Cool Brees Blows Colts Away…

Amongst the cheers of a state inspired; amongst the din of celebratory trumpets; amongst the tears of Colts fans across the nation, there is a sound: the subdued but noticeable emanation of my own smugness. It’s something like you might imagine the audible manifestation of a smirk to sound – it’s a muffled, gloating, self-satisfied murmur.
I was right.
More to the point, Drew Brees' amazing arm was right on the money. On his way to a stellar MVP performance - during which Brees was almost flawless - he matched Tom Brady’s record for completions in a Super Bowl with 32. Ironically enough, Manning, who’s last-minute pass to Wayne which, had it been caught, would not only have given the Colt’s a touchdown and forty four seconds with which to attempt an onside kick and drive for the game-tying score, but would also have put him on 32 completions. Which pill is bitterer? That he should miss out on the record, which might have been a slight consolation for the loss, or that he should match it and still be on the losing side? It’s all speculative, of course, and really doesn’t matter one dot. Brees won the battle – neither he nor his teammates committed a single turnover. He threw for nigh on three hundred yards, two TDs and looked every bit the Hall of Fame Quarterback this victory over his storied rival may propel him towards becoming. Here’s a thought: Brees now has as many Super Bowl rings as Manning. He is frequently passing for four thousand yards a season. He missed Marino’s single season record by a trifling fifteen yards a couple of years back. He makes an average team elite. He is the current Super Bowl MVP and Pro Bowl lock for many years to come. I’m not saying that if he retired tomorrow we would see him enshrined in the Hall in five years time, but another one or two seasons at this level and I sure as hell don’t see why he wouldn’t warrant consideration at the very least.

For those of you who missed it, the Saints defeated the much-fancied Colts in Sunday’s Super Bowl by a score line of 31-17. Yeah, that’s right. They beat the huge favourites by fourteen clear points. I predicted their win, but not by such a margin. Ridiculous it is that they – a soft-bellied, inconsistent defence – should be able to hold the score-at-will juggernaut of the best-disciplined team in the NFL to a meagre 17 points and make them look decidedly average; at times even a bit toothless. Flying out of the gate, the Colts took a ten point lead; leaving the Saints with a mountain to climb. Only once in history has a team recovered from such a deficit to win the Super Bowl. The Saints managed to shut-out the Colts in the second quarter, but were unable to punch the ball in from one yard out and so settled for a pair of field goals courtesy of the automatic boot of Garret Hartley, who went on to set a Super Bowl record by nailing three FGs from 40yrds+.
By that point though, the momentum was starting to swing. But no one could have predicted one of the gutsiest calls in championship history that was to follow after the Half-Time Show.
The Who performed admirably – Roger Daltrey still belts them out like he was twenty five – and got the crowd ready for the second half of football. However whetted the fans' appetites were, none expected the audacious onside kick with which Sean Payton elected to open the third quarter. After a one minute brawl, the ball was recovered by the Saints and they drove down the field for the go-ahead score.
The Colts came right back. Manning hit Dallas Clark for gain after gain over the middle; irritating the bowels of the Saints' defence. That comeback score, which put the boys from Indy ahead looked frighteningly easy, and despite the fact Manning had been forced by the Saints' clock-consuming offence and an ill-placed break for half time, to sit in the cold for over 70 minutes, he looked to have found his groove. But then came the third of Hartley's field goals - the second year pro was an Iceman on the night. That put the Saints within a point of the lead. They fought hard on defence and got the ball back, powering down field with a string of completed passes of around ten yards each until Jeremy Shockey - who had been being a bit of a lovable tit all night and roughing-up the Colts whenever the refs weren't looking - hauled in a 2yd pass from 'the Brees Knees'. Following Shockey's touchdown was one of the plays of the game. Attempting the two point conversion to make it a seven point ball game, Brees found Lance Moore on the edge of the endzone. He bobbled the ball, fall in a somersault, finally gained position, broke the vertical plane of the endzone before the ball was knocked from his grasp by the leg of a Colts defender. The pass was ruled incomplete. Sean Payton, ballsy as ever, threw the red challenege flag to contest the call. And you know what? Like everything on the day, it went the Saints' way. They were seven points to the good when the ball went back to the Colts who did what they could to force the necessary score. But force it, Manning did. Tracey Porter - cornerback extraordinaire - stepped in front of Reggie Wayne, split the receiver's route and picked off Manning's bread and butter pass. He streaked 74 yards for what would prove the final score of the game. With little over three minutes in which to find a pair of TDs to tie, Manning took over once more. For a while it looked as if the Colts would succeed in scoring quickly and give themselves a shot at pulling off the incredible and adding to their NFL record of 7 fourth quarter comebacks this season. But the drive stalled inside the Saints' redzone and, when what would have been Manning's 32nd completion, squirmed through Wayne's usually soft hands, New Orleans erupted with joy - the Colts had only two Time Outs remaining and there were only forty four ticks on the clock to run out. Brees took the obligatory knee and the game was in the books.

