How Brees won the MVP, plus more postgame notes. Matt Bowen
Let’s check out my game notes from Sunday night’s 31-17 Saints win in Super Bowl XLIV…
Freeney’s impact
Colts DE Dwight Freeney looked fresh in the first half. He came off the ball with speed and was able to move laterally against the run, but more important, he was effective at getting to Drew Brees. We saw him use the spin move and the bull-rush. However, in the second half, I thought Freeney was tired, and for the first time all night, he looked tired. Warrior effort without a doubt — just not enough left in that ankle to show us the impact he usually has on a game.
The Saints’ final drive
The Saints final drive was a classic example of how offenses can run their routes based off the coverage they see. When the Colts showed a single high safety in the middle of the field (signals Cover 1 or Cover 3), the Saints ran the 10-yard out routes. When the Colts showed their Cover 2 looks, Brees took what the defense gave him and checked the ball down. They methodically worked the ball down the field, sprinkled in the power running game with Pierre Thomas, and when they needed a play to score points, they got creative. The Saints went three WRs to the field and aligned TE Jeremy Shockey away from the formation as the backside “X” receiver — where he was matched up on a corner. It’s a matchup that Shockey can exploit because of his size, and as usual in the NFL, a 3x1 look to the field equals a backside slant. Great call for six points and the winning score.
Brees takes the MVP
Was it anything that we didn’t expect from Brees? He was efficient, competed 32 of 39 passes, threw 2 TDs and protected the football. The Colts’ game plan on defense was designed to keep their safeties deep to protect anything over the top and to get from the middle of the field to the numbers versus any outside vertical throw. But that’s why I liked watching Brees so much last night. He was accurate and was able to throw the entire intermediate passing game of the New Orleans playbook. And like we always see from Peyton Manning, he played off the defense. When they took something away, he found another way to exploit them — and it usually involved Marques Colston. Brees deserved the MVP award.
Manning’s pick
It is tough to judge Manning on one throw. He finished the game with 333 yards passing, but we know this game will be judged by the interception by Tracy Porter, who basically squatted on a 5-yard Smash Route. Manning got away with an out route earlier in the drive that was almost picked by Malcolm Jenkins, and all Porter had to do was sit at seven yards and drive downhill on the Smash Route because the Saints were bringing pressure and he has safety help in the middle of the field. I can understand why Manning threw the ball — the Colts had been getting any 3-step route they wanted for most of the night. But you would expect Manning to know that the Saints corners would squat on routes because of the pressure look. Tough way to lose a Super Bowl on a throw that surprised everyone — in a game by Manning that was almost flawless.
Williams’ game plan
Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams used a game plan that was similar to the one we saw from the Monday night game against the Patriots during the regular season. He talked about pressure all week and getting hits on Manning, but the Saints were a coverage-first team last night. Plenty of Cover 1 schemes and Cover 2 on third downs with their “Ruby” package like we talked about above. And when Williams did bring pressure, free safety Darren Sharper played the deep middle third of the field. Add in the Cover 7 schemes (man coverage with safeties taking away any inside breaking routes), and Williams had a game plan that didn’t yield big plays. Great game plan.
Using Reggie
We didn’t see game-breaking plays from Reggie Bush, but I loved how head coach Sean Payton used him in the game plan. Bush was paired with Thomas on the first play, and we got to see him align in almost every position on the field: as the deep back, the spot back in their one-back sets, in the stack looks and split out wide. But he was most productive when the Colts played their Cover 2 schemes and he was able to check down underneath the coverage — and between the linebackers — with running room in front of him. Only nine touches on offense — and only 63 total yards — but when we look at situational football, they were yards that moved the Saints into scoring position.
Joseph Addai’s night
Best performance I’ve seen from Addai all season. He was able to get to the second level against the Saints defense, and when they went to their “Ruby” package (3 DL, 3 LB, 5 DB), the Colts used the inside and outside zone — plus the sprint draw — to get Addai the football. He looked explosive, broke tackles and was running downhill and with more power than I’ve seen this season. I was impressed.
Special teams
The NFP’s Joe Fortenbaugh talked about it earlier in the week from South Beach, and Sunday night, the Saints won the special teams battle. Their coverage units were excellent, and they never gave Manning a short field to work with — instead, he had to earn every yard. We all know the onside kick was big, but the kicking by Garrett Hartley was impressive. Three 40-plus-yard field goals in the Super Bowl? Not bad.
Moving on…
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Your assessment of Addai's running is interesting. The Colts ran with good success, which makes me wonder why they apparently forgot about it on the drive in which Manning was intercepted.
"should have been picked" is not an official stat, if I'm not mistaken. and is possibly the most over-hyped verbiage ever. You can say it "could" have been picked, or Manning was lucky it wasn't picked. But it goes down as a completion or an incompletion. It is meaningless otherwise and has no extra value. The DB gets credit for a breakup. That's all.
The one pick he did throw was a killer. That was the game. People can and will dissect that one.
The ones that "should have been picked?" No one will remember them, nor should they.
Freeney being hobbled killed the Colts. I don't think any of the Colts linemen got a call the whole night.
