Superbowl XLIV

Hyperbullet

I'll be shouting for the Saints, because feck it I love an underdog story! Dont think anyone would have predicted them to get this far, and on a different level, New Orleans could do with the boost. However the Colts have been so impressive this season, its just so hard to see them losing.

kmart6

Underdog story....not too sure about that! Katrina was 2005, yes the city feels they have a bound with them cause of the Superdome being used as a camp etc, but I feel the team itself has been there or there abouts since then!

A true underdog story would have been the Jets beating the Colts to get there!!

Black Swan

Although the Colts look more skilled, better led, and prepared for the SB, the recent cheering of the post-Katrina New Orleans citizens is hard to ignore. So I'm going to join them and cheer for the Saints, and yell "Run Reggie run!"

kmart6

Tut tut.....
*bows head in shame and leaves*

tallaghtoutlaws

To be honest I feel that not enough credit is being given to Sean Payton and his coaching staff and all the players. Sure Katrina has brought them all together as one. The fans keeping faith and going to the games over the last 4 seasons also motivates but lets not forget the work Payton and his staff have done over the last 4 years. That team has gotton better and drafted and signed the right personnel to make it happen. Sharper being one example this season. The Saints are definitely on a level to hang with the big boys. A solid regular season and off season has proved that.

kmart6

Feel exactly the same!!! Him and his staff really deserve more credit! They turned a 3-13 team into a Superbowl finalist in 4 years....credit where credits due like!

Hyperbullet

Would anyone have picked the Saints at the beginning of the season to end up in the superbowl?

kmart6

Would anyone have picked the Jets to make the Conference Final?!

Would have anyone predicted the Pats to be blown out in the Wildcard round?!

Would anyone have predicted the Titans to end up 8-8 after starting 0-6?!


No matter what picks/predictions are made something different will happen....that's the nature of sports!

And to be honest I'd say the Saints would have been up there in a lot of prediction tables dut the progress they made this year as well as acquisition of some key players!

Hyperbullet

kmart6 wrote: »

Would anyone have picked the Jets to make the Conference Final?!

Would have anyone predicted the Pats to be blown out in the Wildcard round?!

Would anyone have predicted the Titans to end up 8-8 after starting 0-6?!


No matter what picks/predictions are made something different will happen....that's the nature of sports!

And to be honest I'd say the Saints would have been up there in a lot of prediction tables dut the progress they made this year as well as acquisition of some key players!

First off, it was a genuine question that referred to the start of the season, so there's no need to come across as that aggressive.

I wouldn't have picked them at the start of the season, I would've picked them as a team that could have been a stumbling block for the likes of the Pats and the Colts. They finished 8-8 last season.

Not that i'm arguing that they're not in the superbowl on merit, they've had an amazing season.

kmart6

Wasn't being aggresive in the slightest dude....it was my way of making the point that no matter what predictions change regardless.

As a unit the Saints have been improving under Payton the last 4 years and this year there was something expected of them due to having a consistent QB, an explosive back in Reggie Bush and an improved defense!

tallaghtoutlaws

Hyperbullet wrote: »

First off, it was a genuine question that referred to the start of the season, so there's no need to come across as that aggressive.

I wouldn't have picked them at the start of the season, I would've picked them as a team that could have been a stumbling block for the likes of the Pats and the Colts. They finished 8-8 last season.

Not that i'm arguing that they're not in the superbowl on merit, they've had an amazing season.

To answer your question no they were not tipped to go to the Superbowl. They weren't even tipped to finish above Carolina or Atlanta.

But here is the beauty of the NFL. After the first couple of weeks and seeing how good Payton and his staff got it together after making some great acquisitions in the off season. The Saints went right up that ladder and were being tipped by a fair few corners.

Predictions before a game is even played are just that predictions. But the Saints were growing strong albeit they did what nobody thought they would do for at least a couple more years. But this is testement to the hard work by their coaches and players.

But I wouldn't say they are the "Underdogs" as everyone is throwing around. They clearly showed this season they can play ball. Now lets not confuse Underdog and the betting term Underdog Most likely the bookies will have the Colts as Favourites. But even the Bookies are not confident with the Colts as clear favs. Spread is 4.5 or 5 depending on where you throw your money.

