Loading ...Saints Ambush Colts To Win Super Bowl
There were 20 minutes left in halftime when Saints head coach Sean Payton walked past Thomas Morstead and casually said, “We’re running it.” The Saints’ punter then sat in his locker for the rest of the break TERRIFIED because he knew his team’s chance to win Super Bowl XLIV might rest on his right foot.
Normally, punters aren’t involved in too many key plays. But Morstead was now being called on to execute the play called “ambush” on the opening kickoff of the second half. Ambush was their onside kick play and if successful, New Orleans would have the ball and all the momentum. If it failed, the Colts would have a short field and a chance to score an easy touchdown that might put the game away.
Morstead, who never kicked off until this season, hadn’t practiced onside kicks much. When asked to try some out, his position coach and former Saints kicker John Carney heard he had played soccer and told him to “Bend It Like Beckham” so that’s what he worked on.
When they came back out of the locker room for warm-ups, Morstead punted a bunch of times and then boomed one kickoff like he always does so as not to tip off the Colts that something unusual was coming. When the time came for the kickoff, he was excited.
“I knew if I executed we would get the ball,” Morstead said. He did and they did, although not without a scare. Morstead saw one of his teammates recover, but the officials didn’t make a ruling right away.
He started pulling players off the pile until he was pulled off himself. He then heard an official shouting “blue ball, blue ball,” meaning the Colts had it. So he went back to dragging players out of the scrum until the final ruling came awarding the Saints possession.
Rewarding Payton’s gutsy decision, the Saints scored on the drive to take the lead for the first time. Though Indianapolis went back ahead, New Orleans was now playing with supreme confidence. They took the lead again late in the 4th and went on to become Super Bowl Champs, in no small part thanks to a well-designed and executed ambush!
-Jake Stevens
THERE IT IS!
Yes, this was an important play, but I think what won the game for the Saints was the spirit and philosophy that it reflected. The Saints wanted this win more, and as this play showed, they were willing to do anything and everything they had to for the win. The two point conversion was another reflection of the do-or-die fervor that fired the Saints.
The past two weeks I’ve been hearing commentators talking about how “experience wins Superbowls.” They kept saying that not only were the Colts the better team, they were the more experienced team. They knew how to handle themselves in a Superbowl environment. They wouldn’t let themselves get carried away by the excitement.
Well, the Saints let themselves get carried away by the excitement. Their first Superbowl ever for the franchise. As many postseason wins this year going into the Superbowl as the franchise had won in the entire rest of their 42 years. A young team, compared to the Colts. It showed. It showed in their excitement, their fire, their drive. Their passion.
The Colts didn’t want to win the game so much as they expected to win it. And the passion that might have lead them to win it? The “been there, done that” calmness of the experienced team cut it short. So the more passionate, less experienced team won.
I’m very much looking forward to seeing of the media trots out the “Experience wins Superbowls.” cliche next year.
– Shawn
I think terms such as “experience” and “spirit” are overused and overrated when it comes to big sporting events such as the super bowl. Sure the Colts had the experience of winning the big game a few years ago but they also have the experience of failing in playoff games they were favored to win. And who’s to say which team had more of something as nebulous as “spirit”? More important is that the Saints were likely the best team this past season finishing with a 16-3 record and leading the NFL in point differential.