Column: Hard to believe now, but Chargers letting Drew Brees go made sense

Sez Me ...

This looked to have reached the line to gain.

But, just to drive me crazy, I think Russian officials have perpetuated it with a bad spot.

Every time Drew Brees does something special — and he often does something great, because, well, he’s a great quarterback — we hear it.

How could San Diego let Drew go?

People simply don’t want to listen — or believe what is the absolute truth.

Letting Brees go was automatic. Please understand. He had to be released under maybe the most unusual circumstances in NFL history.

It was 2003, and Brees was starting quarterback for the Chargers, before they became the Judases. And he stunk. Ask him. He’ll admit it.

He was so bad he eventually was benched for a 39-year-old height-impaired Doug Flutie.

In 2003, Brees started 11 games, finishing 2-9. He completed 57.3 percent of his passes for 2,108 yards, throwing 11 touchdowns vs. 15 interceptions. Remember, he started 16 games the year before, and his stats were better (and the team was 8-8).

So what was General Manager A.J. Smith to do? Could he trust Brees to be his torch out of the darkness?

No. A.J. pulled off that Eli Manning-Philip Rivers thing in 2004. He had to draft a quarterback and the team invested $40 million in Philip.

So what happened? The Rivers deal lit a fire under Drew. He kept the starting job in 2004 and was good enough to make the Pro Bowl. He started in 2005, but with Marty Schottenheimer making the mistake of starting Drew in the final, meaningless game, Brees blew out his throwing shoulder.

What happened after that is well-documented. Some doctors thought he’d never be right again. New Orleans was the only team willing to take a chance on him and, a free agent, he left for NOLA.

Are we honestly supposed to believe that, if Brees had been good that season, Smith still would have used that high 2004 draft pick on a quarterback?

There are saints who couldn’t have seen Drew becoming the QB he became, and while A.J. may be many things, saint isn’t one of them.

Into Rivers for $40 million, Smith would have had to invest many more millions in Brees to keep him around — and no one was certain he would play again. Drew went to Sean Payton, the game’s best play caller (for $10 million and a $12-million second-year option), who had the perfect system for him.

It’s common sense. They had to draft a quarterback and when Brees found himself they couldn’t afford to keep him around (similar to tailback Michael Turner with all the money they had invested in LT and Darren Sproles).

I’m happy for Drew.

He is, without question, the most confident athlete I’ve known in my life. Even during that bad 2003, he never, ever, lost confidence in his ability.

He would say it. He thought he was the best. Now he’s an all-timer.

But, would he have won a Super Bowl here? If you say yes, you’re guessing. Rivers isn’t lunch meat.

Please stop. I’m tired of writing this. I’m finished writing this. Honest. ...

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How about that laminated piece of paper they gave Drew for setting the record? ...

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Answer: Not me. …

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Dressing well is not a bad thing. …

Nevada “temporarily” suspends Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov — or, until the next big payday. ...

The first thing our new, sure-to-be MLS team (the Conquistadors?) should do is make a splash. Sign Usain Bolt. Show me your Usain Bolt!

sezme.godfather@gmail.com; Twitter: @sdutCanepa