Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints who upset the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 yesterday in the Super Bowl, witnessed by more than 106 million people, making it the most watched TV event in history. I think the only people who weren’t surprised by the Saints’ victory were New Orleans fans.
There are several lessons we can learn after watching the Saints victory against the Colts
Never underestimate the underdog. Outside the city of New Orleans, few people gave the Saints much of a chance to win the Super Bowl. The Colts had more playoff experience, more talent and a higher profile quarterback in Peyton Manning. The Saints were five-point underdogs, but won the game 31-17 after allowing the Colts to score the first 10 points of the game. Then the Saints offense took over, controlling the ball and the game clock from the second quarter on. Proof once again that championships are not won on paper; they’re won on the field.
Be willing to take chances. Sean Payton’s call for an onside kick to start the second half was a gutsy one. It could easily have backfired had the Colts recovered it cleanly in Saints territory. But the ball bounced off a Colts’ player and was recovered by the Saints, who went on to score a touchdown to take the lead. The play caught the Colts off guard, and they never quite recovered the rest of the game.
Expect the unexpected. How many times have we seen Peyton Manning get picked off with the game on the line? Manning is one of the most consistent quarterbacks in the league. You simply do not expect him to make many mistakes in a big game like the Super Bowl. But after cornerback Tracy Porter intercepted Peyton’s pass and ran 74 yards for a clinching touchdown with less than four minutes left to play, that sealed the Colts’ fate.
Savor your victories and share them with loved ones. During the on-field celebration, a teary-eyed Drew Brees took in the moment with his infant son in his arms. It was perhaps the most touching scene of the day.
Showing posts with label Super Bowl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Super Bowl. Show all posts
Monday, February 08, 2010
Friday, February 05, 2010
Super Bowl Preview: Saints vs. Colts
Trying to decide who will win this year’s Super Bowl contest is like trying to decide what to have for dessert: an ice cream bar or a piece of fruit. My head says a bowl of strawberries is the healthier choice, but what I really want is that Dove bar.
Ditto for the two Super Bowl contenders. The Colts are the logical choice because of their overall talent and experience in post-season play, but the Saints are the overwhelming sentimental favorite. Everyone wants to see them win because of everything they’ve been through with Hurricane Katrina. It would be a huge boost to their city, and for once, New Orleans can stop being thought of as losers.
It promises to be an exciting, high-scoring game, but I do think the Colts will prevail. Final score: 35-31.
Ditto for the two Super Bowl contenders. The Colts are the logical choice because of their overall talent and experience in post-season play, but the Saints are the overwhelming sentimental favorite. Everyone wants to see them win because of everything they’ve been through with Hurricane Katrina. It would be a huge boost to their city, and for once, New Orleans can stop being thought of as losers.
It promises to be an exciting, high-scoring game, but I do think the Colts will prevail. Final score: 35-31.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
A Bold Offer from O’Hare Airport
Despite heightened security at our country’s airports, it’s nice to know that the friendly staff at our largest and second-busiest airport found time to poke fun at Colts fans. Passengers traveling through O’Hare Airport last Saturday morning must have thought they were hearing things when the following announcement came over the intercom.
“Attention passengers traveling to or from Indianapolis. We are offering complimentary boxes of tissues for your use during the Super Bowl tomorrow. You’re going to need them.”
I wonder if anyone took them up on their offer?
(My thanks to a co-worker for sharing this story.)
“Attention passengers traveling to or from Indianapolis. We are offering complimentary boxes of tissues for your use during the Super Bowl tomorrow. You’re going to need them.”
I wonder if anyone took them up on their offer?
(My thanks to a co-worker for sharing this story.)
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Betting on the Bears
Despite the disappointing outcome of Super Bowl XLI, it was a kick to be in Las Vegas last week with all the excitment leading up to the Big Game. Naturally, I placed a few bets, including the Bears to win/beat the spread (which I lost), the margin of victory (I also lost), and the total points scored in the game. I won the last wager -- a whopping $24.00.
I kept the betting simple. But you should have seen the list of possible bets I could have made, all 10 pages worth! You could wager on everything from how many field goals each place kicker would kick, who would score first and how many tackles Brian Urlacher would have. It was mind boggling. Thank goodness I managed to escape town with my sanity and most of my money in my pocket.
