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Soundbites from Brees in Hawaii

QB Drew Brees spoke with Fran Charles and Marshall Faulk on NFL Network at the NFC’s Pro Bowl practice on Thursday.

Watch the interview here.   

Below is a transcript of the interview.

On being in the Pro Bowl…

“Obviously, everybody here would like to be somewhere else right now but this is the next best place. It’s a reward for a hard-fought season for all these guys. It’s certainly a tremendous honor to be named to the Pro Bowl. It’s a great opportunity for us to come out here and practice all week together. You get to know some guys that you watched from afar and have a lot of respect for. Now we have the opportunity to work with them and talk shop. That’s fun.”

On his family being with him in Hawaii…

“My wife Brittany and my two sons Baylen and Bowen are here. Baylen just turned three and Bowen is 15 months old. That’s next level now (laughter.)They are running around everywhere and trying to keep up with those two is wild but it’s a full-time job.”

His thoughts on losing to the 49ers in the playoffs…

“We had done such a good job all year long, especially the latter half of the season, of protecting the football. I think our success and amount of points showed that. So to go on the road against a very good opponent in the 49ers in the playoffs and then turn the ball over, that just diminishes your chances of winning significantly. Despite the five turnovers, four in the first half and one in the third quarter, we still had a chance in the end to win that game. I know the last four minutes of that game were exciting as it could be for fans – back and forth, back and forth. All you ask for is a chance to win in the end and we had it but obviously they made more plays than we did.”

On how surprised he was by the amount of turnovers in the 49ers game…

“You are doing all the things you said you wouldn’t do right? Then you look up at the scoreboard and it’s 17-0 at the start of the second quarter and you are thinking ‘This is not the way it was supposed to be. This is the not the way we drew it up.’ We have been in those situations before where you are down but you have enough confidence, character and leadership on your team that you know you can overcome that. Sure enough, we did. We went into halftime down 17-14.  We came out in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter, and made a run at it. We took the lead with 1:40 left in the game and thought we were right there to take the victory.”

On when he thinks his record for most passing yards in a season will be broken…

“The game continues to evolve. I believe that records are made to be broken. I assume that (passing yards in a season) record will be broken but hopefully not for a while (laughter). Hopefully it is something I can hold onto for a while. At some point it is going to be broken again because the game continues to evolve. Each person along the way who has set these records and just been a part of those moments in history, those deserve to be frozen in time and respected for what it was at the time. It’s certainly a special accomplishment and something we can all share in. it’s something I will remember forever. That moment on the field when we broke the record, all of a sudden the offensive line is grabbing me and I am not sure what just happened but I assumed that we broke the record. Those are memories for a lifetime. The bar and standard that Dan Marino set with all of his records…gradually you have seen Brett Favre break some of the career marks. Peyton Manning breaks the touchdown record and then Tom Brady breaks it a few years later. Those records are made to be broken. I will be excited in the future when some other young buck comes up and breaks it.”

On his relationship with HC Sean Payton…

“Sean is such a competitive guy and obviously he has played the quarterback position. I know this – Sean Payton gave me an opportunity when a lot of people were not there to give me that opportunity. Back in 2006, coming from San Diego with the shoulder injury and everything else. I just remember sitting down in a room with him and him looking me in my eyes and telling me how much he believed in me and how I was the guy that was going to lead this team; we were going to build this offense together and do some special things. To look back six years ago and say ‘Wow, look how far we have come’ maybe sitting here at the Pro Bowl is a time to reflect on that a little bit. I hope that we have many more years together and I am sure we will. He has helped me develop so much, not only as a quarterback but as human being. I owe him so much for that.”

On TE Jimmy Graham…

“Jimmy is a special athlete. It doesn’t you long to see that when he walks in a room at 6-6, 260 pounds. He looks the part and then you watch him run around a little bit, jump and catch balls and then you say ‘this guy is the real deal.” What I love about him most though is his passion for the game. This fire and really this chip on his shoulder that I feel is always going to be there because the kid wants to be the best. He is going to work at it and he wants to be a professional. Whenever something bad happens, which it does for young players, you are going to mistakes or whatever. Some guys might go in the tank but his mentality is ‘I am never going to make that mistake again. I am going to make up for it. I am going to come back. You can keep throwing me the ball and I am going to make a play. Everytime  he said that to me, he would just go off for 10 catches and two touchdowns the rest of the game. My point is, the guy is so mentally tough and he has this chip on his shoulder that he always feels that he has something to prove. I just tell him ‘Never lose that because you always do have something to prove.’ That’s the mentality you have to have in this league.”