Superbowl XLIV Reaction

People have been asking me lately what I thought of last week's Superbowl, as a Colts fan.

It took a couple of days to want to think about it again, but the game struck me as being very strange. Both teams were mostly successful on offense, yet the defenses did not give up big plays. The result was that each team had few possessions, and the team that won was the one that made the most of their possessions.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning (18) looks for a receiver to pass to against the New Orleans Saints during Super Bowl XLIV at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on February 7, 2010. (Ben Liebenberg/NFL.com)

Consequently, the Saints' ability to recover on onsides kick to begin the third quarter was absolutely huge. This effectively gave them two more possessions than the Colts had, since they opened and closed the first half with the ball. It's rare in football that one team winds up with two more possessions than the other, and the Saints took advantage of those two possessions by scoring 10 points on them. The game's final margin was 14, and effectively ended when the Colts, trailing by that margin, could not punch the ball into the end zone with less than 2 minutes to play in the 4th quarter.

Regardless, the Colts had opportunities to win the game without needing extraordinary effort. Three plays stick out in my mind. The first I believe was in the first half. Drew Brees overthrew Jeremy Shockey and nearly everyone else. The only player on the field with an opportunity to catch the ball was Colts safety Antoine Bethea, and although the ball hit him in the hands, he couldn't come down with the interception. I don't know how big of an effect this would have had on the game, because I don't remember which drive it occurred on (and I generally don't watch replays of games the Colts lose; it's one of my quirks). But if this was during the second quarter, then it would have been very critical.

A second play that would have had a large impact was Pierre Garçon's drop of a Peyton Manning pass on third down early in the second quarter. Up until that point, the Saints had been completely unable to get anything going offensively or defensively, and trailed 10-0 (or 10-3; I'm not sure). The ball was well-thrown, Garçon was wide open, and he just couldn't haul it in. A conversion there may not have lead to a score, but it would have changed the dynamic of the second quarter, during which the Colts only ran a total of 6 plays.

And of course, the third play was the onsides kick. It's been interesting to observe this season how opposing teams have feared the Colts offense, and especially Peyton Manning. It is what inspired Partiots coach Bill Belichick to attempt a 4th-and-2 conversion from his own 30 yard line leading 34-28 late in the 4th quarter. He figured that converting would end the game, and failure meant that the Colts may score quickly enough that the Patriots might have an opportunity to win it in the end with a field goal. It's also the reason Rex Ryan and the Jets were so deflated at halftime of the AFC Championship Game despite having a 4 point lead. Manning had just completed a quick 4-play, 80-yard touchdown drive on them, and they just knew that it was over.

Going back to the onsides kick, if the Colts recover and go on to win, then Saints coach Sean Payton looks just like Belichick. The NFL analysts would all be talking about how much the Saints feared Manning and the Colts offense, but instead, the Saints recovered and he is hailed as gutsy. That's to be expected. Nevertheless, the Colts were not exactly caught off-guard like the Cardinals were when Green Bay kicked onsides this year in an NFC Wild Card game. The ball bounced directly to Colts WR Hank Baskett, who couldn't handle it. It then bounced directly to a Saint, who also lost the ball. Baskett dove into the pile and, the replays show, grabbed the ball. Then the massive pileup happened, and he apparently had the ball taken from him at the bottom of the pile. Another missed opportunity.

This is not to say that the Saints didn't earn it, or that they didn't miss any opportunities themselves. Indeed, when the Colts stopped the Saints on the goalline late in the 2nd quarter, on the 3rd down play of that sequence the Saints RB (was it Pierre Thomas or Mike Bell?) saw an opening and tried to make a cut, but the turf gave way under his foot, and he fell. Missed opportunity. But for the most part, the Saints did a great job capitalizing on their possessions, and when an opportunity for an interception arose, they were able to make the play. The interception was good fortune on their part. The CB guessed that the route was going to be a 4-6 yard square-in on 3rd and 5. Because the Saints were blitzing on the play, he expected the quick throw rather than a double-move. Manning was well-protected, and oftentimes on 3rd down the Colts will go for a deep pass against the blitz. But not this time. The CB beat WR Reggie Wayne to the ball, and the rest is history.

The Saints played a great game, and the Colts played well too. But ultimately, the Saints took advantage of more opportunities to make plays in the game than the Colts did, and that in my mind was the difference. It's going to be a long offseason, but I think the Colts will be in good shape for next year.