Brees smiled and said, “It’s supposed to not be this hot in April.” Well, no, it’s not. Brees was reminded that Tuesday was an arctic blast in comparison to Jackson in July and august 2006. Drew, do you remember that? Brees, it should not be forgotten, groaned at the memory. Brees stated, “I passed by Fast Freddie [Mississippi College great Fred McAfee] the other day in our locker room and he was talking with some of our young defensivebacks.” Drew asked Drew to come and tell the guys about Jackson’s training camp. “Freddie said that Drew was hot. They don’t believe it. It didn’t matter how hot or humid it was, the next day seemed even hotter and humider. The next day was hotter and more humid than the previous one. Brees stated that there were 15 days straight of two-as-days in the heat. “Normally, at this time of year, you would expect to have one or two rainouts. It never happened. It was just miserable. Brees said, “It wasn’t a pleasant experience but it strengthened our team and brought us together.” It was almost 13 years ago. Remember? Everything was uncertain for the Saints. They were coming off of a Hurricane Katrina-ravaged season from 3-13. Their new coach was Sean Payton. Brees was their new quarterback. His status was not certain. Many believed that he had sustained a shoulder injury in San Diego last year, which could have ended his career. He could have been signed by Nick Saban and the Dolphins. They did. There were many more questions. Deuce McAllister was close to the end of his brilliant Saints run. The offensive line consisted of a patchwork made up of question marks and no-names. The defense was built as needed. Reggie Bush was a rookie. McAfee was asked by McAfee about his decision to give Bush his number 25 jersey. McAfee responded, “Yeah Reggie did a great Fast Freddie imitation out here.” Some of Brees’ first passes fell apart. Some failed to reach their target. Brees, at 27 years old, insisted that he would be fine. He said that the shoulder was at 85 percent and that he would fix the remaining 15% before the regular season. He said, “That’s why training camp is for.” He did it. These patched-together Saints won 10 regular-season games and reached the NFC Championship at the other side of I-55, where they were defeated by the Chicago Bears. Payton has coached the Saints to several Super Bowl championships and playoff seasons but nothing can compare to the job he did the first season. I saw it, still don’t believe it. In just one season, the Saints went through a remarkable transformation. Brees proved to everyone that his arm and shoulder were fine. Brees has gone on to be the NFL’s all time leader in passing yards and the most accurate thrower ever. He is 40 and can’t wait to see the next season. He is still the same person as he has been. He used February to relax and spend the most time with his family. He began to evaluate his game and identify what he needed to improve to be a better quarterback in March. He said, “That’s what I’m currently going through.” Brees stated that he liked what the Saints did in free agency, and the limited choices they had in draft in a short news conference. He said, “We got worse.” “No,” he answered, he’s not quite over the way the Saints 2018 season ended with the botched, bordering-on-criminal official’s call in the NFC championship game. He said, “I don’t think you can ever get over something like this.” He said that he doesn’t dwell on the incident because “nothing can alter what happened.” “The rules were changed by the league’s competition committee so that plays like this can be reviewed. We hope that something similar won’t happen again.”