Oh yeah, the game.

Having coached for so many years, there were teams I had that had a large margin of error and teams that had absolutely none. Look at the Vikes in the Championship; if they had 4 turnovers instead of 5, they win. If the Saints have 2 instead of 1, they lose.

The Saints for the past two games had an extremely small margin of error, and last night's was absolutely miniscule. If Hartley misses one of those field goals, or if there's a turnover in the first half, the Saints lose as well. Because of the onsides kick, and obviously the final pick...and obviously because of how meticulous Brees was, the Saints threaded that needle.

It was an incredible gameplan, which I was scared with after the crappy one that Payton put up against the Vikings.

mrs. v was confident the whole game as her streak of teams winning in every city she moved to (Baltimore-NJ-NOLA) couldn't be broken. Sure enough, after the field goals and subsequent stops of the Colts, I started to have hope as well.

I was happy for the Shockster getting the game-winner. Despite my unholy connection to him, I've always liked him. I'm usually a fan of flawed characters, and he certainly fits that bill. He wants to be great, and wants to be a legend, but he can't figure out how to control his intensity or how to battle his meatheadedness (Just because someone's a big, dumb meathead, doesn't necessarily mean they want to be.)

I know how much it broke his heart to not be there for the Giants win, and to be essentially blamed for being the one who held Eli Manning back. His season last year was such a nightmare, and I know how hard it was. I can only hope he has a long career in the WWE after this is all finished.

That first post there was a lovely one, jv.

Well done and Congratulations to Who Dat Nation.

I felt that the Colts really missed Freeney being 100% to get pressure on Brees and it told somewhat. That said, the Saints seriously got their defensive selves together to hold the Colts back on significant drives and Brees was like a machine.

Most sickening Super Bowl moment? Tebow. I seriously hope that costs him a first round draft for inappropriate behavior by a college kid.

That last post on the previous page has to be one of my favourite OTF posts. Glad you're getting on well in New orleans`jv

dglh wrote:
Most sickening Super Bowl moment? Tebow. I seriously hope that costs him a first round draft for inappropriate behavior by a college kid.

Seconded.

dglh wrote:

Most sickening Super Bowl moment? Tebow. I seriously hope that costs him a first round draft for inappropriate behavior by a college kid.

Geez...dunno if sickening is the word I'd use. More pissed at CBS for their double standards and sad that the family is being used by hate monger James Dobson and his ultra-intolerant Focus on the Family.

Inappropriate behavior? He's an adult taking a stand on a controversial position and while we many of us may disagree with that position, (I am fervently pro-choice) he certainly has that right. I think we could all come up w/ a laundry list of potential draft picks w/ far more serious examples of inappropriate behavior.

Not that he's likely to be drafted in the first round anyway, but can't imagine a GM now soured on drafting Tebow due to his 30 seconds of infamy. I think they can live w/ his pro-life stance vs. say, dog fighting or domestic abuse.

Hats off to Focus on the Family--they played me and others on the left and feminists like a violin. I think they knew that when people found out they were doing a commercial, there would be outrage. Then when we all saw that it said basically nothing, the immediate reaction a lot of people had was "that's what you were getting so upset about?"

Cal Alamein wrote:
dglh wrote:

Most sickening Super Bowl moment? Tebow. I seriously hope that costs him a first round draft for inappropriate behavior by a college kid.

Geez...dunno if sickening is the word I'd use. More pissed at CBS for their double standards and sad that the family is being used by hate monger James Dobson and his ultra-intolerant Focus on the Family.

Inappropriate behavior? He's an adult taking a stand on a controversial position and while we many of us may disagree with that position, (I am fervently pro-choice) he certainly has that right. I think we could all come up w/ a laundry list of potential draft picks w/ far more serious examples of inappropriate behavior.

Not that he's likely to be drafted in the first round anyway, but can't imagine a GM now soured on drafting Tebow due to his 30 seconds of infamy. I think they can live w/ his pro-life stance vs. say, dog fighting or domestic abuse.

I assumed dglh was referring to the tackle.

