How the Saints Play Big Or Go Home Attitude Brought the Hardware Home

I was going to write about how the Indianapolis Colts lost Super Bowl XLIV. And there’s a lot of column fodder there, to be sure. But it takes away from what the New Orleans Saints did. The Saints didn’t just sit there and receive a gift from the Colts. Nor were they the recipients of any crazy plays (like the Immaculate Reception) or bizarre, byzantine rules (like the Tuck Rule.) No, the Saints went out and took the game away from the Colts. They mugged the Colts with cool and confidence. They jumped them and shocked Indianapolis with their boldness and elan. Just from a pure football perspective, without the lovable loser history of the franchise or the backdrop of post-Katrina New Orleans, that is worth celebrating.

Going into the game, I thought the Saints best hope was to grab an early lead, score on their opening drive and turn the game into a track meet. I thought the Saints would be jittery (they looked nervous in the NFL championship game versus the Vikings) and I thought an opening score would settle them down. But instead of opening big, the Saints were patient and tenacious, waited for an opening before throwing a series of haymakers. They had the right mindset, the same as their mindset at the end of the regular season, when they were unafraid to lose. Sitting at 13-0, the Saints publicly said they were going to try to finish the season undefeated. They promptly went out and lost to the Dallas Cowboys, but they were trying to win, without fear of the possibility of 18-1.

Conversely, the Colts thought they could get a loss out of the way, out of their systems, so as to guarantee victory in the post-season or something? I don’t believe in jinxes. I simply believe that no team has finished 19-0 because it’s really, really, really hard to do. Even for good teams, even for great teams, it is hard not to lose a single game. But the notion that you can somehow control the fates by “scheduling” a loss, taking one when it is convenient or something (essentially what the Colts did the moment Jim Caldwell removed Peyton Manning from their regular season game with the Jets), is just crazy thinking, more suitable to a five year old child who also believes in the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus.

Frankly, it really cheesed me off — the deliberate losing. And I couldn’t put my finger on it, but you know it just felt like Caldwell simply didn’t think they could do it — attain perfection, that is — so he and his team stopped trying. That’s just a lousy way to go about things. Conversely, Sean Payton and the Saints knew what great thinkers from Goethe to Hank Stram knew: fortune favors the bold. So the Saints created advantages, by showing patience on offense, grit on defense and daring on special teams.

There were many key moments in the game – the on-sides kick to open the second half, Pierre Garcon dropping a pass, Manning’s heinous pick-six, Caldwell sending Stover out to attempt a 51 yard field goal, Drew Brees’ mind-blowing precision, and on and on. Here are three of those moments and how the Saints created them.

Sean Payton’s Calculated Risk 1: Going for it on 4th and goal from the 1 late in the first half. Though Pierre Thomas was stopped for no gain, the Saints pinned Manning and the Colts at their own 1 yard line with a bit under two minutes to play. Manning has been deadly, completely lethal as halftime approaches, and seemed to always score on the Colts last possession of the first half this year.
** [See below for a breakdown of Manning's drives this season.]

By going for it on 4th down rather than putting up the field goal, Payton was taking a chance that even P. Manning could not drive 99 yards with under two minutes to play. Moreover, considering the field position and the clock, he was betting that the Colts would not even try. It was a risk, but it was a calculated risk. It paid off. The Colts went uber-conservative, sitting on a seven point lead, and went three and out, which allowed the Saints to get a field goal anyway. Payton bluffed Peyton into playing not to lose right then. That was potentially a seven point swing.

Sean Payton’s Calculated Risk 2: The on-side kick. Reams have been written about this decision. Payton was weighing any number of factors – what he thought was a weakness in the Colts return unit and the assurances of his defensive coordinator – but I believe coach Payton intended to send a message to the Colts, as well as his own team, that they would play with shocking audacity. Not that the Saints were reckless, but they were brash, perhaps even impudent. They would not cower in the presence of the Great Peyton Manning. The on-side kick sent a message: we’re not afraid of giving Peyton Manning a short field, because we can hold him. It’s a pretty nervy statement. (Of course, IF it had not worked and IF Manning had taken advantage of that short field to drive for a touchdown, it may have been a very different game.) Of course, the Saints special teams executed perfectly, so they didn’t have to worry about their defense and a short field. Bonus points for execution.

Sean Payton’s Calculated Risk 3: Everybody, and I do mean everybody, said that you could not blitz Peyton Manning. But the Saints did. Certainly not on every down. Only a handful of times. And they never sacked him. But they hit him. And, more to the point, he didn’t have always have a comfortable pocket to work in and couldn’t step into his throws with ease. He could have burnt them. All season he burned teams that blitzed. Just as Phil Simms was asserting that the Saints should stop blitzing Manning, they blitzed again. Manning hurried his throw. Reggie Wayne ran a lazy route. And Tracy Porter feasted.

On the post-game discussions, I heard one of the talking heads say that he didn’t want to say that one coach out-coached the other. Why not? It was clear as day that Sean Payton out-coached Jim Caldwell by a country mile. The Saints had the better scheme for most of the day. But it was not merely a chess match, a battle of wiles. Payton led his team. He really led them. He instilled confidence and calm in them. He inspired them. And they executed perfectly.

Of course, it does help to have Drew Brees play a flawless, exquisite game.

The discussion of Peyton Manning and the Colts collapse can wait for another day. This week, we should just celebrate the Saints’ greatness.

** Peyton Manning and the Colts executed scoring drives at the wane of first halves in EIGHT different games:

1. Week 2 v. Miami – with 0:43 on the clock, Manning drives the team 44 yards to set up a FG.

2. Week 4 v. Seattle – with 1:22 on the clock, Manning engineers an 11 play, 78 yard TD drive, using up all but 3 seconds.

3. Week 5 v. Tennessee – with 1:04 on the clock, Manning drives 82 yards in six plays for a TD.

4. Week 8 v. San Francisco – with 0:33 on the clock, Manning uses 4 plays to move his team 48 yards for a FG.

5. Week 13 v. Tennessee – with 0:20 on the clock, Manning drives 38 yards in 4 plays to set up a FG.

6. Week 15 v. Jacksonville – with 3:58 on the clock, Manning drives 68 yards in 2:23 and 6 plays for a touchdown.

7. Divisional Playoff v. Baltimore – with 1:26 remaining, Manning drives 64 yards in 8 plays for a TD.

8. AFC Championship v. N.Y. Jets – with 2:11 showing, Manning takes over at his own 20. 4 plays later, it’s another TD.