New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees seems to be taking a "kill them with kindness" approach into Sunday's divisional-round game against the Minnesota Vikings.
The veteran signal-caller issued a large amount of praise for Vikings quarterback Case Keenum, who heads into his first career playoff appearance.
"Case has done a phenomenal job, phenomenal job," Brees said, according to Mike Triplett of ESPN. "I've been really happy for him, just knowing him a little bit and knowing the road he’s traveled to get where he is.
"Case is his own guy, but we can relate. I think there’s just kind of that mentality of having the chip on your shoulder, always being told you couldn’t do it for whatever reason, height whatever. But I love the way that guy plays, and he’s played extremely well for his team."
Keenum, an undrafted free agent out of Houston, has enjoyed a career year in his first season with the Vikings since replacing quarterback Sam Bradford, who missed all but one other start after sustaining an injury in the Week 1 meeting with the Saints.
At 6-foot-1, Keenum just barely tops Brees, who's listed at 6-feet.
"I always root for guys like that, kind of the undersized guy coming out that nobody wants to give any credit and just always plays with a chip on his shoulder," Brees said.
Brees will be making his 13th career playoff start, after being selected with the 32nd pick of the 2001 draft by the San Diego Chargers.
