His gutsy call paid off

 Last night’s Super Bowl was entertaining to say the least, and as I did not know anyone who wanted the Colts to win, I feel safe in saying that the popular favorite came out on top. The Saints who came out a bit shaky were able to stay with the Colts in the first half. In the second half, they came out guns firing and took the lead and rode that momentum to become the 44th Super Bowl Champions. The MVP on the field was QB Drew Brees who completed a Super Bowl record 88% (tied with Phil Simms in Super Bowl XXI) of his passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns. Tracy Porter sealed the game with his ‘pic 6′ in the 4th quarter, and Garrett Hartley became the only player to kick three field goals beyond 40 yards in a Super Bowl. Despite all of the fantastic performances from the players, there is someone else I would like to commend, head coach Sean Payton.

 Sean Payton went into that game with an unconventional coaching style that I like to call the ‘Madden Way’. Basically what the ‘Madden Way’ is, is the style of coaching that takes no prisoners. 4th and 15 on your own 30? Eh, I’ll go for it. Be honest, you know when you play Madden, it doesn’t matter what down it is, you’re going deep. Onside kick on the opening kickoff? Why not. Of course Sean Payton didn’t make decisions to those degree, but for the Super Bowl, he was certainly aggressive.

 His first unconventional call was towards the end of the first half when the Saints had driven down the field and it was 4th and goal after Pierre Thomas had been held up at the line for no gain. So from the sideline Payton called for the offense to stay on the field and go for it on 4th. They didn’t convert and later got a field goal before The Who stormed the field for halftime. Even though the play didn’t have the desired effect, Payton sent a message that he wasn’t afraid to take risks in order to bring the Lombardi Trophy back to ‘Nawlins’.

 Coming out of the lockers at halftime Sean Payton’s heart must have been beating uncontrolably because he was about to attempt an onside kick to start the second half. If it is successful the Saints get the ball in good field position and are given a chance to take their first lead.  However, if the onside kick failed Peyton Manning of all people would have the ball at midfield and be in position to put the Super Bowl out of reach for the Saints. Alas, the risk paid off and the Saints took the lead.

 Sean Payton coached that game like he had a game controller in his hand, and I’m sure that no one in New Orleans would have it any other way.

First off, let me just say that we just witnessed the third enjoyable, intense Super Bowl in a row. Long gone are the days of one team winning by 30 points and the game being decided by the second quarter.  This game and this result is yet another example of the parity and increased level of competitiveness in the NFL.

Each team played to win tonight.  Both quarterbacks were on the ball, and they were the

Drew Brees had a performance for the ages, completing 29 of his final 32 passes.

story.  Contrary to my belief before-hand, Reggie Bush and Pierre Garcon weren’t the big factors in the game, it was really whoever could stop Drew Brees and Peyton Manning. Manning made his performance look effortless at times, and Brees completed 29 of his final 32 pass attempts.  Each quarterback deserved to be there, and played at the All-Pro level they had been all season.

The Colts had the momentum early, and arguably, the Saints dominated the rest of the game.  The score line may not have suggested it, but the Saints dominated possession for the final 3/4 of the matchup and made the big offensive plays.  Manning was just so good that he led the Colts down the field quickly and efficiently.  The long touchdown drives led by Brees and the 2-point conversion gave the Saints the momentum when it counted most: in the homestretch.

The single biggest play of the game, by far, was Tracy Porter’s interception.  Peyton Manning was looking invincible, as he had all night, and then Porter makes this incredible play, reading the pass and jumping the route. I’ll let the video describe it for you:

A huge play that I didn’t even think was possible the way Manning was tossing the ball around. Perhaps the machine got a little cocky? The most interesting thing about his performance tonight was watching his emotion on the sideline. He got absolutely pissed at his linemen at some points, and at other times, he just looked like the loneliest guy on Earth.  Trust me, there’ll be some mocking of him coming on this blog, don’t you worry.

