|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
A Saintly story Out of nowhere, Brooks shining brightly in New Orleans
Updated: Thursday November 30, 2000 9:45 AM
He is the best kind of story in the NFL. The kind we didn't see coming. Not for a second. When he stepped in to replace the injured Jeff Blake late in the first quarter of New Orleans' home loss to Oakland on Nov. 19, honesty compels me to admit that I knew not one significant piece of biographical data on Aaron Brooks . And I was hardly alone that day in the Superdome press box. As soon as Brooks took his place under center, you could almost hear the flip cards being flipped and the press guides being perused, all in an effort to shed the mystery that surrounded the young man. But we know considerably more now, don't we? And we like what we see of the Saints' new starting quarterback, who for our tastes has just the right blend of innocence and bravado, aptitude and attitude. In a real sense, Brooks' story has more than a touch of Kurt Warner quality to it, although we know Warner's 1999 ascension might not be matched in another 50 years. We like unheralded rises in America, and Brooks is the NFL's current flavor of the month in that regard. For the time being at least, he exists in that curious zone of real life fantasy football. He's Roy Hobbs , with a ball instead of a bat. Last week at St. Louis, Brooks assured himself of more than novelty status by marching his Saints to an improbable 31-24 upset of the Rams.
Defeating the defending Super Bowl champions on the road in his first NFL start, Brooks threw for a touchdown, ran for two more, and helped elevate his injury-depleted team (8-4) into a first-place tie in the NFC West. "We shocked the world," Saints receiver Willie Jackson said. "(But) we didn't shock ourselves." It was the best sort of shock that the NFL can offer. The kind that makes us watch and wait, less certain of everything. The kind that quarterbacks like Jay Fiedler , Daunte Culpepper and to a degree, Jeff Garcia , have already authored this season. Brooks, in his already discernible "What-me-worry?" style, was perhaps the least surprised person of all. "I was ready from kickoff," said Brooks, just days removed from his 24th birthday. "All the jitters, butterflies, whatever you want to call it, left my body during pre-game warm-up, I was ready to go. I've been playing this game for a long time." In reality, Brooks admits he wasn't completely calm, cool and collected in the days leading up to the St. Louis game. He knew what was at stake in this, the Saints' renaissance season, and he didn't want to be the reason the wheels came off. "I did feel the pressure of the situation," he said. "The expectations of this team getting to the playoffs [is] really important to everyone. I just didn't want everybody [to think] that the hopes and dreams that we thought about from the beginning of the season would be diminished because the backup was coming in. That inspired me. I'm up to the challenge, and I accept it." What Brooks clearly can't quite accept is his fate in the 1999 Year of the Quarterback draft, when he was a fourth-round selection of Green Bay's, the 131st pick overall. The nerve is still quite exposed in regards to being the draft's ninth quarterback taken, long after the celebrated five first-rounders had gone, and not until names like Shaun King , Brock Huard and Joe Jermaine were off the board as well. Asked what it was about him that teams missed on draft day, Brooks trots out a verbal stiff arm and uses it deftly. "Anything that people have doubted I have or can do on the field, I think they saw it all last Sunday against the Rams," Brooks said. "Hopefully that has changed their minds and they're probably eating their words." Brooks, who started his final two years at the University of Virginia (1997-98), wasn't invited to work out personally for any teams before the draft, and received only cursory interviews at the scouting combine. But then-Packers quarterback coach Mike McCarthy was one of the few who valued his talent, and that's why the Saints went after Brooks in a low-profile preseason trade this August, once McCarthy became New Orleans' offensive coordinator. "Everybody was after those top four or five guys," Brooks said. "I was just at the bottom of the rack. Which was cool. "Coming into the league I had a bitter feeling about the situation on draft day. But I thought it was an outstanding move by coach McCarthy to get me back with him. I'm just blessed that he and [Packers general manager] Ron Wolf were interested in me, and I'm doing the best to help those two guys look as good as they are." There was a recent media report that some scouts in 1999 found Brooks shy and bashful, i.e., lacking in take-charge leadership qualities. Somebody got bad information. Brooks does not struggle for confidence, and struck that early tone in his post-game comments after playing well in the loss to Oakland. "It's unfortunate for Jeff, but that's life in the NFL," said Brooks, of Blake's broken right foot. "Hey, I'm in the position now and I've got to lead this team to the playoffs." In a Wednesday afternoon national conference call, Brooks was given the chance to laud the contributions to his game made this year by Blake and last year by Packers starter Brett Favre . Fainter praise was never heard. "They helped me out a lot, but I have to give myself credit," Brooks said. "I have a lot of God-given ability. I came out knowing the game. That's the key thing." If Brooks continues his rapid development and leads the Saints to the promised land that is the playoffs this season, New Orleans in 2001 will have the kind of good problem that few teams possess these days: Two quality starting quarterbacks. If they get a strong enough conviction about Brooks, don't be shocked if the Saints shop the rehabilitating Blake in trade talks this offseason, seeking to add other missing pieces to their roster. Without saying so directly, Saints general manager Randy Mueller stood in the New Orleans locker room nearly two weeks ago and made it sound very much like the future belonged to the 6-4, 205-pound Brooks. If he cares to claim it. "We have a lot of confidence in Aaron, that's why we went out and got him," Mueller said. "It's why we gave a third-round pick to get him. We think he's going to be a player in this league, and now we're going to find out a little sooner than later." Sooner than anyone expected. Don Banks covers pro football for CNNSI.com.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
