In what will surely be an ongoing battle as to who experts and fans think should be the future quarterback of the San Diego Chargers, a common argument that has been brought up in favor of Drew Brees is his consistency. It got me thinking: is he really that consistent? Sure, one would have to give Brees credit for being more consistent than his counterpart, Philip Rivers, but that comparison is giving the younger Rivers the short end of the stick. Nevertheless, as Rivers will only be entering his third pro season, Brees is still a relative young'n himself (only 26), and while he is facing a long rehabilitation from a torn labrum, it's possible his injury could have been worse. His career is anything but over.

Still, I digress. Just how consistent is Drew Brees? Let's find out.

We all know Brees had a breakthrough in 2004. Before that, he had two years in which he was the Chargers' starter, despite being forced out from that role in 2003 thanks to the team's abysmal performance. His rating in 2002 was 76.9, and his rating in 2003 was 67.5. In 27 games from 2002 to 2003, Brees completed 59.5 percent of his passes and threw 28 touchdowns compared to 31 interceptions. Acknowledgment--Brees showed flashes of talent, but couldn't put it all together for 16 games.

That seemed to change in 2004, when he had his career year: 104.8 rating, 27 touchdowns against only seven picks, and a 65.5 completion percentage. Hello, consistency. Right?

After San Diego's first game of the year against Houston, in which Brees completed 17-of-24 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns (no picks), he stunk it up in the next two matchups, both of which were losses to playoff teams--the Jets and the Broncos. Combined, he completed 22-of-48 passes for just 267 yards, one TD and two picks. Not very consistent.

Speaking of not very consistent, I have a bacterial ulcer in my eye and it's tough for me to stay awake. Sorry to intersect the personal with the professional (or amateur, I guess), but this is a topic I definitely want to focus more on. So I will follow up soon. Promise.