New Orleans Saints Review

Can you wake me up on Super Bowl Sunday?  It may take me (and many of you) that long to recover from the emotional roller coaster that was Sunday’s NFC Championship Game.  The Saints prevailed 31-28 in overtime and had fans feeling the complete gamut of emotions through it all.

Even coach Sean Payton was left nearly speechless at the end of the game.  Apparently suffering from a cold (I feel ya, coach!), Payton looked emotionally drained afterwards, but was still brimming with pride at what his team had accomplished in a frenzied Superdome.

The fact that there were several momentum swings and lead changes were not surprising.  However, the manner in which they occurred certainly weren’t the way Payton or Vikings coach Brad Childress drew things up.

The Vikings’ propensity for fumbling was just mind boggling.  But couple it with the fact that, while Minnesota fumbled a whopping 6 times, they only lost 3 of them.  And the Saints offense was not quite able to take full advantage.

Perhaps the craziest sequence of all came just before halftime, when Reggie Bush fumbled a punt that set up the Vikings at the Saints’ 10 yard line.  Not only did the Vikings fail to capitalize, they proceeded to turn the ball right back to New Orleans when quarterback Brett Favre and running back Adrian Peterson failed to connect on a simple handoff.  It kept the score tied at 14 and saved Bush from what could have been one of the more infamous moments in Saints history.

Favre (28/46, 310 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs, 1 Fumble Lost) showed tremendous toughness, as the New Orleans defense pounded him unmercifully throughout the game.  There were times where it looked like there was no way for him to continue playing, particularly as he was hit high-low by defensive linemen Remi Ayodele and Bobby McCray.  He grimaced and at times looked to be in very intense pain, but somehow continued on just like he has done for nearly 2 decades in the NFL.

The Saints defense did a pretty good job of containing Minnesota, or at least holding down the fort enough (and creating turnovers) to keep them in the game.  They were a tired unit, as Minnesota held the ball for nearly 37 minutes.

Where the defense fell off was with bad penalties.  Roughing the passer, pass interference, etc. cost them dearly as the infractions kept the Vikings offense out on the field.  Several times the Saints clamped down on a crucial 3rd down play, only to see Minnesota benefit from a penalty.

Adrian Peterson had his first 100 rushing day in quite awhile (25 carries, 122 yards, 3 TDs) but was anything but clutch considering the 2 fumbles he was credited with (plus a 3rd that was equally his fault but was credited to Favre).  He ran hard, and angry, and had stretches of being quite effective.  But Childress had to pull him out of the lineup on a few occasions due to the fumbling.

The Saints offense, meanwhile, had a wild ride themselves.  Running back Pierre Thomas may have been the most valuable member of the unit on Sunday.  He ran 14 times for 61 yards and a 9 yard touchdown in the 3rd quarter that gave the Saints a 21-14 lead.  But it was his 38 yard reception from Drew Brees (17/31, 197 yards, 3 TDs) that showed his full athletic arsenal.  It was the kind of play we have come to expect from Thomas as he showed power, speed, shiftiness and a never-say-die attitude.  He also ran the opening kickoff of overtime back for 40 yards while filling in for an injured Courtney Roby.

The Minnesota defensive line did cause some problems, as Brees often had to scramble out of trouble and hurry some throws.  As a result, there weren’t a whole lot of long passes down the field.  But overall Brees was very smart with the football and didn’t turn the ball over.  The Vikings’ pressure may have led to more incompletions than we are used to seeing, but Brees’ leadership and mobility gave the Saints a fighting chance.

The Deciding Drives
Minnesota’s Missed Chance
With the scored tied at 28 with just over 2 minutes to play in regulation, Minnesota’s final drive really sent fans from both teams over the edge.  The Vikings started from their own 21 yard line.  Their offense, despite the mistakes, had a shot to put the Saints away.

