Quarterback Tom Brady was drafted 199th overall by the New England Patriots out of Michigan in the 2000 NFL Draft while Drew Brees entered the following year when he was drafted by the San Diego Chargers as 32nd overall pick out of Purdue in the 2001 NFL Draft. Brees decided to retire after 20 seasons in the NFL after Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers eliminated his New Orleans Saints in the Divisional Round last season. The 44-year-old Brady, for his part, is entering his second year with the Buccaneers and his 22nd overall in the NFL and looks like he will try to play until he’s 50 years old.
As of now, Brees holds the all-time record for passing yards with 80,358 yards but Brady is on his heels as he is just 778 yards away from breaking the mark, probably in Week 4 when the Buccaneers go up against the Patriots. Brady is also in line to break Bress’ all-time record of 7,142 completions if he makes 333 completed passes this season, per ESPN statistics. With the debate still raging on who’s the best between Brady and Brees, Dan Patrick asked this question to the former Saints quarterback during a recent interview, to which Brees replied with a safe answer:
Brees admires Brady since college
“Let me just say like this, there’s no… you can’t match up with the championships. Just stop the conversation right there.
The guy won seven championships,” said Brees, who won just one Super Bowl title with the Saints. “You can go to each one and it’s very unique that my career is coincided almost exactly with his,” he added, per transcription of his interview from the show’s YouTube channel. Brees said he played against Brady in college and he was one of the quarterbacks that he watched, admired and respected.
“So many elements of his preparation and his process in getting ready to play that I feel like I know quite a bit about,” Brees said.
Brady wary of Falcons’ defense
In eight career games against the Falcons, including playoffs, Brady has won them all, including eight against Atlanta starting quarterback Matt Ryan. Last season, Brady led the Buccaneers to two victories over the Falcons in the latter part of the season, which helped the team advance to the playoffs as a Wild Card en route to their first Super Bowl win since 2002.
The Buccaneers have been installed as a 12-point favorite ahead of their Sunday’s clash with the Falcons at Raymond James Stadium, but Brady is still wary about Atlanta’s talent, especially when it comes to defense. Brady said Falcons’ head coach Arthur Smith and defensive coordinator Dean Pees are very talented coaches. Brady is familiar with Pees as they worked together with the Patriots for six seasons during the latter’s time as defensive coordinator. “I've known Dean a long time. Really challenges the quarterback. Very sound defensively, I don't think he has a lot of easy plays out there,” said Brady.