What If? – Miami, not New Orleans, signs Brees in 2006
Quarantine Files is a series on LoganReardon.com, tackling different sports topics while we try to live without sports.
This week’s Quarantine Files will examine a series of the greatest “What if?” questions among quarterback decisions in the 21st century. This idea was inspired by NBC Sports Boston’s “Hindsight 2020” series running across their platforms currently.
Topics for the week include Peyton Manning’s Colts, Drew Brees’ Dolphins, Drew Bledsoe’s Patriots and Eli Manning’s Chargers.
What If?
The Dolphins could’ve signed a future Hall of Fame QB, but health concerns scared them off and Drew Brees became a legend in New Orleans.
Drew Brees and the Chargers splitting up was nothing like Peyton Manning and the Colts.
Manning played 13 Pro Bowl-level campaigns in Indy, while Brees played five up-and-down seasons in San Diego.
His rookie season (2001) was spent backing up Doug Flutie. The second-rounder took the starting job in Year 2, but threw for just 17 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. In 2003, a 1-7 start forced Flutie back into action, as Brees started 11 games and threw for just 11 scores and 15 picks.
The Chargers held the top pick in the draft and ended up with Philip Rivers after a trade with the Giants (more on that later this week!). With the rookie breathing down his neck, Brees played the best season of his career and earned his first Pro Bowl nod. Brees was franchise-tagged and started the entirety of 2005, but an injury ended the final game of the season – and his Chargers career – early.
After the Chargers were unwilling to tag Brees again or offer him more than an incentive-based five-year, $50 million contract, the Purdue product tested the open market. It came down to the Saints and the Dolphins, but Brees’ injury in the 2005 finale was a concern for Miami. He suffered a torn labrum and additional rotator cuff damage, and the Dolphins’ doctors weren’t sold on him health-wise. Thus, Brees bolted San Diego for New Orleans.
But what if Miami’s doctors had a different prognosis? What if the Dolphins were as sold as the Saints were, and Brees took his talents to South Beach?
Let’s dive in.
Miami Dolphins
In 2005, the Dolphins went 9-7 and missed the playoffs by one game. Ricky Williams and rookie Ronnie Brown formed a solid tandem at running back, both rushing for over 700 yards. Chris Chambers, 27, had over 1,000 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns and made the Pro Bowl. Brees’ former Chargers teammate Wes Welker was beginning to make a name for himself as a solid backup option. And the defense was led by future Hall of Famer Jason Taylor and seven-time Pro Bowler Zach Thomas.
It was a promising situation. Veteran Gus Frerotte, mostly a career backup, played solid enough with a talented group around him. The guy leading the charge? Nick Saban, a first-year NFL head coach fresh out of a college stint at LSU. Ever heard of him?
Saban (left) and Culpepper (right). (AP Photo/Steve Mitchell)
So, Brees goes to Miami and joins that cast led by that coach. The Dolphins only allowed 26 sacks in 2005, so Brees would’ve had solid protection. Mike Mularkey became the OC in 2006, and Jason Garrett was the QB’s coach. Brees would’ve elevated Saban’s Dolphins to a level that could’ve challenged Bill Belichick’s Patriots in the AFC East (a Pats team that went just 10-6 in 2005).
The Fins had the fifth-ranked scoring defense in 2006 and still went 6-10 because of the disaster at quarterback without Brees. Miami bet on Daunte Culpepper – who was recovering from an injury, too – as its savior. He lasted four games before injuries, ineffectiveness and a spat with Saban ended his season. Joey Harrington – yes, the same Joey Harrington who starred for the ever-hopeless Lions for years – finished the lost season, and ended Saban’s short NFL tenure.
Brees and Saban in Miami would’ve been special. Belichick, Saban’s mentor, didn’t start winning until Tom Brady came around. Saban just needed that quarterback who could handle the offense while he worked his magic on the other end.
It’s sad that we missed out on Saban/Brees vs. Belichick/Brady for the next 10 years in the AFC East.
