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With Huge Upset, the Saints Beat Indy 31-17 to Capture First Super Bowl

Posted on February 8, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The Aints aren’t the Aints anymore. It took 43 years but the New Orleans Saints are finally champions of the football world. And to think, Mardi Gras starts in just eight days…

Drew Brees played brilliantly, the Saints defence came up big when it had to and cornerback Tracy Porter returned an interception 78 yards with just a little more than three minutes to play as the Who Dats upset the favored Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV.

With the score 24-17 and the Colts rallying, Porter picked off the great Peyton Manning on the Saints 22-yard line and returned it untouched to the end zone as the NFC champion Saints shocked the football world.

It was an amazing victory considering the Saints were lucky to beat the Minnesota Vikings 31-28 at home in the NFC championship game. Even though the Vikings had five turnovers, the Saints still needed overtime in the din of the Superdome to get to Miami for Super Bowl XLIV.

Then, last night in New Orleans, the Saints fell behind 10-0 in the first quarter, 10-6 at the half, and still stormed back to win going away.

Heading into the game, the Colts were five-point favourites, but many, including both The Coach and Dr. Sports here at www.rivercitysportsblog.com, believed the Colts had far too much firepower for the Saints and their No. 25-rated defence.

However, it was a timely defensive play that ultimately gave the Saints the victory.

“The interception was a result of great film study,” said Porter after the game. “We knew that on third-and-short they stack, and they like the outside release for the slant. It was great film study by me, a great jump and a great play.

“This means so much for New Orleans and the Saints organization. Words can’t describe how much this means for New Orleans. I’m a Louisiana native and this is big.”

The game MVP was, obviously, Brees and what a return to glory this was for the Saints QB. Given up by the San Diego Chargers three years ago, Brees joined the Saints and after putting up huge numbers for the past three seasons, he finally won a championship.

In the biggest game of his life, Brees went 32-for-39 for 268 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer’s rating of 114.5.

“I always kind of dreamed of this moment,” said Brees, as he accepted his MVP award. “I believed it would happen and I knew that if we played as well as we could, we were prepared to be successful. This is so big for the community and for me and my family, I can barely put it into words.

“This means everything to New Orleans. We’re here because of their strength and everything they fought for the past few years. They’ve given us so much support, we owe it to our fans.”

The Colts put up more yardage (432 to 332) and had more first downs (23-20), but also had more penalties for more yardage (five for 45 yards as opposed to three for 19 for New Orleans) and Manning threw that one dagger-through-the-heart interception.

Manning finished 31-for-45 for 333 yards, one touchdown, one INT and a passer’s rating of just 88.5.

“I know how we felt three years ago when we won,” said a disappointed Manning afterward. “We’re disappointed but this is their night. This night belongs to Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. It’s their field, they deserve the victory and they should be proud of what they’ve done.”

It was also another big game for Saints kicker garrett Hartley. The man whose field goal beat the Vikings in OT, became the first kicker in Super Bowl history to kick three field goals of plus-40 yards in a single Super Bowl. He had three-pointes of 46, 44 and 47 yards.”

There were 74,059 spectators inside Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, about 25 miles north of Miami, and the vast majority of them were Saints fans. Amazingly, four hours before the game, as Saints fans walked the final three miles to the Stadium in a huge congregation, all you could hear was the cheer: “Who Dat?! Who Dat?! Who Dat Who Say Dey Gonna Beat Dem Saints!?”

After the game, it was a din, sheer bedlam, as New Orleans fans basked in the Saints first championship in 43 years of existence.

“This is a blessing to the City of New Orleans,” said Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who also had family caught in the recent earthquake devastation in Haiti. “I am so happy we were able to bring it to them.

“It is a dream come true. I cannot express what it means to win this game. It is absolutely a dream come true.”

Must admit, it was great just being in Sun Life Stadium (BTW, why doesn’t a Canadian company like Sun Life ever sponsor sports in Canada?), watching history.

