New Orleans Saints
Patriots Ty Warren Foregoes Bonus for Degree
Thursday, March 18th, 2010 | New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, NFL, Sports | No Comments
New England Patriots defensive lineman Ty Warren is teaching his 3 children a valuable lesson. It’s more important to earn an education and a degree than play a professional sport, because you can’t play sports forever.
Warren is skipping the Patriots’ initial voluntary workouts this spring because he is returning to Texas A&M to finish his degree. Warren was the Patriots’ 13th pick in the 2003 NFL Draft. He has played in 105 games in his 7-year Patriots’ career, but he never forgot about his education. So much so that he is willing to forego a $250,000 bonus that would be paid to him for attending the spring workouts to attend the last few classes at Texas A&M that will earn him a degree at the end of the semester. Warren says that he is making this sacrifice to send a message to his 3 children — “I try to put the kids in the best educational system possible and I think there is something to be said for their father, who has been blessed to play in the NFL and do something he’s loved to do, going back and finishing what he started. In the big picture, I think it’s important for me to do what I’m doing. I can sacrifice that bonus for that.”
As a veteran leader on the Patriots defense, the club shouldn’t have to worry that Warren will slack off on his football preparation while in classes this spring — “Working out has never been a problem of mine, I do it regardless. I’m self-motivated. I’ve always been a working person. Ask anyone who knows me, I’ve been working and supporting my two siblings and now my wn family since I was 13. No matter how much I have in the bank account, I’ll always work.”
It’s nice to hear about these stories in professional sports today. Too often we’re inundated with drunk driving missteps, assault charges and other self-less actions on the parts of professional athletes today. Lately, it seems like we are hearing more of the “feel-good” stories in sports today (see Scott Fujita donating his Super Bowl bonus to the city of New Orleans and the victims in Haiti) — it’s about time.
Class Act — Super Bowl Champ Scott Fujita Remembers New Orleans
Monday, March 8th, 2010 | New Orleans Saints, NFL, Sports | 1 Comment
Talk about a class act — Scott Fujita of the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints gave one final gift to the city of New Orleans before he left the team as a free agent this weekend. Instead of keeping his winning Super Bowl check for his young family, Fujita opted to donate the entire sum to charity. Half of the check went to continued coastal restoration in New Orleans, which is still recovering form the devastating affects of Hurrican Katrina. And he gave the other half of the check to earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. Other free agents leaving their respective cities should really take note of Fujita’s actions.
Even though Fujita was a solid linebacking piece to the Saints much-improved defense, he largely went unnoticed each and every Sunday (in 11 games, Fujita racked up 58 tackles (43 solo), 1 sack and 2 forced fumbles). But that didn’t matter — “The people of this city and region have been so good to me and my family that we just felt strongly about doing something to protect the city we have come to love so much. And helping on the coastal issue has been on the back of my mind since I first got here.”
Now granted, Fujita signed a nice deal to go to the Saints 4 years ago, and he just signed a 3-year deal with the Browns which will guarantee him $8 million dollars and another $6 million if he plays all 3 seasons. But the fact of the matter is, he didn’t forget about the city that he lived in for the last 4 years and he put his money out there to help others who could benefit from it. Kudos to you Scott – we wish you the best of luck in the city of Cleveland over the next few years – they’ll be lucky to have you.
Saints Top Colts 31-17 to Win 1st Ever Super Bowl Championship
Monday, February 8th, 2010 | Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, Sports | No Comments
The New Orleans Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 to win the Super Bowl crown on Sunday in Miami. The Saints used the steady play of Quarterback Drew Brees and a confident defense that held the Peyton Manning and the Colts offense to just 1 score in the final 3 quarters of play to ride to victory. The Saints and their fans are sure going to be celebrating big time in the Big Easy over the next few weeks.
Drew Brees was named the game’s Most Valuable Player – 32 of 39 passing (82% completion rate), 288 yards passing, 2 passing touchdowns – all good for a 114.5 QB rating.
Manning had similar numbers (31 of 45 passing, 333 yards passing, 1 passing touchdown – all good for a 88.5 QB rating), but his costly interception at the end of the game sealed the Colts’ fate. As the Colts marched down the field trailing by 7 points, it looked like Manning would be able to lead his team to a game-tying touchdown drive. Instead, Tracy Porter made a great play to pick off Manning’s pass intended for Reggie Wayne, and Porter raced the final 74 yards to paydirt to clinch the Super Bowl win for the Saints.
Some interesting tidbits from the game:
The Saints risky onside kick to start the 2nd half was the 1st time that a team had ever tried an onside kick in a quarter other than the 4th quarter in a Super Bowl. It was also the 1st ever career onside kick attempt by Saints punter Thomas Morstead. Saints head coach Sean Payton had hinted all week that the Saints would play aggressive – even in the biggest stage of the Super Bowl – and he did not disappoint with that decision. After recovering the onside kick, Brees connected with Thomas Pierre on a 16-yard catch and run, giving the Saints their 1st lead of the game at 13-10 (erasing what had been a 10-0 Colts lead). The momentum clearly shifted from that point on. Payton had this to say about the play and his team’s victory: “We knew we were going to call it at some point. At halftime I told them, ‘We’re going to open up the second half with this. Let’s go make a play’… We really felt as underdogs we had the better team. To be in that position where maybe a lot of people were picking against us, we liked the spot we were in.”
