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Thursday, January 15, 2004
The Bandits and QB Drew Brees
parted ways today when Brees decided to exercise his option with the
NFL's San Diego Chargers, who have been lacking stability at the QB
position. Brees met briefly with reporters after a meeting with
the team owner, Warren Willis Jr., and his representative Agent from the
Spring Football League office. "I'm sad to be leaving, Las Vegas
has been really good to me, but it's time for me to move on. My
contract was going to be in its final year, and any extensions with the
Bandits wasn't a sure thing. So I talked it over with my agent,
who suggested meeting with the owner to see how he felt, you know, about
whether he really wanted to keep me here or if I should try my hand with
the NFL.
"Mr. Willis was very understanding and he actually
helped make up my mind to try the NFL. He said he's been talking
with Chargers officials, and they were still ready to exercise their
option for me to start (at QB). Mr. Willis told me that he felt I
needed to move up to the next level, and that pretty much sealed it."
When asked about the December minicamp shouting incident between him and
Head Coach Chan Gailey, and whether that might have influenced his
decision to leave, Brees replied "Absolutely not. The discussion
that Coach Gailey and I had were over my wanting to throw deep, and
Coach wanted me to keep the passes short, what he calls 'percentage
passes.' I was tired of hearing so-called experts doubting my arm
strength, so I wanted to show once and for all that I can throw the deep
ball quite well. Coach is a fundamentals type of guy, and he
wanted me to stay away from the lure of the big play and keep the
offense on the field. I guess I had a chip on my shoulder but now I'll
have plenty of time in the (NFL) off-season to work on deep passes and
everything else.
I'm real excited to get to work with the Chargers' receivers, especially
David Boston, and to learn from guys like Doug Flutie. But I wish
everyone the best, and I also want everyone to know that I'm not leaving
because of any controversy. It's just time for me to move on."
Head Coach Chan Gailey addressed the issue briefly. When pressed
about the shouting match between he and Brees, Gailey brushed it aside.
"We didn't want this to be a distraction for our
ballclub," said Gailey. "We have enough work ahead of us without the
specter of a QB controversy. Ricky is our man. What we do and how far we
go this season is up to him. But I wish Drew the very best in the
NFL, and I know he will be an immediate improvement for the Chargers."
Backup QB Ricky Ray now finds himself in the spotlight as the Bandits'
offensive leader. Ray has led the offense on the field several
times in recent seasons and looked very comfortable doing it. When
asked about the turn of events, Ray said "I'm real excited, of course,
and I'm also happy for Drew. I'm very glad that I'm able to stay
in Las Vegas and be the starting QB for this team. All in all I
think everything worked out well for everybody."
Ray's contract
extension runs through 2008 and is valued at more than $5 million.
Team Owner Warren Willis Jr. seemed very pleased about the turn of
events. "It's a win-win for everybody involved, especially for the
team. Ricky (Ray) knows the offense and the players respect his
leadership. 2004 should be quite exciting for Bandits fans."
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