Hyperbullet

kmart6 wrote: »

Wasn't being aggresive in the slightest dude....it was my way of making the point that no matter what predictions change regardless.

As a unit the Saints have been improving under Payton the last 4 years and this year there was something expected of them due to having a consistent QB, an explosive back in Reggie Bush and an improved defense!

You're right. Been having a look at their stats for the last few seasons, things have been on the up I guess. Weren't so hot last season though. Regardless of whether they win or lose on Sunday I hope they're a team that comes on stronger next season. They have been great to watch over the past few months.

kmart6

tallaghtoutlaws wrote: »

To answer your question no they were not tipped to go to the Superbowl.

Hehe....

tallaghtoutlaws wrote: »

They weren't even tipped to finish above Carolina or Atlanta.

Point 32 if you kindly would sir....

tallaghtoutlaws

kmart6 wrote: »

Hehe....



Point 32 if you kindly would sir....

Wow so two people tipped them :D To be honest I didn't bother searching to see. As from what memory served a lot of people tipped them to finish beneath the Panthers and Falcons based on last season. Do I care? No not really as I am one of Sean Payton's biggest fans

davyjose

Pretty sure I picked them to win the NFC South, and Brees would reach the 40TD mark. So yeah, i had a lot of respect for NO coming into the season. Still do. They're capable of throwing up 40-50 points on Sunday, and that thought almost keeps me awake at night.
The week 2 win against Pittsburgh said it all though. This team looked like making the Super Bowl all season.

kmart6

davyjose wrote: »

They're capable of throwing up 40-50 points on Sunday

Less of that talk please...

kmart6

tallaghtoutlaws wrote: »

Wow so two people tipped them :D To be honest I didn't bother searching to see. As from what memory served a lot of people tipped them to finish beneath the Panthers and Falcons based on last season. Do I care? No not really as I am one of Sean Payton's biggest fans

Man I searched for the laugh and surprisingly those were the first two results I got....couldn't believe it myself!!!:)

tallaghtoutlaws

davyjose wrote: »

The week 2 win against Philly said it all though. This team looked like making the Super Bowl all season.

For me Pre-season ranks are irrelevant and I always let the football do the talking and this in bold is part of the reason. You hit the nail on its head.

kmart6

When did they play Pittsburgh?!

tallaghtoutlaws

kmart6 wrote: »

When did they play Pittsburgh?!

I was about to ask him the same thing considering I bloody quoted it to reference the football doing the talking hahaha But Im guessing he meant the destruction of Philly.

kmart6

Yeah he had me terrible confused there and was thinking he musta meant the Eagles!

davyjose

Yup ... Philly. My bad. Yeah, by then it looked like the Saints were on a march.

rich1874

Would anyone have picked the Saints at the beginning of the season to end up in the superbowl?

Absolutely. In fact i thought they would of got there last year, they definitely should of made the playoffs at least if not from some really very close and almost inexplicable losses to the likes of the Bears, Vikings, Bucs etc. And i thought once they got those defensive frailties out of the way and were able to win big games they'd be a force. Once they make it out of a very tough NFC south division they could beat anyone in the playoffs, especially with homefield advantage.

frostie500

kmart6 wrote: »

As a unit the Saints have been improving under Payton the last 4 years and this year there was something expected of them due to having a consistent QB, an explosive back in Reggie Bush and an improved defense!

This seems to be a common theme in a lot of previews for the Superbowl. 'Reggie Bush is an elite, gamechanging back.' It sounds good but Reggie Bush has (with the exception of the Cards game) been a pedestrian NFL player that the Saints havent been able to consistently utilise to be a productive player in the pro game. When he came out of college Bush was an explosive football player but in the pros he hasnt been close to replicating that form. He has $20 million on the table for the next two years and I cant even see why the Saints will retain him after this season when they have players like Piere Thomas that run the ball better at a fraction of the cost and have recievers that are more productive than him again at a fraction of the cost.

tallaghtoutlaws

frostie500 wrote: »

This seems to be a common theme in a lot of previews for the Superbowl. 'Reggie Bush is an elite, gamechanging back.' It sounds good but Reggie Bush has (with the exception of the Cards game) been a pedestrian NFL player that the Saints havent been able to consistently utilise to be a productive player in the pro game. When he came out of college Bush was an explosive football player but in the pros he hasnt been close to replicating that form. He has $20 million on the table for the next two years and I cant even see why the Saints will retain him after this season when they have players like Piere Thomas that run the ball better at a fraction of the cost and have recievers that are more productive than him again at a fraction of the cost.

