Game Changing Play?

[clumping platelets]

Common belief will be the onside kick but I really believe the dropped pass by Garcon, with Indy up 10-3, was the game changer. He could have taken it the distance with his speed. The drop forced Indy to punt and allowed the Saints to catch their collective breaths and rebound.

:feedback:

[Ebenezer]

nah...the onside kick...

[Goobylal]

That one hurt, but the missed FG was the game changer.

[clumping platelets]

nah...the onside kick...



:negrep:

[Ingtar33]

Common belief will be the onside kick but I really believe the dropped pass by Garcon, with Indy up 10-3, was the game changer. He could have taken it the distance with his speed. The drop forced Indy to punt and allowed the Saints to catch their collective breaths and rebound.

:feedback:


there were several dropped passes that should have kept drives going for indy.

[TacklingDummy]

At least the game was determined by the players and not by the refs. Examples...the Steelers past 2 Super Bowl wins.

[Mitchell55]

Waynes dropped pass also

[Syderick]

I'd say the interception

[LtFinFan66]

onside kick

[TheBrownBear]

Here were the game-changing/key plays:

- Hartley's three 40+ yard field goals (these were all huge imo (and overlooked) in keeping the Saints in the game early on and building their confidence). On that stage, you would almost expect a young kicker to miss 2 of those 3, but he nailed all of them and kept them in the game.

- Garcon's drop. It seemed almost inevitable that Indy would go in to score and take a 17-3 lead. At that point, I think it could have been game over for the Saints. A huge game changer.

- The onside kick.

- The two-point conversion. It may seem like it didn't make a difference, but it allowed the Saints defense to play aggressively and with confidence. They knew that even if Indy scored, it wouldn't be a lead changer or be the ultimate game losing/winning score. It was a big psychological advantage.

- The interception. Well, duh.

[LtFinFan66]

the INT was a game "ending" play:up:

[Michael82]

Who was the idiotic Colts player that touched the ball first? He should be cut! lol

[BuffaloBlitz83]

So was moore's 2 pt conversion

[Ebenezer]

Who was the idiotic Colts player that touched the ball first? He should be cut! lol
the ball went more than 10 yds...the colts looked like the bills DBs on that one...almost at the 50.

[LtFinFan66]

Who was the idiotic Colts player that touched the ball first? He should be cut! lolso you would have preferred he just let it go and let the Saints recover without challenge?

[Mr. Pink]

Game changing play to me was the Colston drop on the Saints 2nd drive of the game.

After that the entire team seemed more focused and got the jitters out.

[clumping platelets]

So was moore's 2 pt conversion


Should not have counted according to the proper interpretation of the rule

[Prov401]

Common belief will be the onside kick but I really believe the dropped pass by Garcon, with Indy up 10-3, was the game changer. He could have taken it the distance with his speed. The drop forced Indy to punt and allowed the Saints to catch their collective breaths and rebound.

:feedback:

100% agree.

[clumping platelets]

Game changing play to me was the Colston drop on the Saints 2nd drive of the game.

After that the entire team seemed more focused and got the jitters out.


Good point

[Michael82]

the ball went more than 10 yds...the colts looked like the bills DBs on that one...almost at the 50.
It didn't look like it went more than 10 yards before he touched it....

[tampabay25690]

The onside kick by far gave the Saints momentum in the 2nd half.

With out a doubt the SAINTS had all the momentum in the 2nd half....

[Ebenezer]

Should not have counted according to the proper interpretation of the rule


still wonder if the Indi player kicking it out had any affect on the call.

[Ebenezer]

It didn't look like it went more than 10 yards before he touched it....


Mikey, the nearest colt is at the 48. The Saints are already over the 40.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fXxsoaW0nyA&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fXxsoaW0nyA&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

[Michael82]

Mikey, the nearest colt is at the 48. The Saints are already over the 40.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fXxsoaW0nyA&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fXxsoaW0nyA&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Oh I guess I didn't get a good view of it...Thanks!

[Night Train]

All good points..

but I agree with Clump. That's 17-3 and puts the Saints in desperation mode early, if that catch is made.

[Dozerdog]

I'm going in an opposite direction here.

I will say the Colt's goal line stand just before the half.


If the Saints kick a FG on 4th down, I bet the Colts either march down field and get the FG back, or New Orleans is less likely to Onside-kick.

If New Orleans scores a TD, There wouldn't be any onside kick. The Colts keep their rhythem and it would be a different game. Dropped passes were a result of going over an hour in real time with no action.


Bills had the same issues in 1991's super bowl

[Lone Stranger]

Little has been said about Hank Bassett's flub of the on-side kick. He can't catch; probably why Philly let him go. Clump's opinion has merit and I thought so at the time. On the interception it appeared to me that Wayne was not in synch with Peyton.

[Michael82]

Little has been said about Hank Bassett's flub of the on-side kick. He can't catch; probably why Philly let him go. Clump's opinion has merit and I thought so at the time. On the interception it appeared to me that Wayne was not in synch with Peyton.
Basket is a horrible player with a hot wife. He'll probably be cut later this week.

[Pinkerton Security]

I thought the INT return by Porter demoralized the Colts. Even after the onsides kick, they were still moving the ball pretty well...until that pick. Then everything changed. If that hadnt happened they most likely would have driven down and scored to tie it up and who knows what would have happened then.

[Ebenezer]

Oh I guess I didn't get a good view of it...Thanks!


good view?? you weren't at the game...you had the same view as everybody else.

[Michael82]

good view?? you weren't at the game...you had the same view as everybody else.
No...they showed it too quick, I missed it.

[Cleve]

Here were the game-changing/key plays:

- Hartley's three 40+ yard field goals (these were all huge imo (and overlooked) in keeping the Saints in the game early on and building their confidence). On that stage, you would almost expect a young kicker to miss 2 of those 3, but he nailed all of them and kept them in the game.

