Brees ready to get camp at home underway

Saints quarterback Drew Brees has always been the ultimate optimist, and this has always been the best time of the year for guys like him. He and the rest of his teammates will report to training camp July 30 at the team's home practice facility in Metairie. Brees admitted that the players are happy to be back home after the past three grueling summers at Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss. But he said they're even more thrilled to be back on an even playing field with the rest of the NFL's 31 teams after missing the playoffs the past two years. "You get in July and you're working out, and you get into the best shape of your life, and especially in this stage of my career in particular, it feels like this is our time," said Brees, who turned 30 in January. "You never know when it's going to be your year, and this could be our year. "You look at the position we're in, it's exciting. It's really exciting. I just think we've made all of the right moves to put ourselves in position to win a championship. There's always going to be setbacks, you expect that, but I think we've got what it takes to fight through them and be successful." Brees will return to New Orleans this weekend after training primarily in San Diego, which he has done every summer dating to his days with the Chargers. He has been working out at a facility called Fitness Quest 10 with friend and former teammate LaDainian Tomlinson and other NFL quarterbacks, including Aaron Rodgers, Jeff Garcia, A.J. Feeley, John Beck and Kevin O'Connell, among others. Before that, he spent a week working out at his alma mater, Purdue, and even did some training with the U.S. Marine Corps while visiting Guantanamo Bay on his fourth USO Tour. Brees took time out Tuesday for a full-day media blitz to promote his involvement with the NFL's Play 60 and Take a Player to School programs. Brees has served as the national spokesman for the past two years for both initiatives, which are focused on increasing the health and wellness of young fans. Certainly one of the main reasons for Brees' enthusiasm heading into this season is the Saints' new-look defense, led by new coordinator Gregg Williams. Williams has promoted a feisty, aggressive style on that side of the ball, which led to some spirited battles during summer practice sessions. Brees is looking forward to more of the same in the coming weeks. "A lot of the talk is obviously about all these moves we made on defense, from the free-agent guys to our entire draft to the defensive coordinator," Brees said. "So I think everybody's really excited to see them come out and play and the schemes we run. I know I'm excited to see it. We love the attitude they're bringing on defense, and when we put the pads on it's going to be even more competitive. They've got great leadership over there, and guys are playing with confidence. And they'll just continue to build that confidence the more success we have." Brees cautioned that it's just as important for the Saints' offense to keep improving as well, even though they ranked first in the NFL in yards and points per game last season. "Whenever you finish No. 1 in the league, everybody is watching you on film and everybody's gunning for you, and that's a huge challenge," Brees said. "The biggest thing is you can never take anything for granted. You just don't step out on the field and have success because you were No. 1 on offense last year. You've got to work your butt off." Among other topics Brees discussed Tuesday: -- He said Millsaps "served its purpose" for the past three years, and it was "great while we were there." But it was time for a change. "I'd say 99.9 percent of the guys are happy to be back, maybe 100 percent," Brees said. "It was kind of like basic training. Not the greatest memories. When I stepped on that Millsaps campus, I knew my body was going to be hurting for a month." -- Brees took over as the Play 60 and Take a Player to School spokesman last year, replacing former Giants defensive end Michael Strahan. On Tuesday, he was helping to kick off the sixth annual Take a Player to School sweepstakes, which is run by the NFL and JCPenney. From now through Sept. 28, children ages 6 to 13 from each NFL market can enter at nflrush.com, jcp.com or JCPenney stores. The winning kids (one from each NFL market and two at-large winners) will ride to school in a limousine with an NFL player, then lead their classmates in a special gym class, among other activities.