Adrian Peterson had a couple of short gains, and suddenly it was 3rd down and 8 yards to go for the Vikings.  The Saints defense needed one play to get the ball back into the hands of Brees and the offense.  Trouble was, Brett Favre showed us again why he is so revered.  He hit receivers Bernard Berrian and Sydney Rice on consecutive plays of 1o and 20 yards, respectively to keep the drive going.  Another 14 yard pass to running back Chester Taylor got the ball down to the Saints’ 33 yard line, and forced New Orleans to take their final timeout.

Then, the tide turned.  Taylor and Peterson were stuffed for no gain on consecutive plays.  It was 3rd and 10, and Minnesota still needed a few yards to give kicker Ryan Longwell a decent shot at a field goal.  There was 1:06 on the clock.

Favre said after the game that crowd noise wasn’t a factor most of the game, but at this particular moment it would help keep the Saints’ Super Bowl dreams alive.  The Vikings were called for having 12 men in the huddle, a communications breakdown, and it sent them back 5 more yards to the New Orleans 38.  It was 3rd and 15, and the Vikings had to make a play in order to set up a field goal attempt.

On 3rd down, Favre rolled to his right and had a clear path to pickup at least 5 yards on the run.  But, with his ankle ailing, he wasn’t moving all that well.  He decided to do what he has done so many times in his career:  he threw across his body hoping to find an open Sydney Rice in the middle of the field.  So many times, it has worked.  This time, it was Saints cornerback Tracy Porter who broke on the ball and had what may be the biggest defensive play in franchise history.  His interception sent the crowd into pandemonium, and gave the Saints another shot in overtime.

The Saints March One More Time
After winning the coin toss in overtime, the Saints took the ball at their 39 after a 40 yard kickoff return from Pierre Thomas.

A defensive holding penalty gave the Saints a first down on their own 43 and Brees completed a 3rd down pass to Devery Henderson for 9 yards, setting up a 4th and 1 from the Minnesota 43.  Too far outside of field goal range, Payton made the call to go for it on 4th down.  Brees handed the ball to Thomas, who dove skyward, nearly lost the ball, but miraculously held on to gain the first down.  I’m surprised I wasn’t in cardiac arrest by this point in overtime.

A pass interference call against the Vikings gave the Saints 12 more yards, and then Brees hit Robert Meachem over the middle for another 12.  The ball was at the the Minnesota 22 yard line.

After a failed 3rd down attempt, the Saints called on young kicker Garret Hartley, who hadn’t been out on the field since hitting an extra point in the 4th quarter.  It was a 40 yard attempt.  A berth in the Super Bowl, a city, a region, and the hopes of fans all around the world rested on his shoulders.

Vikings coach Brad Childress called a timeout, hoping to freeze Hartley.  Strangely, Sean Payton was seen having a conversation with his kicker before the biggest attempt of his life.  In all my years of watching NFL football, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen such a thing.  Typically, the kicker is left to his own thoughts in a moment such as that.

But Payton knows his team, and knows his young kicker.  As he recounted after the game, he told Hartley that there was a reason that he was a member of this team.  He told him to aim for the Fleur-de-Lis that was hanging in the stands, between the uprights.

Hartley stepped back out onto the field and proceeded to drive the biggest kick of his life right down the middle, with more than enough distance.  He sent the crowd of long-suffering Saints fans into the biggest party that they’ve ever known.

I have to admit that I cried, and I sure didn’t sleep much last night.  Even with all the dramatic plays in this game, I kept coming back to that kick and replaying it in my mind.

The feeling of joy and relief was something I will never forget.  I’m still feeling it the morning after.  In fact, I haven’t even begun to think about the Super Bowl and how the Saints will fare against Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts.  I just want to revel in this moment for a while longer.

While the team’s focus no doubt is already on Indy, we as fans have the luxury of enjoying the biggest game in Saints history, while waiting for an even bigger game in less than 2 weeks.

Take a deep breath, relive the moment in your head and then we’ll all focus on what lies ahead.

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This entry was posted on Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 10:15 am and is filed under Opinion, Super Bowl Season. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.