In his post-game speech, Brees dedicated their victory to the people and city of New Orleans - in many ways, they are as much a part of this remarkable team of destinay as the players. I have to say, I am a sentimental fool, and this fairytale victory goes some way towards erasing the devastating blow of the Patriots' loss to New York two years ago. That team that went 16-0 throughout the regular season was superb. but the Saints? Well, they're just pure black (and gold )magic.

Congratulations, New Orleans!


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Kurt for Canton..?

Kurt Warner has announced his retirement from the NFL. After a late-starting career, Warner enjoyed superlative spells with two separate franchises, leading them to a combined three Super Bowls, winning it once with the Rams and nabbing MVP honours in the process. He is only the second man to throw 100 TD passes with two separate teams. He is the fastest man to reach 10,000 and 30,000 passing yards. He has been voted to the Pro Bowl 5 times and, in an up-and-down career spanning 12 seasons, Warner led his team to the Super Bowl in 3 of the 6 full seasons he played. In each of those Super Bowls he threw for over 350 yards and owns the three highest single-game passing yard totals in Super Bowls to date. He has a 65+% completion rate and a QB rating of 93.7. But given that the middle years of his career were spent as what many viewed as a washed-up journeyman back-up, some are debating his Hall of Fame credentials.


Well I think they should probably get off Warner’s back and look at his records and how good he was when he was on the field. Sure, some coaches didn’t have faith in him: both St Louis and New York elected to go with younger guys. When you’re talking about Warner, that’s a pretty broad category – he was 28 when the Rams signed him in 1998 and he was forced to step in after the Rams’ starters went down with injuries in the preseason. When he wasn’t injured or benched in favour of a young project, Warner was something else. He was a good game manager, but a great player. He didn’t have the clinical dispassion of Manning; he didn’t have the boyish enthusiasm of Favre; nor did he have the backyard smarts of Roethlisberger on the run. But what he had was a potent mix of the three. He was cool, passionate and canny. He wanted it so bad – a devout Christian and family man, he lived as many religious sportsmen do, leaving everything on the field. He would pour his heart out into every contest and often win because of it.


He was the underdog for his entire career. He started his pro-football journey started with rejection – the Packers picked him up and cut him quicker than Larry Fitzgerald can run the forty yard dash. He then played for the Iowa Barnstormers in the inaugural season of the Arena football league. He was signed to the Amsterdam Admirals squad and honed his skills in NFL Europe until being signed by the Rams as a back-up to groom. The best thing about Warner up until the moment he got his shot and went on to win his first of two league MVP awards, was that he was a failure. He was not expected to be a pro. He was stacking shelves for five dollars fifty an hour, for Pete’s sake! He was one of those guys you see in a bar talking about how he ‘couldda bin the next Montana…’

Then the dream came true. He got his shot. He took it in the most emphatic style ever seen in pro sport. And I mean that. How does it get any better? He plays the whole season, wins league MVP takes his team – the greatest Show on turf – to the Super Bowl and wins it all along with MVP honours for that game. Sure, Brady did a similar thing in 2001 when his Patriots beat Warner’s Rams on the back of a last-second Vinatieri field goal, but he was Belichick’s project. He was the future of that franchise. And he was surrounded by an indomitable infrastructure. Warner’s Rams were, as his Cardinals became, high-scoring, high-risk, high-octane teams. Bang or bust. And they banged their way to three Super Bowls in a ten-year span.

