OT: Have the Saints uncovered the "Blueprint" to beating the Colts?
The NFL is a copycat league. Expect NFL Coaches around the league, including our beloved evil genius BB, to be dissecting the gametape of the Superbowl and figuring out what works best to beat the Colts.
Some highlights on what the Saints did well:
1. They did well in holding on to the football. Time of possession was key to victory in this game as Manning hardly saw the field in the 2nd quarter and continued to cool his heels in the 3rd quarter after the Saints gutsy onsides kick to start the second half worked.
2. Study what the Colts do best, then wait for your opportunity and counter it. Game preparation was key to Porter's interception of Peyton Manning for the TD. There are obviously a few 'go to plays' that the Colts like to run in key situations. The Saints identified some of them, worked on them in practice, and the preparation paid off with a game sealing INT for TD late in the 4th quarter.
3. Key on the pass rather than the run. Although Addai/Brown gashed the Saints on the ground for big chunks of yardage at a time, in the end, the Colts live and die by the pass. And they died by the pass in this game, only amassing 17 points with their passing attack. Saints defense keyed on the pass and did well enough to win the game. The yardage numbers given up weren't pretty, but the final score was probably the most you could ask for from any defense facing Peyton Manning and the Colts.
4. Attack and exploit the seams of the Colts' Cover 2 zone coverage. The Saints have mostly 'figured out' how to beat the Colts Zone 2 defense as evidenced by Brees' astounding 82% completion rate in the Superbowl. They spread out the Colts, and hit the seams as well as throwing timely RB screens that exploited the Colts D when they overpursued into the backfield area.
5. Have a balanced and DEEP offense so that the Colts D cannot concentrate on shutting down any one guy. The Saints offense is incredibly deep, Any wideout from 1-5 might be the target of a pass, any of the RBs from Bush to Thomas might receive a pass coming out of the backfield.
There are just too many weapons to key on. We saw big plays from Colston yes, but also key catches from the likes of Lance Moore, Henderson, Meachem, Thomas, Shockey, etc. Just about everyone got their hands on the ball and in the end the Colts defense ended up on their heels as the Saints defense moved the ball AT WILL from the 2nd quarter onwards.
Thank you Saints, not only for denying Peyton Manning and the Colts another championship, but for giving the rest of the NFL a "blueprint" for making life very difficult for the Colts next season. Now granted, it's going to be hard to gather the personnel to be able to accomplish what the Saints did in 2009, but the rest of the NFL now has a general guideline to work towards for defeating the Colts.
