(Picture from http://www.media.timesdispatch.com/)
As you may now know (if you’ve been so generous as to read the Mad About You! Post), I am in Canada. Have been for the last two weeks and will be for the next four weeks. I’ve already taken the time to rant a little about the things that are close to putting me over the edge, but recently I’ve managed to keep things in perspective and have now stepped back away from the ledge. However, what I saw this weekend was nearly enough to put me back over. I’m not kidding when I say that I very seriously considered (as in I thought for a moment how funny it would be to hear on the news, not that I would ever actually consider this) throwing myself from the top of the CN Tower in protest of Canadian television. I must say, I knew a lot would be different up here and I’ve already let you hear about some of the biggest things that are driving me crazy, but I never in a million years thought that I would see a Super Bowl without a single funny commercial. That’s right, not one. Not only that, but I only caught one beer commercial. Contrast that with the 2010 Olympic commercials that both began and ended EVERY commercial break, and you have the makings of an American sports fan splattered all over Front Street below Toronto’s iconic tower. If you are feeling slightly jealous, don’t you worry, I will be posting a quick little video of one of the commercials (as well as some pics of downtown Toronto for those of you who REALLY don’t have anything better to do) so you can get in on the excitement too. I will also be doing some homework, trying to catch up on all the best commercials I missed. If you have any favorites, be sure to comment below and let me know what I should be looking for (better yet, post a link to it and save me some time). But that’s enough of the complaining (for at least a few seconds), let’s get on to some observations from the game.1. Peyton is just a MANning
So I may be stating the obvious here, but you should all know by now that I have a HUGE man-crush on Peyton. Going into this game I raved about how you should all (not) bet on him and only him. I’ve talked all year about how fantastic he is. In truth, I thought he was a machine. I pictured him, much like the Terminator or Albert Pujols in the Sportscenter commercial, analyzing everything on a computer-chip brain and making perfect decisions. For the first three and a half quarters, that’s pretty much how he was. In case you missed it, the guy finished with close to 30 completions and over 300 yards. Problem was, when the Colts HAD to have a score, he made his first bad read. Strictly going by my own opinion, I think Peyton made a pre-snap read on the route, thinking the coverage was going to be soft. Going on instinct, he threw the ball without really checking what the corner was doing, or what was happening in the middle of the field. Watch the replay again and you’ll notice “your boy” Austin Collie running free underneath the linebackers for probably a 7-8 yard gain (not crazy, but about the same yardage as a completion to Wayne would have yielded). Nine times out of ten I say Manning makes the right read there and the Colts score to tie the game. This one time, however, just shows that the guy is truly a human. I doubt we see that mistake ever again in his career though. You know Peyton will be on the practice field by Wednesday, working on making that read and throw.
2. The Saints go Marching, and Marching, and Marching
I know some of you Peyton haters out there are saying to yourselves, “yeah, he put up decent numbers, but they only put up 17 points, that must mean the Saints D was pretty good (yeah right) or Peyton isn’t that great.” Wrong. The Saints D didn’t do much of anything all night (right up until the part where Peyton gave a Brett Favre-esque, gift-wrapped, game-winning pick-six to them). The best defense against Manning and the Colts is a good offense. The Saints O didn’t look spectacular for much of the first quarter, but boy did they do some marching in the second. They ate up a TON of clock. And despite only coming away with 6 points by halftime, they managed to keep Manning off the field. I believe the count was 70+ real-time minutes he went without touching the football. Tough to score from the sidelines, fellas. Take note all you wanna-be contenders out there; if you wanna get by the Colts, your offense has to be good enough to keep their D on the field a while (also note that the Saints had the best offense in the league this year and still nearly lost).
3. Joseph Addai is Alive and Well
Who would have guessed? The guy wasn’t much of a factor all year long and there were even some rumblings ( at least in some fantasy circles I know) that Addai may not be the featured back in Indy much longer. With Mike Hart and Donald Brown breathing down his neck, Joseph Addai put on a show against the Saints, at least for a while. He looked like a premier runner for a moment, and then it was gone. My question is whether this performance was due to him truly running well, or if it was the passing game that opened things up for him (which is my belief). Addai got plenty of touches in the passing game and was able to find some room when running between the tackles. Nobody thought the Saints D was a dominant run defense, but I don’t think anyone expected Addai to be able to run that well or for the Colts to let him touch the rock that much. Either way, I think this bodes well for Addai down the road. Ultimately, I still think he will be gone within a couple years, but some team is going to find themselves a nice little back (well, at least someone capable of being one for a few plays a game).
4. Break Tackle Rating: 99
I’m not a huge Madden guy, but I have to believe that after watching this game, all the Saints skill players will have a 99 next to that little category BRK (tackle-breaking ability) in next year’s edition. I mean, they helped the Colts put on a clinic for how not to tackle. They refused to be taken down by arm tackles and racked up yards after contact (which I believe now actually has a picture of Reggie Bush next to it in the dictionary). If not for all those broken tackles in the open field, this could have been a more one-sided game. But, the Saints were able to keep drives alive and put points on the board by breaking tackles of the Colts defense, which surprisingly seemed to be in the right place at the right time quite frequently. Eventually, the bend but don’t break theory didn’t hold up and the Saints started to put it in the end zone (who ever doubted them? – don’t you even point to my last post!). From then on, it seemed as if the game would turn into the shootout everyone expected, too bad nobody invited the Colts to the party…
5. Who Dat?
As in, who dat pretendin to be Saints fans? Yeah, you! I KNOW you have a favorite team and I KNOW it aint the Saints. Yeah, yeah, you support the “underdog” and you were pulling for the city. BS! Where were you the last couple of years? In case you missed it, Katrina happened in 2007. I didn’t hear you rooting for the team in ’07 or ’08. But all of a sudden, the team has a shot to go undefeated and you are really pulling for the city. If you care that much, how bout this: I say, take the cash you were about to throw down on that phat new Drew Brees jersey and you donate to a cause in the N.O, or better yet, take a trip down and donate some time. Yeah, you don’t care THAT much about the city, do you? And what’s with all this underdog crap anyway? They had the best offense in the league and were playing basically a home game. I know, I know, it sounds a lot like sour grapes. But hear me out, I’m not upset the Colts lost. I’m not upset the Saints won (I’m honestly happy for the team and the city). I’m upset with all you poser fans out there who were rooting for the Saints (that includes you too, CBS, with your Mardi Gras attire in the post-game show) this postseason because “they deserved it.” A lot of teams deserve it and a lot of cities have had trouble. I know they don’t compare to what happened to New Orleans, but if that’s really your reasoning, I challenge you to show me a pic of you in your Saints gear two years ago, right after Katrina. Until then, take off your beads, return the Brees jersey (yeah, I’m talking to you, Canadian dude in the cubicle behind our conference room – I KNOW you don’t follow the team, or football for that matter), and for God’s sake, remove “Who Dat?” from your vocabulary. You are NOT from the French Quarter, you did NOT go down to help and you are NOT a Saints fan (note: for those of you who truly are Saints fans, I commend you and congratulate you, the rest of you can bite my head off in the comments). Then again, what do I know folks? I’m just telling you what I can see from the great white north, where “we were made for this (the Winter Olympics).” There’s a chance that everyone in the state of Iowa has secretly had family in New Orleans for all these years and there’s a chance that there are more than a couple hundred people in the state that have truly loved the Saints since they were the Aints. But, I kinda doubt it. And that’s my view from above.
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