I think the Saints can pull it out... and hopefully blast Manning in the face.

Something along the lines of:
New Orleans 34
Indianapolis 27

Okay, so I think I'll make my prediction here now due to the fact that I'll probably be shoveling all day tomorrow as we're expecting around a foot here and on Sunday my aunt is christening her child so I'll probably be there.

That's right, my aunt scheduled her son's christening for Super Bowl Sunday.

Anywho, let's do my rundown with a few bullet-points before I make my inevitable prediction at the end - or your could just scroll to the bottom if you could care less.

First, I'm starting with Freeney. He's going to be in there for a few plays and then take himself out I think. I say this because on media day he never did put a percentage number on how good/close his ankle feels to 100%. Now one might say, "who cares? no one puts stock in that," but there is one person who believes in that number, the injured player. The fact that he didn't give a number like 70% or 80% or whatever tells me that if he were to put a number on it, it's probably low, and therefore he won't be effective. Now all of this could be just him playing possum, but I don't see the point to that. Players who reach this level know that you never count on anyone being less than 100%, and you never game-plan for an opposing player to not play.

This leads into my point about the match-up between the Saints O-line and the Colts D-line. What everyone seems to think that will happen is that they'll move Mathis over to Freeney's spot and have Raheem Brock take Mathis' position. I'm wondering if this comes to fruition, will it change Sean Payton's game-plan a bit, and I wouldn't be surprised if he calls some more running plays, pulling guards to either side of the field as blockers for sweeps/power runs. And he might also try even more shotgun passing plays, possibly with the TE on Brock's side. I guess it all depends on how highly he thinks of Mathis and Brock on the ends instead of Freeney and Mathis.

Moving on to overall defenses, they're both pretty close in terms of rushing defense with New Orleans only slightly better by a few yards per game over the course of the season. So both of these teams can be had by the run as they're below the league average, but let's face it, this will be a passing game. And in terms of passing defense, the Colts are about average, but the Saints are closer to the bottom and their saving grace is the amount of INTs they can procure. Frankly, the only reason they're here right now is because of all the turnovers in the NFC championship game.

So onto the QBs. Both excellent. Both can pick apart defenses. But Manning just picked apart the number 1 ranked defense 2 weeks ago, and apart from 3 TDs on short fields, Brees struggled a bit with the number 6 in Minnesota. He was only 55% on attemps with less than 200 yards, both well below his average. Might have been jitters, but I credit Minnesota more. So I'm giving the edge to Peyton here, especially since he's got much more experience.

Special teams is a bit of a wash, with each team being close in most categories. Neither of them punt or kick field goals all too often, and one outdoes the other slightly in kick returns and vice-versa for punt returns.

The X-factor to me has to be Reggie Bush. If he can break off a few plays that can definitely throw a wrench in Indy's parade plans. With Freeney being questionable, and ineffective in my opinion at this time, this is possible. Then again Freeney has always been better against the pass than the rush. So who knows?

In summation:
I'm giving the overall match-up between respective offenses and defenses and special teams play a rating of "too close to call." Both teams are below average in rush defense, and if Reggie Bush gets hot, watch out. But like I said, I'm wagering this will be a passing affair. Colts pass defense is much better than the Saints who rely on INTs that I don't think Peyton will make.

So as much as my gut and I want to pick the Saints, what with it being such a feel-good story for them, the coincidence(?) of my cousin being baptized on that day (you know "Saints", baptism, the whole Christian angle) and Freeney being hurt I still have to go with my head.

Who Dat say the Saints going to lose? Me.
Colts 34 - Saints 27

I don't care what happens as long as the Saints score some number of points that end in an 8, and the Colts score some number of points that end in a 1. 28-21 NO final would do me fine. lol super bowl squares.

Sit back and laugh at the commenters take on the recent All-Decade team.

At least there's no more whining about Westbrook "snub" although I only looked at three pages so...

At 2/6/10 11:34 AM, Idiot-Finder wrote: Sit back and laugh at the commenters take on the recent All-Decade team.

Everybody's got to chime in with their 2 worthless cents anymore. Frankly, I didn't see anyone on there that wasn't warranted. I may have disagreed with 1 or 2 choices, but all were pretty worthy.

At least there's no more whining about Westbrook "snub" although I only looked at three pages so...

As well there shouldn't. He may have been one of the best when healthy, but he was all too often not healthy.

At 2/6/10 11:42 AM, phileeguy wrote:
As well there shouldn't. He may have been one of the best when healthy, but he was all too often not healthy.

