In professional sports, the margin between winning and losing is razor thin. Often, it is the team that plays to win versus not to lose, that ends up on top. And it is this characteristic that makes the Superbowl win of the New Orleans Saints so impressive.
Head Coach Sean Payton (shown here) and Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams earned my admiration and respect with the go for it attitude they showed. Payton’s on side kick call to open the 2nd half was the call of the season! And don’t give me any of that lucky bounce nonsense. Luck is the combination of preparation and opportunity arriving at the same time. I may buy into a little bit of karmic intervention as well, but it’s interesting that unprepared and/or bad teams never seem to get the breaks. Payton’s Saints practiced that onsides kick for two weeks before succeeding and Williams’ blitzing defense resulted in the winning pick six only after weeks of watching tendencies in film study. The Saints were supposed to get worn down by Colt perfection, instead they outscored Indy 31-7 in quarters 2, 3 and 4 and are partying on Bourbon Street!
On the flip side, the other Peyton is getting destroyed. What is it with people these days?!? Don’t get me wrong, I took some pleasure in watching the four time MVP, golden boy quarterback throw the interception that sealed the game for the Saints, but don’t blame it all on Manning. Peyton Manning is a GREAT quarterback, will go down as one of the best ever and every team in the NFL (except maybe New England) whether they’re led by Brees, McNabb, Romo or Rivers would trade their QB straight up for Manning. The Colts were undone by being conservative and playing not to lose. They’ll spend the offseason kicking themselves and wondering what might have been.
Play to win folks; there’s a reason they say, “to the aggressor go the spoils!”
Tags: Bourbon Street, Donovan McNabb, Drew Brees, Gregg Williams, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, Peyton Manning, Phillip Rivers, Sean Payton, Superbowl, Tony Romo
The Saints played better on defense than the Colts. The on-sides kick to start the 2nd half was critical but the game turned in the Saints direction in the 2nd quarter when Garcion dropped a sure first down (and possibly touchdown) on a perfectly thrown 3rd down pass by Manning. Reggie Wayne was just as disappointing to me as Gacion’s drop when he cut off his route which lead to the pick-6 and then the drop on 4th down at the 1 yard line as the Colts SB dreams came crashing down. Good for the Saints though as Manning will have more chances. Manning needs the likes of Bob Sanders and Dwight Freeney at full strength in order to win another Super Bowl.