended break the team had enjoyed in five months. And yet, here was Brees, alone on the practice field, throwing imaginary passes to imaginary receivers on his day off.
“I’m glad he’s on my team,” Payton said to Marrone.
One of Bill Parcells’ coaching edicts was to find coaches and players who loved the game. Payton knew right then he’d found the right pilot to lead his football team, a grinder who shared his passion for the game. Payton, after all, was the guy who regularly slept in his office, someone who could watch film for hours trying to find a crack in the opposing defense’s armor. In Brees, he had found his football soulmate.
That 2006 afternoon was one of the first signs that the Payton-Brees marriage would be a special one. Brees and Payton didn’t know each other before joining forces in New Orleans. They had no idea if they would mesh or succeed when they cast their lot with each other back in 2006. But they were starting to figure out that, at least in terms of football, they were a perfect pairing.
“There’s definitely a synergy between them,” said Luke McCown, who served as Brees’ backup in New Orleans for three seasons from 2013 to 2015. “There’s just a like-mindedness that is uncommon. Drew thinks more like a coach than any player I’ve ever seen, and Sean sees the game through a quarterback’s eyes more than any coach I’ve ever played for. It’s just the perfect storm.”
Fifteen years apart in age, the similarities between the two men are striking. Both are highly intelligent and highly competitive. Both own aggressive mindsets and an unwavering confidence in themselves. And both possess what Saints quarterback coach Joe Lombardi refers to as rare mental stamina, the ability to process loads of information over an extended period of time. When most coaches and players reach a peak of mental exhaustion, Brees and Payton are just getting started.
“Personality-wise, I think they’re both big-time grinders,” former Saints right tackle Zach Strief said. “Sean is legendary for meeting until 2:15 am, and Drew’s the same way. Now he’s more regimented in his approach, but Drew’s at the facility two and a half hours before you do anything as a team, and he’s there four hours after everyone has left. They both kind of have that grinding mentality and I think it gives them a platform in that relationship. Because Drew spends so much time preparing, they’re on the same information level, and it allows them to both have a say and it be justified and reasonable. Having those two guys looking at every game the same way