Super Bowl XLIV

Super Bowl XLIV
New Orleans Saints vs. Indianapolis Colts
2.7.2010

Background
(Source: Wikipedia.org)

New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints finished the season with an NFC best 13-3 record and went on to advance to the first Super Bowl in their 43 years as an NFL team. It had been a long journey for New Orleans. After joining the NFL in 1967, it took them 21 years to record their first winning season and another 13 years after that to win their first playoff game. Five years later, the New Orleans area suffered another setback when the Louisiana Superdome was devastated with the rest of the city by Hurricane Katrina, forcing them to play all of their home games in 2005 elsewhere as they finished with a 3-13 record. But in the offseason, the team's fortunes began to turn. First, they signed pro bowl quarterback Drew Brees, who would go on to throw for more passing yards than any other quarterback over the next four seasons. They also drafted multi-talented Heisman Trophy winning running back Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston, two players who would become major contributors on the Saints offense. The following season, New Orleans improved to 10-6 and advanced to the NFC title game for the first time, which they lost to the Chicago Bears. Although they failed to make the playoffs over the next two seasons, they continued to sign new talent, and by 2009 they were ready to make another run at the Super Bowl.

The Saints offense led the NFL in scoring, averaging just under 32 points per game. Brees finished the season as the NFL's top rated quarterback (109.6), completing an NFL-record 70.6% of his passes for 4,338 yards and 34 touchdowns, with just 11 interceptions. His top target was Colston, who caught 70 passes for 1,074 yards and 9 touchdowns, but he had plenty of other weapons, such as receivers Devery Henderson (51 receptions), Robert Meachem (45), along with tight ends Jeremy Shockey (48) and Dave Thomas (35). The ground attack was led by running backs Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell. Thomas rushed for 793 yards and caught 39 passes for 302, while Bell added 654 yards on the ground. Bush was also a major contributor, rushing for 390 yards (with a 5.6 yards per carry average), catching 47 passes for 335 yards, and adding another 130 yards returning punts. New Orleans also had a strong offensive line with three pro bowl selections: guard Jahri Evans, center Jonathan Goodwin, and tackle Jon Stinchcomb

Pro Bowl defensive lineman Will Smith led the team in sacks with 13. Another big weapon on defense was linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who led the team with 87 tackles and intercepted three passes. The Saints secondary was led by 12-year veteran safety Darren Sharper, who recorded 9 interceptions and set an NFL record by returning them for 376 yards and three touchdowns. Cornerback Tracy Porter was also effective, recording 49 tackles and 4 picks.

Like the Colts, the Saints also started out the season strong, winning their first 13 games. But then they became the first 13-0 team ever to lose their last three games of the year. After losing their next game to the Dallas Cowboys 24-17, they suffered a narrow loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in overtime after Garrett Hartley missed a potential game winning field goal, and then closed out the season with a 23-10 loss to the Carolina Panthers. Still, they clinched the #1 NFC playoff seed and scored 76 points in their two playoff wins en route to their first ever Super Bowl.


Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis stormed to an NFL best 14-2 record on their way to earning their second Super Bowl appearance in the last four years. Once again, the Colts boasted a powerful offense led by 10-time Pro Bowl quarterback Peyton Manning, who threw for 4,500 yards and 33 touchdowns during the season, with only 16 interceptions, earning him a 99.9 passer rating and a league record fourth National Football League Most Valuable Player Award. Under the protections of pro bowl center Jeff Saturday and the rest of the line, Manning had been sacked just 13 times during the regular season, the fewest in the NFL. His top targets were veteran receiver Reggie Wayne and tight end Dallas Clark, who both recorded 100 receptions and 10 touchdowns. Wayne led the team with 1,260 yards, while Clark was second with 1,106. Manning also had other reliable targets, such as recently acquired receivers Austin Collie (60 receptions for 676 yards and 7 touchdowns) and Pierre Garçon (47 receptions for 756 yards). Running back Joseph Addai led the Colts ground game with 821 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, while also catching 51 passes for another 336 yards and 3 scores.

Indianapolis's defensive line was led by pro bowl defensive ends Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney. Freeney led the team with 13.5 sacks, while Mathis added 9.5 sacks and forced 5 fumbles. Behind them, the Colts had a solid corps of linebackers featuring Clint Session and Gary Brackett, who each recorded 80 tackles. Pro bowl safety Antoine Bethea led the secondary with 70 tackles and four interceptions.
Under their new coach Jim Caldwell, the Colts started off the season with 14 consecutive wins before suffering their first loss to the New York Jets, 29-15, a game in which Caldwell made the controversial decision to rest his starters after the team took a slim lead rather than keep them in to play for a chance at a 16-0 season. Indianapolis finished the season at 14-2 following another loss in which they rested their starters and went on to advance to the Super Bowl, making them perfect in all their games in which their starters played all four quarters.
Caldwell leads the Colts to the Super Bowl the season after Tony Dungy exited, just like in Tampa Bay when Jon Gruden led the Bucs to Super Bowl XXXVII after Dungy was fired.

Colts, but I support Saints!

I always watch superbowl for the first 20 mins and end up going to bed bu I might watch the whole thig this year. Footballl is awesome...

Saints! Who dat!

I will be happy if it's Colts or Saints that will won, I love both of these teams! Best teams of the season in the Super Bowl! This is awsome

Colts

COLTS! :!!: :!!:

Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?

Saints! :cheers: :!!: :towelwave: :wootwoot: :AOIN:

i am always playing sc4 and sorta hearing the super bowl
COLTS ):

That's disgusting, there's only Beer Pubs at the Super Bowl.
Are we gonna save our lives after the airplane crash or have a part with Bud?
Are we gonna save the Earth or are we gonna have party time with Bud?
Such fools!

Score As of the Half Time Show (End of 2nd quarter):
colts - 10
saints - 6

The Who are amazing! :O

haha yeah

haha no ... id much rather watch the lingerie bowl

Great Opera Rock! Perhaps I don't understand anything he's saying!
Hair... Constitution... revolution... ram woot?

Thats cause you dont know the actually lyrics

F*****n Sweet half time Show!

No, I'm in regular English class (worst one) since start of high school but I really understand alot when english people are talking to me, the only thing I sux at is the speaking: French Accent twice! Well I think it's only native languages fault. Your first language was english or german (both of them are similar, cuz they're saxons languages). Mine is French. If any Indian immigrants speaking english to me (no offense), I'll be like "what?!?!?". So when english people are speaking too much with a pronounced accent and arrent speaking english with a "annoying speaking accent", I don't really understand: like the Who Singer. It'll be the same for you Nate if I was talking at you in French.

Touchdown for the Saints!

C.10
S.12

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touchdown for the Colts!
C.17
S.13

13-10 Saints. Nice job on the onside kick!

13-17 Colts. Man that was such a hard touchdown!

It was awsome! But I thought I waz the one updating the scores!?

Yeah Go SAINTS! 1st and 10

If you watch the ticker at the top of the forums i have been the whole time haha