Drew Brees and Darren Sproles. The Battle in the Bayou.

My first NFL athlete I worked with was NFL superstar and now Hall of Famer, LaDainian Tomlinson in early 2003. He brought in Drew Brees just a few months later. And a few years later (2008), Darren Sproles came in.

They all trained TOGETHER for many years. And since “LT” retired in 2012, Drew & Darren have been the mainstay in my NFL training groups.

They are 2 of the hardest workers you will ever meet. Old-school. Grinders. Gym-rats. Will do whatever it takes to be great.

In workouts, they push each other.
They run extra sprints and do extra reps.
They challenge each other.
They compete against each other.
They make each other BETTER.

And they show the “young” guys what it takes to be a future Hall-of-Famer. BOTH of them!

But this weekend, Drew Brees and Darren Sproles face each other in a huge NFC Divisional Playoff game down in the Bayou. For a few hours, they will need to put their friendship aside and compete for the right to play for the NFC Championship, and ultimately a Super Bowl.

In the first matchup earlier this year in New Orleans, the Saints blew out the Eagles 48-7, while Darren sat on the sideline watching with an injured leg.

I know it killed Darren watching that game. He loves to compete against #9. And he loves going back to a city that always embraced him.

This weekend will be different than a regular season game. It’s a playoff game. Everything is at stake. Winner goes on. Loser goes home. And there isn’t a ton more playoff opportunities for either one of them.

People keep asking me, “Who do I want to win?”

Let me preface it by saying that I train multiple guys on both sides of the ball. On the Eagles, Zach Ertz, Golden Tate, and Sproles are all part of the Fitness Quest 10 family.

And on the Saints side of the ball, most of the offensive “skill guys” typically spend a couple weeks out in San Diego lifting, conditioning, and fine-tuning things on the field with Drew before Training Camp. Drew has been with me now for 16+ years. If he’s not in season, he’s out here training.

Nowadays, I always cheer for all the guys I work with. I genuinely want all of them to BE GREAT.

On Sunday, it’s going to be one heckuva game.

It’s tough to play in the Superdome.

It’s tough to beat #9 in any playoff game, let alone at home.

Here is my prediction for Sunday’s game…
Drew Brees throws for 3 TD’s & sneaks for 1.
Michael Thomas catches 8 passes, 1 for TD.
Alvin Kamara runs for 110 yards and 1 TD
Darren Sproles runs for 1 TD, catches 1 TD, and returns one punt for a TD.
Ertz catches 8 passes, 2 for TD’s
Golden Tate catches 4 passes, 1 for TD
My prediction: 45-42! What a GREAT game!!! 🙂

Love ya,

Todd