Not only that, there's even an ESPN article whining about that "snub". Not to mention there's also idiots who thinks Ward should be in over Marvin Harrison.

At 2/6/10 11:58 AM, Idiot-Finder wrote: Not only that, there's even an ESPN article whining about that "snub". Not to mention there's also idiots who thinks Ward should be in over Marvin Harrison.

Lol, okay. Yeah, let's put a good receiver on a team that's been for the most part based around a power running game and good defense over the past decade instead of Harrison who was a key cog in an offense that's been nothing but pass happy since Peyton's got there...

P.S. it's really starting to look like the ice planet Hoth out there. Anyone got a Tauntaun to lend me?

Saints win 35-31

Hall of Fame results to be announced in an hour!

They better not snub Sharpe this time, but who knows since they had that dopey selection limit in place.

At 2/4/10 06:04 PM, phileeguy wrote: You mean you won't give the Colts an extra field goal and just flat out pick the same score as the Madden simulation?

Nah. If Vinatieri was playing then I would. :P

At 2/6/10 04:04 PM, Idiot-Finder wrote: Hall of Fame results to be announced in an hour!

They better not snub Sharpe this time, but who knows since they had that dopey selection limit in place.

Not this year and the same for Tim Brown and Chris Carter. It's a shame they don't release the vote numbers so we can't tell how far or close they are.

Game time is almost near. :)

Woo, Super Bowl Sunday. Unfortunately, most of my time leading up to the game will be spent doing calculus homework. But still, Super Bowl Sunday!

So I had a dream last night that I was watching the Super Bowl and I noticed the score was 40-17 Colts at the end of the 3rd quarter. Now of course this doesn't mean jack shit, but I must disclose the fact that I think I get the feeling of deja vu more often than most people... just sayin'.

now watch me be wrong :/

But on a bit of an aside I'm happy for the Saints and as much as I don't think they'll win I'd love to see them win. That's a team that I think if I'd be a fan of if I weren't a fan of the Eagles.

From my cell phone because I haven't had access to a computer. I haven't seen any other picks either which kind of adds excitment to the game.

Colts

Even without Freeney I think.

At 2/6/10 01:33 PM, Molotov wrote: Saints win 35-31

I can agree with this. I honestly believe that the Saints are just a better team fundamentally. All the Colts really have is Peyton. If they can minimize his impact, then they have this game in the bag.

NFL Playoffs Final Standings

[ Rank ] [ W - L ] [ Win% ] [ User ]
>>>01 ] [ 7 - 4 ] [ .636% ] [ Fro ]
>>>02 ] [ 6 - 5 ] [ .545% ] [ phileeguy ]
>>>--- ] [ 6 - 5 ] [ .545% ] [ reverend ]
>>>--- ] [ 6 - 5 ] [ .545% ] [ EternitySpent ]
>>>05 ] [ 5 - 6 ] [ .454% ] [ Molotov ]

Super Bowl Picks
Buddhist - Wrong
puddinN64 - Correct
reverend - Correct +15
EternitySpent - Correct +13
phileeguy - Wrong +13
Molotov - Correct +18
Fro - Wrong

Comments
Congrats to the Saints for winning Super Bowl XLIV and doing it on some pretty gutsy plays; onside kick at the start of the second half ... didn't see that coming. I guess you can say they are no longer the 'aints.

Not to mention congrats to Fro who despite picking the Colts still had enough to win the playoff picks. Enjoy your prize of a photoshopped picture of trophy. :)

Surprised only 1 person has posted in this thread since the game.

I'm really glad that the Saints won this. No other city deserved this more than them and after 40+ years of nothing, they finally came through. And it wasn't a boring blow out like everyone predicted either. It was engaging from beginning to end.

Brees winning the MVP was a natural choice, though I think Porter should have maybe shared a bit of that considering he made the biggest play in the game. I imagine the collective noise level in New Orleans shattered some ear drums when that happened.

The commercials sucked thoiugh.

At 2/8/10 05:34 AM, 36Holla wrote: Surprised only 1 person has posted in this thread since the game.

That's what I was thinking too. I guess the other SB thread usurped most of the members who post here. Or they're too drunk and hungover at the moment.

I'm really glad that the Saints won this. No other city deserved this more than them and after 40+ years of nothing, they finally came through. And it wasn't a boring blow out like everyone predicted either. It was engaging from beginning to end.

You know I've only heard one person pick a blow out and that was Tony Dungy. :P
I really enjoyed this game. I thinks it's been one of the best ones I've seen in awhile and NOLA really deserves this victory and I'm sure Mardi Gras is going to be huge this year.

