Brees QB's Saints To Super Bowl Win

84 passes, 37 runs. Enough said. Super Bowl XLIV was one for the QB's. Peyton Manning owned the first quarter and staked the Colts to a 10-0 lead.
In last year's Super Bowl, the game changed just before halftime with an interception returned 100 yards for a touchdown. The Cardinals almost overcame that potential 14 point swing and if it wasn't for Ben Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes fantastic play, they would have.
Tonight, the Saints had a 4th down and goal to go before half. Sean Payton went for it and lost, but went for it again to start the second half with an onsides kick and it paid off with needed momentum and kept Manning off the field for an extended period.
Drew Brees was as efficient in the biggest game of all as he was all season, going 32 of 39 for 288 and two TD's. His completions tied Tom Brady's SB record. He won the MVP and cried with his young son in the afterglow of reaching the pinnacle of the football world, both for his family and the family of New Orleans!

Super Bowl Problem: No Bad Guy

Picking a winner of the Super Bowl is usually pretty fun and while any fan can make a case for their team winning the game, there is usually a favorite. I haven't been able to come up with a good reason to pick either team, because both have the "it" factor needed to win the game Sunday night.
Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints are America's symbolic team because of what the area has been through in recent years and they have never won the Super Bowl before. Peyton Manning needs this win to really put him up there with the All-Time Winners. He is already one of the all-time greats, but winning in the Super Bowl is another matter and he needs another win.
Both quarterbacks are the consummate professionals and leaders of their teams. They are the driving force of the success of their teams. Both teams are offensive-minded and can make a comeback if down by a score or more.
It really comes down to a coin toss between the best team from each conference. Although I believe the Saints could have the best offense in all of football,
with the coin spinning in the air, I believe Peyton Manning will will his team to victory in Super Bowl XLIV.

Brees and Manning; The Best Go To Miami

I do not consider myself a prognosticator by any stretch, but you must agree that my pre-game predictions hit pretty true, especially Brett Favre's bad choice that forced overtime and gave the Saints the victory.
It started to get interesting with Mark Sanchez playing very well in the first half and the Jets staking a lead, but as mentioned, it was Manning's greatness that persevered the 60 minute ball game and put him in the Super Bowl for a second time.
The Vikings would never have been in the NFC Championship without Brett Favre's performance this season and it is sad that he finished it with a pass that he has been told not to throw since he was in Pee Wee football, but that is what you always got with him, the great and the bad. Mike Holmgren tried to beat it out of him in the first few Green Bay years, but he just couldn't help himself when it mattered most, almost 20 years into his Hall-Of-Fame career.

#1 QB vs. #2 QB--Brees vs. Brett in NFC

The New Orleans Saints have never been here before, the Minnesota Vikings have plenty of experience, as does their signal-caller. Drew Brees and Brett Favre will headline the battle inside the Superdome today, finishing the regular season as the top rated quarterbacks in the entire league.
Favre is the first 40 year old to QB his team into the conference championship game, playing arguably the best football of his entire career. Why did Vikings' Head Coach Brad Childress continue to work on getting Brett back on the field after another retirement and even an injured shoulder last season? Because this was the possibility, maybe even the probability, with the rest of the Vikings team so talented.
The Saints have been waiting a long time for this chance. Through so much adversity over time and through Katrina in recent years, the sad-sack franchise has come alive under Drew Brees' leadership. And the silly move by the Houston Texans a few drafts ago, allowed Reggie Bush to go to the Saints and give them another piece to the puzzle.
Percy Harvin has been slowed, ever so slightly, by migraines throughout the year, but still managed over 2,000 all-purpose yards. He missed practice time this week due to those bad headaches, but you can bet he will be trying to slice up the New Orleans defense today.
Playmaker vs. Playmaker--Bush vs. Harvin and Brees vs. Favre. The table is set for a fabulous game, but who will come out on top?
The New Orleans Saints will end the day victorious because New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton and his QB will not hold onto the ball long enough to give the vaunted Vikings' pass rushers enough opportunities. They also have the receiving staff to give their secondary fits. Brett Favre has made many incredible plays this season, but they come later and after some moving around, which will come back to bite them just enough to put the Saints in the Super Bowl for the first time.

