Saints Win! Are Cubs Next?
By The Gold Sheet
While doing some of our usual radio show guest appearances last week, it wasn't lost upon three of the hosts, Dave Woloshin and Brett Norsworthy on 560 WHBQ in Memphis, and Jimmy Ott on 1210 "The Score" in Baton Rouge, that if Bill Bidwill's Arizona Cardinals and the New Orleans Saints could end up in back-to-back Super Bowls, heck, almost anything might be possible in sports these days. Which made Woloshin and Ott, in particular, wonder if that trend might continue into baseball season, and if their favorite team, the Chicago Cubs, might follow suit and finally make the World Series this coming fall.
And why not? After all, if the Saints can win the Super Bowl (which they did over the Colts, 31-17), why can't the Cubs win the World Series?
Indeed, these are unique times in sport, where in the past decade we have been treated to numerous cases of long-suffering franchises finally breaking through. If a traditional punching bag like Bidwill's Cardinals can make the Super Bowl, and one-time laughingstocks like the Tampa Bay Bucs and Saints can actually win it, while the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox can break near century-long World Series droughts, we have surely entered an alternate universe era in sport. The "lovable loser" Cubs winning the World Series hardly seems implausible anymore, as even diehard St. Louis Cardinals fans, like our Memphis friend Brett Norsworthy, now begrudgingly admit.
We can hardly recall a more refreshing sporting development, however, than the Saints' emergence, which was accompanied by the sort of joie de vivre that is rarely seen in the modern NFL, where teams often look and play alike, and champions are often rewarded for ruthless, and often soulless and colorless, efficiency. These Saints, however, were something different, putting an exciting product on the field and rarely failing to entertain. That a festive home town and entire region ("Who Dat Nation!") were so energized and revitalized by the team added another exciting and unique dimension to the festivities. Moreover, the Saints succeeded without embarrassing themselves, absent shameless self-promoters like Terrell Owens or Chad Ochocinco, self-absorbed types like Tom Brady, colorless and hard-to-like sorts such as Bill Belichick, insufferable egotists like Jerry Jones, or boorish characters such as Ben Roethlisberger. About the only tabloid-type material we get from the Saints is of the harmless variety, and that's just because RB Reggie Bush happens to have an on-again, off-again, and now on-again (we think) relationship with reality TV diva Kim Kardashian.
No, these Saints are just good, clean fun, and feature upstanding sorts like their head coach, Sean Payton, and QB, Drew Brees, family men whose aw-shucks demeanors are a welcome departure from the many headline-grabbers who are simply hard to digest in the modern day NFL. Those sorts of positives are also mostly reflected in the Indianapolis Colts, who won the Super Bowl with class when Tony Dungy was in charge three years ago and lost with the same this past Sunday in a game that was much closer and compelling than the final 31-17 scoreline might indicate.
In the end, New Orleans seemed a bit more comfortable in the sort of scrap the game became. That Indy was unable to shake the Saints after pinning them to the mat in the first quarter will haunt the Colts, who had their chances on Sunday but eventually seemed a bit de-stabilized (Peyton Manning in particular) by New Orleans' resolve and resourcefulness. Hellbent on taking away the big-play element so crucial to the New Orleans offense, the Colts left themselves vulnerable to Brees' short and intermediate-range accuracy, which was almost uncanny after the first quarter, when Brees completed just 3 of 7 passes and the Saints limited to just 6 yards of offense on their first two empty possessions. All Brees did thereafter was complete 29 of his last 32 throws, while the Saints offense never punted after the first quarter.
The Colts also made what would normally have been a game-altering play late in the second quarter, when stonewalling a Saints drive with a goal-line stand at the 1-yard-line, but nonetheless entered halftime having conceded some of the momentum after failing to move beyond the shadow of their own end zone after those defensive heroics. By conceding decent field position to the Saints for one more last-minute drive, PK Garrett Hartley converted his second FG, which cut Indy's halftime lead to 10-6.
But the difference between Payton and Indy counterpart Jim Caldwell was reflected on the second-half kickoff, when the Saints executed a nervy onside kick to begin the final 30 minutes and recovered on their own 42-yard line. Although it didn't come via a kick or punt return by Bush, the Saints' special teams indeed delivered one of the turning-point plays of the game. Brees, whose confidence was now flowing, quickly moved the Saints downfield, where Pierre Thomas eventually scored on a well-designed screen pass to put New Orleans ahead for the first time, 13-10.
Manning was not finished, but at this stage it was apparent that favored Indy was definitely not going to run away and hide (as it appeared it might be destined to in the early going) and might indeed be in severe trouble, even after Manning answered with a handy drive that culminated in a short TD run by Joseph Addai to put the Colts back in front. Brees subsequently moved the Saints to within 17-16 on another drive to a Hartley FG, preceding what in retrospect was one of the key possessions of the game as Super Bowl XLIV entered the 4th quarter. Manning competed 6 passes on a march to Saints' 33, where the drive bogged down and Caldwell ordered PK Matt Stover to try a 51-yard FG, a development that did not seem to please Manning, who would have been glad to give it a go on 4th-and-11 at the 33 instead of counting upon the aging Stover to connect from beyond 50 yards, where he had converted only 1 of 4 previous tries this season. Caldwell's decision backfired, as Stover not only missed, but conceded possession to the hot Brees in good field position at the 41, from where the Saints methodically marched to the go-ahead TD with 5:42 to play on a short pass from Brees to TE Jeremy Shockey. Payton then challenged the call on what was originally ruled a failed 2-point conversion and was rewarded when the referees correctly reversed the call and credited Lance Moore for crossing the goal line with possession, giving New Orleans a very important 2 points and a 24-17 lead.
Although Manning answered by moving the Colts into Saints territory, he seemed a bit unsteady, and New Orleans' big-play defense finally guessed right on a 3rd-and-5 situation from the Saints' 31, as CB Tracy Porter stepped in front of a weak Manning pass in the flat to Reggie Wayne (who didn't help matters by failing to come to the ball) and took it back 74 yards for the clinching TD. This was reminiscent to many similar game-changing plays by the 2009 Saint stop unit, which previously had converted nine turnovers into scores. The tenth proved the backbreaker for the Colts and Manning, who belatedly led one more march downfield but looked unsteady and a bit confused in the red zone, where the Saints held on downs and secured the 31-17 win.
In the end, Brees took some deserving accolades as the MVP, and his performance was a cold and calculating one, surgically dissecting the Indy defense with poise and precision while completing 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards and 2 TDs. Most importantly, Brees made no mistakes, a constant theme in his postseason run that featured 8 TD passes and no picks. Although the Saints were surprisingly outrushed by the Colts 99-51, Indy did not effectively use its infantry diversion in the clutch, when Manning completely abandoned the ground game on key drives, whereas the Colts always seemed to respect the Saints' overland capabilities, which Brees was able to spot effectively with Thomas and Bush on the Saints' last two possessions. In the deciding 4th quarter, Indy lost 2 yards on a mere 3 rushing attempts, with Manning completely disdaining the run on the key 7-play drive that resulted in Porter's TD interception return that effectively sealed the deal for the Saints. With Manning ignoring Addai and Donald Brown, who had both run effectively in passing situations earlier in the game, New Orleans d.c. Gregg Williams was able to scheme accordingly with the game on the line, with Porter's big-play TD a byproduct. Thus, even Indy's rushing advantage was a hollow one, because reluctance to utilize it when it could have come in handy as a nice diversion in the late going was a factor in the Colts' eventual demise.