Who’s to thank? Kurt. And God, maybe. That’s what he would say, but then it’s easy to blame things on the divine when Fitzgerald is miraculously saving your ass every down.

What else can I say about Kurt? He’s a gent; a model citizen; and a future Hall of Famer. He should be in there. His career had more peaks and troughs than most, but it had too much drama, excitement and magic to allow it to fall unremembered. The best thing is, as Warner's always said, he can walk away from the game under his own volition with his head held high. See you in Canton five years from now, Mr Warner. And thanks for the memories! It’s been emotional…


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Lynchpins Take Two...

Yesterday we took a look at the Colts’ three game-changers. With only two of the three guaranteed to play, New Orleans may win the first battle of the weekend: the race to fitness for the biggest game of any player’s career.

Today, hailing from the ‘Who Dat?’ nation, we have the Saints...



Reggie Bush: Few players have the versatility Bush has started to display on a regular basis. The 2005 Heisman trophy winner was declared by some excitable analysts to be a bust after his first two seasons failed to live up to the hype. Despite Bush’s early erraticism, he showed flashes of brilliance that impressed me. I was vocal about his level of talent and I firmly believed he would find his feet. I saw him in the mould of a stronger Barry Sanders, and I don’t make that comparison lightly. This weekend, on the biggest stage, Bush has a chance to shine and to permanently silence his critics by doing what the great Lion, Barry Sanders never could – win a championship with a team that many considered unable to go the distance. Those critics of the Saints overall solidity may well be proven right – they definitely start this game as underdogs. But the fairytale element of their run to the Big Game could be enough to inspire some great performances. If New Orleans win the game, Bush is my pre-game shout for MVP a la Desmond Howard who earned the honour after his stunning performance in Green Bay’s triumph over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI. Howard was the first special teams player to get the nod for MVP. Bush will need to score points against the Colts special teams defence to take the pressure of his offensive colleagues. I think he’ll score three TDs in this game. One on a kickoff return, one receiving and one long run of 30 plus yards. Put an accumulator on it. They’ll give you good odds for that, because it’d be legendary if it came off!



Darren Sharper: You’re lying on your back. The sky is blue but fades to black. You hear your mother laugh in your memory’s ear. A shooting pain in your spine subsides. A wave of euphoric numbness spreads to your limbs. You drift into oblivion…
The animalistic whooping of Darren Sharper – standing over you; straddling your broken body – pulls you back to the real world. Big mistake. You should’ve just let-go. There’s nothing for you here. You feel your ankle? No, of course you don’t. Shock has kicked in and you can’t feel the spiral fracture that’s just ended your career. Whose dumb idea was it to throw over the middle anyway? Coach Caldwell shakes his head apologetically. Sorry, man, but that’s Darren Sharper for you. When he sets his sights on the ball, you might as well let him have it. Either that or the integrity of your spine. He’s hard hitting; tough-talking; unforgiving. He’s a machine. Sharper has 63 career interceptions (INTs or picks if you prefer). That puts him 6th on the all time list. He snared nine this season and returned 3 of them for touchdowns. He’s been to the Pro Bowl 5 times. He’s tied a couple of records with the great Deion Sanders too. That’s not easy. If he can get to Manning, expect him to put in a game-changing play or two. Manning needs to avoid Sharper: his ability to turn the momentum on its head cannot be underestimated. Imagine this: the Colts are driving down the field. They are on the Saints’ twenty yard line. Manning tosses a pass that Sharper gets his mitts on. He streaks down the sideline for a huge interception return for a TD. The extra point is good. The Saints kick-off, Sharper bats down a pass on third down and forces them to punt. Reggie Bush – doffing his hat to his teammate – takes the punt back for a score. Fantastical? Sure. But what the Saints need to do to win this game? Absolutely.



