Will Drew Brees Play This Weekend?

Added on Dec 28, 2011 by Jack Thurman in

NFL

That’s a big question heading into the final weekend of NFL regular season play–Drew Brees set the NFL single season passing record last weekend but may or may not have the opportunity to pad his numbers on Sunday. So far New Orleans Saints’ coach Sean Peyton has said little to indicate whether or not Brees will see action against the Carolina Panthers.

Actually, Brees’ reign as record holder could be short lived if he doesn’t play–New England’s Tom Brady is just 190 yards behind Brees. Peyton says he’s trying not to allow that to factor into doing what is best for the team:

“I’m not really aware of the space between the two. I am probably better off not knowing.”

Peyton says that the priority has to be the playoffs and he wants to:

“put ourselves in the best position to play well and put ourselves in an opportunity to win a championship.That’s not always what is popular.”

Peyton heard some criticism in 2009 when he rested starters in the final game. At the time the Saints had lost two straight games and no team had ever lost three straight games heading into the playoffs and gone on to win the Super Bowl. New Orleans’ victory changed that and Peyton once again wants to do the right thing for the team:

“It was what we needed to do as a team. You make decisions. They are not always right. You try to make them with the right things to help your team. This upcoming game will be one of those situations.”

The NFL betting line on the game strongly suggests that Brees will play. The Saints are a -9 favorite over the Carolina Panthers with the total set at 55. Those numbers would be different if linesmakers thought that Brees would be ‘riding the pine’. By way of contrast, just the possibility that Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers won’t play has the Packers a +3′ point home underdog to Detroit in their regular season finale. The prospect that Pittsburgh will be without Ben Roethlisberger has resulted in the Steelers’ game against the Cleveland Browns being taken ‘off the board’.