ticatfan
01-14-2016, 09:55 AM
Delvin Breaux’s welcome-to-the-NFL moment happened his first week on the job.
His New Orleans Saints were playing in Arizona and Breaux found himself lined up across from Cardinals’ wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, a superstar who has played in eight Pro Bowls, a Super Bowl and been on the cover of the Madden video game. Twice.
“I was like, that’s Larry Fitzgerald over there. And there’s Carson Palmer at quarterback. And I was on the same field as them, playing against them,” Breaux said this week. “It was a strange feeling. But amazing.”
Breaux had an outstanding rookie year with the Saints. He started all 16 games, made 45 tackles and registered three interceptions. Pro Football Focus, an advanced metrics sites that ranks players by position across the league, listed Breaux as the fifth-best corner in the NFL in October.
While Breaux’s performance may have surprised some — “There is no backing down from that guy,” Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano said of Breaux — it was simply a continuation of his time in Hamilton, where the former Tiger-Cat spent two seasons and earned a reputation as one of the best lockdown corners in the CFL.
“The NFL game is actually easier in some ways. There’s less motion, the field is smaller and the game is slower because of the 40 second play clock,” Breaux said. “The players in Canada are good, too.”
A Louisiana native, Breaux’s rise to prominence in his home state has allowed his remarkable story to be told to a whole new audience.
On Oct. 27, 2006 — two days after his 17th birthday — Breaux was playing a high-school football game when a devastating collision broke a vertebrae in his neck and displaced two more. It took five years to make it back to the field. More...
http://3downnation.com/2016/01/13/former-ticats-db-delvin-breaux-locks-down-success-with-the-saints/
His New Orleans Saints were playing in Arizona and Breaux found himself lined up across from Cardinals’ wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, a superstar who has played in eight Pro Bowls, a Super Bowl and been on the cover of the Madden video game. Twice.
“I was like, that’s Larry Fitzgerald over there. And there’s Carson Palmer at quarterback. And I was on the same field as them, playing against them,” Breaux said this week. “It was a strange feeling. But amazing.”
Breaux had an outstanding rookie year with the Saints. He started all 16 games, made 45 tackles and registered three interceptions. Pro Football Focus, an advanced metrics sites that ranks players by position across the league, listed Breaux as the fifth-best corner in the NFL in October.
While Breaux’s performance may have surprised some — “There is no backing down from that guy,” Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano said of Breaux — it was simply a continuation of his time in Hamilton, where the former Tiger-Cat spent two seasons and earned a reputation as one of the best lockdown corners in the CFL.
“The NFL game is actually easier in some ways. There’s less motion, the field is smaller and the game is slower because of the 40 second play clock,” Breaux said. “The players in Canada are good, too.”
A Louisiana native, Breaux’s rise to prominence in his home state has allowed his remarkable story to be told to a whole new audience.
On Oct. 27, 2006 — two days after his 17th birthday — Breaux was playing a high-school football game when a devastating collision broke a vertebrae in his neck and displaced two more. It took five years to make it back to the field. More...
http://3downnation.com/2016/01/13/former-ticats-db-delvin-breaux-locks-down-success-with-the-saints/