I kept the betting simple. But you should have seen the list of possible bets I could have made, all 10 pages worth! You could wager on everything from how many field goals each place kicker would kick, who would score first and how many tackles Brian Urlacher would have. It was mind boggling. Thank goodness I managed to escape town with my sanity and most of my money in my pocket.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Colts' Experience Wins Over Bears' Toughness
If there is one key to the Bears' Super Bowl loss to the Indianapolis Colts yesterday, it would be "experience." The Colts won because they had more experienced players, a more experienced quarterback and a more experienced head coach.
The Bears were outplayed and outmaneuvered in every phase of the game. In fact, at times, it looked as if the Colts had borrowed the Bears' playbook, with its running game, ball-control offense and stingy defense. The Bears team that took the field in Miami looked nothing at all like the team I was used to seeing all season long.
Football is a team sport. Quarterbacks do not win or lose games. Teams do.
More than 93 million people tuned in to watch Super Bowl XLI, and they saw a miserable effort from our NFC Champions. I know a lot of fans would like to run QB Rex Grossman out of town. Am I disappointed with the way Grossman played? You bet I am. But do I want to see him lynched by a bunch of crazed fans? Absolutely not. I feel sorry for the guy. On the world's largest stage, he was sloppy, awkward and unsure of himself. He and the rest of the Bears have the entire off season to think about what might have been.
Congratulations to Tony Dungy, Peyton Manning and the Colts. As much as I wanted the Bears to win Super Bowl XLI, the better team won.
The Bears were outplayed and outmaneuvered in every phase of the game. In fact, at times, it looked as if the Colts had borrowed the Bears' playbook, with its running game, ball-control offense and stingy defense. The Bears team that took the field in Miami looked nothing at all like the team I was used to seeing all season long.
Football is a team sport. Quarterbacks do not win or lose games. Teams do.
More than 93 million people tuned in to watch Super Bowl XLI, and they saw a miserable effort from our NFC Champions. I know a lot of fans would like to run QB Rex Grossman out of town. Am I disappointed with the way Grossman played? You bet I am. But do I want to see him lynched by a bunch of crazed fans? Absolutely not. I feel sorry for the guy. On the world's largest stage, he was sloppy, awkward and unsure of himself. He and the rest of the Bears have the entire off season to think about what might have been.
Congratulations to Tony Dungy, Peyton Manning and the Colts. As much as I wanted the Bears to win Super Bowl XLI, the better team won.
Were the Bears Jinxed?
The majority of fans in Chicago are blaming the Bears' Super Bowl loss to the Colts yesterday to poor play by Rex Grossman. Those who are more superstitious are pointing their fingers at the Sports Illustrated cover jinx.
When any team or person has graced the cover page, they have been known to suffer adversity, which could be anything from not playing up to expectations to suffering injury or illness, ususually within days or weeks of the issue's publication. Even SI editors cannot explain the phenomenon.
As soon as I saw the Bears' Brian Urlacher on the cover of the pre-Superbowl issue, I knew the Bears were doomed. They not only lost the Big Game, but as of this writing, Brian Urlacher injured his right toe and will not be playing in the Pro Bowl next weekend.
It begs the question -- did the Bears play poorly, or were they jinxed?
When any team or person has graced the cover page, they have been known to suffer adversity, which could be anything from not playing up to expectations to suffering injury or illness, ususually within days or weeks of the issue's publication. Even SI editors cannot explain the phenomenon.
As soon as I saw the Bears' Brian Urlacher on the cover of the pre-Superbowl issue, I knew the Bears were doomed. They not only lost the Big Game, but as of this writing, Brian Urlacher injured his right toe and will not be playing in the Pro Bowl next weekend.
It begs the question -- did the Bears play poorly, or were they jinxed?
Monday, January 22, 2007
Bears' Saintly Victory Sends Them to Miami
Excuse me while I gloat.
The Chicago Bears did many of the things I thought they would in their 39-14 pounding of the New Orleans Saints at snowy Soldier Field on Sunday. I wasn’t surprised to see the Bears win the NFC title game. It was how they won that impressed me.
I wrote in an earlier post that the Bears’ defense would bend but not break against the high-powered Saints offense. They’ll give up some yardage, but not the points. The Bears’ defense set the tone early by putting pressure on QB Drew Brees, who often looked confused and made some ill-advised plays. They gave up only 14 points to the league’s number one-ranked offense.
