BRIAN ALLEE-WALSH: Brees recalls career-defining moment with Chargers

NEW ORLEANS

I'm not sure what tomorrow will bring, let alone today.

So I certainly don't know which New Orleans Saints team is going to show up Monday night on national television against the Detroit Lions at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome -- the good one (see wins over Atlanta and at Tampa Bay), the bad one (see losses at Philadelphia and Houston) or the ugly one (see loss at Washington).

And anyone who says they know which Saints team is going to surface four nights before Christmas is Ho-Ho-Ho-ping against hope.

But there is one thing I know with virtual certainty: Saints quarterback Drew Brees will come to play. He plays with pride. He plays to win. That's why No. 9 remains a popular pick for fantasy football players in Week 15 because he is the consummate pro.

A lot of players are all bark and no bite at this stage of the season, but there's no quit in this dog even with his 5-8 team being little more than a blip on the playoff radar.

Brees told reporters a story this week that speaks volumes about himself. He recalled a moment 11 years ago when his career came into total focus while playing for the San Diego Chargers, the moment when winning superceded everything else.

That moment of reckoning came in Week 4 of the 2004 season, a seemingly meaningless game against the Tennessee Titans at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

"We were 1-2,'' Brees said. "That week (Chargers coach) Marty Schottenheimer had kind of upgraded Philip Rivers to being my backup and (Schottenheimer) basically told me that I was on a short leash.''

Early in the second quarter Brees suffered a separated shoulder and came to the sideline in horrific pain, only to receive an ultimatum from the head coach.

"(Schottenheimer) said you have one more chance,'' Brees said. "I couldn't move my shoulder. A teammate came up to me and says, 'Come on Breezy.' He said this is the moment where you're either going to be our leader or you're going to be a career backup.''

That teammate was fullback Lorenzo Neal, a fourth-round pick of the Saints in 1993. Brees took Neal's words to heart, returned to the game and led the Chargers to a 38-17 victory and ultimately a 12-4 record, the AFC West championship and the franchise's first trip to the playoffs in nine years.

"That was the moment,'' Brees said.

A similar moment could present itself for a teammate Monday night against the Lions or in Weeks 16 and 17 against Jacksonville and Atlanta.

"All of a sudden, he becomes the player that he always dreamed of being and he could help us win a championship someday based upon these last three games,'' Brees said.

It could happen.

Brees is living proof.

Brian Allee-Walsh, a New Orleans-based columnist for the Sun Herald, can be reached at sports@sunherald.com.

This story was originally published December 19, 2015 at 11:33 AM with the headline "BRIAN ALLEE-WALSH: Brees recalls career-defining moment with Chargers ."