Super Bowl XLIV
     Indianapolis v New Orleans (my stellar 3,800 word recap of the greatest game I've ever watched)

I've been a Saints fan since I was a little guy, close to 20 years so I am very happy to be talking about the Super Bowl and mentioning New Orleans not just as the venue, but as one of the participant teams  WHO DAT!--to be honest, it has only been five days and the fact that they won has still not fully set in on me.  But my voice is starting to come back and I am not waiting another 20 years to take me shot at two-bit post game commentary of my team in the big game.  And it was a hell of a game--here is why I say that.



You had several story lines worth following--
-the Saints first Superbowl,
-Peyton Manning and the Colts could have been playing for perfection,
-the two top seeds dueling for the title
-Peyton Manning playing against his hometown team, the team his dad Archie played his whole career
     for..and on and on.

For a real football fan these were all interesting sideshows, but the story line for many of us was 'can Manning put up more points than Brees despite having to do it against a much better defense?'...There seemed like 100 hours of coverage on Dwight Freeney's ankle, and no doubt that didn't help them--but let's face it:  Brees gets rid of the ball so fast, defensive lines have little chance to get to him.  A few plays a game he gets greedy and tries to throw really deep, but you'll notice that typically when they want to throw deep, they set him up by rolling him to his right.

Emmitt Smith flipped the coin and we won the toss!  
1st Qrtr
NO gets the ball, goes 3 and out (Brees throws 50 yd incompletion on 3rd and 2)...jitters
IND marches 53 yrds and kicks a 37 yarder
NO gets a first down and almost gets to midfield before punting--Roby downs it on the IND 4.
IND marches again, second straight 11 play drive--this one is 96 yds culminating in a TD 10-0
NO gets the ball on their own 11 with :36 left in the 1st qrtr

2nd Qrtr
NO  from their own 15 in 3 plays they get to IND 41
   -Reggie runs for 8
   -Reggie runs for 1 more and gets decked out of bounds, 15 yd penalty
   -9 yd dump off to Pierre Thomas

This was a huge drive.  Down 10-0 with Manning on the other sideline, most teams are done.  The Saints had a lot of experience playing from behind and have confidence they can score, so desperation never set in.  These 3 plays covered a lot of field, brought them almost to FG range from their own 11...the jitters clearly started melting for everyone and it was a battle from here on in.  You could feel the switch flip.

Colston catches a 10 yd pass, and there are a few other plays to get them to 3rd and 3 on the 22.  Right where you want to be:  except Bushrod got beat and Freeney got an arm on Brees and spun him to the ground back on the 29.  Shit.  All right, the young Garret Hartley comes out and boldly kicks a 46 yarder.  10-3.  We're only a score down.

I personally had the feeling that the next time Drew touched the ball he could tie the game, so I was able to breathe again.

Now this drive again turns out to be huge.

IND gets the ball with just over 9 min left in the half, on their own 28 (I think this was their best starting field position--the kicking game was totally owned by NO all day)

Addai opens with a nice 9 yd run.  Dammit!  On 2nd down though, Vilma comes crashing through and catches him flat-footed for a 3 yd loss.  And then a huge play 3rd and 4--Manning throws a beautiful pass to Garcon on a 6 yd slant route and he just plain drops it.  Jitters on his part?  We know he had relatives in Haiti and potentially they weighed heavily on him, slowing him that fraction.

Whatever the reason, he drops it and the punter comes on, giving the Saints the ball back on their own 28 with about 8 min left in the half.
Colston picked up 13 on a 3rd and 3, and then Lance Moore had a ginormous 21 yd catch and run on 3rd and 2...they were cruising, now sitting pretty 1st and 10 on the IND 23 in about 3 minutes.

The old Sean Payton reared his head for a second; he got cute and ran a reverse, despite the fact that Brees was throwing forward anywhere he liked.  I distinctly remember yelling at Devery Henderson to 'throw that fucking thing!' when it became apparent that he was going to get tackled well behind the line on a terrible reverse.  He didn't throw it, but he did end up running out of bounds, leaving us with a 2nd and 17 on the 30.  The moment didn't last though as the next play BAM, Brees hits Colston across the middle for 27 and we're almost in the endzone.  We're about to take the lead with 4 minutes to go!

A pass to the flat to Lance Moore--stonewalled.  Then an offsides call on Strief (FRIG!).  Pierre would get all that back on more on the next play though, pounding down to the 1.  3rd and 1, Bell trips.  That really sucked--he just kind of tripped himself up, and was swarmed where he lay.  4th and 1.  It was getting pretty tough to watch all of a sudden.  They were going for it and they were going to run that same play--Pierre this time and he didn't trip, but the line never quite got any push and IND stuffed him behind the line.

