Super Bowl Wrap Up (Click Here to Leave/Read Comments)

Congratulations to the Saints and their fans on their first Super Bowl victory. Many people have said that it was their destiny to win the Super Bowl. While that may be true, the Saints did a lot of things to make it their destiny. Let’s just start with Sean Payton. Have you ever seen anyone coach as aggressively as he did? He took some huge gambles in this game and, in doing so, he created some great opportunities for the Saints. Payton’s first risky call was going for it on the goal line down 10-3 with just under two minutes left in the first half. I thought this was a great move for a couple different reasons. When you play Peyton Manning and the Colts, you better be aggressive and put points on the board. You can’t beat the Colts by kicking field goals and while it didn’t work out, I thought it was the right move especially since we all thought the Colts were getting the ball to start the second half. This leads us to what will undoubtedly become one of the most memorable Super Bowl moments ever….the on-side kick. Balls of Steel…that’s the only way I can describe this decision. From what I heard, the locker room doors had barely closed for halftime and Sean Payton was telling his team how that they were going to on-side kick it which makes his decision to go for it on 4th down before halftime even better. Now, if the Saints don’t recover the kick, Payton is the goat and we are all killing him for giving the Colts short field. However recovering the on-side kick did a couple different things for the Saints:

1. It obviously gave them momentum.

2. It kept Peyton Manning off the field for over an hour.

3. It created a turnover

In my preview I talked about how the Saints needed to force turnovers in order to win the game. Well rather than sitting back and hoping for the Colts to make a mistake, Payton created his own turnover. When the Colts took over on downs right after stuffing the Saints on 4th and goal before the half, they took their foot of the gas offensively. They ran it into the line three times which pretty much said to everyone, “we are good with where we are, let’s not make a mistake before halftime and take the ball to start the 3rd quarter”. Well Sean Payton literally ripped that possession right out of their hands.

In addition to Sean Payton, the rest of the Saints and their coaching staff were amazing. Drew Brees played almost flawlessly completing 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards and 2 TDs. Pierre Thomas was like a man possessed and while he only had 9 rushes for 30 yards, he caught 6 balls for 55 yards…oh and by the way, he just broke another tackle. While they did get shredded in the first half, Gregg Williams and the Saint defense made the necessary adjustments and could not have done better in the second half. Williams was prepared with a litany of different schemes and looks for Peyton Manning and they were finally able to force him into a turnover when Tracy Porter jumped a route for a pick 6 later on in the fourth quarter. And let’s not forget Garret Hartley. Hartley was suspended for the first four games of the year for taking a banned stimulant and was actually inactive for the Saints for the first eleven games of the year. He eventually won his job back and became the first kicker in Super Bowl history to make three field goals of 40 yards or more converting from 46, 44, and 47.

This game could have played out very differently if not for a couple plays. The biggest of those plays (aside from the on-side kick of course…nice hands Hank Baskett) was a dropped pass by Pierre Garcon. With the Colts already leading 10-0, Pierre dropped a pass on third down which turned out to be a turning point in the game. If Garcon catches that ball and turns the corner, he’s probably gone for a touchdown. Instead the Colts have to punt and instead of the score being 17-0, it goes to 10-3 as the Saints kicked a field goal on their ensuing possession. That’s a huge difference considering how the Saints couldn’t stop the Colts for much of the first half. One other thing that should be mentioned is field position. The Saints special teams did a great job of pinning the Colts in their end of the field. If you think about it, the Colts started a lot of possessions inside their own 20 which took some of the pressure off their defense.

On the opposite sideline I thought Jim Caldwell did a terrible job of coaching the Super Bowl and made a couple major mistakes. I really thought that the Colts did a horrible job with their last possession of the first half. I know there was only about 1:50 left but I don’t understand the cautious play calling. If you were working with a rookie Quarterback I could understand, but this is Peyton Manning. Plus the Colts have made their season scoring late in the half. Just look at what they did to the Ravens and the Jets during the playoffs. In both of those games, the Colts scored huge touchdowns right before the half which either buried their opponent or drastically swung the momentum of the game. Plus, they were supposed to get the ball to start the 3rd quarter which would have really let them step on the Saints throats if they could’ve scored then as well.

Another key mistake that Caldwell made was trying to kick a 51 yard field goal with 10 minutes left in the game. Matt Stover is a good kicker but he doesn’t have the leg for that distance. For his career, Stover is just 13 for 32 from 50 yards and out, plus let’s remember, he is also 42 years old. I would have tried to go for it there. If you don’t make it you give the Saints the ball on the 34 yard line or you pick up some yards and maybe push them back even further.

So for the third straight year we had a good game for the Super Bowl. I’m happy for the Saints and their fans…they deserve it. Mic’s Picks is also off to a good start after picking the Saints +5. I’m a little sad to see football go but I’m a baseball guy so April can’t get here fast enough. Thanks for checking us out and keep reading.