What a game. What a finish.
Now, I'm no sportswriter and I'm sure there isn't much that hasn't been said about the Saints epic OT victory over the Minnesota Favres last night, but (if only just for me) I think a little time needs to be devoted to just how crazy that game was.
The Saints Were Dead. This is why games have to be watched live. No write-up nor set of highlights can ever recreate how over that game seemed as the Vikings were driving. I'd been rooting for the Saints but also for the game to be as close as possible--agonizing over the Vikings' repeated fumbling--but then was suddenly gripped with fear that the Vikes were actually going to win the game (barring a missed field goal, which, judging by these playoffs, was perhaps likely). This is why the Boise State-Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl was so incredible, this is why the Red Sox comeback against the Yankees was so amazing. In a movie, when the hero is about to die, we still have confidence he won't. Someone did, after all, write the movie and, as such, the movie will usually end well and will maximize the drama on the way there. Sports are the ultimate drama in this sense. Nobody knows what will happen. When the Saints seemed dead, in all likelihood they were dead. Except, as you know, they weren't.
The Vikings Blew It. Say what you want about the Saints' great effort, what it means for New Orleans, how their defense made big plays--the Vikings still blew it. I've never seen a team so brutally waste a chance at a long but makeable field goal--certainly not in a bigger spot. First, they got a 12 men in the huddle penalty. What!? 12 men in the huddle? How does that happen? Who's coaching that team? (Oh, right. Brad Childress.) This almost never happens. 12 men on defense, sure, that happens. But in the huddle? What a colossal penalty, pushing them just out of field goal range. Then, as a result, the Vikings had to throw the ball to try and get a few more yards. Which resulted, inexplicably, in Brett Favre throwing across his body--when he had some room to run--and getting picked off to send the game to overtime. The swing in emotion where I was watching this game (a living room full of Saints fans) was wild. Brett Favre's gunslinging ways had finally come back to bite Minnesota. After a shockingly good season, Favre's old fatal flaw reared its ugly head and cost the Vikings the game. And let's not forget the Vikings turned the ball over four other times! And twice in the Red Zone! That's the kind of loss that never goes away. Especially if you're...
Adrian Peterson. As an Adrian Peterson fantasy owner this year, I was flummoxed on the Vikings infatuation with throwing the ball so much this year, particularly in the Red Zone. I realize he got his share of TDs, but as a greedy fantasy junkie, it's not like they were dedicated to the run this year. Nevertheless, in the biggest game of the season Peterson was huge. 122 yards, 3 TDs. He did fumble twice, but neither was lost and the play where he recovered his own fumble--getting up off the ground and running ahead to dive on it--was one of the more athletic plays I saw this year. Fox gave us a great shot of him yelling about being taken out of the game, which could be labeled as selfish, but it looked more to me like a guy who just wanted it so badly that he almost couldn't understand that anybody could be playing as hard as him. I like Peterson and it was a shame he was on the losing end after such a monstrous effort. I read in Peter King's column today (I think it was King anyway) that Peterson came out of the locker room and silently watched the Saints celebrate on the field for 10 minutes.
The Officiating Could've Been Better, but it really wasn't that bad. The phantom pass interference on the Saints' game-winning drive was really the only one that I thought was bad, though there were others that were close. My argument against the interference call was that not only was the contact minimal, the ball was overthrown by too far for it to have been a catch anyway. Not that I thought the Saints wouldn't have scored anyway, but it would've been nice if the final drive had at least been penalty free. The review of Thomas' dive on 4th down wasn't incorrect as far as I could tell, but it's interesting how important those inches can be in regard to ball spotting when, (a.) most of the time the spot doesn't matter and it can be fairly loose; and (b.) spotting a ball is really, really hard and is almost arbitrary at times. Tough call for the Vikes, but it would've been an even tougher one for the Saints, so I'm all right with the call itself, even if the means of the call may be a little flawed.
Oh, Overtime. As Arizona showed us against the Packers in Round One, the defense can win overtime games, but it's always feels a bit unfair when a team wins the toss and kicks a field goal to win. I'm not saying the Saints didn't deserve it, but for such a hard fought game, it doesn't seem ideal that Favre and Peterson don't get to touch the ball in overtime. Imagine extra innings in baseball where the team in the field didn't get their at-bats if the first team managed to score. I don't think the NFL needs a system like the NCAA has, but I like the idea that if the first team kicks a field goal, then the other team gets one chance. If the first team scores a touchdown, I'm fine with it, but winning the toss and then getting a field goal seems too cheap at times. Once both teams get the ball, then it's regular sudden death, but offenses are too good these days and the toss is overly important as a result.
What a Superbowl Match-Up. Not since 1993 have the two #1 seeds met in the Superbowl. These have been the best teams all year long, they each have star QBs, and it should be a great game. If it can be in the ballpark of this NFC title game, then the NFL will certainly have made up for all those awful games in the early rounds--and, with this gem, they probably have already.
Oh, and Sean Payton Looks a Bit Like Hillary. See for yourself...
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