Be a Saint: Why Resilient New Orleans Will Finish Their Mission On Top

You could search the whole country or even the entire world and not find 4 million people who actually believe the Saints will win the Super Bowl.

I would be one of those few people.  Not only do I think (but also believe) the Saints will win, I think they are better than the Colts and should be favoured.

Never have I seen a one-seed be so disrespected as if they didn’t exist.  Of course, this is only because they are going against Peyton Manning.

Peyton is the best player ever.  He is so good that after Drew Brees leads the Saints to victory in two days, they’ll have an equal amount of rings.  I am one of literally maybe ten people who think Peyton is overrated.  I measure success with championships.  I just don’t know any other way of looking at it.

Everyone says Peyton is No. 2 right now and many think that with a win he will surpass Joe Montana, who without any doubt is the best ever.  With two rings, Peyton falls short by that many, and such a difference is extremely difficult to look past if you measure properly.

When looking at great champions such as Joe and Peyton, you then look at regular season and all other statistics.  I am willing to put Peyton as he is today with one ring, ahead of Aikman and the like.  But over Montana is just insulting.  Eli is almost as good as Peyton.  You’re just too stubborn to admit it.

Back to Sunday’s game.  The Colts have the better offense.  The better coach.  The better defense.  The better quarterback and leader.  Better-looking Mmes.  Prettier bluer jerseys.

I think differently.  The Saints have the better offense.  They scored 94 more points than Indianapolis did so the Colts must be better.

While Jim Caldwell is a rookie, Sean Payton has been doing a very nice job with the Saints for four years.  He was the NFL Coach of the Year in 2006, his first season.  Marvin Lewis won the award this year (which means Caldwell didn’t in his first).

Drew Brees has been better than Peyton Manning this season, all-time maybe not.  OK fine, he hasn’t.  But in a few years maybe we’ll talk all-time.  But today, Brees is superior.

Brees threw one more TD and five less INTs.  He also set a record with nearly a 71% completion percentage and that certainly is not because of his great receivers.  They stink and are overrated, they aren't stars.

The only star is Reggie Wayne and upcoming talent Pierre Garcon who is the only Colt with a sympathetic view this weekend.  Austin Collie can catch, too, they would all start for New Orleans.

I disagree with everything I just wrote about the receivers but that is the majority view and I believe it is incorrect.  The Saints offense, the passing in particular, is remarkable.  If the receivers are average then guess what: Drew Brees is doing all the work and he’d be, I don’t know, better than Manning?

Both are the case.  Brees IS better than Peyton Manning and his entire receiving core is stronger.  Drew’s ability to spread it around and to his backs also is the NFL’s prime example.  The receivers have to catch the ball, it’s not just Drew.  I’m sure a Terrell Owens or a Braylon Edwards could drop some great flings from the Saints’ Saint.

Let’s talk defense.  All the chatter is that Indy will walk all over the Saints’ poor defense.  Indy’s 14^th ranked defense is being treated like a top ten defense and everyone thinks they can contain, maybe even stop the Saints’ O.

Sitting 26^th in pass D are the Saints, who allowed four less pass TDs than the Colts; sacked QBs one more time than the Colts, and more importantly, the Colts’ opponents’ QBs had a rating of 80.6, whereas the Saints’ worse defense had the opposition passing at a 68.8 rating.

Clearly, the Saints are going to be in over their heads struggling with Indianapolis’ tough pass D and the Saints’ weak one will surrender many easy points.  I almost forgot to mention that New Orleans intercepted 26 passes to Indy’s 16. 

I personally felt Darren Sharper should have been defensive MVP and his numbers did rival award-winner Charles Woodson’s.

The x-factor of the game is Reggie Bush, always with the Saints it has to be.  He is the most over and underrated player in the NFL.  Right now he is a little overrated and it can change in an instant.  He is so inconsistent but his play-making ability which can come any three ways (no other player in this game can score 3 different ways; four if he throws the ball in a trick play).