What a coaching job by the Saints staff. Not to say that the Colts Coaches did anything wrong, but the Saints could not conceivably have performed - or planned - any better.
It will be unfair if the loss is pinned on Manning, this was a positive win by a beautifully prepared team.
Fairly or unfairly, the loss will be pinned and Manning. As he once famously said, "Every one of my interceptions has a story to tell, but no one wants to hear it."
If Rex Grossman can be blamed for the Bears loss the same should apply to Manning. And when I say "blame," I don't mean entirely. It is a team game. But a game turning pick starts with the QB. And so, he must wear it. And he will. Because he is a man.
Reggie Bush was immaterial. Not worth the top pick in the draft. But thanks to Chris Johnson, more early-draft chances will be taken on guys who should more rationally be considered 3rd down/change of pace backs.
Brees and Manning combined for 63 of 84, 75%. That's not football; it's a free throw contest, high school level.
In all: 85 PA (including 1 sack) and 36 RA (35 RB, 1 WR, Brees not counted). That's a pass ratio of 70%. A real thrill, as skeleton drills go.
First time visiting this site, I'm vey impressed by the content! I think I might have to stick around for some more fruitful, non-puffery articles. What a refreshing read in a market overstuffed with puff pieces!
Manning was throwing into tight windows all night. Brees was throwing to open receivers, at least in the second half. The Saints' defensive gameplan and coverage (both scheme and execution) were superior.
I have not been able to find out why Tim Jennings was in for Kelvin Hayden at RCB in the second half. Brees saw the mismatch and threw at the overmatched Jennings consistently for 10-yard gains. The Saints took what was there and did not drop the ball.
Largely unnoticed, it seems, is the terrific job that Stinchcomb did on Robert Mathis.
The football gods were clearly not pleased with the Colts' injury-prevention decision in Week 16. The gridiron deities took away Jerrod Powers in the Divisional Round and hobbled Freeney in the AFC Championship Game. Perhaps they took away Hayden in the 2nd half of the Super Bowl, as well.
The Saints went all-out and deserved this Super Bowl. Congratulations to them.
Manning 9-9 - one superbowl. 18 Interceptions in basically 15 games this year - tough to justify the "best of all-time" talk that surfaced last week. To say he was almost flawless in the game is a joke. I respect Payton - and have even grown to like him - but this was not an "almost flawless" game...
The New Orleans Saints fans can thank the North East centric sports media for hyping Payton Manning and the Colts. The analysis of each team was so biased that it was laughable and was a great motivational tool for Shawn Payton. The team is a really balanced and talanted team with a super quarterback and the best coaching staff in the NFL. Never doubt the Shawn Payton will do whatever is necessary to win, after all he dug into his own pocket to make up the salary differance for Gregg Williams. Know of any other coach that was willing to sacrifice part of his pay to win, I don't. The concern now is with a Super Bowl win and knowing how tight Tom Benson is with the purse strings will we be able to keep him?
Gumbo its not a north east thing. Its a national thing - it starts at the Networks and continues with unbaised Manning ball washing from P.King, Costas, Dungy et al. Manning is great, so is Farve, but to quickly lable botha s best ever??? When they continue to come up short at critical times. This is not , like Marino or Elway who had to deal with bad teams. (at least until Elway got Davis in the backfield) Manning has had plenty oc chances and spit the bit in most of them.
You're right it's a national thing. the media really did motivate the Saints and possibly put too much pressure on Manning. To try and crown him "The Best Quarterback Ever" if he won his second Super Bowl was ridiculious. To try and crown him ahead of Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw who each won four super bowl wins was a cruel hoax on Manning. Certainly as football savy as he and his family is he must have felt some of the ridicule and pressure. He was not very gracious in the loss and did not shake Drew Brres's hand after the game, very uncharacteristic of him. He's a class guy and his family will always be thought of as the First Family of Football in New Orleans, although competition is emerging.
Can we stop with the "football gods" already? The NFL is what you are really talking about and they come up with a storyline and will make sure the that whatever team they want to win will fit their definition of "destiny".
For those who believe in the eastern religious belief in karma, why doesn't it apply to fans who cheered when their own player got hurt. Yes, the beloved Saints fans cheered when Wade Wilson was hurt. You remember Jim Mora's "sick, sick, sick," rant don't you? The Saints may have some of the worst fans in football.
Let's see, maybe Detroit or Washington, D.C. will win the superbowl next year. They are bigger disaster areas than New Orleans. Maybe an earthquake can hit San Francisco and the Niners will win SuperBow XV. Cannot wait to see what story Roger Goddell and company come up with next year.
"Cannot wait to see what story Roger Goddell and company come up with next year."
@Mary
Are you kidding me? If Roger Goodell and the NFL could've really controlled who would've made the Super Bowl, they would've made it Favre vs. Manning for possibly the biggest ratings ever.
The Saints made the plays when they mattered most and deserve the credit.
My thought was they'd sluggo Wayne on the outside like Garcon did at the red zone, on that part of the field it was almost to the red zone and would of had the same effect on that play, since the safety jumped on Clark's inside slant.
