Now that it’s over, let’s take stock of Drew Brees’ career.
He played his last game on Sunday, when he lost to the Buccaneers – he said he will retire. And he is certainly one of the greatest defenders in NFL history. In addition, he is the greatest Saints QB of all time.
But he wouldn’t have been the best 49ers QB ever – this is Joe Montana. Nor would Brees have been the second best 49B QB of all time – this is Steve Young.
Yes, Young was better than Brees, although Brees has better numbers.
Brees launched the most passing yards in the league’s history – 80,358 – while Montana launched just 40,551 yards and Young launched 33,124. And Brees’s career pass rate was 98.7, while Young’s was 96.8 and Montana’s was 92.3.
But these statistics say more about the difference in seasons than the difference in defenders. Brees played in an era that protected defenders. Defensive players can hardly touch Brees – that’s why he played in his 40s.
In addition, defensive players can hardly touch the receivers and cannot hit them hard in the middle. Therefore, the number of passes has exploded across the league. The average passer rating for the NFL in 2020 was 92, while in the 80s and 90s it was 75.
Playing as a defender is much easier today than 30, 40 years ago.
Imagine Young at this time. Imagine it at the Saints. He would be bigger than Brees, faster than Brees, he would have a stronger arm than Brees, he would be as accurate as Brees, as smart as Brees, as good as a competitor. And Young would probably have won more than one Super Bowl.
I don’t want to disrespect Brees. He is the future Hall of Fame of the first vote and one of the 15 best quarterbacks of all time. But he was not as good as Montana, Young, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Brett Favre, Dan Marino, John Elway or Johnny Unitas.
I’m just saying.