New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton will be stunned if Drew
Brees opts for free agency - NFL Update
The New Orleans Saints may not want to dwell too much on their playoff divisional round loss to the San Francisco 49ers as they now have bigger fish to fry, namely to tie down quarterback, Drew Brees, who has ended the final year of his six-year contract.
Coach, Sean Payton, in his press conference with the media where he reflected on his team’s season, said it would be absolutely shocking if Brees were to enter free agency but he does not see that scenario happening anytime soon.
“I don’t even know if stun would be the right word. Again, I don’t see that happening”.
The quarterback was in the forefront of the Saints impressive run to the playoff rounds.
Brees passed for a record 5,476 yards this year comfortably overtaking the legendary Dan Marino’s three decade old record, while also passing for league high, 46 touchdowns.
The 33-year old was also the most accurate with his passing with a 71.2% completion rate as he effectively led the Saints' charge.
On the back of Brees’s impressive performances, the Saints went 13-3 in the regular season, qualifying for a third seed in the playoffs.
Their campaign however, was not to last long.
The Saints overcame the Detroit Lions in their playoff wildcard game, 45-28, to set up an away fixture in San Francisco against the 49ers.
Brees performed brilliantly in that fixture almost leading the Saints to victory as he passed for 462 yards, creating four touchdowns to give his team a 32-29 lead with just a minute of play left.
The 49ers rallied and with nine seconds left, quarterback, Alex Smith, found Vernon Davis near the end-zone and the tight end rose magnificently to make a catch that will be played in highlight reels for years to come.
Payton was devastated by the loss and categorised it as a missed opportunity.
With the Green Bay Packers also losing the next day, the Saints would have fancied their chances against the New York Giants, but it was not to be.
Sean Payton meanwhile, has not given any timetable for the contract negotiations to start and said that players and coaches need some time off from football after what has been a long season.
“I think if that question were asked to Mickey (Loomis) or Drew right now, I don’t think there would be any timetable. Certainly the sooner the better, and yet I think this time away here initially after the season ended will be good for everyone to kind
of remove yourself from the emotion of the season. I think it will be something that would certainly be on our priority list”.
With the National Football League (NFL) season over for the Saints, it is time for their coach, Payton, to retain the services of his best player and start preparations for the 2012 season to make another shot at the Super Bowl.
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