Loved Shockey split out, made a size mismatch possible. He found a way to make his best attributes work for the plan. Running at the goal line helps assert that commitment, teams have to commit inside or end up looking that way, that sets up the pass down there the next time.
My thought was the fourth down go for it would see Reggie Bush's number called. He could have broken a run on a carry of like 6 to 9 yards early in the game. His wideout's man made the tackle, if the block was there he could have sprung one outside.He was all about the team and rooted for his fellow Saints on their reps, and studied up every detail on or off the field for the win(he split time w/Lendale in school and was finding that effective rhythmn in this game).
The best thing for Coach Williams was his changing the style each quarter. He'd have the defense play a way to shape Manning's reactions, long enough to have Manning looking or thinking a certain way, then he'd shake it up. Sharper to center field switching up with his teammate was nice, Darren stayed true to his assignment and let others run for ball first, and still was in position for playmaking.
The run against that 3-3-5 set should have been huge. The Saints committed to stopping Addai in the second half, even from those looks. Vilma got that tackle for loss coming though an outside zone play, a lineman whiffed by him as he got on an aggressive track, little adjustments like that were huge items. The Saints linebackers made some huge help in coverage as well, for a while they got too deep and Manning was going underneath them. They adjusted on the go and really found ways of muddying the read for guys like Clark so the pass target was running routes into other defenders or getting hit immediately.
The saints were the superior team in this game. They were better coached and had better execution. They also had the better quarterback. Peyton was flawless through the opening parts of the game but starting looking like the rockie superbowl quarterback in the third quarter. His hopping around between plays started getting faster and more exagerated as the game went on. You could feel the nervous energy. This coincided with less then perfect throws. I knew he was in trouble when he under threw a long bomb while his receiver had more than a step on the defender. Less than right on passes followed. Judgement suffered too. Two passes were inviting interceptions. One of those solidified the outcome.
The saints were the superior team in this game. They were better coached and had better execution. They also had the better quarterback. Peyton was flawless through the opening parts of the game but starting looking like the rockie superbowl quarterback in the third quarter. His hopping around between plays started getting faster and more exagerated as the game went on. You could feel the nervous energy. This coincided with less then perfect throws. I knew he was in trouble when he under threw a long bomb while his receiver had more than a step on the defender. Less than right on passes followed. Judgement suffered too. Two passes were inviting interceptions. One of those solidified the outcome.
It's pretty popular to use the term "playing not to lose," but I think that really applies to what the Colts did during that game. During the AFC finals, we watched Manning and the Colts march down the field in like 2 minutes at the end of the first half to score because they were down. They absolutely needed to go into the locker room with their heads high. On the other hand, during the Super Bowl, they were up 10-3 when the Saints failed to convert on 4th down. Instead of heading down the field, they played it conservatively and went 3 and out on rushing plays to run the clock down. The Saints came back down and got a field goal to end the half.
It's not fair to say that it was the wrong thing for them to do. Conventional wisdom says trying to push the ball down the field is far riskier than just trying to kill the clock. Still, had the score been 10-3 Saints at that point, I think they'd have tried it, and very possibly converted. The Colts offense is certainly capable of it. Would it have made a difference in the 2nd half? I don't know. The Saints may have laid it all on the line regardless.
I completely agree about Joseph Addai's contribution during the game. For a team which held the unenviable title of least average rushing yards during the regular season, during the first half they showed that it wasn't for lack of ability. I don't know whether it was Manning's choice or the coordinator/coach's calls, but they did a great job of exploiting the Saints defense. Several times they set-up in shotgun, only to have Manning audible back into standard formation. From what I noticed, most of those times resulted in large gains from Addai. As I was rooting for the Saints, watching this was stressful. I assumed a run was coming, but against a QB like Manning, it's almost worth risking a big running play over a huge passing play.
I agree more or less with the above, but I miss one point(not only here but in all i have read about this SB): bad tackling by the Colts defense. IMO that decided the game (as it decided my Steelers' season). That said congrats to New Orleans ,except Brees, who felt motivated by a USO visit to Guantanamo, which makes him a despicable human being in my book. But still a great QB and a deserving MVP. By the way, when will the SB have a most Valuable Coach award? Sean Payton was brilliant and as deserving of an award as Spagnuolo was 2 years ago.
"That said congrats to New Orleans ,except Brees, who felt motivated by a USO visit to Guantanamo, which makes him a despicable human being in my book."
I don't know that he felt "motivated" by the visit, but it surely doesn't make him despicable that he found the conditions in Guantanamo to be a lot more comfy than that of a regular prison, and that there's a lot of evil savages in there who deserve to be locked up until hostilities cease.
Brees is one of the most humble, gracious, and charitable individuals to ever excel on the gridiron. His being an American conservative, committed to fighting America's enemies, only enhances his greatness.
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Feb 08, 2010
09:22 AM
Manning was "almost flawless"? Are you kidding me? He threw 4 passes in the 4th quarter that should've been picked off and the Colts scored only 17 points in the biggest game of the year! Shouldn't we expect more from him?