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Story Archives: Really ready for some football
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Really ready for some football
So, have you ever been so ready for some football?
How about New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl football?
I called my buddy Guideaux who has been holed up in Alcatraz for the last 40 years for betting big bucks on the Saints. He spent a lot of time in their pysche ward.
It was tough getting through because he is in solitary confinement for sending threatening letters to Joe Montana and Steve Young for all those years of being responsible for keeping the Saints the Aints.
I was desperate so I almost made a New Orleans Saints shirt that had Who Dat on it so the NFL would come and arrest me for infringing on their rights because they own the phrase, but fortunately I finally got through.
A friend of mine named Conan who found some spare time on his hands tunneled under the wire and got a message to me. Hope he didn't mess up his hair.
Anyway, I finally got ahold of Guideaux and told him the Saints were in the Super Bowl.
He said, "Yeah, right," and hung up.
Oh well, I tried.
OK. OK, did you really expect a serious start to this column talking about the Saints in the Super Bowl?
I mean, think about it. Think about the players who have dressed up in black and gold.
When New Orleans was awarded the franchise in November 1966, the Saints were given the first and last choices in each of the 17 rounds of the 1967 draft.
Bubba Smith of Michigan State was considered the top player in college at the time.
The Saints passed on a chance to acquire Fran Tarkenton from the Minnesota Vikings for the No. 1 pick because Tarkenton did not get along with then-coach Norm Van Brocklin.
The Saints acquired veteran quarterback Gary Cuozzo and center Bill Curry from the Baltimore Colts in exchange for the rights to the top pick in 1967, which turned out to be big Bubba Smith.
The Saints picked fullback Les Kelley from Alabama with the last pick in the first round. They passed on Willie Lanier, who the Kansas City Chiefs took in the second round, and he turned out to be an NFL Hall of Fame linebacker.
With the first pick in the second round, the Saints selected Bo Burris from the University of Houston.The Saints passed on cornerback Lem Barney, who is in the NFL Hall of Fame, who played college ball at Jackson State.
In 1974, the Saints selected Ohio State linebacker Rick Middleton and Michigan tight end Paul Seal.
In 1975, the Saints used their two first round picks to select Purdue receiver Larry Burton and Ohio State offensive tackle Kurt Schumacher.
Of course, you can go on and on about Saint draft choices. In 1979, with the 11th overall pick of the draft, the Saints drafted Texas kicker Russell Erxleben in the first round. He never made the Pro Bowl. He barely made it out of New Orleans alive.
But that was then and this is now.
Do the Saints have a chance?
Let's face it, the Colts have been there and that is HUGE when it comes to the Super Bowl.
The Saint defense has not exactly been setting the Dome on fire in recent games except for the Arizona game and Peyton Manning disects defenses better than Nick Saban recruits football players.
So what's the biggest matchup?
Is it Will Smith against Colt left tackle Charlie Johnson?
That's a key, but not the biggest.
How about Reggie Bush against Indianapolis' punt coverage?
Don't think we will see a lot of that.
Reggie Wayne against Tracy Porter?
I think you can count on Tracy getting a lot of help. But watch out for the Colt tight ends. Minnesota's big receivers were wide open against the Saints.
How about the Saint running game against Colt linebackers.
This is huge. Pierre Thomas had some key runs against Minnesota and will have to help move the ball on the ground for New Orleans to open up the passing game. And, please, open up that passing game.
While all those matchups are keys, I think Marques Colston against Jacob Lacey is going to be big.
With Devery Henderson, Lance Moore and Robert Meachum, Colston should get some one-on-one matchups against Lacey.
I think Colston has to have at least 10 catches for the Saints to win.
The first quarter is going to be huge. The Saints have to come in poised and not make any killer mistakes.
There's no stopping Indy, but if the Saints can match their scores and run off some clock, they can keep it close until the fourth quarter.
The offense cannot go three and out more than three times. They must give the defense time to rest and regroup and hopefully come up with a couple of stops.
In the end, Brees hits Colston for the winning score with two minutes remaining.
Now if I can just get back in touch with Guideaux. Wonder what Arsenio Hall is doing? |
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