Sunday night was a special night for Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints for a number of reasons. After struggling for four games, New Orleans picked up its first win of the season vs. the San Diego Chargers. While that was the most important part of the evening, the win was slightly overshadowed when Brees broke Johnny Unitas’ 52-year-old record by throwing a touchdown pass in his 48th straight game. That overshadowing was a problem for FOX NFL Sunday’s Terry Bradshaw.
During a recent interview with WFAN’s Evan Roberts and Joe Benigno, Bradshaw ripped Brees for the way he went about breaking the record.
“(The record) didn’t blow me away,” Bradshaw said. “I’m not much on that stuff … I’m not into records, fellas. I’m just into winning football games. (The Saints) hadn’t won a game … I’m not into records, I’m into winning Super Bowls … These things aren’t important. We lose sight of why we play. We play to win and to win championships, not to break records.”
Tough not to agree with Bradshaw on that. While the record was certainly impressive and something to be proud of, it was bizarre that they celebrated it so emphatically with the Saints having been off to such a horrendous start. Bradshaw seemed most annoyed by the fact that Brees asked the NFL for permission to have suspended head coach Sean Payton in attendance.
“I was a little upset that he went to the NFL to get Payton and everybody back to watch him break a record,” Bradshaw said. “I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ I never would have gone and asked for them back … I thought it was disrespectful to the San Diego Chargers … So break it, go ahead. Hell, you’re throwing it 50 times a game … I’m just against stuff like that. I just don’t believe in doing stuff like that.”
Obviously, Bradshaw is a bit more old-school than most. Like the time he ripped the NFL earlier this year, I tend to think Terry has a point. During Sunday night’s game I thought it was a bit awkward that the Saints were so happy about something that happened during a season in which they have drastically underacheived. If they were 4-0 or even 2-2, the celebrating would have seemed a bit more appropriate.
Photo credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE
