Sportzine
ONE BAD PASS 2/9/10
The Colts were moving downfield ready to tie the game, like so many other comebacks this year, with the laser-like accuracy of Peyton Manning. And then Tracy Porter read the formation, cut in front of Reggie Wayne’s route and was off to the end zone for the clinching score. One bad pass. Peyton Manning went from top of the world to falling flat.
This win is for Bill Buda and all the New Orleans residents and fans who so richly deserved this unique and transcendent Super Bowl victory by their New Orleans Saints.
Tony Dungy said “I don’t think it’s going to be close.” Albert Breer of the Globe headlined “One thing not to debate: Colts will win”. OK Albert, we won’t debate it.
Pigskin pundits were bequeathing Peyton Manning with the All-Time Best QB Ever. Better than Tom Brady who has 3 rings and 2 Super Bowl MVPs. Tom Brady whose record in the playoffs is 14-4 while Peyton Manning is now 9-9.
Football forecasters had the Colts all but adorned Team of the Decade despite just 1 Super Bowl victory. Super Bowls are won by the best teams. The Patriots have won 3.
Now the Indy Colts and their fans know what the Patriots and their fans felt like when New England lost the Super Bowl to the Giants in 2007, the first loss of the season for the Pats. The Colts didn’t have the guts to go for an undefeated season. Isn’t the object to win? Doing anything less is self-destructive. Boing!
However this should be about the Saints. Down 10-0 they fought back to make it 10-6 by half. Leading by 7 with about 2 minutes and change, the Colts and outgoing offensive coordinator Tom Moore made a mistake. After stopping the Saints at Indy’s 1, they elected to run 3 times. With that much time on the clock, it is usually Manning who is doing his precision passing and moving the Colts downfield for a score. Instead, after the Saints stopped the Colts on 3rd and 1, it was Drew Brees leading his team to an important FG that made it 10-6 and the lead less than a TD. The Colts had blinked.
The Saints Defense (a great bend don’t break, punish the Colts for every inch bunch) played an inspired game. Vilma, Shanle, McCray (one punishing hit to the ribs of Peyton). The Defensive line (Will Smith, Remi Ayodele, Sedrick Ellis, and McCray) kept pressure on Peyton, who, while never sacked, was hurried and harried.
Marques Colston had a bad drop that could have resulted in points. Colston did not miss a pass again. The Colts’ Pierre Garcon dropped a pass on a deep crossing route that would have resulted in a TD or FG. It might have been a game changer.
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PUT SOME
SOUTH
IN YOUR MOUTH |
You have to be good and you have to be lucky. In 2007, the Giants had 3 near interceptions and 2 fumbles that they recovered – all on the last game winning drive.
Peyton Manning had one bad pass that Tracey Porter (nice haircut of the Super Bowl logo, trophy and Superdome) intercepted and took back for a TD just as the Colts were moving in for a tying touchdown.
Sean Payton had the cojones to onside kick at the start of the 2nd half. Indy’s Hank Baskett had the ball go off him and, after a rugby scrum, the Saints were awarded the ball. New Orleans still had to go down and score which they did for their first lead. Pierre Thomas (New Orleans won the battle of Pierres) took a screen pass and ran over and thru the Colts for the TD.
The lead was momentary as the Colts immediately re-took the lead, with ease. In fact, on this day, you held your breath every time Peyton Manning had the ball. Smartly, the Sean Payton plan was to keep the pigskin away from Peyton and the Saints managed to do that despite having one of the worst defenses (statistically) in the NFL.
New Orleans won the Time of Possession battle (barely) with 30:11 over Indy’s 29:49.
However the last almost 5 minutes that the Colts had the ball they were down two TDs with the outcome all but decided.
One bad pass and you go from hero to humble.
Now where is Mr. Contraire? I bet him a drink that the New Orleans Saints would win straight up (i.e. with no points since Indy was a 5 point favorite).
BULLETS
• There seems to have been a shift in strategy in the NFL. This year the Colts and the Saints had the best passing attacks in the NFL. Indy’s defense was ranked 18th. The Super Bowl winning Saints were 25th!
• The Saints have a lot of weapons. But Lance Moore? Who Dat? Now we know. His two-point conversion catch was one of the best ever.
• And who was dat posing as The Who or Half the Who? Roger Daltry looked old and sounded hoarse. Pete Townsend wore a coat that kept getting in the way when he played guitar. I still like them, but their performance was more about memories.
• This is for Pats fans – Colts GM Bill Polian is now 1-6 in Super Bowls.
• On Dale and Holley, Peter King said that the Indy Colts are the Atlanta Braves of football. If they actually won more, they could be the Buffalo Bills of Marv Levy and Jim Kelly (circa 1991-94) fame (infamy). The Bills made it to the Super Bowl 4 straight years and lost them all. But then the Colts have only been to two Super Bowls of late.