I also said weather would be a factor, and indeed, the Saints were ill-prepared for the snow, cold and sloppy grass at Soldier Field. The Saints practiced indoors all week, believing that the weather would not be as much of a factor as it was. While the Saints’ players had a difficult time getting any kind of solid footing on the cold, icy field, the Bears – who practiced outdoors much of the week – had few problems.
I said the Bears had plenty of reason to “play angry” on Sunday, and play angry they did. The Bears didn’t say much in the days leading up to the game, but they were miffed that so-called football experts picked the Saints to win the game. They proved just how miffed they were by performing with an intensity we have not seen since October.
I said if the Bears were to win this game, they needed to establish the running game early and consistently. It wasn’t a matter of taking the ball out of Rex Grossman’s hands so much as exploiting the Saints’ weakness -- their rush defense, which was ranked 23rd in the NFL during the regular season. A good running game and ball-control offense can do wonders to keep a high-powered offense like the Saints off the field. The Bears should do well in the Super Bowl using a similar strategy against Peyton Manning and the Colts, whose rushing defense is also suspect. If the Bears can rush for 196 yards against the Saints, imagine what they can do against the Colts' rushing defense that was the worst in the league.
So it wasn’t the tight, low-scoring game I thought it would be, although it almost did when Reggie Bush scored on an 88-yard TD early in the third quarter to close the gap to 16-14. I was partly right when I said that a special teams’ play would be the turning point, and the game would be decided by a field goal. One of the key plays came in the first quarter, when the Saints committed the first of their four turnovers on a fumbled punt return. The Bears recovered the ball deep in Saints territory, and finished their drive with a Robbie Gould field goal for a 6-0 Bears’ lead. At that point, the Bears established their dominance, and you could tell that they knew they had the Saints exactly where they wanted them. The Bears never looked back.
Now they can proudly look forward to a date with the Indianapolis Colts in Miami on Feb. 4 for Super Bowl XLI.
The Chicago Bears did many of the things I thought they would in their 39-14 pounding of the New Orleans Saints at snowy Soldier Field on Sunday. I wasn’t surprised to see the Bears win the NFC title game. It was how they won that impressed me.
I wrote in an earlier post that the Bears’ defense would bend but not break against the high-powered Saints offense. They’ll give up some yardage, but not the points. The Bears’ defense set the tone early by putting pressure on QB Drew Brees, who often looked confused and made some ill-advised plays. They gave up only 14 points to the league’s number one-ranked offense.
I also said weather would be a factor, and indeed, the Saints were ill-prepared for the snow, cold and sloppy grass at Soldier Field. The Saints practiced indoors all week, believing that the weather would not be as much of a factor as it was. While the Saints’ players had a difficult time getting any kind of solid footing on the cold, icy field, the Bears – who practiced outdoors much of the week – had few problems.
I said the Bears had plenty of reason to “play angry” on Sunday, and play angry they did. The Bears didn’t say much in the days leading up to the game, but they were miffed that so-called football experts picked the Saints to win the game. They proved just how miffed they were by performing with an intensity we have not seen since October.
I said if the Bears were to win this game, they needed to establish the running game early and consistently. It wasn’t a matter of taking the ball out of Rex Grossman’s hands so much as exploiting the Saints’ weakness -- their rush defense, which was ranked 23rd in the NFL during the regular season. A good running game and ball-control offense can do wonders to keep a high-powered offense like the Saints off the field. The Bears should do well in the Super Bowl using a similar strategy against Peyton Manning and the Colts, whose rushing defense is also suspect. If the Bears can rush for 196 yards against the Saints, imagine what they can do against the Colts' rushing defense that was the worst in the league.
So it wasn’t the tight, low-scoring game I thought it would be, although it almost did when Reggie Bush scored on an 88-yard TD early in the third quarter to close the gap to 16-14. I was partly right when I said that a special teams’ play would be the turning point, and the game would be decided by a field goal. One of the key plays came in the first quarter, when the Saints committed the first of their four turnovers on a fumbled punt return. The Bears recovered the ball deep in Saints territory, and finished their drive with a Robbie Gould field goal for a 6-0 Bears’ lead. At that point, the Bears established their dominance, and you could tell that they knew they had the Saints exactly where they wanted them. The Bears never looked back.
Now they can proudly look forward to a date with the Indianapolis Colts in Miami on Feb. 4 for Super Bowl XLI.
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