Brees winning the MVP was a natural choice, though I think Porter should have maybe shared a bit of that considering he made the biggest play in the game. I imagine the collective noise level in New Orleans shattered some ear drums when that happened.

Yeah Drew Brees was a great pick; he was practically flawless his game.

The commercials sucked though.

Tell me about it. What's the deal with the not wearing pants commercials; two of them this year. At least I know that Abe Vigoda and Betty White are still alive. The only one that I've found intriguing was the 15 second Late Show promo. I thought I never see Letterman and Leno together at the same time especially the way that Dave has been hammering Leno over the whole Tonight Show debacle.

Farve for MVP 2020!

Now that's two off the list, who do you think will be next?

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT

At 2/8/10 02:13 AM, reverend wrote:

Thanks for the final update of the season.

Fro - Wrong

Man, I should have went with my heart. I picked the Saints earlier and then went with my brain picking the Colts, who I thought were the better team. Should have went with my gut feeling this time around, but looks like I didn't lose the total thing as 2nd place had the same pick as me. I guess that's just luck.

Comments
Congrats to the Saints for winning Super Bowl XLIV and doing it on some pretty gutsy plays; onside kick at the start of the second half ... didn't see that coming. I guess you can say they are no longer the 'aints.

Very good game in my opinion. One turnover that could have actually brought the game into overtime if it never happened.

Not to mention congrats to Fro who despite picking the Colts still had enough to win the playoff picks. Enjoy your prize of a photoshopped picture of trophy. :)

Perhaps in the future we can make these real trophies? Their actually pretty cheap to have made if I'm not mistaken. :P I wish I would have picked this well on my tickets this season.

At 2/8/10 05:34 AM, 36Holla wrote:

The commercials sucked thoiugh.

I made a fanpage on facebook. The I'm not going to copy the super bowl commercials because I'm not stupid group.

It wouldn't let me use the word douche, so I replaced it with stupid.

At 2/7/10 01:12 PM, phileeguy wrote:

now watch me be wrong :/

See, I was right! You know, in that I'd be wrong on my pick...

At 2/7/10 01:46 PM, Fro wrote: From my cell phone because I haven't had access to a computer.

Is there a Newgrounds app that I'm not aware of or you just using your phone's browser?

I haven't seen any other picks either which kind of adds excitment to the game.
Colts
Even without Freeney I think.
At 2/8/10 02:13 AM, reverend wrote: NFL Playoffs Final Standings
[ Rank ] [ W - L ] [ Win% ] [ User ]
>>>01 ] [ 7 - 4 ] [ .636% ] [ Fro ]
>>>02 ] [ 6 - 5 ] [ .545% ] [ phileeguy ]

Nuuuuuuu! I should've stuck with my original plan and waited to just go opposite you! Curse you FRO! Curse YOU!... lol.

At 2/8/10 05:34 AM, 36Holla wrote: I'm really glad that the Saints won this. No other city deserved this more than them and after 40+ years of nothing, they finally came through. And it wasn't a boring blow out like everyone predicted either. It was engaging from beginning to end.

Well, New Orleans definitely deserved it. But Katrina aside, I'm sure there are other cities with other fanbases that deserve a championship just as much. Still, I'm happy to see them win one.

The commercials sucked thoiugh.

Agreed.

At 2/8/10 06:35 AM, reverend wrote: You know I've only heard one person pick a blow out and that was Tony Dungy. :P

I wonder how much his buddies are giving him grief for this.

At 2/8/10 10:34 AM, Idiot-Finder wrote: Now that's two off the list, who do you think will be next?

I'd guess Peppers, just because he's relatively young compared to most of the others. And if he gets this whole money issue behind him and finds himself on a good team and plays every down like he should, he's got a shot.

And now onto the game.

Saints played great, but man the Colts just shit the bed in the second half there. As much as the Saints were getting momentum in the 2nd quarter they were still stopped on 4th and goal and still trailed by 4 points when The Who played. The Colts defense pretty much disappeared in the 3rd and 4th quarters, with a lot of blown coverages and lack of any pressure on Brees. Then again Drew did make some really good throws, whereas Peyton didn't. I honestly thought he'd play better, and not turn into Brett Favre at the end there. Of course your receivers have to get open - which they didn't - but I'll give some credit to the Saints defense as they stepped up their game and didn't play like the 26th ranked pass defense.

Two plays will define this game for me and most everyone else: the onside kick and the pick-6. The former was a really gutsy call and I'm sure Sean Payton breathed a sigh of relief that he didn't give Manning a short field to possibly get a T.D. to start the 2nd half with. And for the pick-6, yeah it was good defense by the Saints, but I thought it was both a bad throw by Manning and perhaps a mix-up or just plain bad route run by Wayne.

