It took four days for Indianapolis Colts GM Bill Polian to absolve Peyton Manning for what was essentially a game-ending interception in Sunday’s Super Bowl, and his remarks were eerily similar to Manning’s own “problems with protection” quip after the team’s 2005 playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“Our offensive line, by our standards, did not have a good game,” Polian said of Sunday’s performance. “They were outplayed by the Saints’ defensive line.”
So the Colts O-line–who were largely responsible for 99 yards rushing on 19 carries and didn’t allow a sack–was outplayed?
“… There were certain situations throughout the game where we didn’t execute — most notably, the failure to get the first down and run the clock out at the end of the first half after a magnificent goal-line stand and then, of course, the failure to handle the onside kick,” Polian said. “We had four things we could have done positively on that play. We didn’t do any of them. That absolutely changed the game. It went from our getting the ball on their 40-yard line to having them march down for a touchdown. Then, our inability to punch it in from first-and-goal on the 3. Those situations, we did not execute.” –NFL.com
So the Colts’ loss had nothing to do with the fact that Peyton Manning was driving down the field with a chance to tie the game…and didn’t tie the game? That was just a big footnote on the evening as a whole? Sure, Peyton threw a pick, but really the room service at the hotel that night was even worse! Just chill, Bill. At least you have that undefeated regular season to fall back on…Oh, right…
People are making a commotion of that photo with Drew Brees holding that photo of his son in the air, but the best photo of that game comes to us from @JoeBaguley, who found this photo of Pat McAfee, Matt Stover and Randall Gay after, presumably, Stover’s field goal in the first quarter. This is the kind of magic that only a Super Bowl with a city recently struck down by and rebuilt from a natural disaster can bring.
Here are two fun tidbits about the Saints big win from Sunday, starting with the two big stars that had shone brightest on football’s biggest stage. Specifically, quarterback Drew Brees and cornerback Tracy Porter.
Purdue alum Drew Brees was the MVP of the game, and Indiana alum Tracy Porter provided the straw that broke the camel’s back with his 70-yard interception return in the fourth quarter — courtesy of New Orleans native and Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, of course.
The symmetry and serendipity of it all is quite glorious. Especially when you consider the key play of the game when the Colts beat the Bears in Super Bowl XLI: an interception return for a touchdown by Chicago native and Illinois alum Kelvin Hayden. –Rumors & Rants.
And then there was this note about the Saints Super Bowl championship merchandise. So where are they manufacturing those shirts? Yep, in Indianapolis.
They will ship out 130,000 shirts a day, compared with a typical 65,000 to 70,000.
That means overtime for Deobalek Thomas, who was forlornly pulling long-sleeved gray Saints T-shirts off the screen printing press Monday, while wearing his 2007 Colts Super Bowl champions shirt.
“I would have rather worked three days and had the Colts win,” he said. “These aren’t the shirts I wanted to do.” – Indy Star, via Second-String Fullback.
And one could argue that those pale in comparison to the greatest irony of all, that Peyton Manning lost a Super Bowl to the team on which his father played and cemented his legacy, the same New Orleans Saints that Peyton watched and cheered on during his formative days in Louisiana. Who would have thought…it figures.
Update: Video is fixed.
Here’s that interception return from the Saints’ Tracy Porter, and I can’t remember the last time that I jumped up and down during a Super Bowl like I did as Porter was running down the field. After the game, Peyton Manning–who’s now being labeled as a choker again for some reason–stayed on message, repeating to reporters that Porter “made a great play” and refusing to elaborate. You can see Manning get into the ear of Reggie Wayne, the intended receiver, after the play. So who does Manning really blame? Obviously not himself…
SITE NEWS: I’m flying back from Vegas today, so posting will be a bit scattershot. Apologies all around.
…the Vikings STILL wouldn’t be the big winner chicken dinner in Miami this weekend. I have to fess up: I’m a Viking fan and a homer for life, but I’m not (totally) delusional. There’s still almost no way the Vikings would have won the Super Bowl this weekend against the Colts.
They’re like a 13 year-old boy getting to touch a boob for the first time. They get the ball, get all excited and blow their load by fumbling or making other stupid mistakes. Say Favre hadn’t thrown that interception and Rice scored, eking out a win; and in a perfect world Favre’s nasty injury healed overnight. They simply choked and blew it, and maybe got a little unlucky. As a whole, there were 6 fumbles (3 were lost),2 interceptions, for a total of 5 turnovers. Minus those mistakes that game should’ve been in the bag. Then you look at Indy vs. the Jets–2 fumbles (1 lost), NO interceptions, with only 1 turnover.
UPDATE: We added about 20 more pics to the gallery. You’re welcome.
Lost in the shuffle in the Saints-mania Who Dat Nation commotion is the fact that both conferences are being represented by significantly high-profile WAGs. Obviously, Kim Kardashian has made a steady stream of headlines while hanging off the arm of running back Reggie Bush. But the Colts are well-represented in the tabloids as well, by none other than fellow reality TV star Kendra Wilkinson.
Wilkinson married wide receiver Hank Baskett–then a Philadelphia Eagle–last June. But now Baskett plays for Indianapolis, and even though he might be the only guy to whom Peyton doesn’t throw the ball, his arrival in Miami, with Kendra’s, should make for a fine reception.
Passion Nightclub in Miami “is where I’m throwin my partayyyyyy,” the Kendra star writes on Twitter of her plans for Super Bowl week. “And, yes, family will be watching the baby that night. LOL.”
Responding to an Internet report that Kardashian will be driving in a monstrous bullet-proof Armor Horse Vault XXL2 Limousine, Wilkson reveals what she’ll be cruising in to her Feb. 5 party: “Budget renta car. Lololo.”
–People.
That’s just how she rolls. I’ll be curious to see if Kendra gets any camera time on Super Sunday. Baskett had five catches all season heading into the playoffs. By comparison, that makes Reggie’s running out of bounds during the fall appear almost workmanlike.