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Final Numbers and Final Thoughts Before Super Bowl XLIV

Posted on February 7, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

FORT LAUDERDALE BEACH, Fla. – As Robert Randolph and the Family Band, the Barenaked Ladies and O.A.R. rocked the beach at Super Bowl Saturday Night, the ticket scalpers and bookies did what it is they do.

The 44th Super Bowl game for the championship of the National Football League will be played at 6 p.m. (EST) on Sunday evening as the NFC champion New Orleans Saints take on the AFC champion Indianapolis Colts. It’s Drew Brees vs. Peyton Manning. It’s 4,388 yards vs. 4,500 yards. It’s the No. 4 offence in the NFL against the No. 2 office in the NFL.

Taking everything into consideration, the Colts should win this football game. They have the better offence, the better defence (18th vs, the Saints at 25th) and, of course, Manning at quarterback.

And while we’ve selected the Colts to win by two touchdowns, we do have some concerns.

As we pointed out earlier this week, Scott Greene was named the head referee for this game. He’s been known to tinker, shall we say, with the outcome of games. The officials will play a major role in the game’s outcome.

As well, Vegas will have a say.

Clearly Vegas wants a close game. The point-spread runs from Indy minus-4 to Indy minus-5. So far, 70 per cent of the money bet on this game has been bet on the Saints. If the Colts win the game, but fail to cover the spread, Vegas stands to make a bundle.

As our Las Vegas gambling expert, Fort Rouge Ted, pointed out yesterday, “The Vegas books get to keep all the M/L wagers on the Saints (70 per cent) and P/S wagers on the Colts (66 per cent) and only pay out 30 per cent & 34 per cent respectively, all the while keeping their vig.  And if the defenses keep the score under 56 (that’s the current over-under), Vegas will make hundreds of millions of dollars.”

If the boys in Vegas want a close game and the head referee has been know to “keep it close,” in the past, it might not matter how much better than Colts are. This game just might be close.

* * *

TWO NFL LEGENDS IN TROUBLE AT WORK

Michael Irvin and Warren Sapp are having a bad weekend.

On Thursday, Irvin was charged in a civil law suit with the alleged rape of a woman at the Hard Rock Casino near Fort Lauderdale. It is not a criminal charge, but it was enough to force ESPN to dump Irvin from his radio show at ESPN 103-3 in Dallas.

He’s still working with the NFL Network and has filed a $100 million countersuit in Dallas County, Texas.

Meanwhile, another NFL Network star, former Tampa and Oakland defensive tackle, Warren Sapp, was arrested on Saturday afternoon and questioned by Miami Beach in an alleged domestic violence case at a Miami Beach hotel.

Sapp will not appear on the NFL network until network brass “review the matter.”

* * *

VIKINGS FANS URGE FAVRE TO COME BACK

After visiting with the greatest Viking fan of them all, Winnipeg’s Syd Davy, this afternoon at the Renaissance Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, it came to light that Vikings fans are willing to put their money where their mouths are.

The fans rented a billboard in Favre’s hometown of Hattiesburg, Miss., with the following message on it:

“Hey #4, do Minnesota fans love you and want you back next year? You Brettcha!”

“I had no idea what to expect,” Vikings fan Jay Tappe told the Hattiesburg American, after staring the campaign on Facebook. “We have enough to keep the billboard up for at least another week. We’ll try to keep it up for about a month. It’s crazy.”

Favre, 40, still hasn’t decided to return to the Vikings next season. He does have one year remaining on the two-year contract he signed with Minnesota. If he returns, it will be his 20th NFL season.

Meanwhile, Davy, 51, who is known as “100 per cent Cheese Free,” attended the annual Lee Steinberg Party yesterday and will be in full regalia with two of his lieutenants, at Sunday night’s Super Bowl XLIV.

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A Week In the Trenches at the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl.

Posted on February 4, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The weather has been marginal, the interviews have mostly been dull and unless you make millions, the parties are for the rich and famous, not for the anonymous and untanned.

