My Happiest Super Bowl

I never thought I'd have a Super Bowl to where I'd have a major rooting interest in the Super Bowl. Lions and Browns fans share my thoughts I am sure. However, being a Saints fan, I had the Super Bowl I have had the most interest in this past Sunday.

Venturing to my favorite Super Bowl watching venue (my parents house, I think I have watched almost every Super Bowl there, maybe minus a few), I travelled to the house in my Deuce McAllister jersey, and equipped my wife Suzanne in my New Orleans Saints t-shirt.

Game thoughts
One thing is for sure, the Saints were playing to win, and not just happy to be there. When Sean Payton opted to go for it on 4th and goal in the 1st half with the Colts leading 10-3. Some could argue that the smart play would have been to kick the field goal and trail 10-6 midway through the 2nd quarter. However, if you do that, then you are giving the ball to Peyton Manning on probably the 20 yard line or better. Even though it is Peyton Manning, I'd rather have him go 98-99 yards then 80 yards or less. Also, to start the 2nd half with an onside kick, if that doesn't spell gamble, I don't know what does. I think that onside kick was the turning point of the game, and gave the Saints huge momentum.

Another thing the Saints did right was to keep Peyton Manning off the field. It seemed like to me in the 2nd quarter that Peyton Manning was barely on the field. He was on the field for only 2 series

Garrett Hartley was money. The first guy ever to kick 3 field goals of 40 yards or more, didn't even play the whole season, being suspended for the first four games of the season, for violating the league's drug policy with a banned supplement. The Saints didn't start using Hartley until the game against the Redskins in Week 13. So, even though Hartley is a good kicker, for a guy who wasn't used until week 13, it's pretty good to nail 3 40 yard field goals in the biggest game of the season.

Tracy Porter's touchdown return was Reggie Wayne's fault. I heard Cris Carter say it during the postgame on ESPN, that the cardinal sin for a wide receiver is getting beat to the spot. Carter went on to say that as a receiver, you do whatever it takes to avoid getting beat to the spot. If you have to tackle the WR, then you tackle him. Porter beat Wayne to the spot and took it to the house to put the Saints up 14. I still didn't feel good until Manning's incompletion on 4th down on the following drive. If the Colts had scored, the score would have been 31-24, and the Colts could have recovered an onside. The point is, you never know what could have happened. Also, even though Manning doesn't have the best playoff record, I still don't count him out.

Questions that come from the Super Bowl in my mind (feel free to answer)
Does this move Brees up the list on best current quarterbacks? I think you still have Manning, Brady and Favre has the 3 greatest all time quarterbacks that are still playing. Is Brees 4th, 5th, Top 10? Where is he specifically ranked?

What do the Saints do in the off-season? It looks to be an uncapped year in 2010, which brings the question can the Saints afford to keep some of their better players. Darren Sharper and Scott Fujita probably go to the top of that list.

Does the lack of playoff success and only one Super Bowl ring affect the legacy of Peyton Manning?

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Let me hear 'ya!