An exciting end to 2009
Can't say I saw that coming.
Peyton Manning has the ball trailing by seven points late in the fourth quarter, you just assume the game will soon be tied. That's the script we've seen time and time again.
Didn't turn out that way last night.
Peyton's pick-six with just over three minutes left in regulation all but clinched it for the Saints, giving Drew Brees and company the first Super Bowl championship in franchise history and setting off what must have been an insane celebration in New Orleans.
You've got to love the aggressive, go-for-it-all playcalling of Saints head coach Sean Payton, who had the guts to call a surprise onside kick to start the second half. Brees turned that gamble into a go-ahead touchdown, and the Saints never looked back.
The better quarterback and head coach won last night, and surprisingly, Manning wasn't included in that duo.
Anyone else notice how during the presentation of the Lombardi Trophy, Payton introduced Brees by calling him the "MVP of the Super Bowl and the MVP of our league"?
How's that for a not so thinly-veiled shot at a voting group who chose Manning over Brees for the league MVP award?
On a locally-themed note, former Ravens kicker Matt Stover went 1-for-2 on field goal tries last night, with the miss coming from 51 yards.
51-yard field goals aren't gimmies by any stretch of the imagination, but you know that situation is exactly what was going through the minds of GM Ozzie Newsome and head coach John Harbaugh when they opted to go another route at the place kicking position last offseason.
Things obviously didn't work out as Newsome, Harbaugh or Steve Hauschka planned, but right or wrong, Stover's lack of reliability outside 45 yards was a key factor in the decision not to bring him back for the 2009 season.
Suddenly, as of this morning, the focus of the league turns from the Super Bowl to the 2010 offseason. Before you know it, the Combine will be here, free agents will officially hit the market, and we'll be working towards the NFL Draft.
Hope you're all staying dry, resting your aches and pains from shoveling, and getting ready for an exciting few months of rumors and intrigue. It should be lots of fun to watch how things shake out.
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Categories (click for archive)Dan Kolko | Ravens News |
Great game, and a feel good story to go with it.
Now it's time for next year. Bring on the combine! It's like a kid at Christmas, sneaking a peak at his new possible presents.
Wish list:(Two of the following: Tate, Kyle Wilson, Gilyard, Brandon Grahman, LaFell. Third Round: Trade up for Dexter McCluster)
Congrats to the Saints.
Another 8 inches of snow tomorrow here in PA. I have NO WHERE to put that. It is up to my chest high at the end of my driveway already. That's O.K. Training camp will be here soon enough and I will be complaining then when I go to Westminster when it is 95 degress again like last August.
If that was the ravens in the super bowl and stover missing that field goal, we ravens fans would be pretty furious about it, no doubt. Maybe the fans will finally understand that Stover just does not have the range he used to have and now John Harbaugh is probably saying to himself "I told you so!". Highly doubt he's gonna say that in front of the media but I know in some ways, he feels pretty good about it right now. You think the ravens will browse through the market for a kicker or in the draft, if Cundiff doesn't work out hypothetically?
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Josh,
They'll bring in someone to compete with Cundiff in training camp, be it a free agent signee or a late-round draft pick. Cundiff did well this season, but he hasn't earned the job for 2010 just yet.
-Dan
There aren't all that many times when a kicker is called on to kick 50 yard FGs, and 50+ yard kicks aren't automatic for anyone. Stover is still nearly automatic under 40 yards. The guy is still one of the best kickers in the league, and has had one of the great kicking careers of all time.
Dear Josh,
Matt Stover was 33-33 in extra point attempts this year.
He was overall 15-18 on field goals including the postseason.
He was 0-2 in field goals over 50 yards but
15-16 for field goals 49 yards and under.
Not many kickers hit +50 yarders in this league.
I say Matt did pretty dang good this year.
FWIW, more factoids about Stover: Through the 2009 season, Stover has made 471 field goals out of 563 attempts and 591 out of 594 extra point attempts.
http://www.nfl.com/players/mattstover/profile?id=STO77233214
He hasn't missed an extra points since 1996, setting the record with 372 in 2008. I'm not sure what the streak is now, but it's at least 405 with 33 this year. Of course, anyone can kick extra points, even Chad Ochocinco, lol.
The guy has pretty amazing concentration and focus.