Saints Have Prayers Answered

It hasn't been easy to be a Saints' fan or player over the decades, but Drew Brees and his crew have made it a bit easier in the Big Easy.
After disappointing losses ended their regular season, doubt crept in to many of those fans and probably some of the players as well. A "one and done" possibility seemed all too real, but Brees and Bush got back to form and bullied their way to the NFC Champion by knocking off the defending NFC Champion!
The Cowboys seemed to be the pundits favorite while visiting the Minnesota Vikings, but Brett Favre's 40 year old arm threw 4 TD's while blowing out the team that had been on fire for the last few weeks.
This weekend's NFC Championship game in New Orleans should be great entertainment in one of the great entertainment cities in the world!

NFL Playoffs: QB Showcase

A strong running game and defense are the ways to win in January in the NFL. Well, that has been a successful recipe, but these 2010 playoffs are shaping up as the QB playoffs.
The Packers and Cardinals earned their name of "Wildcard" game, with offensive records breaking all over the place and both quarterbacks putting up outrageous numbers.
The Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets are built in the classic model and still left in the these playoffs, but the Ravens travel inside to the dome of the Colts and the Jets will be in warm San Diego, California to take on the hot Chargers, who have become a QB dominated team with Phillip Rivers' dominance this year.
The NFC stays inside at 72 degrees in New Orleans and Minnesota, probably the best four quarterback matchup in NFL history. Kurt Warner and Drew Brees regularly carry their teams through games and Tony Romo and Brett Favre can do the same.
I looked forward to the Green Bay/Arizona game last week with great anticipation, because I like Aaron Rogers as much as these other guys and expected a great shootout--not quite expecting it to be what it turned into, but this weekend's games should be just as entertaining.
And the only way for the NFL to get a cold weather game of any kind before the playoffs, is if both the Jets and Ravens--the old school teams left in the tournament--win. Otherwise, it is warm weather all the way to the Super Bowl. Wait, the Super Bowl in Miami, Florida may be the coldest game from here on in.

Brees Bests Brady In Monday Night Battle

Going into the big Monday night showdown in the Big Easy, I thought the New England Patriots would be able to knock off the undefeated New Orleans Saints, thinking the Pats needed it more and the Saints could afford to drop one and still have a comfortable lead in the NFC South.
Wrong I was, as Drew Brees and the offense proved how powerful and "quick-strike" it was and also shed light on the Patriots weaknesses in the secondary.
Brees piled up stats on Bill Belichick's defense and answered every call from Brady, Moss and Welker with a huge pass play of their own, leading to a perfect passer rating on the night for new front-runner for NFL MVP! Peyton Manning and Brett Favre may have a say in that race, but right now, the New Orleans Saints are undefeated and don't look to be challenged all that much down the stretch of the regular season.

Creating a Winning Offense

ESPN The Magazine has a rather lengthy article, tracing the New Orleans Saints offensive success through Drew Brees. They take a number of pages and give an example play for each of their offensive weapons and it is a good read, but it boils down to one thing that could be said in a simple sentence.
Deceive the other team just enough to get a player out of position and you will create openings for positive plays. This concept is simple and can be used at all levels of competition, but really becomes valuable when the teams competing are equal.
In little league, high school and college, there are great disparities between talent levels and one team can simply push another team around. This is why a team like Navy (with its triple-option attack can compete with Ohio State and beat Notre Dame) even though their talent is not at the same level. Deception makes the defense have to defend more area of the field, exposing holes if not perfectly sound on defense.
This is not the case, philosophically, at the NFL level because every team has the same salary cap to manage their team under. This is where talent evaluation and management come into play, but especially just a little bit of deception to get an advantage.
Coach Sean Payton is designing the mismatches and misdirection, while Drew Brees is executing the decision-making to perfection so far this season.
Faking the other team out is not new or novel, but some teams and coordinators do it much better than others.

Brees Leading Saints To Promised Land

The San Diego Chargers drafted Phillip Rivers after deciding that their previously drafted QB Drew Brees wasn't going to take them where they wanted to go. Brees didn't play that poorly, but Marty Schottenheimer was under pressure to win the big one and the Chargers as a team just weren't ready.
I think the trade to the New Orleans Saints was good for both teams, although the Chargers are probably doing a little more looking in the rear-view mirror than the Saints. Coming off the devastation of Hurricane Katrina a few years ago, Brees has embraced the area and vice-versa, as the Saints have become the best team in football.
While the Saints have been a potent offense for a couple of years with their big, talented receiving corps and as they have learned to use Reggie Bush more effectively, the defense has stepped up and made this a formidable match on both sides of the ball.
Drew Brees may not be an intimidating figure in person, he is the leader that the Saints have been looking for for many years.