When the Colts decided to tank a game in Week 14 against the Jets, I thought they were going to pay dearly for that decision….
After all, they were 13-0 and had a chance to make history by becoming the first team to go 19-0….
Instead, with a 15-10 third quarter lead, first year head coach Jim Caldwell pulled the starters and awakened the karma police….
And Sunday night at the Super Bowl, the Saints won their first Super Bowl in franchise history, 31-17….
That really sounds strange, doesn’t it? The New Orleans Saints are the World Champions….
If I were the Commissioner of the NFL, I’d deal harshly with teams tanking games to get ready for the playoffs. The fans pay top dollar for tickets and deserve the participants best effort. They already get ripped off with the pre-season games, so turning regular season games into a farce cannot be tolerated….
If I saw teams tanking, I’d fine the organization $1M and take away a first round draft choice….
That would put a stop to it real quick….
The Colts paid dearly for losing intentionally and ripping off their fans….
Near the end of the first half, however, a series of idiotic moves by New Orleans head coach Sean Payton seemed to be defying the Karma Patrol….
Down 10-3 with a third-and-goal at the Colts one-yard-line, he decided to run wide, lost a yard and set up a fourth-and-goal. Instead of settling for a field goal, he called time out to design a great play to tie the game….
At least I thought he was designing something he’d been saving all year….
Instead, he ran straight up the middle, got stuffed and came away with nothing….
So why call time out if you’re going to run a stupid play like that?….
With 1:30 left and the Colts inside their own 15, they ran a play up the middle for no gain, obviously hoping to run out the clock. Coach Payton should have called one of his three time outs immediately, but instead stood there with his thumb up his ass. After the Colts ran the ball on third down and came up short of a first down,. somebody finally woke up the Coach and he called a time out; but only after he’d wasted at least 45 seconds….
After the punt, New Orleans got the ball near midfield, but with only 30 seconds remaining in the half. Had there been 1:15 left, they might have scored the tying TD; but instead ran out of time and had to settle for a FG….
Clock management, clock management, clock management….
To his credit, Payton made a great decision with the onside kick to begin the second half and the Saints converted with a TD to take a 13-10 lead. That took some balls and nearly made up for his asinine coaching in the first half….
The biggest play of the game? No, it wasn’t any great plays by Peyton Manning or Drew Brees. And it wasn’t the interception return for a TD by Tracy Porter which sealed the game for the Saints….
In my opinion, the biggest play of the game happened around the 9:00 mark of the second quarter, with the Colts leading 10-3….
On a third-and-four from their own 28, Manning hit WR Pierre Garcon in stride near midfield. Garcon had two steps on the defender and it was going to be off to the races. Instead, Garcon dropped the ball and the Colts had to punt….
Had he made the easy catch, he might have scored or at least gone deep into Saints territory. The Colts had all the momentum at that point and another touchdown might have been the backbreaker….
That drop was huge and in the opinion of Dave Smith cost Indianapolis the game….
So why is it that nobody else is talking about it?….
As for the rest of Super Bowl Sunday, here’s my opinion:
-THE COMMERCIALS:
Since I was out during the day and DVR’d the game, I didn’t see any of them. I fast forwarded every time CBS went to commercials, so thankfully wasn’t subjected to the stupid-ass attempts at humor.
-HALFTIME SHOW:
It hurts me to say this, because I’m a huge fan of The Who. I’ve seen them in concert several times and never been disappointed, because their music is great and they always put on a good show. I have all their CD’s and they are one of my five favorite bands.
All that being said, their halftime performance sucked. It’s really not their fault, because every musical act at the Super Bowl has been terrible. The setting just isn’t right for a concert, the sound is always terrible and football fans don’t give a damn and just want to get on with the game….
You just can’t mix a great sporting event with non-sports entertainment and I wish the NFL and network executives would undetstand.
The game itself was very good and it is was great to see Who Dat Nation have something to celebrate after Hurricane Katrina….
I know it won’t help people who are still suffering and won’t put displaced people back in their homes, but for a few hours, at least, the people of New Orleans finally had something to celebrate….