I think he will be used a lot in this game and Payton will have drawn up numerous plays to exhibit both his talent and up-side in effectiveness/impact on the game.

One thing no one is talking about is the rushing attacks or lack thereof.  The Saints have a three-headed monster in Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell, and the aforementioned Reggie Bush.

Bell is a power back and can convert 3^rd downs and Thomas can do that and run well on all other downs as the featured back.  Reggie Bush is an unmatched talent who can do more than run on 1^st and 2^nd down; he should figure in to the pass game as well.

The Colts were last in rushing and the Saints 6^th with the 3^rd most TDs coming from the rush at 21 to the Colts’ 16 rush TDs.  Both rush defenses are middle of the pack and both excellent in the red zone at preventing full scores to the preferred field goal.

Near the end, rushing may be important in controlling the game/lead.  But before that, New Orleans is far ahead with a rush attack that can actually do damage and take the pressure off of Drew Brees and put some points on the board as well.

As everyone has been saying: it’s all Peyton Manning.  Joseph Addai is not a great back who can take over and Donald Brown and Mike Hart are not exactly a juggernaut altogether, where the Saints’ backs can provide a lot for their offensive possessions.

Nice stories for this game (and there are plenty of them) including Matt Stover who last summer understood that he may have kicked his last ball in the NFL and he was at peace with that.

Of course, contenders would come in the winter and what do you know, the best team and favourite did.  He replaces injured great kicker Adam Vinatieri who is on the other side of the pendulum before this game; knowing the opportunity to reaffirm his legacy is gone (at least for now).

Pierre Garcon is of Haitian blood and from a Division III school.  His arrival, emergence, and then heroics in the post-season have been a joy to watch.  Effort unseen to me before that amazing strip on Ed Reed, his play and connections to the devastated Caribbean country make a nice watch opposite the fan favourite.

Opposite - the New Orleans Saints.  No explanation necessary for why this means a lot to their city and state.  A lot of people want New Orleans to win.  A lot of people wouldn’t mind if the Colts lost, not because they dislike Indy, but because it will have meant the Saints won and that’d be nice for the people of the city.

A lot of people like Peyton Manning.  They want to see him win another trophy to further his credits or cement his place as No. 1, or shut up idiots like me.

This seems like a very watchable Super Bowl.  Now, every Super Bowl is watchable but I cannot recall a more heavily publicized or enamored one.  Maybe it’s the times and how technology keeps growing, but I’m going to say it sets a record for viewing.

We may have had the best two Super Bowls of all-time the last two years.  Surely two of the most entertaining ones ever.  Pre-game, this match-up trounces those of recent years and really seems like it will live up to the hype and expectation.

I am not anti-Peyton Manning.  As I stated earlier, I think winning is the most important thing in sports.  Sure, athletes make money, but they play to win. 

They say the NFL and MLB are regular season sports.

While this is true, I don’t agree with the amount of weight that is put on the regular season and the weight that is not put on or lifted from post-season performance.

More so, that any player in history, Peyton’s teams successes have been because of him.  They are record breaking in the regular season.  Now, why aren’t they that way in the postseason?

If he is credited for a lot of the success in the fall, why can’t he be held responsible above all and for the majority of winter failures? 

I understand there is running, and defense, and kicking in football, But the man is looked at as a God.  He is great, but he is not the best and his post-season numbers are good at best, and horrid for one of the greatest players ever.  His freaking win percentage is barely even at .500!  Most years he has a bye and they still only play one game, which means they commonly lose the first one.

In their championship run in 2006-07, he completed 62.6% of his passes for 787 yards which is a lot but typical for him; two scores and six, count them, six interceptions!  His rating was 66.8!

Before I turn this, and I apologize, into a complete “Peyton is overrated” article, my point is that he is beatable.  The last two weeks I’ve heard nothing but how he’s going to tear the Saints apart and good luck to them trying to keep up (with their better offense by the way).

