Drew Brees & Steve Nash: The Parallel Universe

Imagine yourself diving across country and your gas tank is nearing empty. Their isn't anywhere to stop except for a biker bar that has loud motorcycles and huge guys with long beards and tattoos covering their flesh. Your choices are very slim so you have to go into this bar to pay for your gas. You proceed to go into the bar and the mood gets very dim very quickly and you realize that you stopped in the wrong place and you have to fight your way out. You scan the room and you look for the first guy that you should attack. What guy will you have the most confidence to attack?

A) The Big Guy With the Tattoos

B) The Medium Size Guy With the Tattoos
C) The Little Guy With the Tattoos

Now, some may say the big guy or the closest guy but I assume that the most confidence will come in the attack of the little guy which brings me to my point. How many franchise players in any sport are undersized? Let's just examine this. Albert Pujols is 6-3, 210 pounds. Lebron James is 6-8, 250 pounds. Peyton Manning is 6-5 240 pounds. In direct contrast, Drew Brees is 6-0 209 pounds and Steve Nash is 6-3, 195 pounds. Let's go back to that bar fight. We all know that we would attack Steve Nash or Drew Brees before we would attack the guy below:

Do you see what I mean? It is a mentality. If a little guy is in front of the pack and is your best player, how confident will the other team be that they can take him out? If you cut the head off, the snake can't see. Take out the best player by intimidation or over physicality and the team crumbles. Right? Am I reaching? Well, let's see. Was I the only person that wondered why Reggie Bush was leading the Saints in the pre-game "Ray Lewis Session" during 2007 season when our best player was Drew Brees? No and I also wasn't the only person who really did not mind the switch. I just kind of shrugged it off and moved on with it like everyone else. However, let's think about it. Reggie Bush is a tall, good looking guy with a ripped body and a model on his arm. Did the teammates respect Reggie Bush more? Can Reggie Bush look a 6'4 300 pound lineman in the eye and inspire him more than Drew Brees? Is it a look? Is it a physical stature that commands respect? Who looks more like Ray Lewis? Drew Brees or Reggie Bush?

Or ....................................................................................................

My point is not that Reggie Bush should be the leader because he is a small guy by NFL standards too. We all saw what happen in 2006 against Philly when Reggie Bush got "clocked" by Sheldon Brown. Is it just me or does it seem like opposing players try extra hard to put a big hit on Reggie Bush? Hmmmmm....... Wow, this is a small guy out front that got totally clobbered. My point is that it is a natural instinct to go after the little guy first. Consequently, when the little guy happens to be the most important and best player on your team, you have problems. Does anyone remember Isiah Thomas having to get 40 stitches after getting elbowed by Karl Malone in 1991? Or does anyone remember J.R. Smith going after 5'9 Nate Robinson in a brawl in Madison Square Garden in 2006? Okay, maybe those events are not as memorable as I may think. Well, does anyone remember how the Denver Nuggets beat up Chris Paul in last year's playoffs? I assume that you do. All these guys mentioned are small and was out front and they took the brunt of the punishment. It is natural for the opposing team to attack the smallest player. It's an easy target. Drew Brees has not had that brutal beating yet but in a world that is definitely not perfect, I hate to say that it is inevitable for Drew Brees to end up like all the rest of the big heart small guys with this look on his face:

The size comparison is only the first parallel. How about this though? What was Steve Nash and Drew Brees considered before they got to their current teams? Well, again, let's find out. Steve Nash was drafted out of Santa Clara and Drew Brees was drafted out of Purdue. Purdue is a legendary school for quarterbacks but by all observation by a football fan, most would say that Drew Brees is athletically challenged for a quarterback. He is not real fast and he does not have the best gift that a quarterback can have which is arm strength. Steve Nash can't jump and is not the quickest player in the world. However, it is no doubt that both of these guys are considered some of the smartest players at their position. Additionally, they both seemed to build impressive careers while younger in two different sports despite their athletic shortcomings. Nash starred in soccer and basketball and Brees starred in basketball and football. Interesting huh? Anyhow, when they both got to the professional sport of their choice, they both seem to start out a little slow in their careers. We all know that the early years in San Diego for Brees were not stellar. Steve Nash also went through the same thing in his first stay in Phoenix and then in Dallas. They both went through free agency and signed with another team. Isn't it strange that both players were not signed back to Dallas or San Diego? However, when Nash went to Phoenix in Mike D'Antoni's system and Drew Brees went to New Orleans in Sean Payton's system, their careers seem to take a similar path upward. Steve Nash became a two time MVP and Brees became a perennial MVP candidate. The thing that is even more strange is that D'Antoni's system in basketball is almost the NFL equivalent of Sean Payton's in football. They are both unorthodox methods that do not follow the letter of the law of what each sports purist consider the way to win consistently and effectively. The offense is fast-paced and catered around an athletically challenged smart player while having defenses that are horrific. Are we in the twilight zone here? The similarities are getting scary. These two guys have overachieved in their respective careers tremendously. They are leaders of a franchise and considered some of the best players in their leagues. Sometimes as a fan we even tend to try not to criticize these guys. I have always stopped short of criticizing both of these guys. Think about it.....Does Drew Brees gets the kind of criticism that Peyton Manning got before he won a Superbowl? Did Steve Nash ever get the kind of criticism that Kobe got? Why is that? It's simple. Everyone loves an underdog. They have exceeded expectations and it is hard to ever be mad at a guy like that. But, how does that help the Saints or the Suns? It does not because you inevitably have to put more people around a player with less talent to win a championship and if you don't, they will fail. You can only go so far on smarts and craftiness. I will never downplay the importance of smarts and craftiness but wouldn't it be better to have a Peyton Manning and Lebron James who are smart, crafty and athletically superior? See, there are times when there is no counter technique to take the other person down. It just comes a time when you just physically dominate them. Their are throws that Peyton Manning makes and drives that Lebron makes that our heroes can't make and that is the difference in winning and losing. It is too bad every team can't have Lebron or Peyton.

