New Orleans Saints: Super Bowl XLIV Champions!

Updated 3:23 P.M.:The NFL has a rule that if a receiver commits a "second act" while trying to reach the ball over the goal line and is successful in the act, then that act will overrule the fact that a receiver dropped the ball. As in the case with Lance Moore's two point conversion last night, Moore was ruled to have committed that "second act" thus overturning the original incomplete pass call. A strange rule that I did not know, nor do I really understand what constitutes a "second act." I hope that rule and the "complete the play" rule is looked at and changed in the off season.

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Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints took a lot of time to get going in Super Bowl XLIV, but when they did it was memorable.

Both teams needed to shake off the early jittery feeling everybody gets when playing in the Super Bowl. Marques Colston and Pierre Garcon each dropped passes early. New Orleans did not get too Manning in the first half and the Colts took an early 10-0 lead.

On the Colts first touchdown drive, Addai carried most of the load and the Saints missed a lot of tackles. On the Addai 29-yard run, Saints corner Jabarie Greer was injured on the tackle. Greer's replacement comes in and is matched up on Pierre Garcon. Garcon fakes like hes going outside, and the corner takes away the outside move like he should with safety help over the top on the inside. Garcon then comes inside and runs straight up the seem where Safety Roman Harper gave up on the deep route and let Garcon run right by him when his responsibility is deep. Bad play by the safety there and the Colts look on their way to a route.

The Saints responded with a field goal on their next possession, and then came the game changer. On 3rd and 4 Manning threw a dart to Pierre Garcon that looks to be going to the house, and Garcon dropped the ball. Colts go 3 and out and punt. The Saints drive all the way down and have 1st and goal from the 3 yard line. They commit a penalty, but get it to 2rd and goal on the 1. At this point if your Sean Payton, you either know or not if you are going on 4th down and if you are you attempt a pass on either 3rd or 4th down. They don't pass on either down and the Colts stuff them. On plays that close to the goal line, all 11 defensive players are so close to the line of scrimmage it is impossible to get everyone blocked. On 4th down linebacker Garry Bracket and corner Tim Jennings were unblocked and stopped Pierre Thomas short.

So Manning is getting into his bread and butter, 2 minutes and 2 timeouts. But what do the Colts do? They play conservative and run 3 times up the middle. They gave up thinking they get the ball back after the half no matter what. The Colts punt and the Saints sneak in another field goal as time expired to make it 10-6.

Opening the second half, the Saints go for the jugular. Payton calls for the onside kick after having to think about it for 30 minutes during an elongated Super Bowl halftime. The gamble, which will go down as one of the gutsiest calls in Super Bowl history, paid off as the Saints drove right down the field and took the lead 13-10.

The Colts come back and answer like they normally do. The Saints played soft coverage and missed a tone of tackles on the drive that lead to the Colts retaking the lead 17-13.

Dwight Freeney and the Colts defense was very effective in the first half getting to Drew Brees and disrupting what the Saints tried to do. During the second half, the Colts defense hindered significantly without Dwight Freeney after he came out in the 3rd quarter and would not return. Brees was on fire in the second half, but still losing. They kick another field goal to make it 17-16.

Peyton takes over in the 3rd quarter and the possession carry's over to the 4th quarter. Its now 4th and 2 for the Colts on the Saints 46. They go for it, and make it. The play was a slant to Wayne that he juggled but caught. The coverage was pressed but I have a problem with the fact that Wayne was not bumped at the line of scrimmage. I feel that if Porter would have bumped Wayne at the line it would have significantly impacted the decision Manning made their. Manning saw it and converted. Then the Saints defense came up big blowing up a screen play on 2nd and 8, and on 3rd down Manning sees a great match up which is WR Austin Collie on a MLB Jonathon Vilma. Collie ran up the seem and was matched stride for stride with the linebacker Vilma who broke up the play. Incredible coverage on a WR by a middle linebacker which is usually a clear miss match. This left Matt Stover a 51-yard field goal attempt that he misses. I do not agree with the call to kick their. I would have gone for it in that situation, but would not have a problem with a punt. The Saints dominated field position all night and backing them up their would have given a reason for them to be a little skeptical. Instead the Saints took advantage of their field position, Brees stayed hot and drove right down the field and scored to take the lead 22-7. The Saints go for the 2 point conversion to go up 7 with 5 minutes to play, good decision. Brees throws an out to Lance Moore who catches the ball, falls down, extends the ball passed the plane, appears to be bobbling the ball, and is ultimately drops it. The play is ruled incomplete on the field and is challenged by Payton, good challenge. The rule states that if a player completing a pass in the endzone falls to the ground, the players must maintain possession through the play regardless if he has broken the plane or not. The play on the field was overturned and the attempt was ruled successful, contradictory to what the rule says. Its a fascinating call that I can not wait for the NFL to explain.