I was relatively calm at this point thinking that the clock and field position were good, and with luck and clock management they would have a chance to get those three pts back.

IND did the smart thing and run up the gut 3 straight times--interestingly they ran Mike Hart, then Addai, and then gave the 3rd down to Mike Hart again?  Anyhow, Payton was very smart and waited to use a time out until after 2nd down.  Then they used #2 after 3rd down--and it was close.  Hart almost got the 1/2 killing first down, but no dice--they would have to kick.

If the Colts still were coached by Dungy, I think something more imaginative would have taken place, but Caldwell, the rookie coach that almost went undefeated, was nervous and just ran up the middle bam, bam, bam.

Bush got it at his own 44 and brought it back 4 yds-- :35 seconds left.  You had the feeling they needed one  first down up the middle with a seam route to Shockey, or a cross to Colston, and we would get a shot to kick.

It was neither of those guys, but Devery--who I will no longer underestimate.  He is open on the hash-mark for 19 yds; if you ever get a chance to see this replay, this is the part you want to see.  The Saints were on a mission--they lined up and spiked the ball to save the timeout.

It was as impressive as any other play all night.  The play began with :35 seconds.  Devery catches a ball 19 yards downfield, gets taken down, Drew gets everyone up to the line and spikes it.....with :23 left.  It was so awesome.  At that point, you had to feel something was brewing. 

Next play he looks deep, but doesn't see it downfield.  Instead the dish is to Devery about 5 yds upfield, but he can't get out of bounds.  They call the last timeout with :11 left.  Enough for one more shot to the endzone--they are after all on the IND 27 at this point.  But the play didn't materialize, and Drew was quick to forget his endzone shot--it was clear he didn't like what he saw right off because he dumped it to Reggie in the flat real quick; Reggie got out after a 1 yd gain, and Hartley came in to kick a 43 yarder.  Half over, IND up 10-6.  What a friggin half, and although NO had to kick off it was anyone's game at this point.

I would like to say so far, Manning has been the man in the first half.  He had 4 possessions, got a FG and TD from the first two drives--Garcon ruined the third drive with a dropped ball and the last possession he was on his own 1 yd line inside two minutes.  So at this point I am really sweating out the second half, knowing this guy is on tonight.

Obviously Payton was thinking the same thing because he made the decision to open the second half with an onside kick--they called it their phantom kick because the kicker, Morstead, put some nasty spin on it where it went more than 10 yards but clearly was curving back towards the charging left side of the Saints kick team.

If I said Hank Baskett was unlucky, I would be foolish as he recently married Kendra Wilkinson recently.  Not sure how many meteors would have to crush and kill him before I will net him out to 'unlucky'.  However, he was butter-fingered on this day--the kick hit him at a tough angle, but he should have pounced on it.  It is the Super Bowl, and you are paid a lot of money to be on the kick team.

So the kick grazes Baskett, and sails right to Chris Reis a full-time special teamer--he doesn't get it cleanly, and before a two ton mass of humanity obscures him from the world, we see the ball head towards his nether regions.  GODDAMIT, SHIT, WHO HAS IT?  This was the longest 'unpiling' I have ever seen in an NFL game and in fact, I can't think of a lot of porno movies that took longer to unpile.

How long did it take to unpile?  Here is a link to the video of this epic onside kick if you want to really get into this post.  Finally the beautiful zebraic gesture you always want to see after such an unpiling--an arm in a black and white striped short sleeve goes up and kind of tomahawks towards the end zone you want it to be facing.  SAINTS' BALL.  SAINTS' BALL.  SAINTS' BALL.  And Reis is the guy that came out with it!  I can't believe it.  What a shot in the arm that was for Drew and the offense.

Drew comes out, on his own 42 and throws 4 straight darts, for 12, 9,5 and 9 yards, the last to Colston, setting up 2nd and 1 on the IND 23!  Manning is reeling--and we're in the second half.  When Apollo is reeling in the second half, that is the fight when Rocky finishes him off.  I think we are going to win this game.  There is at least a shitload of blood in the water and Drew is just slicing and dicing.

Pierre gashes the out-of-breath d-line for 7 to easily pick up the first, and on the very next play, Drew sets up a picture perfect screen to the right side.  Pierre does the rest, cutting and shoving his way from the 16 into the endzone.  I will long remember his totally gratuitous (and sweet) dive into the endzone from the 1 foot line with no one around him.  He slams to the beautiful gold-painted endzone, the kick is tacked on and folks, the Saints are leading the Superbowl 13-10 with about 12 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter.

