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USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Drew Brees opens up about the Kansas City Chiefs' AFC West rivals' second-year quarterback
This week, Chiefs Wire's Ed Easton Jr. spoke to New Orleans Saints legend Drew Brees about his partnership with Jimmy John's, creating his personalized sandwich, The Brees #9, which tied into the recent NOLA Pickle Fest, and his thoughts on his former head coach leading the Denver Broncos. "This is our foundation event. The Brees Dream Foundation, established in 2003, helps improve the quality of life for cancer patients and provides care and education opportunities for children and families in need." said Brees, "We've been involved in New Orleans community now for 20 years, going back to the rebuilding efforts in 2006 post Katrina, rebuilding schools, parks, playgrounds, athletic fields, finding child care programs to now even taking on bigger projects like public private partnerships in and around affordable housing, building, health care facilities and underserved communities, 13 of them, to be exact. So we've been able to raise a committee over $55 million over the last 20 years, which has been remarkable. We've had so many great partners along the way. Jimmy John's is one of them. That's why these relationships are so meaningful." Sean Payton coached Brees and the New Orleans Saints to victory in Super Bowl XLIV, which has helped turn the Broncos into a potential challenger in the AFC to the Kansas City Chiefs. "I know Sean's excited about his team. Over the last few years, you've just seen how they've built it. I know that Sean wants to play great defense. He wants to run the football," said Brees, "People talk about what he did in the pass game. But really, those are the core principles if you play great. Defense and running the football set you up for success in many ways, but especially for a quarterback who's a quarterback's best friend when you have those two things operating at a high level." The Broncos were led by rookie Bo Nix, who was effective against the Chiefs in two meetings and nearly completed a regular-season sweep. Brees spent time with the now-second-year quarterback during the offseason and left with high praise for his development. "Bo (Nix) was impressive, and I had a chance to spend time with him. I think he's a really bright guy. He's got a ton of experience and maturity. He got his years, played a ton of college football, and had 61 starts or something. He's got a unique skill set, because he's an incredible athlete—a great track athlete in high school. You can see that when he runs and extends plays," said Brees. "Also, his ability to execute the short intermediate passing game and push the ball down the field is impressive. Got some big targets there in Denver. So I think they have high hopes and high expectations. They played in a tough division because the (Los Angeles) Chargers with (Jim) Harbaugh will be, ground and pound, great defense, and obviously, had a great year last year. Then, of course, the Chiefs, so they got their work cut out for them, but I know they have high expectations." Fans can order The Brees #9, Drew's personal Jimmy John's go-to order, for the first time. Available for a limited time through August 31st, the order supports Jimmy John's Foundation, benefiting Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the Brees Dream Foundation.
USA Today
04-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Eddie Alvarez reflects on UFC title loss to Conor McGregor: 'I went stupid'
Eddie Alvarez knows what it's like to be on the losing end of a historic loss to a UFC star, and he sees parallels between Ilia Topuria and Conor McGregor. It's been nearly nine years since McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) defeated Alvarez (30-8 MMA, 4-3 UFC) by second-round knockout at UFC 205 in November 2016 to become the first simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history. This past weekend, Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) made history of his own when he knocked out Charles Oliveira to become the first among the 10 all-time multiple weight class titleholders to do it while undefeated. Alvarez has been nothing short of impressed by Topuria's rise, and he said he sees some of what McGregor had while he was at the top of his game. "Conor in his prime was almost like Ilia, like a really scary guy," Alvarez told MMA Junkie. "When he was in the gym and he didn't care about any other stuff and he was just fixated on fighting and wanting to beat the best guys. He's a scary human being and was one of the best fighters in the world. There's no denying that. "At that point of my career I was great. And look what he's done to me. I was coming off a great win with Rafael dos Anjos, arguably one of the greatest lightweights in the world at the time." Alvarez landed just 12 total trikes in a little more than eight minutes of fight time against McGregor. He went unsuccessful on three takedown attempts, which is also the number of times he was knocked down by "The Notorious." It was Alvarez's intention to show up that night at Madison Square Garden and thwart McGregor's bid at history. It didn't happen, and now he can be honest that everything from the preparation to the in-cage execution. Hindsight is a two-way street in a sport like MMA, though. It can lead to delusion and despair, or in the case of Alvarez, additional clarity and humility. "I probably would've boxed more in the lead up," Alvarez said. "I did a lot of boxing for the Justin Gaethje fight. I did a lot of boxing and it was one of my best performances when I did a lot of boxing with just pro boxers. I got out of the MMA gym and went down to Philly and got with pro boxers. My eyes were the best, my reactions were the best my timing, my punch volume. Everything got better. Probably would've boxed more in the preparation, and boxed less in the fight. "My eyes, my distance would've been sharper boxing-wise, but the idea was never to box. I feel like I just got caught early in the fight and I went stupid. What I did in the fight was nothing like what we did in the lead up and the preparation. Even in the fight I'm circling toward the left hand a ton, and that was like step one of day one, 'Let's go right mostly and wrestle and kick.' Instead I went left and I boxed. Sometimes you just get punched and go stupid in a fight and that's just how the cookie crumbles. It's a small margin for error when the guys are at the top of the game." To hear more from Alvarez, check out his complete appearance on "The Bohnfire" podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn above.
