Thursday, Dec. 09, 2010

Saints Come Marching On

Ex-con and onetime star QB Michael Vick's return to prominence with the Philadelphia Eagles might be the surprise of the current NFL season. But you'd have to look back to February, and Super Bowl XLIV, for the most surprising football moment of the year. At the start of the second half, the New Orleans Saints trailed the Indianapolis Colts, 10-6, and were set to kick-off. But Saints coach Sean Payton called for an on-side kick, a risky maneuver that could have given the Colts excellent field position, and a chance to put the game out of reach. The Saints, however, recovered the kick, and the game's momentum shifted in an instant. New Orleans marched 58 yards downfield for a touchdown, and went on to win the game, 31-17. "Four years ago who ever thought this would be happening when 85 percent of the city was under water from (Hurricane) Katrina," said New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees, the game's MVP, who completed 32 of 39 passes, for 289 yards, and threw two touchdown passes for a team that had been a perennial loser for most of its 43 seasons in the league. "Most people not knowing if New Orleans would ever come back or if the organization and the team would come back. ... This is the culmination of that belief and that faith."