Drew Brees can tie Johnny Unitas' TD pass record

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees’ pursuit of another longstanding NFL record will continue in historic Lambeau Field on Sunday.

Brees, who bettered Dan Marino’s 27-year-old NFL single-season record for passing yards last fall, can tie Johnny Unitas’ mark for consecutive games with a touchdown pass when the Saints face the Green Bay Packers.

Brees had three scoring passes in last week’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, extending a streak that started in 2009 to 46 games. Unitas threw at least one touchdown in 47 consecutive regular-season games from 1956-60.

“When you say that name Johnny Unitas, one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time, certainly his accomplishments speak for themselves,” Brees noted. “One of the pioneers of this game, to even be in the realm of a record that he’s held for a long time, it’s an honor. It’s humbling.

“Obviously, we’re not there yet, but I focus on my job. I focus on what I need to do to help our team win. Usually that stuff takes care of itself.”

“For him to be as close as he is to tying that record, and hopefully breaking that record, is a huge credit to the way he works in making plays out there each and every Sunday,” Saints wide receiver Lance Moore said.

Bushrod excited

Saints left tackle Jermon Bushrod won’t get to be there because the Saints will be in Green Bay, but his heart will be with the Towson Tigers when they play third-ranked LSU in Tiger Stadium on Saturday night.

Bushrod, a four-year starter for Towson, was an All-Atlantic 10 selection in 2006 before the Saints grabbed him in the fourth round of the 2007 draft.

“I’m excited for the opportunity for those guys to come down and play in front of this many people,” Bushrod said. “I think about when I played, the biggest place we went to was Delaware. It held like 20-something thousand, and I thought that was a big deal.

“I’ll be getting my updates,” he added.

“I’m just excited about the guys’ opportunity to play in Death Valley because they’ve never experienced anything like that.”

Towson times two

Suspended Saints assistant head coach/linebackers coach Joe Vitt is also a proud Towson alum.

Vitt was a linebacker at Towson and helped the Tigers to their first undefeated season in 1974. He helped Towson finish as the NCAA Division III runner-up in 1976 in just the eighth year of the program’s existence.

That 1976 squad was honored as a Team of Distinction by the school’s Hall of Fame in 2009.

Injury report

There were no changes to the Saints’ injury report Thursday from the one interim coach Aaron Kromer issued Wednesday.

LB David Hawthorne (hamstring), LB Jonathan Casillas (neck) and DE Turk McBride (ankle) didn’t practice. Kromer said everyone else had full participation.

For the Packers, S Sean Richardson (hamstring) did not practice again, while WR Greg Jennings (groin), T Bryan Bulaga (knee), CB Davon House (shoulder) and DE Jerel Worthy (shoulder) were limited for a second straight day.

Andersen on Hall list

Former Saints kicker Morten Andersen is among 13 first-year eligible modern-era candidates who have been nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2013.

Andersen, who played for the Saints from 1982-94 and is the NFL’s all-time leading scorer, is one of 127 nominees from which the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee will choose 25 semifinalists.

From that list, 15 modern-era finalists will be chosen in early January and the Class of 2013 will be elected on Feb. 2 in New Orleans.

Also on the list are Saints wide receivers coach Henry Ellard, former Saints linebacker Sam Mills and former Southern University star Aeneas Williams, who was a finalist a year ago.

No ESPN for Rodgers

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who said he doesn’t watch a lot of TV, apparently isn’t a fan of ESPN when he does tune in.

When asked during a teleconference on Wednesday if he was tired of watching the controversial final play of Monday night’s game in Seattle, he said, “Yeah, I don’t really watch ESPN.”

Rodgers said he has lots of other things to keep him busy, like keeping up with the Milwaukee Brewers’ late-season pursuit of a playoff berth.

Slow starts

Brees and Rodgers are both struggling early in the season after earning the NFL Offensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards, respectively, a year ago.

So far this season, two of the NFL’s premier quarterbacks have a combined passer rating of 81.6 after posting a passer rating of 115.8 last season when they threw for 10,119 yards and 91 TDs.