Femme Falafel wrote:
Cal Alamein wrote:
dglh wrote:

Most sickening Super Bowl moment? Tebow. I seriously hope that costs him a first round draft for inappropriate behavior by a college kid.

Geez...dunno if sickening is the word I'd use. More pissed at CBS for their double standards and sad that the family is being used by hate monger James Dobson and his ultra-intolerant Focus on the Family.

Inappropriate behavior? He's an adult taking a stand on a controversial position and while we many of us may disagree with that position, (I am fervently pro-choice) he certainly has that right. I think we could all come up w/ a laundry list of potential draft picks w/ far more serious examples of inappropriate behavior.

Not that he's likely to be drafted in the first round anyway, but can't imagine a GM now soured on drafting Tebow due to his 30 seconds of infamy. I think they can live w/ his pro-life stance vs. say, dog fighting or domestic abuse.

I assumed dglh was referring to the tackle.

If so, I stand seriously red faced!

Incandenza wrote:
Hats off to Focus on the Family--they played me and others on the left and feminists like a violin. I think they knew that when people found out they were doing a commercial, there would be outrage. Then when we all saw that it said basically nothing, the immediate reaction a lot of people had was "that's what you were getting so upset about?"

You'll never get me to take my hat off to that organization. They preach intolerance, are an overt sidearm for the republican party, have a ridiculous amount of political clout, and are hypocrital and non-christian to the core.

Dobson, like most all powerful televangelists, believes that 'his' Jesus and God are the true ones; certainly not the Jesus and God of a liberal or person of color.

Be ready for more ads to air - after last night's ad I am sure his outfit is many more $$$ richer.

Cal, if you were to read past "Hats off to Focus on the Family" and read a touch more deeper into what Inca was saying, you'd find that not only would you agree with him but you proved his point.

Thanks WOM, TMK.

And for anyone who thought there were too many breaks, here's a video of the actual playing time of the entire game: 14 Minutes.

jason voorhees wrote:
Cal, if you were to read past "Hats off to Focus on the Family" and read a touch more deeper into what Inca was saying, you'd find that not only would you agree with him but you proved his point.

You are right - Inca's too sly for my over-reactive BS detector.

Thanks. They really are, to borrow the phrase, a shower of cunts. I'm reading Max Blumenthal's Republican Gomorrah now, and the stuff James Dobson has said about childraising is just disturbing and sick.

I read somewhere along the way that CBS was working with them to make the ad acceptable. I didn't think it would be Tim Tebow waving pictures of aborted fetuses, but I thought it would be more overtly anti-abortion than it was. Perhaps it was just a big bluff all along, or perhaps they filmed multiple versions and aired the least controversial one. Whatever the plan, they certainly got their message out, thanks to all of the media speculation, even if it wasn't in the ad.

I read a comment on Feministing, addressing the "what if Planned Parenthood wanted to run an ad during the Super Bowl?" argument: basically, that if Planned Parenthood had $2 million to buy an ad during the Super Bowl, they wouldn't--they would spend that money on their operations. But the purpose of Focus on the Family and groups like them is spreading their hate to as wide an audience as possible.

Focus on the Family are despicable and evil but if I didn't know they ran the ad, I wouldn't think it was from a pro-life organization. All it did was show how one woman's decision not to have an abortion worked out. I think most people watching the game, if the didn't hear of the controversy in advance, didn't understand what that ad was about. For reasons I wont' get into here, I watched the game in the company of other people, several of whom said "what was that advertising? Was that for shaving cream or something?"

I agree with Sally Jenkins that protesting the ad is totally the wrong approach for NOW to take, not that I'd expect them to make the smart play. It just makes them look whiney and petty.

Instead of objecting to CBS' decision to run the ad, they should have proposed an ad pointing out that, if it had been up to Focus on the Family, Mrs. Tebow wouldn't have had a choice at all and maybe point out what an evil cretin Dobson is, lest anyone be fooled by the upbeat, pleasant tone of the Tebow ad. If CBS refused to run their competing ad, then, no doubt, it would get all kinds of free play on the internet and the idiot tv talking head shows. Then CBS would look bad. Or if they'd just said nothing at all, I don't think most viewers would have given any thought to that ad at all.