Drew Brees: Who doesn’t love this guy? Everyone thinks the world of him. He’s like the Tom Hanks of the NFL. Ever since he was ousted from San Diego (a team with which he had a great deal of success and respect) in favour of fellow Pro Bowler Phillip Rivers, he has built a name for himself in New Orleans that will echo down the ages in much the same way that his counterpart’s father’s does. Archie Manning was the Darling of NO. Now his son is fighting his successor for the Lombardi trophy. Juice a plenty: if you could drink this storyline you’ve be one cauliflower away from a vitamin and mineral-rich diet. Okay, so super slushiness aside, how can Brees win or lose this game for the Saints? Well, very clearly he needs to regain the accuracy that faltered in the NFC Championship game. The Saints would have lost that contest twice over had the Vikings been able to hold on to the ball (they fumbled six times and Favre was intercepted twice). Sure, they were the winners after overtime, but they won on a coin flip that the Vikings should’ve never let happen. So Brees must be perfect. He doesn’t need the gaudy numbers he’s enjoyed this season, but he does need to protect the football, and that means no interceptions – none at all. He must rely on his multiple running backs to ease the strain on his receivers and then, when he does go deep, he has to hit them in stride. Also, against guys like the Colts who play strict defence, a bit of playground football might not be such a bad thing. When the play breaks down the Saints can capitalise as long as they mess it up to such a degree the Colts can’t work out where the ball’s gonna go. Brees must buy time in the pocket with his feet. If Freeney plays he’s gonna be running all over the place, but he throws well on the run and with so many targets he should still be able to make plays. Every time New Orleans has the ball you’ll have your heart in your mouth waiting for a big play or a big fuck-up. Every drive will end with one or the other, I reckon. Let’s hope Mr Nice Guy can be clinical when it counts and punish the Colts at every opportunity. Otherwise the boys in Blue are gonna lock this one up early.


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Lynchpins...

This is effectively a who’s who of Super Bowl XLIV, and a short one too, because I am Super Tired XLIV. So I’ve picked three players from each team: six heroes of two cities; six men who hold the key to the destiny of a franchise – one a record-breaking unit, the other a perennially luckless team who embody the spirit of a blighted nation.

Who will win? It’s down to these guys. Fist up, it’s the Colts…



Peyton Manning: Possibly the greatest Quarterback to ever play the game; definitely the best active player in the NFL. He does things that no other player – not even Brett Favre, Tom Brady or the very recently retired Kurt Warner – can do. He has been the sole reason for the Colts’ continued excellence on the field. Sure, he benefits from a superb coaching staff and a regime that is military in its exactness, but Manning makes the organisation better for his ability to lead between the hash marks. He is a coach in pads and I would be surprised if, when he finally hangs up his cleats in, say, five years from now, he doesn’t resurface in Indy as head coach sooner than later. Manning’s task is simple: be the Peyton Manning that beat the Jets in the Colts’ previous game. The Saints are a soft team defensively and it figures he’ll have plenty of time in the pocket. But he must use that time well – hawking in the backfield is the underrated secondary of New Orleans. Avoiding Sharper, Greer and Porter won’t be easy, but if the Colts are to win that’s what Manning needs to do.



