Saints Win

On Sunday the New Orleans Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31 to 17. The game was decided when with less than 4 minutes to play Peyton Manning through an interception that was returned for a touchdown. Until that moment we in our house were trying to figure out if the Colts would tie the score too early, allowing the Saints to score before the time out.

The interception changed that.

The game was well played. The Saints played a perfect game. No turnovers. The Colts played well too. What I did not foresee, and what was not foreseen was that with both teams having such long drives and all those completed passes the number of possessions for each team were limited. Each one became magnified. Sean Payton understood that, his attempting to get the touchdown not the field goal, the onside kick these were very big plays that understood that.

Underrated and perhaps the difference in the game was the nine points put on the board on 40 yard plus field goals by Garrett Hartley.

The next discussion is does this loss diminish Peyton Manning and his career. He is 9 and 9 now in the playoffs. These are not great numbers. Does his talent diminish, or do his teams and their unbalanced offense become more exposed in the playoffs?

I believe Manning is a great quarterback, the best in the game. An interesting measure of Manning would be to find out his won loss record against teams that eventually make the playoffs that year. The next question is Manning and his lack of a handshake after the game. This is an especially big subject for me personally, we make a big deal about sportsmanship in our house. I have criticized Tom Brady for his disappearing act after losses. I have always talked about Manning being the opposite. So when Manning pulls his disappearing act I was not pleased.

The field is a wreck after the Super Bowl. Brees was mobbed by cameras. It would have been very difficult for Manning to reach him. It simply does not matter, Manning did not try. He was up the tunnel. Certainly the sea would have parted for Manning had he tried to reach Brees. He did not try. It does not matter if Brees understands, what matters is that so few of the times that athletes have a chance to show class that they actually do. Manning failed. It is not a drug conviction or a criminal case, but it is still disappointing


The Saints won. They deserved it. Brees was fantastic. Manning made one mistake in the game and it cost him. For me however the biggest mistake was after the game.