It would be like those Mormon ads that promote very general virtues like being nice to people and spending time with one's kids. Yeah, when you really look into it, the Mormon's are actually kind of a scary cult, but those ads don't raise much controversy because the message is benign and we all accept that the Mormon's have a right to believe whatever crazy shit they want. End of discussion.


However, I don't agree with Sally Jenkins that CBS should have the right to show what ever ads they want to accept. The over-the-air networks have priveledged and exclusive access to a big piece of the airwaves that other broadcasters don't. And they have an exclusive deal with the Super Bowl, the championship of our most popular sports league which is protected by a special anti-trust status.

But having said that, I don't know exactly what their obligations ought to be. They shouldn't have to accept any old racist/sexist/godawful shit. And just excluding anything "controversial" or political seems a bit arbitrary. After all, a lot of the beer and Dorito are more contrary to the public good in a lot of ways than that Tim Tebow ad. But it seems like they shouldn't be picking sides in something like abortion.

www.newseum.org/media/dfp/pdf8/LA_TP.pdf


The game:

I thought Payton out-coached Caldwell. The Saints recognized that their only chance was to keep it close, not give up big plays and then somehow get a couple of big plays to break their way. The only way to make that happen is to take some risks. If they hadn't they would have lost.

Going for it on 4th and short was the right move. If they'd kicked the field goal, they'd then have kicked off and given the Colts a chance to drive the field starting at the 20 or 30. As it is, they gave it to Manning on the one, which made it near impossible for him to drive the field, and then they got it back on the 50 and managed to get 3 points anyway.

But having said that, the lame off-tackle play they chose to run on 4th and 1 was stupid. On either 3rd or 4th, they needed some kind of clever slant pass. Brees is their best weapon, so they should have put it in his hands. The run just wasn't reliable against the Colts front.

The onside kick was a great play. Obviously they'd practiced it enough to know they could pull it off. The kick itself was near perfect. Indeed, the Saints were much better prepared in a lot of often-overlooked areas, including kick coverage and how to run a hurry-up offense. Payton is really good and managing the clock and the game like that.

Manning made some great throws, but the Colts just didn't seem to be playing like they knew they were in a close game. They just didn't press the issue enought, I thought.

The interception, which he'll be unfairly remembered for, wasn't really his fault. From what I can tell from the replay, the receiver clearly failed to make the cut when he was supposed to which allowed Porter to jump the route.

With everything he's done for New Orleans and the great way he's handled all of his business, Drew Brees is the greatest living American. I believe it.

Bill Simmons had an interesting counterfactual. When the Chargers decided to go with Rivers because they thought Brees shoulder might be gimpy, he was originally focused on Miami. But they fucked up and pursued Dante Culpepeper instead. Brees saw the opportunity in New Orleans and now the rest is history. But what if the Dolphins hadn't used typical NFL committee-think and instead pursued Brees, maybe the Dolphins have a bit more success with Nick Saban. Then Saban doesn't go to Alabama. Then maybe Bama doesn't start to generate a lot of buzz and they don't get the recruits and continue to slip behind Auburn instate and Florida in the SEC and certainly don't win another National Title. Meanwhile, the Saints continue on without a good QB. Tank. Draft some bust or another. Continue to suck. Morale declines. Benson is able to move the team to San Antonio.


Is there any talk in NOLA about building a new stadium? I know that Benson was angling to replace the Superdome before Katrina. With all of the rebuilding going on, I figure that at some point in the near future, there will be some developer down there who wants to package a new stadium with some waterfront development/boondoggle or whatever

Watched the first half live, and the second half last night. Bit of a classic. Could I get back into American football?

Lovely stuff from jv there.

Reed, you're half-way through writing the script for football's version of Sliding Doors...

Btw - not only is that three classic SBs in a row since the BBC started showing it, but it's three classics where 'the right team' won. Giants, Steelers, Saints. I've enjoyed watching them all.

Now, if only the Beeb would follow that up by having a highlights/roundup show that ran through the wee small hours on BBC Three both weekend nights (instead of just 'closedown'). Then it'd be possible to follow the entire season closely too. That's what we need over here if the League is going to get any kind of following at all.