Have to agree with Frostie. Bush isn't the player everyone makes him out to be. With Bell and Thomas doing all the work Bush became nothing more than an optional extra. He was brought in for certain situations and plays. And to be honest other than the fact he had a good post season he was rubbish in the regular season. Saints would be mad to waste that cash on him especially with an uncapped year I'm sure those funds would be spent better elsewhere.

frostie500

tallaghtoutlaws wrote: »

Have to agree with Frostie. Bush isn't the player everyone makes him out to be. With Bell and Thomas doing all the work Bush became nothing more than an optional extra. He was brought in for certain situations and plays. And to be honest other than the fact he had a good post season he was rubbish in the regular season. Saints would be mad to waste that cash on him especially with an uncapped year I'm sure those funds would be spent better elsewhere.

Just as an afterthought, I actually think that Bush is exceptionally lucky to play with the Saints and their explosive offence. It masks how ineffective he has been to this point. If he was at, for instance the Raiders or the Bills, his lack of production would show up a lot easier. The big question for me is where does he go after this season? The Saints will look to trade him and I cant see any real value in him. He was drafted two overall and I think that they would be lucky to get a second round pick for him even.

Do you remember when that draft occured and Mario Williams went number 1 overall and everyone lambasted the Texans for not taking Bush and hometown hero Vince Young. Its pretty clear now that the Texans took the best of the three and their scouts could see that Bush couldnt perform as a feature back in the pros. To be honest, and USC fans would back this up, Bush wasnt even a feature back for the Trojans. They had big Len Dale White in there and he had more touches in their last two years together and was the guy that Caroll looked at when they needed to grind out 3 or 4 yards and not Bush

kmart6

He's still capable of big plays though guys....look at the 2 against the Cardinals...you have to admit that!

tallaghtoutlaws

kmart6 wrote: »

He's still capable of big plays though guys....look at the 2 against the Cardinals...you have to admit that!

The odd big play is absolutely fantastic when you are consistent. But unfortunately he isn't consistent. He needs a huge huge Bowl game to convince his critics he is good enough to fit in the NFL. To be honest as much as I don't like him I would like to see him in another type of offense to see if he can cut it. With the weapons that the Saints have now in the backfield they are going to need less and less of Bush.

kmart6

Well to be honest I hope he has no big plays on Sunday!:D

God forbid that the Saints win, this is a nice achievement list for Bush all the same:

National High School Championship (can't find the year so not sure bout this,think they were Division II finals); helix High School
National College Championship 2004: USC
SuperBowl 2010: New Orleans Saints

frostie500

kmart6 wrote: »

He's still capable of big plays though guys....look at the 2 against the Cardinals...you have to admit that!

Yeah he had a good game against the Cards and he actually ran through tackles and ran tough on the inside but he's been in the league for four years now and he has only made a handful of big plays in that time. Thats the issue with drafting a running back at the top of the draft-there just isnt the value to justify taking them. Reggie is a classic example of that witht he 20 mill he is due to be paid. To illustrate the point on running backs and value being found in later rounds- in the same draft Maurice Jones Drew and Leon Washington were taken from the 60th picks to the 130th. Mike Bell was undrafted the same year and plays ahead of Bush. His career stats are 4.0 average when rushing but he has only averaged 500 yards a season and recieving isnt much better. The only element that he has shown true ability is in the return game but even then he only averages 1 TD a season.

Just as a postscript: Do you think Bush is known for being a football player at this stage or is he better known for being Kim Kardashian's boyfriend!