None the less the Saints now lead 24-17 with a little over 5 minutes left. The Colts start driving downfield and get to 3rd and 5 on the Saints 31. The Saints called a blitz, Reggie Wayne and Manning adjust to the blitz to a sight adjustment they and every other teams run a hundred times throughout the year. Tracy Porter notices it, sees it, intercepts it, and takes it to the house. Ball Game. A lot of analysts are blaming Reggie Wayne for giving up on the route and not running it at full speed. Who is to blame on that play, no one will ever know because neither Peyton Manning or Reggie Wayne will tell you. Now the Saints have a headlock on the game up 2 touchdowns with 3 minutes left.

The Colts drive down the field again easily, this time because the Saints are guarding against the big play and giving up the underneath routes which the Colts took which also chewed up a lot of clock. The Colts got the ball to the Saints 3 yard line, but took a timeout. An unnecessary timeout that you could tell Manning after he took regretted it and tried to act like he didn't call it. You don't want to call a timeout in that situation because you want to be able to onside kick and be able to get the call back regardless if you recover the kick or not. But in order to do that you need all 3 of your timeouts, and the Colts blew one after that play. The Colts then attempt a pass which falls incomplete, then for some dumb reason run on 3rd down which is stopped so now they can't take another timeout so they hurry up the 4th down play which Wayne drops and the Saints take over and knee it to end the game.

A crazy and memorable Super Bowl on many levels. The Colts did not play the way they're known to play. They played conservative in the final two minutes of the first half and played confused in the final 3 minutes. Credit the MVP Drew Brees who played an outstanding game 32/39 for 288 and 2 touchdowns. Flawless performance by a very very underrated quarterback who the Chargers moved on from and the Dolphins thought was done 5 years ago.

Congratulations to the city of New Orleans and all Saints fans on being Super Bowl XLIV Champions!



Comments...

The UNhyped Super Bowl XLIV Preview

The only story this week leading up to Super Bowl XLIV is...there is no story. The only thing creating any buzz is whether or not Colts DE Dwight Freeney will play in the game and at what level of strength.

There is no doubt in my mind that he will suit up for the game even if he does not play a down. My guess is he will be around 70%, which is probably more effective than his replacement would be. Just the presence of Freeney on the field forces the Saints to be aware of where he is and adjust to him. If the Saints treat him lightly and don't pay attention to him early in the game, look for him to have an impact and make a big play.

On the opposite side, what are the Saints going to do to stop Peyton Manning? Better question is, WHAT HAS ANYONE done to stop Peyton Manning? The answer is really nothing. He's had an answer to just about every possible scenario defenses have thrown at him this season. When teams have blitzed and blitzed often, as the Jets did in the AFC title game, Peyton adjusted and quietly put up 30 points while throwing for 377 yards and 3 touchdowns. When teams stick with the conventional rush, he stands in the pocket with all day to throw and eventually dinks and dunks and then throws on a dime where you think there is no spot to put it. Realizing all this, the best scenario to attack the Colts offense is something I heard from an analyst this week. For the first half have one game plan and in the second half, have an entirely different game plan. This way whatever adjustments Manning has made will have no effect on what your plans are. Easier said than done because if your first game plan fails, your down by 3 scores before you even know what hit you.

Putting all that aside, the Saints must get to Manning, but not at all costs. They must get to him with their conventional front, knock passes down at the line of scrimmage, and make him do the one thing he does not do well...scramble. Of the 3 Manning quarterbacks, Peyton by far has the worst feet. He takes a lot of 3 step drops, gets rid of the ball quickly, and does not take hits. Look for the Saints to play a lot of press coverage to try and offset some of that and try and make Peyton move around a little bit.