Saints kicker Garrett Hartley connected on 3 field goals from 40 yards or more – 46, 44 and 47. The 23-year old also kicked the game winning kick in overtime of the NFC Championship Game against Minnesota Vikings to send the Saints to the Super Bowl. Hartley only played in the final 5 regular season games for the Saints and he was 9 of 11 in field goal attempts. During those 5 games, he never even tried 1 field goal from the 40-49 yard range. To go from that to kicking 3 field goals in the Super Bowl is simply astounding.
To keep going with kickers, Colts kicker Matt Stover became the oldest player to ever play in a Super Bowl at the ripe old age of 42 years and 12 days (his birthday is January 27, 1968). Stover only got a chance to play this season because the Colts regular kicker – Adam Vinatieri – was injured. Stover connected on 9 of 11 field goals during the regular season and 6 of 7 field goals during the post-season (including 1 of 2 in the Super Bowl).
This Super Bowl turned out to be the most-watched U.S. television event of all-time – over 106 million people tuned in to watch the game. The previous “most-watched” program was the finale of the television show M-A-S-H back in 1983.
Congrats to Payton, Brees and the rest of the Saints. You guys and the city of New Orleans deserve the big win. Boy would I like to be in New Orleans for Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday next week!
Colts, Saints Set to Face Off in Super Bowl Today!
Sunday, February 7th, 2010 | Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, NFL, Sports | No Comments
The Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints are set to play in the Super Bowl later today. Will it be Peyton Manning leading the Colts to a 2nd Super Bowl in 4 years in Miami? Or will it be Drew Brees bringing an NFL Championship crown to the city of New Orleans for the 1st time in franchise history?
Stay tuned today – it should be a fun and entertaining game to watch…
Reggie Bush – Super Bowl Ring or Engagement Ring?
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 | Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, NFL, Sports | No Comments
Saints running back Reggie Bush finds himself in a little pickle heading into this Sunday’s Super Bowl against the Indianapolis Colts. Bush is dating reality TV star Kim Kardashian, and supposedly the 2 have a bet that if Bush and the Saints win the Super Bowl, he will wed Kardashian.
Bush has denied those rumors, but it didn’t stop reporters from asking Bush about the potential marriage during Media day yesterday in Miami. Bush replied: “No, there’s no truth to that… I think it would be backwards if I were getting the ring from her. I’d rather get a ring from Commissioner Roger Goodell.” Ouch.
Now I know that Reggie was only trying to be funny, but I hope he was prepared for a rough time from Kardashian when he got back to his hotel room last night. The 2 have endured rough patches before, so not sure it was the best idea for Bush to rock the boat just 5 days before the biggest game of his career. We’ll keep you posted if Bush shows up at practice with a black eye or other signs of a tiff with Kardashian.
Super Bowl Sunday is just 4 days away now – don’t wait too long to get your tickets if you’re still planning to go down to Miami for the weekend. It is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated Super Bowls in recent history.
Indianapolis Colts v. New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV
Monday, January 25th, 2010 | Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, NFL, Sports | No Comments
The Indianapolis Colts will play the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl XLIV in Miami on Sunday, February 7th. It will be a showdown between arguably the best Quarterback of All-Time – 4-time NFL MVP Peyton Manning – and Drew Brees the leader of the NFL’s top offense during the 2009-2010 NFL season. With both defenses being good and underrated, it shapes up to be one of the most exciting Super Bowls in recent years.
The Colts dismantled the New York Jets 30-17 in the AFC Championship Game yesterday in Indianapolis. Although the Jets jumped out to a 17-6 2nd quarter lead behind the arm of Mark Sanchez, you just knew that the Colts would come back to win after Manning hit Austin Collie for a touchdown pass with less than 2 minutes to go before the 1st half ended. The 2nd half wasn’t even close as the Colts strolled to an easy victory.
The Saints outlasted the Minnesota Vikings 31-28 in Overtime in the NFC Championship Game yesterday in New Orleans. As much as you’d like to say that the Saints “earned” the victory, you can’t help but wonder how the game would have turned out IF the Vikings didn’t commit 5 turnovers and IF any of the 3 questionable on field calls that were reviewed in the overtime period went against the Saints instead of for the Saints. My guess is that we’d be seeing Brett Favre battling Manning for the Super Bowl title in 2 weeks.
We’ll have more on each Conference Championship Games in the coming days. There were so much to digest and analyze there and we don’t want to burn out too soon with overblown Super Bowl coverage…
Vikings, Saints to Battle in NFC Championship Game on Sunday
Sunday, January 24th, 2010 | Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, NFL, Sports | No Comments
The Minnesota Vikings will battle the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship Game at 7PM EST on Sunday, January 24th.