Like usual, cue a camera to Peyton Manning--he is throwing warm ups and getting ready to absolutely torch a defense.  It had been 70 minutes in real time since Manning had attempted a pass.  That pass was the 3rd down drop by Garcon, and that had come with 8:30 to go in the 2nd quarter--the Colts had since gone from being up 10-0 to down 13-10.  You think he was pissed off?  Oh yeah.

And true to form, he came out on fire.  He got the ball on his own 24 and went 10 plays for another touchdown.  He went 5 for 6, including the pass of the day, a 27 yarder to Dallas Clark.  Manning rolled out at midfield on 3rd and 4, and dropped a ball in right over a linebacker, and right under the corner--hitting Clark right in stride.  It was honestly a great play all around; no mistakes by anyone, just a pass and catch by a couple of hall of famers that have been practicing that play for years.

After the Clark grab, it became obvious they were going to score--inevitably it was another Clark catch and two runs--the TD was a 4 yard Addai run right up the gut.  Ellis and the defensive line were no doubt gassed after the onslaught of Manning and his unique style of hurry up that consumes every second of every play clock.  He is the master.

Tack on the extra point and the Colts are back up 17-13.  They kick off and the Saints get it back with 6:08--on the 34 after a great run back out of the end zone by Roby.  He had that great run, he made a great tackle on the first punt of the game and he also was the guy that downed the second NO punt on the IND 4.  I would call that a great day for a special teamer.

Pierre runs up the middle for 5, and Reggie takes a check down for 13 to cross mid-field.  He was fired up on that run, straight-arming everything that came near him.

Brees threw a rare incompletion--he was looking deep and when the pocket closed in, tried to fire off to Bush in the flat, but put too much on it.  The next pass was a 12 yarder to Devery to move the chains.  But then a screen to Meachem for no gain, and a 3 yard run up the middle brought us to 3rd and 7 on the IND 33.

I think on this play Drew wanted to go deep (what else is new), because it had all the trappings of a bomb but he either didn't like it, or got nervous and took the second (or maybe third) read in Shockey--it was not right on target and he had to go down to make the catch, short of the sticks.  4th and 4 on the IND 30.  Enter Hartley again--and he nailed it again, a 47 yarder.  3 for 3 to bring us within 1 point, IND 17 NO 16.

What a friggin nail biter--NO kicks off and IND starts the drive on their own 11 with 1:06 left in the 3rd--no  penalty either.  Their kick returner was trying to spark something, but Malcom Jenkins, our stellar first round pick this year from OHIO ST came in and blew him up on the 11.  That was a huge kick in Manning's ass.  You could tell he was like 'Jesus..am I ever going to get it outside the 20?'...not today amigo.

Although, 2 passes and a run later and they were out to the 29 just like that.  End of the 3rd quarter.  IND had the ball and the lead in the 3rd quarter, and they were again building momentum.

THE BEST 4TH QUARTER OF ANYTHING, EVER

 -Beer sales are officially over for the NFL season.  See you next year, might as well go home.

SHIT, Manning opens the quarter with a 17 yd pass to Garcon.  They're at midfield almost.  GODDAMMIT
Not quite though, as we see on the next play when Vilma again bursts through his gap and gets Addai for a 2 yd loss.  Just like that I'm thinking, nowhere near midfield.  It is a 2nd and 12 from the IND 44.  Incomplete pass to Wayne--he was going for the kill shot and it was short.  Had Wayne adjusted quicker, it would have been pass interference on Porter and the game may have gotten out of hand--it was down around the 10.  But he didn't.  Next play-
3rd and 12--Manning is the iceman, and he picks up 10 on a pass to Wayne.  In NO territory, you know they're going for it on 4th and 2.  Which they convert, fairly easily--Wayne beats Porter inside on a quick slant and picks up 14!  How pissed was I at Porter!  PORTER YOU GODDAMNED SONOFABITCH, HAVE YOU EVER EVEN SEEN A COLTS GAME--THAT IS THEIR PLAY!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT THERE?!

All right, calm down--it is far from over.  They pick up 2 on a run, and then lose 3 on a swing pass/screen to Collie--this time it is Jenkins that comes crashing through to corral him.  3rd and 11 and who is covering Collie on the goal line?  Vilma, that's who--what a friggin LB this guy is; he had totally boxed Collie out like he was told what route the kid was running and if he looked up a second earlier, maybe picks it off.  NICE.  They aren't going for it on 4th and 11!  On comes the kicker.

Stover you old prick--he missed horribly.  It looked ok at first and then the air came out, or the magnets turned on, or whatever; it pulled way left and if I remember correctly, it didn't even reach--it was only a 51 yd attempt..pitiful.

