Well, the Super Bowl has come and gone; another NFL season gone by.

Super Bowl 44 was a great game. I really can’t think of one part about the coverage, game, or officiating that wasn’t good. I’m not a big fan of CBS, but their coverage was really good. We didn’t get a bunch of shots of the Manning family or any other super-celeb in the crowd. Nantz and Simms were also pretty good during the game.

The game itself wasn’t overly exciting to watch, but it was still an excellent game. The officiating was good and they let the players play. I love it when the officials do not dictate the outcome of a game; either with or without flags.

The Saints were clearly the better team on Sunday. Sean Payton outcoached Jim Caldwell. Drew Brees outplayed Peyton Manning. Saints D made more plays than Colts D. New Orleans special teams were better than Indianapolis special teams. Really, I can’t think of a phase of the game that Indy did better than New Orleans.

Coaching

Payton made all the right moves to win the Super Bowl. He was aggressive from start to finish and it paid off in a win. Going for the TD near the end of the 2nd half was a great call and I said so at the time they went for it. I was really surprised they attempted to run it in though.

The Colts made the call look even better by rolling over with all their timeouts and around 2 minutes to go in the half. The non aggressive decision allowed the Saints to get the ball back and still get the 3 points they lost by missing the fourth down attempt. The Saints lost nothing by attempting that fourth down.

Payton also challenged the 2 point conversion call, which was probably the only bad call of the game. The line judge totally blew that call originally, and Payton would have been a fool not to challenge. Then, there was the onside kick. Payton totally caught the Colts off-guard and essentially “stole” a possession; just the spark they needed.

On the flip side, I felt as if the Colts play calling was very tame. They seemed to be content once they got up 10 points early, almost complacent.

I also felt they didn’t give their run game enough of a chance. The Colts averaged around 6 yards per carry and only carried the ball 13 times. I realize New Orleans would rather have Indy run since their run game was dead last in the league, but Indy could have probably flipped the script and surprised the Saints by actually sticking with the run more. Then, maybe they open up some shots down field via play action.

Overall, a mediocre game plan and I never felt like they challenged the Saints like they were capable. Also, even though there were only a few penalties, the Colts had more and for more yardage (5/45yds). The attempt at such a long field goal was also questionable.

Offense

Drew Brees was masterful, almost perfect during the second half (1 spike and 1 drop). Brees tied a Super Bowl record for completions during the game, and took what the defense gave them. Pierre Thomas played an excellent game too. He never went down on first contact and always had a second or third effort; an outstanding game by Thomas (representin’ Illinois baby!).

Peyton Manning was excellent most of the game as well. I did feel as if maybe he wasn’t as sharp as he could have been. He missed a first down and maybe a touchdown on their first drive where they settled for 3. He also had moments where he had those “happy feet” when pressure wasn’t there, kinda reminded me of those old battle with New England. Of course, then there was the INT and the Garcon drop that hurt the Colt’s offense. I’ve seen some blaming Wayne for the INT, and I agree he gets some blame, but Porter had clearly read the play probably due to Peyton staring Wayne down too much. There is no excuse for the Garcon drop.

Defense

Really, the Colts defense did play well against a high-powered offense only allowing 3 field goals and 2 TDs. One of those field goals was the one before the half on a short field, and one TD came after the onside kick. However, the Saints defense forced the one pick six which was the critical deciding factor down the stretch.

Special Teams

Saints had 3 field goals and the important onside kick. Colts missed a field goal and botched the recovery of the onside kick. I really think the Colts should have probably considered themselves in 4 down territory instead of attempting a long field goal that they missed.

Overall, a really great game played by two great teams. I think Peyton needs to win a few more games to be considered among the Joe Montana and John Elways of the NFL world, but still a great QB. Brees definitely helped his standing amongst the average NFL fan, but I think most of us hardcore fans already knew he was one of the most underrated and under appreciated QBs in the league. Each has several more years to finalize their legacy and shape those lasting memories and it will be fun to watch!