- Garcon's drop. It seemed almost inevitable that Indy would go in to score and take a 17-3 lead. At that point, I think it could have been game over for the Saints. A huge game changer.

- The onside kick.

- The two-point conversion. It may seem like it didn't make a difference, but it allowed the Saints defense to play aggressively and with confidence. They knew that even if Indy scored, it wouldn't be a lead changer or be the ultimate game losing/winning score. It was a big psychological advantage.

- The interception. Well, duh.

Although it wasn't a single play, the Colt's strategy of going ultra conservative by going 3 and out with rushing plays at the end of the first half allowed N.O. to get the ball back and get a field goal, which gave them momentum going into the locker room.

IF the Colts had a quarterback like J.P. LOSEman or Ryan BLITZ-patrick in the pocket, I could understand the coaches going conservative and not wanting one of those two dunderheads to cough up the ball deep in their own territory.

But with one of the best QBs in the game? One little pass play by Peyton probably would have gotten the 1st down and ended the half. I questioned it at the time even before N.O. scored the field goal. It looked even more stupid and obvious then.

[TheBrownBear]

Although it wasn't a single play, the Colt's strategy of going ultra conservative by going 3 and out with rushing plays at the end of the first half allowed N.O. to get the ball back and get a field goal, which gave them momentum going into the locker room.

IF the Colts had a quarterback like J.P. LOSEman or Ryan BLITZ-patrick in the pocket, I could understand the coaches going conservative and not wanting one of those two dunderheads to cough up the ball deep in their own territory.

But with one of the best QBs in the game? One little pass play by Peyton probably would have gotten the 1st down and ended the half. I questioned it at the time even before N.O. scored the field goal. It looked even more stupid and obvious then.

Agree. It demonstrated Caldwell's "not-to-lose" coaching mentality - which was ultimately a determining factor in the game (highlighted by Payton's almost polar aggressiveness). It's also one of the main reasons his mentor, Dungy, only has one title to show for all his success.

[ByrdsTheWord]

Common belief will be the onside kick but I really believe the dropped pass by Garcon, with Indy up 10-3, was the game changer. He could have taken it the distance with his speed. The drop forced Indy to punt and allowed the Saints to catch their collective breaths and rebound.

:feedback:

How do you know he would've gone the distance? Cuz the Jim Nantz said so? Or can you see the future?

The turning point was the onside kick.

[feldspar]

Game changing play to me was the Colston drop on the Saints 2nd drive of the game.

After that the entire team seemed more focused and got the jitters out.

Beat me to it, although I can't see how you would insinuate that the drop was beneficial to the Saints somehow, if that's what you did. I picked the Saints +5.5 points and the under, which was 57.5, so that Colston drop definitely stuck in my mind. I was dwelling on it quite a bit. When Garcon dropped his pass, I said "OK, now we're even" and let the Colston drop go.

...but after the Colston drop, the Colts went up by 10 instead of the Saints probably at least making it an even game at 3.

Obviously, the two biggest plays in the game were the onside kick and the pick-six. No question. The onside kick was just crazy unexpected.

Either way, I won my 2-leg parlay and left the season on a high note and some green in my pocket. Sweet. Add to that the fact it was a good game and well called by the officials, and I'm happy...except for the hangover. Watched the game again today.

The Saints kicker was a hell of a difference maker as well; kicking those longer field goals on grass every time was impressive. Wouldn't have been the same game with other kickers.

Manning made me nervous right to the end. Also, I'm not incredibly impressed with Caldwell. Now he can't claim that resting his starters and ruining the chance at a perfect season helped him win the Super Bowl, which I obviously would disagree with.

[clumping platelets]

Tony Dungy: Pierre Garcon's drop was game's turning point (http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/02/08/tony-dungy-pierre-garcons-drop-was-games-turning-point/)

[feldspar]

Tony Dungy: Pierre Garcon's drop was game's turning point (http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/02/08/tony-dungy-pierre-garcons-drop-was-games-turning-point/)

...not that Tony Dungy is a HUGE Colts homer or anything...

The Colston drop was equally damaging to the Saints IMO. Was the pick-six "a mistake" or a great play by Tracy Porter? Or what is a direct result of his new haircut?

[clumping platelets]

But the Colston drop was not "game changing"

[feldspar]

But the Colston drop was not "game changing"

Yet the Garcon drop WAS?

The Colston drop would have given the Saints a first down somewhere inside the Colts 40. Instead, the Saints punted and the Colts went up by two scores. The Colston drop was no less crucial than the Garcon drop. Was the Garcon drop more "game changing" because the Saints won the game? It wouldn't make sense to say that because both drops probably did the same thing to both teams...cost them points.

[MikeInRoch]

Should not have counted according to the proper interpretation of the rule

I don't think I agree with you here.

[feldspar]

I'm going in an opposite direction here.

I will say the Colt's goal line stand just before the half.


If the Saints kick a FG on 4th down, I bet the Colts either march down field and get the FG back, or New Orleans is less likely to Onside-kick.

If New Orleans scores a TD, There wouldn't be any onside kick. The Colts keep their rhythem and it would be a different game. Dropped passes were a result of going over an hour in real time with no action.


Bills had the same issues in 1991's super bowl

Good point. Stopping the Saints on 4th down at the goal-line was HUGE. Certainly a game changing play even if the Saints did kick a field goal anyway before the half.

[BuffaloBlitz83]

The Garcon drop, could have been a TD or at least a 30-40 yd gain. He had a seam.

[feldspar]

The Garcon drop, could have been a TD or at least a 30-40 yd gain. He had a seam.

OR he could have been tackled almost right away. There were defenders right behind him. We'll never know.