METAIRIE, La. -- Sean Payton and Drew Brees have faced plenty of all-time great defensive players during their 12 years together with the New Orleans Saints. But they have never quite spoken about an opponent with the same reverence when it comes to the battle of wits as they did with Luke Kuechly this week.
"He's one of the smartest football players I've seen, been around, had the chance to go up against," Brees said of the Carolina Panthers linebacker.
Payton, meanwhile, gave a fantastic response when asked about the difficulty of facing a division rival for the third time this season in Sunday's playoff opener.