It’s a Miami Super Bowl: plenty of limos, all sorts of private jets, traffic that can drive you insane and scenery that does, indeed, make you crazy… if you know what I mean.

We’ve been here battling the good, the bad and the beautiful of the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl Week since last Thursday. No better time than now to put a few things into perspective.

1) There was no doubt in Tony Dungy’s voice yesterday. When the former head coach of the Indianapolis Colts was asked by radio host Dan Patrick if he thought his former team had what it takes to win Super Bowl XLIV, Dungy pulled no punches.

“I would be absolutely shocked if the Colts lose Sunday,” he said. “They haven’t lost a game yet this year that they were trying to win.”

I agree. I like the Colts by as many as three touchdowns.

2) There has only ben one actual “news” story this week and if it turns out that Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney can’t play on Sunday – although I still think he’ll play 15-20 plays, at least – Raheem Brock says he’s ready to step in.

In fact, Brock said on Wednesday that he and Rob Mathis will pick up the slack and fans won’t even notice that Freeney is missing.

That’s confident talk, but it just goes to show you the Colts are a very confident team.

3) New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was asked on Wedensday if there was an extra load of pressure on the Saints because the team was representing more than just the City of New Orleans.

Brees said no, but I sense the Saints might be a tad nervous on Sunday.

“We don’t look at it as pressure,” Brees sad, trying to deflect the tone of the question. “We feel like we are playing for so much more than just to win a game for our organization or team, we’re playing for an entire city and region.

“And you could say for an entire country because there are still so many New Orleans natives who had to evacuate after Katrina who have not been able to move back yet. We know we have fans across the country who are pulling for us and rooting for us, fans who will eventually come back to New Orleans, but are just waiting for the right time. Whatever we can do to give them hope and raise their spirits, that’s what we want to do.”

4) New Orleans defensive co-ordinator, Gregg Williams, has apparently put a bounty on the head of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. Williams said his defence will go after Manning, hit him late if necessary, hope to hurt him and if not, put fear into his mind.

“When you put too much of that type of worry on a warrior’s mind, he doesn’t play all out,” Williams said. “If it happens, it happens.  And the only thing you’d like for me to say is that if it happens you hope he doesn’t get back up and play again.”

Huh? Wha? “…you hope he doesn’t get back up and play again?”

Manning almost choked, laughing at the comments. On Monday night, during his news conference at the Marriott Harbour Beach Spa and Resort, Manning said he had no opinion about Williams’ comments.

“No, I don’t have an opinion at all,” Manning said. “Actually, until now, I hadn’t heard his remarks. I guess I’ve been playing long enough that I don’t have any reaction to comments like that.”

5) Colts QB Peyton Manning and Saints QB Drew Brees will get contract extensions before training camp starts in July.

Here’s what will likely happen. Brees will sign first. He’ll et a four-year $68 million extension, making him the highest-paid player in football. Then, Manning will sign a five-year $100 million deal.

Many experts feel that Manning will get less than $20 million per season. We believe otherwise. $20 million a year is the benchmark for Manning, the best quarterback today.

6) There is nothing we love more at Super Bowl time than proposition bets and a new series of props have emerged for Sunday’s Super Bowl XLIV.

Among them: How many times Reggie Bush’s girlfriend Kim Kardashian will be shown on the TV broadcast; How many times the broadcasters will refer to Hurricane Katrina; and an over-under on the number of players who are arrested the night before the game.

The big game goes Sunday at 5 p.m., CST. In Canada, it’s on CTV.

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It’s Week 15 in the NFL and it’s Already Crazy.

Posted on December 20, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

It was quite a Saturday night in the NFL.

After three quarters, the Dallas Cowboys held a 24-3 lead over the unbeaten New Orleans Saints, but when you’re trying to get to 14-0, there is usually no give-up in you.

