Drew Brees, the face, heart and soul of the New Orleans Saints, takes on Bucs, Tom Brady in NFL playoffs

When quarterback Drew Brees signed with the New Orleans Saints as a free agent on March 14, 2006, Archie Manning and Aaron Brooks held 16 club quarterback records between them.

Manning is down to one now, and it may still make him sore: 337 career sacks from 1971-82.

Brooks, who played from 2000-05, is down to two: most passes attempted with 60 against Denver in 2004 and sacks in a season with 50 in 2001.

Brees has just about everything else: 20 franchise passing records to be exact, including career passing yards with 68,010 to Manning’s 21,734 career completions with 6,017 to Manning’s 1,849, career touchdown passes with 491 to Brooks’ 120, career 300-yard passing games with 116 to Brooks’ 10 and career passer rating of 101.52 to 81.1 by Jim Everett (1994-96).

More:What can Jacksonville Jaguars expect from Urban Meyer? Five takeaways from his introduction

All things Saints: Latest New Orleans Saints news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

All that, and the heart of Louisiana and the Saints' footprint in neighboring Mississippi, the Alabama coast and Florida panhandle.

"Everybody loves Drew Brees," former Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert said. "My wife (Joan) said, 'If you ever hear anything bad about Drew Brees, I don't want to hear it, because it's hopeless for mankind.'"

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell may have said it best to Sports Illustrated in 2010 not long after Brees, an Austin, Texas, native who played at Purdue with no ties to New Orleans or the area, won the MVP of Super Bowl XLIV with a 31-17 win over Indianapolis and Manning's son Peyton:

"It's hard to point to a relationship in our league, between a player and a city, that's more meaningful than the Saints and Drew Brees."

'Legitimate starter' with Hall of Fame career

And it was not expected.

"I thought Drew would be a legitimate starter for the Saints like he was with the Chargers when we signed him," said Hebert, a talk radio host on WWL in New Orleans. "But not a Hall of Famer. I thought he could lead the Saints to the playoffs, but not be one of the best NFL quarterbacks of all time."

Brees, who turned 42 Friday, is No. 1 in NFL history in career passing yards with 80,358 and in career completions with 7,142 from 2001-20, counting his five seasons in San Diego before New Orleans.

Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady, 43, is No. 2 all time in passing yards with 79,204 and career completions with 6,778 from 2000-20 with his first two decades at New England. Brady is No. 1 in career TD passes with 581. Brees is No. 2 at 571.

Brees and Brady meet Sunday (6:40 p.m., FOX) in New Orleans for the first time in the postseason in the NFC Divisional round at the Superdome. The winner advances to the NFC Championship Game.

Brady leads Brees in Super Bowl titles 6-1, while Brees leads head-to-head 5-2. And he just became the first quarterback in history to sweep Brady 2-0 in a regular season with a 34-23 win in the season opener in the dome Sept. 13 and a 38-3 win at Tampa Nov. 8.

“We were texting back and forth on Monday, just kind of chuckling at this whole scenario,” Brees said. “Tom and I have a friendship and mutual respect. He’s 43. I’m 42 Friday. So, that’s 85 years, and a lot of football experience that’s going to be on the field on Sunday.”

And a lot of gray hairs.

“I saw the tweet where they’re facing off on the History Channel,” Saints defensive end Cam Jordan said. “I didn’t even laugh. I thought that was going to happen. I thought that was a serious even. Brady has been playing football since 1980-something.”

Jordan said a good birthday present for Brees would be “Metumucil” or “a heated blanket.”

Saints coach Sean Payton was more practical. “Just a good red zone plan,” he said.

Brees will be playing in his 17th playoff game with the Saints and is 9-7. Before Brees and Payton's arrival in early 2006, New Orleans was 1-5 in the playoffs from 1987-2000. From the inaugural season in 1967 through 1986, there were 18 losing seasons and two 8-8 campaigns before the Saints posted a winner at 12-3 and reached the playoffs in 1987 with Hebert at quarterback under coach Jim Mora.

"There are people who don't even realize that the Saints were really bad for a long time," said Hebert. "That's because since Brees, they've basically been winning for a decade and a half. I remember when I went to the Saints in 1985, it just stuck in my head - even with Archie Manning, they never won more than eight games."

The Saints and Hebert (1985-89, '91-92) went to the playoffs four times from 1987-92 with an NFC West division title in 1991, but they went 0-4. A .500 season followed in 1993, then six straight losing seasons before the first playoff win in 2000.

Beginning in 2006, Brees and Payton have produced nine winning seasons in 15 years with nine playoff appearances, three NFC Championship games and the Super Bowl XLIV title. Over the last four seasons, no one has been better than the Saints' 49-15 mark in the regular season with four straight NFC South championships.

"Right now, it's Super Bowl or bust because they've won so much the last few years," Hebert said. "That's what Brees and Payton have done. Saints fans are spoiled now."

'Appreciate it now' Saints' fans

And if this season busts before the Super Bowl like the last three, Saints fans will also likely be minus Brees, who is expected to retire following the season.

"Better appreciate it now," says Ken Trahan, a radio broadcaster who has covered the team since 1978 and is the general manager of the team's Hall of Fame Museum. "Odds are slim that the Saints will have a quarterback like Drew Brees again. I feel bad for whoever succeeds him."

Brees and wife Brittany purchased a home off St. Charles Avenue in the heart of the city with Katrina damage just months after the hurricane because Brees wanted to live like the natives. They even had the blue tarps.

"He genuinely wanted to be a part of the culture," Trahan said. "Archie set the precedent for that. He has lived uptown since he got here and never left. That's really important to Drew, too -- to be a part of the city. His career and impact on the franchise and the city have been a perfect storm."

A father of four, Brees has remained active in philanthropy for the city since his arrival. He pledged $5 million for COVID-19 relief in Louisiana last March.

"He's the greatest Saint player on and off the field, "Trahan said. "He was the MVP of the greatest achievement in the history of the franchise (Super Bowl XLIV)."

Added Hebert, "The businesses he's involved in, giving back to the community, just how he carries himself, he's almost too good to be true. He's like a knight in shining armor.”