In his previous Super Bowl he threw at 65.8% for 247, 1 TD and 1 INT.  Not bad because that’s all he had to do and I vouch for people doing what they’re asked.  However, he isn’t a game controller, he is one of the best ever and should have thrown three or more touchdowns.

I know the Bears were great at defense but that’s exactly why Peyton wasn’t much that game…he had to outplay Rex Grossman!  I mean come on people, that’s not hard to do.

Devin Hester had a return TD and the Colts had an INT return for a TD.  Dominic Rhodes had 113 on the ground and a score.  He should have been MVP, and I repeat: Peyton had to out-pass Rex Grossman to finally win a Super Bowl after years of disappointment and coming up short…because of his teammates, right?

The Colts are more experienced in this game and maybe Peyton will start better than he did in 2007.  Two of his first four passes in XLI were almost intercepted and the third actually was.

He collected himself and managed the game well as his head for the game would have predicted.  Peyton is not a manager, though, in the normal sense everyone is expecting 300 yards and a few TDs Sunday.  While I am too, I know the Saints can match it.

That’s all I’m saying and that I wouldn’t be surprised if either QB, especially Peyton, has a less than stellar passing day on their own terms, as Peyton did three years ago.  Or if they both blow the walls off the barn in ridiculous aerial assaults.

Quick question: Tony Dungy was a great coach right?  Then why did Jim Caldwell coach his team to essentially an undefeated regular season in his first season?  Not only that, he doesn’t have the players that Dungy had.

Marvin Harrison is gone.  Second WR Anthony Gonzalez went out early with Bob Sanders.  Again, the credit went to Manning.  So why doesn’t it go to Caldwell when his team has yet to lose a game it tried to win?

Dungy was a great coach and Peyton is one of the best ever.  If the Colts win Sunday, Caldwell better be a great coach and already level with Dungy.  I sound like you all now, so don’t hate.

One last thing no one is talking about either, Jerraud Powers is injured and may not play a whole lot, which leaves the secondary even more brittle and lacking people to cover Reggie Bush.

I think Antoine Bethea is the most underrated of the Colts defenders and not only has to, but will come up huge.  Kelvin Hayden had the INT return for a TD in 2007 and can have that impact but won’t.

They will look thinner as the game continues.  There are many good players on both defenses that are all under looked.  Will Smith, Jonathan Vilma, and Darren Sharper are all pretty decent big names and even bigger players.

I’m not announcing a surprise offensive struggle but there will be some stops by both teams and whoever can overcome the surprisingly good coverage, Peyton or Drew, will come away with a W.

Turnovers will probably change the outcome as they do in most games, and I feel both offenses are as likely as the other to commit some.  I think there’ll be at least three for the game total and then some perhaps.

Basically, I’m confused by the Colts.  Year after year they are atop the AFC standings.  They often have first round byes and lose the next week or some other time before the Super Bowl.

I don’t know why I should trust them to win this game, and why everyone else has for a decade and continues to do so.  They won their last Super Bowl in recent times (the Peyton era) but played a very weak team compared to their opponent Sunday.

The NFC was stronger than the AFC this season and New Orleans proved to be not only the best team, but the toughest, which surprised even me.

The Colts’ inability to go to a Super Bowl every two or even three years after getting a top two seed every season assures me of their vulnerability.  They have not gained my trust by those many disappointing outcomes after stellar regular season play.

They lull people into a false sense of hope in the regular season,  just fans though, and not their opponents.  Nietzsche said, “Faith is not wanting to know what is true.”

To win an NFL Championship you must be tough.  The Saints, and the Saints alone, have proved that they are tough enough and strong enough to raise the Lombardi Trophy.

IN SUMMARY, my thoughts on the game and why I’ve picked how I have:

(I thought all of this before the uncertainty of Freeney emerged)

I believe the Saints’ offense is better than that of the Colts.  I also believe the Saints’ defense is better than that of the Colts.

