Posted by ESPN.com’s Pat Yasinskas

I made the point Wednesday that New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees needs to win some big games (like Sunday’s showdown) with the Giants before he truly gets the respect he deserves.

Now, the guy’s in Brees’ locker room are saying the same thing. In a radio interview, linebacker Jonathan Vilma compares Brees to Peyton Manning, who used to be criticized for not winning the big one, until he won the big one.

Here’s Vilma on Brees:

“He doesn’t get a lot of the respect he should get,’’ Vilma said. “I think he’s highly, highly underrated even though it’s hard to say he’s underrated. If you’re not winning the big one and you’re not the guy in the big game, you’re just not going to get the credit anymore; you’re not going to get the respect you deserve among the media. The players, we respect him across the league. We all think he’s top one, top two quarterback in the league, but you know what, it’s about winning it all, it’s about winning the big one. I know Peyton went through the same thing for a bunch of years. He never won the big one and we’re trying to get there now.”