2009 NFL Season – A Final Look Back and a Glimpse Ahead

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I doubt that too many people picked New Orleans to win straight up, but once the spread went over five they became much more attractive with the points. Never in my wildest dreams did I think they would win outright by 14 points against a team that won every game they tried to.

While I thought the over in this game was a lock, I give all the credit in the world to the Saints for keeping Manning on the sidelines long enough to prevent him from putting more points on the board. All in all, it was a great game that had all the drama deserving of a Super Bowl. Here are few shout outs, observations, and a look at what might lie ahead for next season.

Hats off to head coach Sean Payton for having the confidence in his team to make some gutsy calls when his team needed it the most. While some of them worked to perfection; the onside kick to start the second half, and some did not; going for it on fourth and goal at the Colt’s two yard line it set the tone for his team. He let them know early on that they were not going to play it safe or leave anything on the table in this one.

Peyton Manning will most likely still go down as the greatest ever to play the quarterback position, but Sunday night was all about Drew Brees. Despite a slow start, he never panicked or got away from the game plan. He beat Manning at his own game; a slow, methodical dissection of the Colt’s untested secondary.

Given the enormity of the stage he was on, Brees was as close to perfect as anyone else has ever come. His stats speak for themselves; 32 completions on 39 attempts for 288 yards and two TD’s. He was sacked once and committed zero turnovers.

As he had done all season long, he spread the ball around completing passes to eight different players. Indianapolis’s defense had no answer for him in this game as he exemplified what an MVP performance in a championship game should look like.

New Orleans defense rose to the occasion, just as they did all season long. The Colt’s offense moved the ball up and down the field almost at will as they only had to punt the ball twice.

Manning passed for 333 yards and RB Joseph Addai ran the ball for almost 100 yards, but it all added up to just 17 points on the scoreboard, well below their season average. When it appeared that Indianapolis was going in for the tying score late in the game, Tracy Porter came up with a crucial interception and ran it back for a touchdown to seal the win.

The Saints started the season as a 20-1 shot to win the Super Bowl. Not ridiculously high odds, but high enough to keep them off the radar screen.

We all know how hard it is to repeat as Super Bowl Champions so it is time to start looking for next year’s diamond in the rough; a team that is good enough to win it all, but certainly not expected to. A couple of teams that come to mind could be the Tennessee Titans at 25-1 in the AFC or the Atlanta Falcons at 30-1 in the NFC. Let this be some food for thought over the long off season.

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