New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has a unique connection to the BCS and Super Bowl Championships.
For that reason alone, I am picking the New Orleans Saints to upset the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV.
Brees is a main reason why Alabama won the BCS national championship, the school’s first crown since 1992.
When Nick Saban was coaching the Miami Dolphins four years ago, he chose Daunte Culpepper over Brees.
Brees was coming off shoulder surgery. Saban traded a second-round draft pick for Culpepper.
All Brees did was sign a six-year, $60 million contract with the Saints, coming off a horrid 3-13 campaign.
The shoulder questions eventually went away as Brees and coach Sean Payton turned the Saints into one of the NFL’s most feared passing offenses.
A year later, Brees guided the Saints to the NFC Championship Game. Two years ago, he also became the NFL’s second-ever player to throw for 5,000 yards in a season.
Three years later, the Saints are in Super Bowl XLIV.
If Saban had signed Brees, he would’ve never come to Alabama in 2007.
To paraphrase former New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath, the Crimson Tide would still be “struggling.”
The Brees and Saban combination would be playing in the Super Bowl, not New Orleans. The Saints (15-3) would likely still be looking for a quarterback and hovering around the .500 mark.
In the NFL, having a franchise quarterback puts you well ahead of the competition. The Saints did a great job building their team around Brees, the Saints’ best quarterback since Archie Manning.
My formula for NFL success is based on a four-year window. You get four years to win a championship. From there, teams usually decline.
Only the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Colts, Dallas Cowboys are successful year-to-year because they have a great front office.
New Orleans is at the fourth year of that championship cycle. The Saints are also close to joining the Cowboys, Colts, Patriots and Steelers as one of the NFL’s top organizations.
With that in mind ... New Orleans 34, Indianapolis 31.
James Jones is a sportswriter for the Sun Herald in Biloxi, Miss. He can be reached at jkjones@sunherald.com.
xSuper Bowl XLIV
February 4, 2010
James Jones: A crown for Brees, Saints is natural progression
- xSuper Bowl XLIV
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Payton's aggressive calls reap rewards
Sean Payton, dat’s who. The New Orleans Saints head coach engineered a stunning 31-17 upset of the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV on Sunday by winning a gambit of daring gambles. “This coach really said, ‘We’re going out to win the game,’” Pendleton Heights football coach John Broughton said.
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Missed chances doomed Colts
Moving forward after a 31-17 Super Bowl XLIV loss to the New Orleans Saints won’t be easy for the Indianapolis Colts. Too many mistakes. Too many missed opportunities. A 16-3 record falls by the wayside after a year in which the Colts constantly found ways to make big plays, found ways to win games despite not playing well in some key areas.
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Manning throws away bid for one final comeback
Peyton Manning spent the whole season building toward a Super Bowl crown, a win that certainly would put him among the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. And then he threw it all away.
Blocked onto his butt, Manning could only watch as Tracy Porter returned an interception for a clinching, 74-yard touchdown in the final minutes Sunday that gave the New Orleans Saints a 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. -
Saints' gamble, Colts' loss
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Saints beat Colts 31-17 to win Super Bowl
Leave it to Purdue and Indiana to keep the Indianapolis Colts from bringing back a second Super Bowl trophy to Lucas Oil Stadium.
With the Colts unable to provide enough of a pass rush, former Purdue University quarterback Drew Brees completed 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards and fired two touchdowns to earn game Most Valuable Player honors as the New Orleans Saints posted a 31-17 Super Bowl XLIV win Sunday night at Sun Life Stadium. - Bitter End
- Payton expects CB Gay to be ready New Orleans cornerback Randall Gay and running back Lynell Hamilton sat out the Saints' final practice of the season on Saturday.
- Freeney sits out again, Wayne back at Indy workout Dwight Freeney watched the Colts' final Super Bowl practice from a golf cart, and it's still uncertain whether he will play in Sunday's Super Bowl.
- Seasons salvaged in Miami The paths the Colts and Saints took to tonight’s game are remarkably similar. New Orleans started the season with a 13-0 record, and then lost its last three. Indianapolis, meanwhile, was 14-0 before dropping its final two regular-season games.
- Saints Notebook: Payton not caught up in 'big game' According to Sean Payton, the New Orleans Saints are right on schedule -- practice-wise -- for Sunday's Super Bowl XLIV matchup with the Indianapolis Colts.
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