Brees travels to Indianapolis
for NFL scouting combine
 By
Paul Trembacki
Sports Editor
Drew Brees has never been busier than he has this
offseason, traveling to places such as Hawaii, Tampa, Fla.; Philadelphia
and Las Vegas, just to name a few.
"It's been nuts," the award-winning Purdue quarterback,
who is busy preparing for a career in the NFL, said recently, graciously
taking time to sit and chat.
The nuttiness continues today as Brees heads to
Indianapolis for the NFL scouting combine where he will be among 300
college players from across the nation trying to impress NFL scouts
as the April 21-22 NFL Draft approaches.
Whereas many of the top pro prospects will not
work out because they want private workouts with teams, Brees is going
to work out.
"I've been working hard to work out so I might
as well just do it," said Brees, who has been working out six days a
week throwing, running and lifting weights.
"I'm going to have to do all that eventually. I'm
going to have to run the 40 eventually, I'm going to have to do the
shuttles, I'm going to have to throw. Why not just do some of it now?
I'm tired of sitting around just throwing. I want to compete a little
bit," said Brees.
Brees' decision whether to work out was not influenced
by his agent, Tom Condon.
Some of Condon's quarterback clients include Peyton
Manning, Tim Couch, Cade McNown and Chad Pennington. Manning and Couch
did not work out before they were drafted, whereas McNown and Pennington
did.
"I don't think I'm vying for the No. 1 pick in
the draft like those guys were," Brees said. "I feel like the combine
can still help me, whereas with those guys, so much was expected of
them that they couldn't help themselves, just hurt themselves."
Brees is taking an unusual approach in his preparation.
He is still in school, whereas the end of a college football career
means the end of an academic career for most top prospects. In fact,
many of Condon's clients, including Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback
Chris Weinke of Florida State, UCLA receiver Freddie Mitchell and Michigan
running back Anthony "A-Train" Thomas, have been training in Condon's
pre-combine camp in Tampa.
Not Brees. The Academic All-American is enrolled
in 15 credit hours so that he can graduate on time (although he took
three summer sessions in his career) in May with a degree in industrial
management.
Brees has found it hard to balance school with
the rigorous preparation involved in trying to improve his standing
for the draft. Some people say Brees is a top 10 pick; others say he's
a top 20 pick.
"I've stopped worrying about that," Brees said.
"There's only so much you can control when it comes to that."
When Brees was in Hawaii for the Hula Bowl, he
spoke with many NFL coaches, many of whom told Brees not to stress out
about when he is picked. They said what's important is being picked
by the right team.
Brees said his early favorites are Seattle, Atlanta
and Miami, all teams that can use a starting quarterback. The Seahawks,
who have the seventh and 10th picks in the draft, are most likely to
take Brees, but Brees said he fits in well with all these teams because
they all employ the West Coast offense, which uses many of the same
passing routes as Purdue's spread offense.
Most quarterbacks in West Coast offenses are 6-foot-4
or taller. Brees, however, is between 6-0 and 6-1.
"I don't really think height matters," Brees said.
"There's nothing I can do about it. I can only try to improve on the
things that I can help. I can't make myself taller."
He also can't make himself much faster. His top
time in the 40 is approximately 4.7 seconds, which is adequate for a
drop-back passer.
Arm strength is another issue. Some critics, such
as ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr., wonder if Brees can make the throws
in the NFL. But sideline routes and deep balls won't make or break a
pro prospect, Brees said.
"I know what the NFL wants to see," Brees said.
"The NFL wants to see you throw comebacks to the field, posts to the
field, outs to the field, slants to the field and everything else. So
what do you think I've been working on?"
Brees, however, is more concerned with knowing
the offense and using it.
"I honestly feel that 90 percent of the battle
is just figuring out where to throw the ball and then 10 percent is
getting it there," Brees said.
Although he 's nervous about performing well at
the combine, the Big Ten's all-time leader in attempts, completions,
passing yards, passing touchdowns and total offense knows his reputation
will not hurt him. Most scouts have film on Brees and approximately
90 percent of their evaluation is based on film.
"I think the film will tell the story itself,"
Brees said. "But I think I need to kind of reiterate and say, 'Hey,
I'm the same guy on that film and I'm doing it better than I was on
that film.'"
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