NO ball, 10:39 left on their own 44--down by 1 point.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

First play, from the shotgun, Reggies takes it 12 yds off left tackle.  1st and 10 on the IND 47 just like that.

Three straight passes that were very short, controlled passes; Thomas for 5, Henderson for 6, Reggie for 8, then Colston for 8--then a broken play that Meachem tiptoed up the sideline to turn into a 6 yd gain.  Everything was going right and Brees was just shredding the Colts DBs.  Way too quick for any pressure to get to him, so quick that the LBs were basically spectators.  Brees was just finding the open guy and firing darts.

After the nice Meachem play they are on the 14!  Drew throws the next one to Dave Thomas, the auxiliary tight end who may have had 10 catches all year, but probably less--and he fights his way down to the 5.

1st and goal, for the lead.

Pierre picks up 3 and then a quick inside slant to Shockey in the slot--no chance to stop that, he just boxes out, and Drew hums it right in there on the money.  TOUCHDOWN  NO 22 IND 17 5:46
Stay cool, this is an obvious 2 point situation.

They run Lance Moore out to the flat and he gets a little deeper than normal (he mentions this in his comments afterwards)--he actually sets foot in the endzone as he is breaking out to the right.  Drew is used to hitting him on about the 1 and having him dive in, but Moore thought he would serve himself better running the corner further back into the endzone, so he went with it--the pass is right where it always is, but Lance is three feet north, so he adjusts in on it, makes a great low grab and contorts himself to dunk the ball over the line in the same motion as the catch.  Excellent concentration, presence of mind, body control, all that stuff.  He makes it!  But the line judge right there motions that Lance didn't have control--the corner came in late and ran right through Lance's outstretched arms, kicking the ball out.  Payton tosses the challenge flag and in super slo-mo it is evident that Lance had it and it broke the plane, 2 points.

WE'RE NOW UP 24-17 with less than 6 minutes after being down 10-0.  At this point, Saints fans are hoping the defense can at least help us with the clock so that after Manning scores, we have enough time to drive down for the last second FG.  Ok, maybe not all of us, but I know I wasn't alone either.

IND finally gets a good return, and start on their own 29 with 5:35 to go.  It's on.

Manning starts--right off, a nice gain to Garcon for 17, but then throws incomplete to Wayne--Jenkins got a great jump and almost picks it off, instead knocking it out of bounds.  But then Manning goes right back to Garcon for another 10.  SHIT

This time Manning connects with Wayne for 12 up the middle.  They're on the NO 36.  My palms would be sweating if my fists would unclench enough for air to get inside.

Another 5 yarder to Wayne to the 31, then an incompletion to Collie.  I believe that one was tipped by an LB, and popped into the air harmlessly falling near no one.

Now it is 3rd and 5 and Manning needs to stay short to convert and keep it going, plenty of time (3:24 left) but he knows he needs a first down.  This is when the NO defensive coordinator Gregg Williams dials up  a heavy blitz to make him rush.  Not sure how much the actual pressure was a direct factor, but clearly Porter expected the ball to come out quick.  Wayne does a little shimmy step towards the outside to pull Porter outside--Wayne didn't do a great job of selling it, but Porter was coming inside from jumpstreet anyway--you could tell on replay he knew exactly how this play would go down.

Manning throws inside, the depth of Wayne should have made it a completion right at the sticks--but at this moment, Porter steps in front of Wayne--a full step, even outside of Wayne's reach, makes a textbook catch and starts heading upfield.  The only Colt that has a snowball's chance of making the tackle--no, the only Colt that even appears onscreen as Porter is flying upfield is Manning himself.  Of course, he is being ridden towards the sidelines by one of the lineman, maybe Ellis, maybe Ayodele--there is no danger of him even touching Porter.  Tracy Porter will finish the play 74 yards downfield in the endzone.  NO goes up 31-17 with 3:12 left.  It is the Saints new greatest play ever.

I love that I can now Google 'Tracy Porter's interception' and there are a dozen pictures, all similar to this.

Best.  Pick-six.  Ever.

That was game.  Manning would drive the Colts down to the 3 with less than a minute left, but his last pass would be dropped by Wayne on the goalline.  Drew kneels it down once and that is all she wrote.

It was one of the best Super Bowls I've ever seen, it lived up to the hype and showcased two teams that executed very well.  In the end, Payton had his guys tuned up a bit more and he took more risks--that onside kick obviously was the huge difference-maker.  But the little things, like going for it on 4th towards halftime, and letting Williams blitz even though Manning is as close to blitz-proof as you can get--these were the little things that added up to hurrying Manning just a bit, and getting into his head to mess with that perfect delivery.

Finally it all came together--they deserved it and they went out and took it.