Sportzine is also available at jimdawsonsports.com (Thanks Buffalo Steve)
• According to the NY Times’ Greg Bishop (2/6), Drew Brees won 3 matches against Andy Roddick as a youth tennis player.
• Ads I liked: Doritos (dog puts leash on owner, casket, Play nice, Jason ), McDonalds (Larry eats LeBron and Dwight Howard’s lunch), Tru TV (Punxsutawney Polamalu), Motorola (Megan Fox sends tub photo), KGB (sumo wrestler opponent finds Japanese for “I surrender” while another’s Japanese translates to “Bring it on, fat boy.”), Emerald Nuts (women like dolphins leap out of pool and are rewarded with Emerald snacks), Audi (paper or plastic, Eco Boy?) and whoever did that ad with Betty White getting tackled.
“Ramirez complained toward the end of last season that playing the outfield wore down his legs. He seriously considered opting out of his contract to return to the American League for a designated-hitter role, but instead exercised a $20 million option to remain a Dodger when it was clear no other club would come close to that salary.”
Jim,
Didn’t he have a 50 game rest? 50 games off and he’s too tired to play!
Foot Joy
Yeah 50 games to get fat and happy, FJ. The Man-Child goes to LA, to Hollywood, how perfect - where all the actors are.
Too bad that the best right-handed RBI man I’ve ever seen had a Million dollar bat and a .10 cent mind. - Z
A couple e-mails between Saints’ fan Bill Buda and myself:
Bill,
Hope your Saints are heavenly on Sunday.
Let them Brees to a victory.
Laissez le bon temps rouler.
Jim
that’s what i’m talking about!! i welcome and cherish as much love for my saints at this historical time!!! i hope you are doing well, and i better eat 6 meals a day before the biggest game of my life (except when my buccos won the series in 79) because i am predicting i lose 20 pounds agonizingly watching on sunday–GEAUX SAINTS!!!!
Bill
Bill,
A Super win for your Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints. Hope you are enjoying it. It lasts a long time.
Jim
thank you, thank you, thank you!!! when porter picked dat pass off, i ran thru the house, out the front door, standing on the porch screaming at the top of my lungs, all the while forgetting the house alarm was already set, needless to say, the alarm out did my lungs, but it was hilarious!!! thanks again!!
Bill
THE HOT CLUBWHERE HEARTS ARE ON FIRE BUT IT’S NEVER TOO HOTFOR THE DEVIL MAY CARE 575 South Water Street Providence, RI |
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THE HOT CLUB
Mike Module, High Wire Bill and I were discussing Tiger Woods. We were shaking our heads at his arrogance at thinking he wouldn’t get caught. I said, “He thought he was bulletproof.” The Module added, “He was a bigger target.”
So I said that Forbes listed Tiger as making about $99 million last year. $92.5 million of that was in endorsements and Tiger has lost a bunch of corporate sponsors. However I admitted that as Tiger comes back, he will get more endorsements. Mike Module said, “Trojans.” High Wire Bill did a mock Tiger voice: “I tested them myself. Ask my wife.”
It was the week before the Super Bowl so we were chatting about office pools. It was brought up that you filled the 100 boxes and then drew the numbers along the top and side. The Wise Man and Foot Joy said they always played in pools that already had the numbers. “Unfair”, I said. Certain numbers come up more in football like 7, 3, 0. Wise and Foot Joy wanted the numbers already up. Wise said the early bettors should get better boxes, better odds. Wise said he wants an edge. He wants to win. FJ too.
Naked City Redux: Sylvester ‘Sly Stone’ Stewart is on Social Security and is homeless. This is one story of many in the naked city.
We were talking about the Young Adults and Charles Rocket and Rudy Cheeks. The Young Adults turned down David Byrne (Talking Heads) for a spot in the band. Mike Module’s wife Judy has a brother named Rudy and he played guitar with the Young Adults.
Alexander the Great wanted to know if it’s a woman jihadist, does she get 72 guys. “Male virgins”, added Alex. . “Or are they asked to work in the kitchen” wondered Alex: “To make the heavenly hummus. They get a velvet burka.”
Charlie Clancy asked me to name the 3 Rhode Islanders, including this year, to play in the Super Bowl. I said Jaime Silva of this year’s Colts. Mark Van Eeghen, and …as I was thinking, Charlie said the third one was the one he couldn’t get. I said Gerry Philbin for the NY Jets. Charlie said, “Naw it wasn’t him, it wasn’t him.” So Charlie called his buddy Robbie and put me on the phone with him. Robbie said the answer was Gerry Philbin, who played defensive end for the Jets and starred at Tolman High School in Pawtucket. I asked Charlie if he had any more sports questions.
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Frequent Flyer remembered going to Gerry Philbin’s restaurant The Goal Posts in Pawtucket. It was on Middle Street. You could see it from the highway, Rte 95.
