Nice Jeff Duncan T-P piece...

Lost amid the controversy surrounding Deuce McAllister, the team's injuries and short-yardage failures is this fact: The Saints have the best quarterback in the NFL.
Think about it: Who's better than Drew Brees right now?

Tom Brady is out.

Peyton Manning is struggling with a gimpy knee.

Tony Romo?

Jay Cutler?

Philip Rivers?

No way I trade Brees for any of those guys.

Brees leads the NFL in more passing statistics than any other quarterback, including yards (980) and completion percentage (.743).

His completion rate is particularly impressive considering Brees has thrown more passes than any other quarterback and lacks a running game to keep defenses honest.

And it's not like he's dinking and dunking his way down the field. Seven of his pass plays have covered more than 25 yards, including bombs to Devery Henderson (84 yards), Robert Meachem (74) and David Patten (39).

His passer rating of 103.9 is hurt by three tipped interceptions that weren't really his fault. Take away the picks, and Brees' rating would be an eye-popping 114.9.

Rivers has more touchdowns (nine) and a higher passer rating (124.8), but he hasn't had to deal with the adversity Brees has endured.

His best receiver, Marques Colston, has played one game.

His best tight end, Jeremy Shockey, has not been close to 100 percent all season and now is out for another month.

His between-the-tackles, keep-the-defense-honest hammer, McAllister, has carried all of two times while recovering from knee surgeries.

He's also played for significant stretches without starting left tackle Jammal Brown, blocking tight end Mark Campbell and Patten, his No. 2 receiver.

Despite it all, the Saints' offensive machine continues to crank out yards and points. Nothing seems to matter.

Last week the Broncos threw a wrinkle at Brees by employing a cover-2 zone instead of the man-to-man scheme they'd been playing all season. It took Brees all of one drive to adjust. After the Saints' opening series, they punted only one time in 11 other offensive possessions.

"He's a stud," right tackle Jon Stinchcomb said. "Our success on offense is based solely on No. 9."

Although Brees' yardage total doesn't rank among the top 10 three-game totals in league history, it does put him on a rare pace. His average of 326.6 yards per game is better than the 317.7-yards-per-game rate Dan Marino established in 1984, when he set the NFL record for passing yards in a season.

Marino's record is a longshot. But Brees definitely is positioned to make a run at it. Heck, he threw for more than 4,400 yards in each of first two seasons and is already well ahead of those paces.

Face it, the Saints are built a lot like Marino's '84 Dolphins. They lack a dominant running game and their defense is shaky. They're going to need Brees to air it out every Sunday to win. And Coach Sean Payton, who is losing more artillery every week, doesn't have a lot of other options at his disposal.

Regardless, Brees almost certainly is in line for another 4,000-yard season, which would put him in elite company. Only four quarterbacks have passed for 4,000 yards in three consecutive seasons. Peyton Manning did it six times from 1999 to 2004. The others: Dan Fouts (1979-81), Marino (1984-86) and Trent Green (2002-2004).

"I feel like I'm just scratching the surface in terms of what I can accomplish and we can accomplish as a team and as an offense, and I do feel confident as I ever have (in my career)," Brees said this week.

No less an authority than Patten said Brees is as good a quarterback as there is in the game. Patten should know. He played four seasons with Brady.

"I couldn't choose which one is better," Patten said. "If we win a Super Bowl, then Drew will be considered just as good as Tom Brady and Peyton Manning."

Patten said he can count on one hand the number of bad throws he's seen Brees make during his two seasons with the Saints.

"Drew thinks a bad pass is when he throws it to the wrong shoulder," Patten said. "He beats himself up about it, even in practice."

Indeed, Brees is almost too good for his own cause. Like a great artist, the genius is in the seeming simplicity of the achievement. Brees makes it look easy on Sundays.

He makes the offensive line look good with his quick release. He makes the receivers look good with his remarkable accuracy. He makes the backs look good because defenses concentrate so much on the passing game that they forget about the run.

"He's one of the top guys in the league," 49ers Coach Mike Nolan said this week. "That's not just the 49ers' opinion. That's the opinion of everyone in the National Football League."

If so, then someone hasn't received the memo. Amazingly, Brees wasn't even a finalist for the NFL's FedEx Air Player of the Week award last week despite throwing for 421 yards and completing 81 percent of his passes at Denver.

Only four other quarterbacks since 1970 have managed to meet both thresholds in a game, but I guess that wasn't impressive enough for the voters.

"He's been totally under the radar this year, but Drew doesn't care about that stuff," Stinchcomb said. "He's all about team."

After enduring the frustrating inconsistency of Aaron Brooks and the era of the Billy Joes, Saints fans should never take this excellence for granted. It won't last forever.

But for now, the Saints have the best quarterback in the NFL.

It'd be nice if somebody would notice.