The Saints offense this season has been spectacular, averaging over 30 points a game and 400 yards of offense per game, and not all of it through the air. Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush, and Mike Bell have combined for over 1,600 rushing yards this season. Drew Brees continued his resurgence throwing for over 4,300 passing yards and over 70% completion during the regular season. The Saints have one of if not the most complete offenses in the NFL, but the Colts have a very underrated defense. Freeney and Mathis have disrupted quarterbacks all year, and the Colts have stopped the run without their most effective run stopper, safety Bob Sanders. The Cots in the postseason faced 2 teams who's strength was clearly running the football. They stopped it by bringing safeties down in the box and playing a lot of single high. The Colts will not do that in this game. They were burned in the AFC Championship game by the Jets through the air on a couple of plays that they wont allow the Saints to do in the Super Bowl. The Saints will score points, but not at the rate Manning and the Colts will.

Prediction: Colts 35 Saints 31

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New York Islanders Mid-Season Crisis

The New York Islanders entered the 2009-2010 season with limited expectations in year 2 of their "re-build". They got their prized franchise player in the draft and kept the core intact while adding depth between the pipes after going through all of last season without a legitimate NHL goaltender.

But when the team plays better than expected and goes on a nice mid-season run, people raise their expectations. When you are sitting in a playoff spot after January 1, all of a sudden the playoffs look much better then a lottery pick.

But what happens when you lose 6 in a row and find yourself chasing 7 teams ahead of you for 3 playoff spots? Panic starts to set in. Which is where the Islanders find themselves at this point and time. They are a team that has lost their identity from earlier in the year and is struggling to regain it. A team that was always praised by opponents for their relentless puck pursuit and work ethic earlier in the year are now being dominated by their opponents on a nightly basis. This has not come from a lack of work ethic or heart, but a lack of talent.

Garth Snow started this process with the intent of seeing it all the way through. I am glad him and Assistant GM Ryan Jankowski are sticking to that. Considering the situation Garth has been put in, I believe him and his staff have done a great job. Compliments go to his scouting staff for finding their leading scorer and number 1 goaltender as free agents completely under the radar this past off-season.

But what the Islanders lack they do not have internally. What they have now are about 9 players they plan to build a Stanley Cup team around, the rest are expendable. For the time being, the current roster is filled with 3rd and 4th line players that are plugged in to get by this season and possibly next.

As long as Garth Snow's hands continue to be tied by Charles Wang, who's hands are tied by a terrible arena lease and the Town of Heampstead, me and every other Islanders fan around the world have to realize that as long as the situation remains status quo, the Islanders will not be a contender. You can not expect the team to pay $100 million for Ilya Kovalchuk when they wont even pay for the team to have a regular radio station and broadcasters.

That last paragraph may be tough to swallow for a lot of Islander fans. Go back and read it again if you have to, but do not try and convince yourself that it is not true, because it most certainly is.

So what do you do now if you are an Islanders fan? You sit and wait. You watch the remainder of this season hoping they turn things around and make a strong push, or hope they bottom out and end up with a lottery pick. You also hope for good news from the Town of Heampstead about the redevelopment of the arena.

If your Garth Snow you stick some lines in the water for players YOU think are best for your team in the future and you DO NOT pull the trigger unless you are satisfied with the terms. You also look to sell of dead Weight for as much as possible.

As far as the present goes, the Islanders need to ask themselves one question...who is going to step up? Who is going to take responsibility and put this team on their back for stretch run? My bet would go to Kyle Okposo with pretty good odds too. They need to play much more hungry then they have in the past 2 weeks and they absolutely must improve their play on special teams. If you have watched this team all year you've noticed that in recent games they have not been getting any quality scoring chances whatsoever. Goals have come from battles in the front of the net or 30 foot shots that ricochet off of bodies on their way to the net. They have not scored a goal scorer's goal in at least 3 weeks. Get back to the team you were a month ago that teams were afraid to play on a nightly basis, and you make a decent run at a bottom playoff spot.

I will have a Super Bowl XLIV preview tomorrow, needed to rant about this now. Comments

NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement and What it Means to You and Me

The one topic NFL fans are very hush-hush about as the Super Bowl gets closer is the collective bargaining agreement. Lets put it in perspective for everyone.

If you are a person like my mother and stepfather, you will no longer be annoyed that you DVR'd 60 Minutes and when you press play you are seeing the 4th quarter of a Chargers/Raiders game.

If you are the obsessed college football fan and casual NFL observer, flick to TNT and move on with your Sunday afternoon.

For the rest of us like me who live and breathe everything football, we will be needing lots of Prozac to get through Sundays come Fall 2011.

Before everyone jumps off the ledge, take a step back, take a deep breath, and repeat after me..."Their will be NFL football in 2010." After that, its sketchy.

