Now that New Orleans has had a couple of days to celebrate and can now start focusing on getting their bloodshot eyes cleared up and tracking down their wallets and other personal belongings lost somewhere along Bourbon Street, the real preparation by the Saints begins for their Super Bowl matchup with the Colts.
The elation of the fans was nearly matched by the players, many who said they never went to bed Sunday night. Most could relate to the words of Saints play-by-play man Jim Henderson, who as Garret Hartley’s game winning field goal went through the uprights, exclaimed, “Pigs have flown and Hell has frozen over.”
First impression is that fans and players are just happy to get to the Super Bowl and the game itself will be anticlimactic. While the players will tell you otherwise, their admission to being out partying all night after winning the NFC Championship gives credence to the thought that they won’t be mentally ready for the game even though it’s still a week and a half away.
While this matchup features the two teams with the best records from the regular season and two of the best quarterbacks in the game, the matchup I’m very interested in watching is the two first time Super Bowl coaches, Jim Caldwell of the Colts and Sean Payton of the Saints.
Caldwell is of course the first year head coach in Indy and his quiet demeanor draws comparisons to Tony Dungy. Last week when the Jets jumped to a 11pt lead over the Colts, he didn’t lose his cool. Of course he’s got Peyton Manning as his QB.
Sean Payton on the other hand nearly blew the game with the Vikings by taking his high powered offense and turning ultra conservative in the final minutes when his team had taken a 28-21 lead. Mistakes and poor decisions by Minnesota are the only reason the Saints had a chance to win in overtime.
Coaching decisions at critical junctures of the Super Bowl may prove as interesting to watch as the plays on the field.
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