The Minnesota Vikings will try to establish a running game early with Adrian Peterson. Peterson has not rushed for over 100 yards since Week 10 against the Detroit Lions when he rushed for 133 yards. It has been a “down” year for Peterson (1,383 yards rushing compared to 1,760 yards rushing a year ago), but his ability to score in the red zone (18 TD’s this year compared to just 10 a year ago), that makes him so deadly. Brett Favre has also performed at an optimum level all season long – 107.2 QB Rating, 68.4% completion percentage; 4,202 yards passing, 33 TD’s and just 7 interceptions (his lowest total ever as a full-time starter). With a consistent 2-headed attack from Favre and Peterson, the Vikings will always be able to stay in games. The one negative is a .500 record on the road this season. There only 4 wins on the road were against the Browns, Lions, Rams and Packers. Not a good sign going into the a tough place to play like the SuperDome.
The Saints are primed and ready to advance to the Super Bowl. Drew Brees has been firing on all cylinders all season long – 109.6 QB Rating; 70.6% completion percentage; 4,388 yards passing, 34 TD’s and just 11 interceptions. He has multiple weapons – Jeremy Shockey, Marques Colston and Reggie Bush out of the backfield – so they are tough to defend. Reggie Bush really re-invented himself last week against the Arizona Cardinals – 43-yard rushing touchdown, 83-yard punt return for a TD, 84 rushing yards and 24 receiving yards. If Bush can play at that same level against the Vikings this week, the Saints are going to light up the scoreboard much to the delight of their home town New Orleans fans.
Although I think Brett Favre will give it all he has in the NFC Championship Game, I think the Saints will have a little too much fire power on their own home turf for the Vikings to overcome. With the resurgence of Reggie Bush to complement Pierre Thomas, it’s just another weapon on offense that teams have to scheme for. I’m going with a Saints Colts Super Bowl in Miami in 2 weeks…
NFL Divisional Playoffs Start Today – Cards @ Saints & Ravens @ Colts
Saturday, January 16th, 2010 | Arizona Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, NFL, Sports | No Comments
Are you ready for some football? NFL Divisional playoffs start today! Here is the lineup:
Arizona Cardinals @ New Orleans Saints – 4:30PM EST on Fox. Will Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald be able to outscore Drew Brees and the high octane Saints offense?
Baltimore Ravens @ Indianapolis Colts – 8:15PM EST on CBS. Will the Ravens stellar defense be able to slow down NFL MVP Peyton Manning and his prolific Colts offense. Manning has a losing record in playoff games (7-8), so a win tonight would get him back to .500 and put him back on track to reaching a Super Bowl for the 2nd time in his career.
Enjoy NFL fans!
Colts Stay Unbeaten; Cowboys Drop Saints from Ranks of Unbeatens
Monday, December 21st, 2009 | Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, NFL, Sports | No Comments
One team stayed alive; the other suffered their 1st loss. The Colts are 14-0, while the Saints are now 13-1.
The Colts defeated the Jaguars 35-31 on Thursday night football to keep their perfect season alive at 14-0. Peyton Manning hit Reggie Wayne with a 65-yard touchdown pass with just over 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter to give the Colts the win. Manning completed 23 of 30 passes for 308 yards and 4 touchdown passes. He had 1 interception for a 134.4 passer rating. The Colts have clinched home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.
The Saints, on the other hand, suffered their 1st defeat of the season at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys at home. Drew Brees completed 29 of 45 passes for 298 yards, but he only threw 1 touchdown pass – his lowest total all season long. Throw in an interception and 2 lost fumbles and it was not a good day for the Saints. The Saints are still 13-1 and if they can defeat either Tampa Bay or Carolina in the final 2 games of the season, they will clinch home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
NFL – - Colts & Saints Still Perfect – Will it Continue?
Friday, December 4th, 2009 | Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, NFL, Sports | No Comments
It’s hard to believe that 2 NFL teams are still undefeated this late in the season – but both the Indianapolis Colts & New Orleans Saints are sitting pretty with 11-0 records.
Will either team be able to finish the season a perfect 16-0 like the New England Patriots did just 2 seasons ago?
Based on conference play and schedule, it looks like the Saints have a better chance of pulling off the feat.
The Saints are 11-0, but only have a 1-game lead over the Minnesota Vikings (10-1) for the best record in the NFC. The Saints schedule sets up favorably – @ Washington Redskins, @ Atlanta Falcons, Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay BUcs at home, and then at Carolina Panthers. With the weak schedule and the incentive to finish with the best record in the conference to earn home field advantage throughout the playoffs, the Saints have a good shot at winning their last 5 games.
The Colts, on the other hand, have 3 more wins than either the Cincinnati Bengals and San Diego Chargers (both 8-3) for the best record in the AFC. The Colts could conceivably clinch the #1 seed with 2 more wins, so if they do that, Head Coach Jim Caldwell may opt to play his players more sparingly down the stretch to keep them healthy and fresh for the playoffs. And while the schedule shapes up favorably – home against the Tennessee Titans and Denver Broncos, @ Jacksonville Jaguars, home against the New York Jets and then @ Buffalo Bills, it will all come down to when the Colts clinch during these next few weeks.
Peyton Manning of the Colts and Drew Brees of the Saints have had remarkable years leading their teams and will lead the MVP charge along with the Vikings Brett Favre at the end of the year…
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