The wild card, kicking, has been unpredictable this post-season and the worst all-time performance by the combined kickers.  I think Stover will kick well as will Hartley because while Stover is one of the best percentage wise all-time, Hartley is very good and back from injury, clinched the Super Bowl berth, that’s never an easy gimme.

I think Freeney will play and be ineffective.  Raheem Brock is as good a replacement as one could want or have, and he’d start on many teams.  He will do well but not have the impact that Dwight would have had.

Dwight is the best end rusher in the league and he will be missed.  That’s not to say the Colts’ defense and approach will change.  Their performance will be less than what it’s accustomed to being but it’s the Super Bow, they will play well and rush Brees better than anyone else can.

As good as Indy’s offense is, the amount of weapons the Saints have is unimaginable for one professional team.  Brees will pick apart the Colts secondary as well as if not better than Peyton will the improved Saints secondary.

Darren Sharper will be the second most valuable defensive player in the game.  The first is Freeney who’ll be on the bench, and because of that, he is very valuable to the Saints and possible outcome of the game.

Sharper lead the league in INTs and return TDs.  Will Smith is a sack master (13, 2^nd in NFC) and I understand the Colts’ offensive line is the best in the league but the Saints will get to him.

They won’t take his head off and thusly kill the rest of the team by doing so like defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said they would try to do.  They will try, and they will succeed partially but not fully.

The Saints’ defensive play calling has to remain dynamic, changing on the fly, so they can counter Peyton’s in-game adjustment since he's the best at doing that.  If they change their schemes somewhat often to keep him guessing, they can succeed more effectively.

I expect a few sacks and Peyton to be rattled for a little while and then come out of it.

Earlier this year Brandon Marshall set a record for receptions in a game (21) for 200 yards at Indianapolis.  Peyton threw three late INTs and then drove his team down for a winning score.  While he won the game, he put the game in great jeopardy and they should have lost.

Throwing for the Broncos, the stronger type of horses, wasn’t gun-slinger Jay Cutler but true game manager Kyle Orton.  Imagine what Brees can do if Peyton has another poor decision-making day.  Not saying it will happen, but it can, and just to give you an idea of how poor the Colts are when they are bad.

The Saints’ defense and offense make plays.  They are the best playmaking team in the league on both sides of the ball.

The Colts had 26 takeaways for a difference of +2.  The Saints had 39 takeaways (second only to GB’s 40) for a difference of +11.  In a game where big plays must be made to win and push ahead (as is the case in all Super Bowls), the Saints will be all over that very important aspect and therefore have the game-changers.

The Colts are high powered and fast with the no-huddle, but Brees and Company are quicker and more explosive.

When no one is expecting it (but Saints fans) the three-headed rushing attack which is one of the most effective in the league, will spring up on the Colts and possibly break the game open.

I expect more from the Saints’ defense which is obvious and they are more capable of doing so, but they also need to.  Everyone knows about the Colts’ offense and at some point they’ll have to be stopped.

I have no doubt in my mind that the Saints’ offense can hang with the Colts’ offense punch-for-punch all game and deep in to overtime if need be.

The Saints’ playmaking ability and overall defensive strength compared to its opposition gives them the likelier chance to stop their opponent, the great Peyton Manning, who will be trying to become the best ever in this game.

And finally (while this has nothing to do with outcomes), the Colts are the home team but will be wearing their blue jerseys.

The last team to win a Super Bowl while wearing their dark-coloured jerseys was the 2004 New England Patriots in SB XLVIII; the game Janet Jackson didn’t wear a jersey of any kind.

Since, the white jersey-wearing teams have won following classic rock halftime performances.  Expect the same.

Saints 38 - 27 Colts

Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints and more than that, the city and entire state they represent.

In the most telling quote/stat/anything I saw or heard over the last two weeks in the media frenzy and analysis, Captain Drew Brees said in an interview on Monday about having to move to a different practice facility because of all the unplanned rainfall: “Weather the storm. We know how to do that.”

Yes you do Drew, and so do the people of the great city you call home, which will flock Bourbon Street and thus enjoy the greatest party of all-time.