Drew Brees
As mentioned above, Brees’ five years in SoCal were nothing like Manning’s Indy years.
Left to right: Payton, Brees’ wife Brittany, Brees, GM Mickey Loomis. (Michael C. Hebert/Sports Illustrated)
But in New Orleans, first-year head coach Sean Payton untapped Brees’ potential. The biggest question about Brees wasn’t his ability, though, it was his health. In that way, the situation was comparable to Manning’s.
Allowing Brees to compete in an innovation offense changed the course of his career, and Payton is to credit for that. Still, with the talent they had in Miami, Brees would’ve done just fine there. Maybe he would’ve been the guy to discover Wes Welker before Tom Brady did years later. Ronnie Brown would’ve served the Reggie Bush-turned-Alvin Kamara role in the backfield.
And if Saban hadn’t left for Alabama a year later – which he presumably wouldn’t because (1) he had Brees and (2) this is my made-up world – the defense would’ve remained solid. Similar to Belichick-led units in New England, Miami might not have had the most talent, but they would’ve been well-coached. That’s where the middle-prime of Brees’ career was wasted in New Orleans. The Saints went 7-9 for five of 10 years from 2007 to 2016 amid an inept defense that ranked 25th or worse in scoring in each of the five years.
As a Saint, Brees has only made one Super Bowl in 14 years. He missed the playoffs in six of those years. Yes, he’s the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yards and continues to rack up record after record, but he would’ve been better off in Miami (assuming Saban stays). The stability of having a strong defense each and every year tops having a strong offense. Just ask Manning and Brady.
The records are great – and Brees will take his rightful place in Canton the second he is eligible – but I can’t help but wonder how much more team success he could’ve had as a Dolphin.
New Orleans Saints
Saints fans rejoice after years of torture. (Unknown/Pinterest)
The Saints, infamously dubbed the Aints by their own fans during their 1-15 campaign in 1980, were perennial losers before Brees and Payton arrived. They made the playoffs in just one of their previous 13 seasons heading into 2006, and had just one playoff win in the franchise’s 39-year history.
To top all that off, the city was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Superdome became a temporary shelter for thousands of citizens. The Saints played home games at San Antonio’s Alamodome, LSU’s Tiger Stadium and Giants Stadium. They went 3-13.
People in their 20s know the Saints as a consistent, winning team. If the Saints hadn’t signed Drew Brees, the culture of that football city and team never grows.
Aaron Brooks was the Saints’ quarterback for the prior five season, and they won between seven and nine games in the first four years. But he wasn’t a long-term answer after struggling through 2005.
The Saints had the No. 2 overall pick in 2006, so if Brees signed with Miami, they could’ve drafted a quarterback instead of running back Reggie Bush. Vince Young went third and likely would’ve been the pick, but Matt Leinart and Jay Cutler also went in the top 11. Rebuilding with Young and pairing him with Payton is an interesting hypothetical. He made the Pro Bowl as a rookie – and ended up on the Madden cover – but flamed out after six years in the league. Maybe having Payton as his coach would’ve changed the course of his career, too. Or, maybe New Orleans trades for Culpepper and goes through the same disaster Miami did.
Either way, Brees choosing the Dolphins means today’s Saints are likely still the Aints.
Verdict
Brees and son Baylen after Super Bowl XLIV. (Fox Sports Photo)
The Dolphins clearly made the wrong decision by listening to their doctors. Another strong take there by me. But it’s true.
Brees didn’t really make a decision – it was made him for. The Dolphins said no, and the Chargers weren’t realistic with Rivers there and that constant noise from fans and the front office to play the younger guy.
Still, if he had his pick of the two and the Fins didn’t withdraw, he should’ve gone to Miami. If he and Saban were able to bring a title to Miami after Dan Marino couldn’t, he would’ve been lauded as one of the all-time greats. He still is today, but it’s more for his countless records than his victories.
Competing with the Patriots and Colts in the AFC year after year could’ve added so much to Brees’ already-strong legacy.
Shrug… what could’ve been.