Austin Collie: What’s that I hear you cry? A rookie lynchpin? That’s exactly what it is. This young man’s composure in the unfathomably stressful world of the NFL postseason has been nothing short of remarkable. And his hands! What hands! He is a legitimate threat all over the field. His athleticism and youthful naivety are invaluable tools at this late stage of the season. He isn’t scared of anyone – he doesn’t know how to be. And with the Saints likely to double-cover Reggie Wayne as the Steelers managed to do successfully with Larry Fitzgerald in the first half of last year’s Super Bowl, Collie should see plenty of touches. He stretches the field well and his focus is incredible, Manning has come to rely on his young speedster whenever the ever-reliable Wayne is covered or misses a route. Amazingly, there is a serious possibility the MVP could end up in Collie’s hands if he bags a couple of TDs and a hundred or so yards. A rookie Super Bowl MVP? You heard it here first.



Dwight Freeney: Freeney has been nursing an ankle injury all week. He is questionable for the weekend, but if he plays, he will have a huge effect on the Saints offensive prolificacy. His ability to disrupt Brees’ pattern cannot be underestimated. Without him, the Colts have a very one-sided defensive line and as competent as their back-ups are, they don’t possess the star quality to ruffle the Saints’ O-line. Freeney could very well be the most important player for the Colts, but his influence will likely be intangible; felt in the form of pressure rather than statistics. For that reason he may not get the MVP should he perform to the necessary level, but he will be invaluable nonetheless.


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Will Divine Intervention stop the Stampede..?

Oh good. It’s only four days to the Super Bowl. The terrifyingly efficient Indianapolis Colts head to Miami in search of their second title in four years. Standing in their way, praying on bended knees that this is their destiny, the New Orleans Saints carry with them the hope of a city and the good-wishes of almost every neutral fan.
I’m on the bandwagon.
Come Sunday, I’ll be wearing Blank ‘n’ Gold and cheering Kim Kardashian’s on/off boyfriend Reggie Bush (No. 25) on his way to the end zone. Kardashian’s likely presence will more than probably go unnoticed – of all places, Sunlife Stadium on Super Bowl Sunday will be a hotbed of celebrity activity. The popular venue will be full to the rafters with actors, musicians and famous fans of the game all there to watch the two number one seeds clash for the first time since 1993 and to bear witness to a halftime show that promises to be every bit as exciting as we have become used to it being.
Bush, though, is one of the game’s lynchpins. His performance (or lack thereof) could very well affect the outcome of this titanic contest.
Today, for your reading pleasure, I will do my usual positional breakdowns, choosing a winner from each category (beware – surprises in store). Tomorrow, I’ll highlight the players I regard as LYNCHPINS and explain why they will be the difference makers in deciding whose name is etched onto the 44th Lombardi trophy.


Quarterback: Boom. Boom. What’s that? A monster at the door? Oh, no, it’s just Drew Brees knocking-on for his mum. Why? Because he’s that kind of guy. He’s that nice. Drew has always had one of those instantly likable faces. He smiles a lot. He looks like he’s having a good time. And you know what? He is. And so are the Saints. And, more importantly, the people of New Orleans are having fun too.
The Saints have never been to the Super Bowl before: New Orleans has been used to watching its beloved team get whipped for decades. The Colts only have one championship since moving to Indianapolis, but that was earned in 2007 and was the culmination of years of dominance. They are due another win in the big game – no one deserves it more than future hall of famer Peyton Manning.
So who’s gonna stop him? Drew f***ing Brees, that’s who.
I’m going to do it: I’m giving the edge to Brees. Why? His feet; the ability to extend the play; his desire; and his smile. I mean it. That smile, that boyish, sanguine grin, is the physical manifestation of warm fuzzy optimism. He’s a hero. His men want to play for him; to fight for him; to win for him. He moves well – better than Manning. They both want it equally, for different reasons, but Brees has to win. This Saints team won’t be back here again – I would bet on that. The Colts should notch-up another one or two Super Bowl trips while Peyton’s still playing.
I know I’m disregarding the massive advantage Manning has in postseason experience, but screw it – it’s just a game. Brees can win this. Brees will win this for New Orleans, because they believe in him. And so do I.

