PARIS: Old QB intrigue resurfaces in New Orleans


Quarterback Philip Rivers' glass showed something until days before training camp started -- the 17-14 score of the Chargers' crushing playoff loss to the New York Jets in January.



Very few did last season during the Saints' Super Bowl season, with former Charger Drew Brees leading an unexpected march to greatness.




No matter where you look, you're reminded of the Saints' unlikely conquest of the Indianapolis Colts to bring a title to this tattered city. With parts of the region still reeling from Hurricane Katrina five years later, the Saints were -- and are -- a feel-good story led by a man with an uplifting tale.

Who dat? Who Drew? Who knew when Brees left the Chargers after the 2005 season that he would hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy, be the "Madden NFL 11" cover subject and land on the New York Times' best-seller list as an author?




Why did you last hear that about an NFL exhibition?

It's hard for Brees to be the villain in this caper. He made it clear when he arrived with LaDainian Tomlinson in 2001 that these two Texans would lift the Chargers from the depths of purgatory -- a 1-15 season. A championship, someday, would come with Brees and Tomlinson -- they promised.