All in all, an awesome game with a hell of a performance from Drew Brees.  I bet somebody will count how many times CBS and ESPN will say that this has been an “emotional journey” and I bet it’ll be in the hundred millions by the time the week is over. New Orleans has to be hopping right now.  A game like tonight’s showed the true (may I say awesomeness?) of football.  A guy playing like a god, a city rallying around a team and the Colts losing.  Everything’s better when the Colts lose.

Big props to Sean Payton for the job he’s done.  Never has a coach with no head

Sean Payton has done an incredible job as the Saints' head coach, capped off by tonight's win.

experience had such an impact on a team and a city.  And, this may be the 700th time I’ve mentioned him in this post, but you just can’t stop being in awe of Drew Brees’ performance.  He made all the plays, and has been both the team’s and the city’s leader since Katrina.  If there’s anybody who deserves this win, it’s him.

Tonight, at approximately 6:26 PM Eastern Time, millions and millions of Americans, whether alone, at a sports bar or a neighborhood party, will have their eyes glued to their local CBS affiliate until late that night.  Most will be watching for their own reasons: the game, the commercials, The Who or just to appreciate the biggest sporting spectacle in America.  They will be watching the 44th edition of the NFL Championship, which was come to be universally known as the Super Bowl.

Tonight’s matchup is a good one.  The Indianapolis Colts, winners of Super Bowl XLI

Peyton Manning and Drew Brees will finally face off in the biggest game of the year.

(41), led by Superman QB Peyton Manning will face the New Orleans Saints, usually the lovable losers of the NFL, until becoming a post-Hurricane Katrina success story and boasting one of the most prolific offenses in the NFL.  Both teams can score points, both teams were unquestionable the best of their conference this season.  In all senses of the word, this is a true championship game.

The usual school of thought when two teams with high-powered offenses match up is that the game will be a “shoot-out”.  Both teams score a lot of points, the defenses look silly and big plays are the norm.  I don’t go to that school.  Games are unpredictable, especially when it’s a game that the whole world is watching.  Some players will probably feel the butterflies the whole game.  Some may have the best game of their career.

Now I’ll move away from the excessive superlatives and get down to the real football of it. Both Drew Brees and Peyton Manning have been beyond excellent this season.  They were both the reasons their teams flirted with an undefeated season, and they both carried their teams through a deep playoff field.  That fact will be stated over and over

Reggie Bush has finally become the NFL playmaker that the Saints envisioned he would be..

again between now and the kick-off.  The real reason these two teams have been so successful however, is the guys who have stepped up to help Brees and Manning.  The Saints’ Reggie Bush has become the threat that everybody envisioned after he won the Heisman Trophy at USC.  Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie have become huge receivers for Peyton Manning and Garcon’s efforts despite the devastation in his homeland of Haiti have been inspirational, to say the least.

Both teams have their quarterbacks, and both quarterbacks have their wingmen.  Bush can threaten on the ground, in the air and in the return game.  The Colts can fry any team when Manning and his receivers are on the same page.  The offenses are great.  The defenses will be what determines this game.  In a purely talent-level and playmaking sense, the Colts’ defense is better.  The main question is whether Dwight Freeney will be playing.  Without their top pass rusher, the Colts will have a tougher job trying to make Drew Brees make mistakes.  His ankle has become the biggest story of the Super Bowl, and it remains to be seen how much it will affect the game.  The Saints’ defense has a proven track record of making clutch plays late in games, and the 6 fumbles from the Vikings last week and Brett Favre’s bonehead passes weren’t just due to them eating too much butter before the game.

As you can tell, this matchup is one of the most compelling in recent years.  It’s not lopsided (Steelers vs Seahawks) and doesn’t have a presumed outcome (Giants vs Patriots).  The last two Super Bowls have been epic.  With the amount of emotion in this game and the ability of both teams, don’t expect this one to be much different. EbonyBird.com’s official prediction: 31-28, Saints, with another game-winner from Garrett Hartley.