Running Backs: Notch-up another for New Orleans. The Colts finished dead-last in rushing in the regular season. One reason I think this might be is because their offensive line is so solid not even their Running back can find a way through. That’s represented by the time Manning has in the pocket. I’m joking, of course, but there is some truth in the line’s weird ability to stand firm and ineptitude when it comes to busting holes for Joseph Addai. New Orleans has Reggie Bush, Pierre Thomas and the brutal Mike Bell.
Smash.
Mouth.
Football.
With Style…
The multiple threats coming out of the backfield will make it a long day for the Colts, but they needn’t worry – their undersized front seven are adept at chasing down even the most elusive runners in the open field.
Expect to see a lot going up the gut in this game. The speed of the Colts’ secondary might put the team off running too many sweeps, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Bush catching a fair few screen passes. Yum.

Receivers: Depth is the word of the day here. The Saints have got Colston, Henderson, Meacham and even Bush. The Colts have Canton-bound pass-catcher Reggie Wayne, Austin Collie, Pierre Garcon and Tight End Dallas Clark. For the unflappable cool-headedness of the Colts corps, they get the nod. They have experience and youth on their side; talent and focus in abundance; and the most consistently poised triggerman throwing them the ball. Throw this one the Colts’ way – they sure as hell won’t drop it.

Offensive Line: This is an interesting debate. If you look at this unit from the point of pass-protection it’s no contest: the Colts win hands down. But the minute you consider the line’s effectiveness when setting-up the run, the Saints are clear winners. I’m going to give this category to the Colts, because of the overall impact the line’s performance has on their game plan. The Saints are a more versatile team in many ways – they are well balanced and unafraid to ‘wing it’. They resort to playground football when they have to – the Colts, however, avoid getting themselves into those chancy situations. Brees can make plays when the pocket collapses. Manning doesn’t need to do that very often and, when faced with an unblocked rush he would sooner go down than risk an errant throw.

Defensive Front-seven: The Colts have the more aggressive front, but they are small. Without Dwight Freeny, who may very well be out injured, the Colts aren’t anywhere near as dangerous. If New Orleans is able to pound the rock early on and discombobulate the Colts’ blitzes, the undersized front-seven will probably find themselves playing a hotchpotch version of cover two in an attempt to protect the middle of the field from short under-routes. Tricky, tricky – who deserves this more? The Saints have been really good at times, but are prone to let the opposing offence off the hook on occasion. There can be no such let-up in the Super Bowl. Colts have it in my mind.

Defensive Backfield: Darren Sharper is fantastic. Under his eagle eyed tutelage, the Saints’ secondary, which includes talented cornerbacks Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter, has become one of the better units in the NFL. Sharper catches picks for fun and scores touchdowns with relative ease and frequency. Manning must beat this tight-knit unit and beat them well. Any mistake will be punished. The Saints have this category by a long way.

Special Teams: Reggie Bush. New Orleans. What? If Kim Kardashian promised you a ‘special rub’ for running a punt back for a score, you’d be in the end zone doing your fat-man dance before Usain Bolt has tied his shoelaces.


Who’s got the edge?
I want to be in that number when the Saints go marching in. I’m going for it: I’m going to predict an underdog victory, because it makes me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. Aside from my suddenly sired emotional attachment to the New Orleans Saints, I really think they can win this game. But they will have to win it. The Indianapolis Colts don’t often beat themselves. Manning will throw everything he’s got at this championship – it would be the feather in the cap of possibly the game’s greatest ever player. But Brees is hungry…hungry for feathers.


So watch out!


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Schaub Shines in Pro Bowl Debut...