So the Saints put up 14 unanswered in the fourth quarter and were driving for the tying touchdown when the Cowboys brilliant outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware stripped Drew Brees of the football, ending the Saints dream of 16-0.

It was a pretty good football game other than the NFL Network’s coverage of it. Technically, the telecast was weak (the Superdome P.A. announcer was louder than NFL Network play-by-play man Bob Papa) and the commentating was just annoying. In fact, it was another night of football with the mute button on.

It’s great that every NFL game is on television. It’s unfortunate that there aren’t enough quality broadcasters to go around. Matt Millen? Simply grating. Like fingernails on a chalkboard. Why doesn’t the NFL just showcase the home radio crews. I’ll guarantee most of them are easier to listen to than the alleged “national” broadcasters.

More thoughts from a wild and woolly week:

1) On the afternoon that Lyle Bauer announced his resignation as CEO of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, CJOB radio’s Geoff Currier made the most insightful comment of the day.

“If you look at the record, the most successful Blue Bombers coach during the Lyle Bauer Era was Dave Ritchie,” Currier said. “And Dave Ritchie was the only coach Lyle didn’t hire.”

It’s true. Bauer inherited Ritchie and never much liked him. Bauer did hire Jim Daley, Doug Berry and Mike Kelly, all, in the end failures. Although Kelly has left the Bombers with the best team they’ve had since 2000.

2) CBS Sports is promoting its 2010 PGA Tour golf coverage without using any images of Tiger Woods. Wow! Can’t wait for that showdown in the final round of the FedEx-Accenture-Buick-Ford-Disney Invitational Open World Golf Classic between Jerry Kelly and Zach Johnson.

Thrilling? No, sleep inducing. Pass the remote.

3) Although Mike Babcock has done a terrific job as head coach of the beaten-to-a-pulp Detroit Red Wings this season, there is very little doubt that the coach of the year in the NHL right now, is Nashville Predators boss, Barry Trotz.

Trotz, who came out of Dauphin, Man., to start his coaching career as an assistant at the University of Manitoba, has made the no-name Predators one of the top teams in the NHL this season, In fact, after Saturday night’s 5-3 win over Calgary, the Preds are now 22-11-3, tied with power-house Chicago for first in the Central Division.

While Babcock, who will do a tremendous job as head coach of Canada’s 2010 Olympic team, has kept Detroit in the playoff hunt despite the fact the Wings are currently without top line players’ Dan Cleary, Johan Franzen, Valterri Flippula, Niklas Kronwall, Jason Williams, Jonathan Ericsson, Darren Helm, and now Henrik Zetterberg, what Trotz has done is nothing short of remarkable.

He’s taken a low-budget team of has-beens, never-weres and not-likelys and turned them into one of only six NHL teams with at least 22 wins. He is a brilliant coach and the man Winnipeg would need if the NHL ever returned.

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London, England, Brees and Rivers and bad Cowboys: Week 8 in the NFL should be intriguing

Posted on October 23, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

It is Week 8 on the NFL schedule and while there are a number of great matchups this weekend, the biggest will probably be the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants in Pittsburgh to face the Steelers.

Both quarterbacks, Eli Manning of the Giants and Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelers were 2004 first-round draft choices who have both won Super Bowls and they have already faced off against each other — way back in their rookie seasons. Roethlisberger won 33-30. This should be the Game of the Week.

 

Meanwhile, the National Football League heads to London, England this week. It’s the New Orleans Saints and San Diego Chargers live from Wembley Stadium and aside from the international impact, this one comes complete with a shot at revenge.

 

It will be the first time Saints quarterback Drew Brees will face his former team (remember, he signed with the Saints as a free agent in 2006). His understudy for those final two seasons in San Diego will be across the field from him on Sunday — Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers.

 

Not surprisingly Brees leads the NFL in passing with 2,224 yards while Rivers is fourth at 1,697. Rivers has been slumping and has much to prove. Brees would love to stick it to the Chargers. This will be a great game.

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