As, we suspect, was the coaching edge displayed by Payton over Caldwell, who appeared strangely uninvolved as the game progressed. Whereas Payton is a proactive presence on the Saints sidelines (and forging a dynamic partnership with Brees by calling the plays for the offense), Caldwell cedes everything on the attack end to Manning and long-time o.c. Tom Moore, with d.c. Larry Coyer pushing the buttons for the stop unit. Caldwell's influence seemed to be limited to calling for Stover's ill-advised 51-yard FG try in the 4th Q, while his kick return unit was caught completely flat-footed by Payton's nervy onside kick call to start the second half. It is hard to criticize a coach such as Caldwell who won 16 of 18 games this season prior to the Super Bowl (with those two losses basically conceded), but rarely does a new head coach have the sort of advantages (mainly Manning) that Caldwell enjoyed. We hardly believe that Caldwell, if presented a rebuilding situation as was in New Orleans four years ago, could have delivered the type of results Payton has produced. And on this evening the coaching edge was quite clearly on the New Orleans side, where Payton was able to alter the course and eventual outcome of the game.
The fell-good vibes of the Saints' win and the resultant exuberance along the Gulf Coast will last for a while, but pro football fans would be well-advised to enjoy this while they can, because we might not experience a season like 2009 for a while. The ugly head of labor strife is on the horizon, with both labor and management getting ready to dig in for what could be the mother of all battles after the 2010 campaign. Although it could be just so much saber-rattling on both sides, many informed observers truly believe the storm clouds of a possible lockout in 2011 will loom menacingly over the upcoming season, and the chances of a work stoppage not unlike the one that killed the entire 2004-05 NHL season are a real possibility. The 2010 season is already slated to be an "uncapped" one, but don't assume teams are going to go wild in their spending this offseason. If anything, it's more likely that teams are going to shed payroll, especially with no cap also meaning no floor on the salaries, either.
At least Super Bowl XLIV will always remind us of the better things about the NFL. It could also be the last feel-good story we get from the league for quite a while.
OTHER SUPER BOWL NOTES...
Although we think Jim Nantz is a notch or two beneath other featured play-by-play counterparts at Fox (Joe Buck) and NBC (Al Michaels), CBS usually produces a tasteful and professional telecast, and in that regard Super Bowl XLIV did not disappoint. The studio crew is not quite as colorful as Fox's band of characters led by Terry Bradshaw, but Boomer Esiason and Shannon Sharpe add just enough edge to the commentary to compensate for the often mundane contributions of Dan Marino and Bill Cowher. CBS seems to leave the overhype to Fox and ESPN, while treating the NFL in the same respectful manner the BBC and ITV handle English soccer overseas.
As for Nantz, he's a competent play-by-play man, although we think it's about time CBS promotes the more colorful Gus Johnson to its number one role for both football and NCAA basketball. We still believe Nantz is better-suited to studio work, where he was a smooth host for CBS's pregame show for years before taking over as the network's number one NFL play-by-play man from Greg Gumbel. Color analyst Phil Simms' delivery still leaves a bit to be desired, but his insights remain spot-on, and in critiquing his performance we must note it was superior to what we got last year on NBC from John Madden in what would prove to be his last gig before his retirement.
Regarding other aspects of the show in Miami, we thought Carrie Underwood looked a bit better than she delivered in her rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, although we think every major sporting event should just simply retrieve Marvin Gaye's incomparable rendition of the national anthem from the 1983 NBA All-Star Game and play it instead. We don't really know if any of the advertisements we saw will go into the Super Bowl Commercial Hall of Fame (we're losing track of all the GoDaddy.com ads featuring Danica Patrick), although the Doritos ad with the dog putting his bark collar on the chap was pretty good. Best idea might have been Boost Mobile reuniting members of the 1985 Chicago Bears in a sequel to their legendary "Super Bowl Shuffle," and featuring Jim McMahon and Mike Ditka (who wasn't even in the original but made a cameo for the sequel). Nice to see that Otis Wilson and Steve Fuller and others were able to make the reunion, although "The Fridge" and the late Walter Payton were missed.
As for the halftime show, we missed The Who while my wife switched to Animal Planet where we saw a portion of her highlight event, Puppy Bowl VI, which actually provided the nicest touch of the day when it dedicated its telecast to the late Harry Kalas, who was emcee for the now-annual show before passing away last April. R.I.P. indeed, Harry.