Matt Schaub got in to the Pro Bowl through the back door when the Colts’ Peyton Manning made it to the Super Bowl and forsook his right to participate in the showcase event, which was, for the first time in 30 years, held outside of Hawaii and played in front of a sell-out crowd of mainland Americans in Miami.
This year also marks the first time that the Pro Bowl has been staged the week before the Super Bowl. In order to protect the players who made the All Star rosters, but also have to prepare for the Big Game that is to be held next week in the same location, the NFL imposed a mandatory ban on all Super Bowl-bound players from taking part. It may seem a bit harsh on the guys who inspired the fans and experts to vote for them, but imagine the uproar should a key player in either Colts’ or Saints’ championship-primed teams went down hurt in a game that is little more than a consolation for the good guys whose teams couldn’t carry them as far as they deserved.
Every year the Pro bowl is a fantastic spectacle and, in many ways – despite the meaninglessness of the outcome – epitomises all that is right with football. Plays are extravagant; players are relaxed; the competitiveness is the natural, healthy sort that is lost when titles and money is on the line. Fans cheer together for the sport, not for the blood of their rivals who, in the case of the Pro Bowl, become teammates for the day – nothing beats seeing two guys in NFC blue, lining up next to each other, one in a Packers helmet, the other wearing a Vikings lid. It’s a time to come together and toast excellence.
It’s why I love sport. And art.
As I put in a rather drunken outburst directed at my mother just the other day:

“Without Sport or art, there is no appreciation of that which is not necessary…”

It is these things that make humans what they are. We as a species push the boundaries of what is possible like no other. Without these constant reaches into the unnecessary in the pursuit of quality for quality’s sake, we would lose our most defining asset. But maybe I’m getting away from the point of this article: to praise the players who performed on the second most colourful stage in the NFL.
Both Quarterbacks who saw most field time – Matt Schaub for the AFC and Aaron Rogers for the NFC – performed superbly and produced almost identical stats. They both threw for a touch under 200 yards; both tossed two scores; both avoided the costly interception. The only marked difference in their performances was that Schaub’s came for the winning side. Statistically, Rogers’ nose was a point or two in front of the Houston Texans’ Schaub, but ‘Magic Matt’ found a way to manage his team to victory and earned himself the Pro Bowl MVP honours in the process.
Last year, Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals was voted the MVP, capping a ludicrously productive postseason, during which he broke pretty much every receiving record going and went on to score twice in a thrilling fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLIII. Schaub has never even been to the postseason as a starting quarterback, but is the helmsman of an increasingly competitive Houston Texans side that has steadily improved over the past four seasons under the cagey guidance of Coach Kubiak. Kubiak has at his disposal a talented roster of young players and, if the powers that be give him more time, is probably the right man to turn the hapless franchise around. Kubiak was a member of three Denver Broncos teams to reach the Super Bowl in the eighties. They lost all three. As an assistant coach, though, he guided Steve Young to one of the best seasons ever when the Hall of Famer was Quarterbacking the 49ers to their blowout win over the Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX. He then went on to work for the Broncos, finally snaring their first Super Bowl and then a second a year later. During his time with Denver he coached fourteen players who made the Pro Bowl, including 1998 league MVP Terrell Davies (RB).
Leaving the Texans’ promising future aside, let’s take a brief look forward to next week’s game.
…What’s that..? …The Super Bowl..? …Go on then…
So, I’ll go into this in more depth tomorrow, but is anyone else excited about seeing two number one seeds clash in the final game of the season for the first time since 1993? That’s seventeen years, people! Seventeen years! It’s sure to be a classic. I’m hoping for the highest score ever.
It was good to see Drew Brees (Saints QB) and Peyton Manning (Colts QB) sharing a joke and critique on the sidelines of the Pro Bowl – to which they were both voted. These two gentlemen of the game will be embroiled in a titanic tussle for football immortality come Sunday.
I hope to the Gridiron Gods that the Saints pull-off the upset and take home the Lombardi trophy to New Orleans – a city in such desperate need of icons. Drew Brees, with his good looks and neighbourhood-guy personality, is the keystone for that team and their city. Nothing would beat the sight of him holding that platinum prism above his head as he and the Saints stroll victoriously down the main strip of NO, to the cheers of a city revived.

Go Saints!


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