Part III: Inevitably Failing Because The Load is Too Heavy

Winning and Losing are two good words to start Part III out with. The thing about Steve Nash and Drew Brees is that they will never give up. They will never stop trying because this is the way they have operated their whole lives. They were always small and always "out manned" but they continued to press forward. They give their best at all times and hope that their best is enough. But, is their best really enough? In Drew Brees six best passing yardage games from 2006-2008, the Saints are 1-5:

504 yards Cincinnati Bengals 2006 L 31-24
422 yards Atlanta Falcons 2008 L 34-20

435 yards Jacksonville Jaguars 2007 W 41-24

421 yards Denver Broncis 2008 L 34-32

386 yards Carolina Panthers 2008 L 33-31

393 yards Pittsburgh Steelers 2006 L 38-31

Steve Nash's best three playoff games resulted in a loss:

06-07 31 points, 8 assists L San Antonio Spurs

04-05 48 Points L Dallas Mavericks

07-08 25 points 13 assists L San Antonio Spurs

Look, there are obviously other factors like the saints defense is bad, the referees and a host of other factors but when have you consistently seen Lebron James or Peyton Manning have their best games and lose? Is this a coincidence?

Peyton Manning Best Playoff Games

2004 vs. KC 330 yards 3 TD's W 38-31

2005 vs. Denver 458 yards 4 TD's W 49 - 24

Lebron James Best Playoff Games

2007 vs. Detroit 48 points 7 assists 9 rebs W East Finals

2009 vs. Orlando 37 points, 12 assists, 14 rebs W East Finals

Folks, this is not an attempt to marginalize what Brees and Nash have done in their careers or an attempt to put them on the same level as Manning and James because they are not in most ways. Also, James and Manning have had their fair share of failures. However, Brees and Nash are franchise players and the leader of their teams and from the facts above, it shows that even at their very best, they seem to lose. Why is that? Well, I think it's because they have too much on their shoulders. They have to carry too much of a load. Their abilities only can carry them so far and eventually, they will fail. Lebron and Peyton can make bad teams contend year after year but Nash and Brees have a short window and if they don't accomplish that in a matter of 3-4 years, the team has to adjust and bring in more players and try to go for broke to win a championship. More often than not, the teams do not accomplish their goal. The Suns had to bring in Shaq at the expense of other players and now the Saints are making wholesale defensive changes bringing in Jenkins, Sharper and a whole new defensive scheme and coach. Don't get me wrong. I agree with the moves and we have not lost any important players yet but it will inevitably happen becasue their is only so much money to go around with the salary cap. Brees and Nash has failed in the clutch before by default. They exhausted everything they had and their feeble shoulders just eventually broke down under the immense weight.

In the 2006 playoff game against Chicago, the Chicago Bears were leading 16-14 with 12:20 seconds left in the third quarter. Here are the Saints final possessions:

Missed Field Goal

Safety

Punt

Fumble By Brees

Interception

Turnover on Downs

Turnover on Downs

In the Chargers 2004 playoff game versus the Jets with the score tie 17-17 in overtime, here are the Chargers two possessions:

Turnover on Downs
Missed Field Goal

In the 2007 playoffs, Phoenix and San Antonio tied 81-81 of the 2nd round:

Steve Nash Missed a Layup with 1:42 left

In the 2005 playoffs, Phoenix and San Antonio, SA up 103-102 in the 1st round:

Steve Nash missed a 14-footer with 2:14 left

Once again, this is not a attempt to say I don't appreciate what these players do in their respective games because there are other factors that contribute to the outcome of the game. However, if their teams win, they get the majority of the credit so isn't it only fair that if they lose, they should get the part of the blame? When does it get to the point when we start saying that they can not get over the hump? Those games were arguably the most important moments of their careers and they came up short literally and figuratively. Is it their fault? Could they have helped it? Or, was their god given abilities just not enough for them to overcome the odds? I would say the latter. Let's even think about one last moment for Drew Brees. Drew Brees rarely gets the ball tipped or sack but when he does, it almost always turns out horribly. I am sure you remember the blind side hit by Antoine Winfield last year in the Minnesota game. How about when the Saints had an opportunity to win against Washington last year and some guy named Horton caught a tipped ball for a game clinching interception? Nash and Brees have the worst thing that most dominate athletes don't ever have to worry about. They have a low margin for error. Their size and inferior athletic prowess is the unfair advantage that every team has against them so even in their greatest moment, one false move will cause their teams to lose. I cheer for the underdogs. Their is not better story than an underdog defying all odds to come out victorious. However, it is even sadder when those underdogs come up an inch short. I hate it. Trust me folks. I hate to think that the career of Brees will be parallel to Steve Nash but the parallels illustrated in this blog whether they are far-fetched or right on point down does the one thing that I hoped it would do and that is MAKE YOU THINK ABOUT THEM. Nash is pretty much done and his window is probably closed. I hope our hero does not suffer the same fate in three more magnificient years that result in not being able to get over the hump. They already seem to kind of look alike with the long hair........ don't they? Weird. I HATE IT!!! I really do but sometimes things line up like that for the Saints. Even with players who both have undeniable passion and the heart of a tiger, their is still a probelm. Eventually, they have to face a lion. The only explanation is that, " THERE IS NO EXPLANATION." So is the Saints.