Immediately after the completion of the 2010 NFL season, the current collective bargaining agreement will expire after the owners opted out of the current agreement in 2008. If you want an in-depth Q & A of what the particulars are for the upcoming season, please click here.

I am not interested in arguing over who wins and who loses because if their is no football in 2011, we all lose. The NFL does not need this right now. No one benefits from a cancellation or even an abbreviated 2011 season.

Certain circumstances, such as the NHL lockout of 2004-2005, constitute a work stoppage. Had the NHL not shut down the league for an entire season, the sport would not have survived in its current form. That is a fact. Even though looking back I hated not having hockey, I understand it was for the better of the sport in the long run.

The NFL and the Players Association can not allow this to happen. Both sides know what they need and what works and what doesn't. Work it out like everyone else who negotiates does. If you want an 18 game season, give up something in return. If you want a Rookie Salary Cap, give up something in return.

Also the NFL and the Players Association MUST do something about retired players. This afternoon I listened to former NFL player Conrad Dobler tell a sad story of how he had to sell his house over him and his wife's medical expenses after he had 9 knee replacements and his wife became paralyzed. Listen to the interview here.

There are hundreds of stories just like Conrad's all around the league about how the League and Players Association refuse to take care of their former players. Lets all hope this and many other issues are ironed out sooner rather than later.

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Giants name Perry Fewell as New DC

The New York Giants have announced that Perry Fewell will replace Bill Sheridan as the Giants signal caller on defense next season. The change was to be expected. Two days after the season ended, co-owner John Mara met with the media and said that the status quo was "unacceptable". Understandably so, because the Giants defense was awful this season. They gave up an average 26.7 points per game, 3rd worst in the NFL. They also gave up 40 points 5 times, one of which on a Sunday Night at home against Philadelphia which i witnessed in person (Yes, Desean Jackson is still running!)

A change was necessary after Sheridan struggled as a first year defensive coordinator. At the time I was not in favor of the move, but I trusted Tom Coughlin's judgment of the matter. I did not feel at the time that someone with no prior coordinator experience should be calling signals for a top NFL team. I also felt that job should have gone to defensive line coach Mike Waufle, who was also fired by the Giants after this past season. Coughlin comes from an offensive background, having won a Super Bowl with the Giants as a wide recievers coach with Bill Parcells. Coughlin's decision now on Fewell will be a big determination of his next few years with the Giants.

But I think Coughlin made the right choice in Fewell. He has coordinator experience, having been calling the plays with the Bills the past 4 seasons. The Bills have been effective at limiting their opponents in the passing game, something the Giants new nothing about in 2009. I believe that Fewell will bring some much needed enthusiasm to a team that seemed to lose their mojo after former coordinator Steve Spagnuolo left after the 2008 season to become the St. Louis Rams head coach.

The players did not seem to embrace what Bill Sheridan brought this past season, exemplified by the fact that Pro-Bowl defensive end Osi Umenyiora walked out during training camp. The blame can also be put on the players for their lack of discipline and their commitment to the game plan. Blame can also be on the fact that they lost star safety Kenny Phillips, who the Giants had huge hopes for this year.

Fewell takes over a team that Coughlin said "Needs to re-establish their identity". The team that won the Super Bowl 2 years ago was remembered for having a ferocious pass rush. Now they need to reestablish that next year. I believe Fewell will bring some much needed enthusiasm and teaching skills, something I saw none of from Sheridan last year. During offensive possessions, more often than not he was standing alone with his arms folded not talking to anyone. I believe Fewell will be in the face of his players, holding accountability and shouting encouragement and praise when needed.

The Giants also have some personnel decisions to make on defense. During the Super Bowl run in 2007, the Giants were deep at defensive back. They had players like Sam Madison and R.W. McQuarters who played a huge factor in helping the Giants win the Super Bowl. During the past 2 season, General Manager Jerry Reese slowly began transitioning his depth from secondary to defensive line. In doing so, the Giants thought they could keep their pass rushers fresh late in games. This turned out to backfire on them, with the loss of Kenny Phillips and Aaron Ross last year. I would expect the Giants in this offseason to add depth to the secondary and cut some waste that they spent up front on Chris Canty and Rocky Bernard. What they do might be limited based on the NFL collective bargaining agreement, but I expect them to do something.

I will have more on the Giants as we get closer to the NFL Draft in April. Comments...