Sorry I missed this yesterday, but Jamison Hensley had an update on the Troy Smith trade demand saga.  The latest news to break is that Ozzie Newsome received no trade request from Smith’s agent, Ralph Cindrich.  This conflict’s Cindrich’s original story, where he reported on Twitter that he had fulfilled Smith’s wish of filing a trade request.

Newsome said Wednesday that he personally never received a formal trade request from Cindrich.

“I have not heard from his agent,” Newsome said. “And I know who his agent is, personally, so I have not heard that.”

Either way, whether Cindrich did in fact call Newsome or not, it appears evident that

If Troy Smith wants out, where will he go?

Smith wants out and that Cindrich will work hard to get him out.  The former Heisman winner at Ohio State wants to compete for a starting job, and in my opinion, shared by many Ravens fans’, he should be able to.  He’s been pretty efficient as a backup and occasional starter, but after Joe Flacco was drafted and Smith’s illness last preseason, he hasn’t had the chance to win the starting job in a Ravens uniform.

Here’s where I get purely speculative in two departments: Where Smith will end up if he in fact does get traded, and who would be his replacement as Flacco’s backup.

When you think about which teams would want a QB who could compete for a starting job, only a few teams come up.  The 49ers just haven’t had an answer at the position since Jeff Garcia, the Rams will probably let go Marc Bulger but may pick up Michael Vick, the Vikings may try to stockpile more candidates for the starting position if Brett Favre retires, but in my mind, only two places stick out as contenders, Washington and Arizona.

The ‘Skins are always getting messed up by Dan Snyder, and he always likes to threaten to bring in quarterbacks.  The big snag of this speculation, however, is the nature of Dan Snyder’s desires.  While it sounds pretty poetic, it’s quite straightforward.  Snyder likes big names.  He’ll probably try to bring in a big college QB from the draft, possibly a Jake Locker or Jimmy Clausen.  It seems like every offseason, Jason Campbell is considered to be out, don’t expect this one to be different.

With Kurt Warner retiring in Arizona, their quarterback situation is unique.  It appears that Matt Leinart is not the one that the team wants playing, based on his treatment over the last few years.  They’re too low in the draft to bring in a top QB prospect, so they’ll probably be picking up a veteran to at least compete with Leinart.  Smith doesn’t seem like the type they might want, but it’s a possibility at least.

The NFL Hall of Fame class was announced today, and it included all-time greats Jerry

Shannon Sharpe, arguably the NFL's best tight end ever, was snubbed from the Hall of Fame for the second year in a row.

Rice and Emmitt Smith. One name it did not include however, is Shannon Sharpe, former Ravens tight end and three-time Super Bowl winner. In addition to his illustrious career as a Denver Bronco, Sharpe was always a big threat as a Raven.  Ryan Mink summarizes Sharpe’s HOF bid and accomplishments with the Ravens on BR.com:

Sharpe led the Super Bowl team in receptions (67) and yards (810) and tied Qadry Ismail in touchdowns (5). Sharpe had two clutch touchdown receptions in the playoffs – one against the Denver Broncos in the Wild Card round and another for 96-yards versus the Oakland Raiders in the AFC Championship.

This post is the Ryan Mink edition, so we have some more material from Ryan Mink that he’s posted on the official site.  With the HOF class being announced, the controversial debate about Art Modell’s status comes up.  After being as good an owner as any the NFL has ever seen, Modell’s decision to move the Browns from Cleveland to Baltimore has kept him out of Canton.  Current owner Steve Bisciotti, Modell’s successor, has continually said that Modell deserves to be enshrined, and continues to hold that opinion.

Here’s my always desired opinion.  As a Ravens fan,  I have to agree that Modell deserves a spot.  Bringing football (and good football at that) back to Baltimore after the devastating impact losing the Colts had on the city has made Modell one of Baltimore’s heroes. Just because one team (which was later replaced, mind you) doesn’t want Modell in, doesn’t mean he should not be allowed to be mentioned with the great men of the NFL.  Eventually, Modell should be enshrined, so patience might be the key here.  The NFL is slowly appreciating his genius.