And in the end, Drew Brees was on fire. He definitely deserved the MVP.

Oh and the Madden Simulation got it right again. But I'm not reading too much into this. Yes, it's been right 6 of the 7 times it's done it, but I believe this is the only year it's picked the underdog to win. And it uses the same statistics and whatnot Vegas uses to figure out it's starting betting line anyway. Obviously there are some variables between Vegas and the game simulation, but I bet there's way more similarities to how each works.

And speaking of betting, so will Vegas post a new post-SuperBowl prop bet on whether Reggie Bush asks Kim Kardashian to marry him?

What do you know? The Saints finally won a playoff game without blatantly trying to hurt the other teams best players. Save that retarded ass late hit by Sedrick Ellis on Addai in the 4th. That one got flagged for once though. Late hits on Kurt Warner and Brett Favre took them both out and won the games for the Saints, moreso in the Vikings game. I don't think they would have won if they hadn't been trying to hurt Favre. It's a miracle the man even finished the game. My final thoughts on the season are congrats to the Saints, but I'm betting 10 years from now, you're going to be thinking that the Super Bowl win would have been a lot more satisfying if you had won it fair. Hopefully they won't play the same way next year. Their Defensive Coordinator should be suspended.

At 2/6/10 01:33 PM, Molotov wrote: Saints win 35-31

31-17

At 2/8/10 02:13 AM, reverend wrote:

Super Bowl Picks

puddinN64 - Correct

Damn, I'm good. I should make this into my career.

At 2/8/10 03:25 PM, phileeguy wrote:

At 2/8/10 05:34 AM, 36Holla wrote: I'm really glad that the Saints won this. No other city deserved this more than them and after 40+ years of nothing, they finally came through. And it wasn't a boring blow out like everyone predicted either. It was engaging from beginning to end.

Well, New Orleans definitely deserved it. But Katrina aside, I'm sure there are other cities with other fanbases that deserve a championship just as much. Still, I'm happy to see them win one.

Katrina had nothing to do with what I said though. That happened 5 years ago and as sad as that was, they're out of the "They deserve to win it because of Katrina" time window. No, the Saints are a team that have not done anything for over 40 years. I imagined them a little like the Cubs of football and now that city can finally say they got a title. That's what I was talking about.

At 2/9/10 04:49 AM, 36Holla wrote: No, the Saints are a team that have not done anything for over 40 years. I imagined them a little like the Cubs of football and now that city can finally say they got a title. That's what I was talking about.

Okay, so Katrina didn't factor into your thought process. That's fine, but I'm still saying that although you say that the Saints were the Cubs of football and no other city deserved it more, I say that there are other franchises that can fit that bill too with doing nothing for amazingly long periods of time and deserve a title just as much. Detroit and Cleveland come to mind just off the top of my head.

Great for New Orleans, but I bet football fans in Cleveland, Detroit and other places are probably thinking to themselves, "when do we get a turn?"

I'm not particularly happy/sad about the Saints winning/Colts losing. pretty apathetic because it meant nothing to me; didn't even watch the game to be honest. I watched the Peyton INT clip a couple times but that was about it.

Good on Nawlins, although this probably means Reggie Bush ends up getting his option picked up even though he doesn't deserve it (one playoff game does not a quality NFL RB make).

Mostly, I just hope that this doesn't allow for the Tom Brady bandwagon fanatics to proclaim that he was the best QB of the decade. By no means, especially when you factor in the Spygate scandal, which I feel tarnishes two, if not all three, of the Pats' championships with Brady under center (though I'm not saying specifically that that is his fault, but you get implicated in that shit regardless).

50,000 yards in a decade, a record four MVPs (all after 2003), 9 Pro Bowls during the decade (only didn't make it in 2001), a Super Bowl ring, a Super Bowl MVP, highest single-season passer rating ('04), so many records that even trying to list them is futile, to the point where I have to link to Wikipedia to explain that there's about fifty of them, and introducing the entire league to the concept of a constant no-huddle offense gives him the trump card over any shit that Brady's done, imo.

Sincerely,
A Tom Brady Schadenfreude-Fetishist

Maybe he'll have a better luck next time.

At 2/9/10 07:57 PM, Idiot-Finder wrote: Maybe he'll have a better luck next time.

What a dumbass. Somebody should shoot that stupid monkey for being such a shitty predictor of football games.

It may have been a month ago, but I think the Saints did that so if they win...they can give him a Super Bowl ring.