Tag: Drew Brees (Page 19 of 34)

      Super Bowl XLIV Preview: 5 Factors the Saints must overcome

      February 3, 2010 /

      As part of our ongoing coverage leading up to Super Bowl XLIV, here are five factors the Saints must overcome to beat the Colts.

      1. First time jitters.
      Since the berth of the Super Bowl in 1966, only seven teams have won in their first appearance: the Packers, Jets, Steelers, 49ers, Bears, Giants and Buccaneers. The remaining 18 teams appearing in their first Super Bowl all lost, meaning 30% of first-timers fall in the NFL title game. Trends like these mean nothing when it comes to the actual game, but it’s worth noting that this will be Drew Brees’ first Super Bowl, compared to Peyton Manning, who will be appearing in his second in four years. The fact that the Colts have already played once in Miami is an advantage for them as well.

      2. Peyton Manning’s quick-release.
      Perhaps no team has done a better job this postseason at battering the quarterback than the Saints. But Manning doesn’t make it easy for teams to get to him because he excels at reading the defense at the line of scrimmage, diagnosing the coverage and getting the ball out of his hands as quickly as possible. He also makes adjustments better than any QB in the game, as evidence of how quickly the tide turned in the AFC Championship Game towards the end of the first half. Gregg Williams can boast all he wants about getting to Manning, but his players still have to execute. And that’s easier said than done when it comes to pressuring Peyton.

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      Turnovers kill Vikings as Saints advance to Miami

      January 24, 2010 /

      Excuse the borrowed analogy, but there’s no other way to describe what the Vikings did on Sunday night then to say that they shot themselves in the foot. (And repeatedly, might I add.)

      The media is going to concentrate on Brett Favre’s interception in New Orleans territory with 19 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Vikings turned the ball over five times in their 31-28 loss to the Saints in the NFC Championship Game. Favre’s interception was a horrid mistake that only most rookies make, but the fact of the matter is that the blame cannot be pinned on just one person. And truth be told, even if Favre threw that pass 12 rows deep into the stands, there’s no guarantee that Ryan Longwell would have made a 50-plus yard attempt on the next play.

      The Vikings screwed the pooch tonight – plain and simple. That’s not to take anything away from the Saints because Drew Brees and company deserve the right to play in Miami in two weeks, but Minnesota blew several golden opportunities to put more points on the board. A team can’t turn the ball over five times (it could have been seven had they not recovered two Adrian Peterson fumbles) and expect to win. They just can’t.

      But what doomed the Vikings more than anything tonight was when they were flagged for having too many men in the huddle on that third and 10 play from the Saints’ 33-yard line. Had they not gotten that penalty, there’s a good chance that Brad Childress would have called something safer (even if it were a pass play) and therefore Favre probably wouldn’t have gotten picked off while trying to make a play. For all their mistakes on the night, that 5-yard penalty may have been the reason they’re not heading to Miami in two weeks.

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      NFL Playoff Preview: Championship Sunday

      January 24, 2010 /

      New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts
      3:00 pm ET
      TV—CBS

      The New York Jets and their brashly confident head coach Rex Ryan just keep believing they can beat anyone. And while rolling over the fading Bengals twice was impressive, going into San Diego and beating a Chargers team that many expected to go to the Super Bowl was another thing entirely. Sure, they had a few breaks go their way, like Nate Kaeding missing three field goals, but the Jets came to play, and they held Philip Rivers and that high-flying offense to 14 points. It goes without saying that facing Peyton Manning’s Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium will be just as challenging, if not more challenging for Ryan’s upstart squad, but anyone who counts out their “ground and pound” offense and stifling D isn’t paying attention. Meanwhile, the Colts will not be pulling their starters in the third quarter as they did against Gang Green in Week 16, and they proved to everyone last Saturday that resting those players allowed them to be a step quicker than the wild card Ravens. Sure, the Ravens held the Colts to 20 points, but the Colts’ defense squashed the Ravens’ #5 ground game, allowing just 3 points, and they hope to do the same to the Jets’ top-ranked rushing attack, daring rookie QB Mark Sanchez to beat them through the air. Last week, Sanchez made just enough plays, but he needs to be wary of that quick, opportunistic defense of Indianapolis that forced four turnovers against Baltimore. THE PICK: COLTS 20, JETS 16

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      Edwards’ development has been vital for Vikings

      January 21, 2010 /

      NFL scouts say that it usually takes a defensive end three years to make an impact for their team. In the case of Ray Edwards, it took four years but the Vikings don’t mind.

      After racking up 13 sacks in his first three seasons in the NFL, Edwards now has 11.5 sacks through 17 games this year. He gained national attention last Sunday by sacking Tony Romo three times in Minnesota’s 34-3 win over Dallas, while also compiling five tackles and two tackles for loss.

      His performance ignited a Minnesota fan base that has seen the former 2006 fourth round pick mature into legitimate pass-rushing threat opposite Jared Allen on the Vikings’ defensive line. His development this season has been especially noteworthy, because at one point this summer it appeared that nickel specialist Brian Robison would push Edwards for more playing time.

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      Viking and Saint fans better enjoy the moment

      January 19, 2010 /

      I was listening to Scott Van Pelt’s radio show on ESPN earlier today and he brought up an interesting fact about the NFC Championship Game: Over the last five years, there has only been one team to make a repeat performance in the NFC Championship Game, which are the Saints (2007, 2009). That means we have seen nine out of possible 10 teams that could make the title game.

      Talk about parity.

      The interesting thing to me about this factual nugget is that every year when fans and media pundits make their predictions, how many of them include the Super Bowl winner or runner-up in the conference title game? I don’t have hard facts, but I’m willing to assume that more times than not, prognosticators predict that teams that won the previous years will at least make another deep postseason run, yet history says otherwise (at least in the NFC, that is).

      Take the Saints for example. The 2009 season hasn’t concluded yet, but chances are they’re going to have a similar makeup next season. Sean Payton will still be the head coach, Gregg Williams will still be the defensive coordinator, Drew Brees will still be under center and they’re still going to have a potent offense, regardless of whether or not Reggie Bush is retained. So logic would state that if they made it this far in 2009, that they could repeat next year.

      But that’s the great thing about the NFL – it’s completely unpredictable. That’s why teams that didn’t make the playoffs this year still have hope, and not just hope for a postseason berth next season, but possibly more. If history repeats itself, there’s a very good chance that we will see two completely different teams in the NFC conference game next season.

      Of course, if you’re a Detroit Lions fan just go ahead and disregard that last paragraph.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

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