Earlier this week while wrapping up my Super Bowl XLIV thoughts I told you I had exposed only "the tip of the 'You deserve everything you get for doubting the Saints' iceberg that I plan on spewing at all of the main stream media morons and near-sighted naysayers" who didn't believe in the Saints.
That might have been a little harsh.
I had actually thought better of it, changed my mind, and figured I probably ought to just leave it alone. Wouldn't want to rub it in and appear like a spoiled sport. But last night I was perusing the interweb and saw this on ESPN's Super Bowl homepage...
Oh, this is too easy. Nah. On second thought, I don't think I should, it would - OKAY! If you really want me to! But you asked for it.
After the jump you'll find my take on each of the 54 Super Bowl predictions made before the game by former and current players, analysts, writers etc. compiled by ESPN. I figured that most people picked the Colts, so right off the bat I'm thinking this is gonna be fun; a good chance to say "I told ya so."
Turns out I was right. It amazes me how little faith people had in the Saints. Upon further review and after doing the math, thirty-six of those predictions, or 66%, were made in the Colts favor, so ESPN can expect this experiment to contain significantly more panning and very little praising.
Sit back, relax as we stick it to everyone who didn't believe in our team and applaud the few who did. Let's begin, shall we?
Predictions Featured in Video
Lawrence Taylor
Pick: Colts
For Peyton Manning to have a bad game, that's going to be a stretch...I find it hard to see him losing this game.
Manning love right out of the gate. Surprising. How hard is it to see Peyton losing now, Larry?
Shannon Sharpe
Pick: Colts
It would be hard for me to pick against Peyton Manning.
Fortunately, Tracy Porter didn't find it hard to pick against Peyton Manning. Ow! Zing! I'll be here all week, try the veal.
Mark Sanchez
Pick: Colts
I don't know how you can beat Peyton Manning.
Just because you couldn't do it doesn't mean it's not possible.
Albert Haynesworth
Pick: Colts
I'm probably gonna have to say the Colts. I've been playing Peyton for the last seven years. I think he'll pull it off.
This Peyton Manning lovefest is getting a bit ridiculous.
Robbie Gould
Pick: Colts
I like the Colts. I like Peyton Manning. You know when he played here four years ago against the Bears obviously he controlled the game pretty well.
You guys know that there are other people on the team besides Peyton Manning, right?
Jevon Kearse
Pick: Colts
It's another Peyton Manning Super Bowl win...I'm seeing the Colts winning this one.
They don't know that there are other people on the team besides Peyton Manning.
Warren Moon
Pick: Colts
I hope the best teams wins and I think the best team right now is Indianapolis.
Bad pick but at least Moon acknowledges the presence of the 52 other players.
Jim Mcmahon
Pick: Undecided
I don't really care who wins.
Thank you for your time, Jim. Moving on...
Ray Lewis
Pick: Undecided
The defense that makes the most plays.
Ray nailed it!
Anfernee Hardaway
Pick: Saints
I'll say Saints by seven.
It takes a former NBA player to finally pick the Saints. Unbelievable. Why are they asking Hardaway anyway?
Miles Austin
Pick: Saints
Saints by two.
I see what he's doing here. He's trying to rationalize that if the Saints won the Super Bowl and the Cowboys beat the Saints then the Cowboys could have easily won the Super Bowl.
Josh Cribbs
Pick: Saints
I'm gonna have to go with the Saints...they have more of a story to tell. I think if they win it will be so much greater than if the Colts win.
Finally a man with some sense.
Eric Dickerson
Pick: Saints
Honestly, you know I played for the Colts, but I gotta say I'm pulling for the Saints...I'd just like something good to happen to that organization. So I'm pulling for the Saints.
I guess I'll take sympathy over stupidity.
ESPN Experts
John Clayton
Pick: Colts, 27-24
In what should be the close game, Peyton Manning's experience playing in a Super Bowl should be the difference. With seven fourth-quarter comebacks this season and two weeks to prepare for the Saints' defense, Manning will slip past Drew Brees and New Orleans with one or two crucial fourth-quarter scoring drives.
Clayton would have bombed in our weekly prediction contest.
Jeffri Chadiha
Pick: Colts, 31-21
Indianapolis has the edge in offense, defense and Super Bowl experience. In other words, this could get ugly.
I'm gonna take it easy on you, Chadiha, and go the poetic route on this one by saying: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Tim Graham
Pick: Colts, 38-31
Two quarterbacks who know how to exploit a defense's weakness will make Super Bowl XLIV a humdinger. The difference will be the greatest quarterback of this generation shredding the NFL's 25th-ranked defense.
Ugh. Was this a cut-and-paste job? What a rote answer. And "humdinger"? Really?
Paul Kuharsky
Pick: Colts, 33-20
In the end, Peyton Manning's precision is more than the Saints' defense can handle over 60 minutes. He lifts the Lombardi Trophy again, and his critics have to get more creative. The Colts' D gets some notice too.
Peyton Manning's precision? Please watch this short film I've prepared...
Len Pasquarelli
Pick: Colts, 27-17
Too much
PeytonPayton forPaytonPeyton.
Fixed that for you.
Mike Sando
Pick: Colts, 34-27
Peyton Manning was much more impressive dismantling the Jets than Drew Brees was attacking the Vikings. The Saints have shown plenty capable, but I'm more inclined to trust Manning over the course of four quarters. He can make every possession count.
No wonder Peyton was so upset after the game. All of these people who had so much confidence in him were let down. Sad, really.
Kevin Seifert
Pick: Colts, 31-21
The Saints' defense is smart and quick. Peyton Manning is smarter and quicker.
This prediction is not smart and not quick. Heh, let that one sink in for a little. Stings a bit, doesn't it? I know.
Pat Yasinskas
Pick: Saints, 31-24
The only difference between Peyton Manning and Drew Brees is that Manning has a Super Bowl ring and Brees doesn't. That's about to change.
Finally! Glad to see Pat's got his head on straight. He's been following the team the entire year so I expect him to know a little something. Check out the score prediction, too. He nailed the Saints. Pat just went up a notch in my book. Well played. I'll remember this, Pat.
ESPN.com writers
Matt Mosley
Pick: Saints, 28-24
New Orleans had no business beating the Vikings in the NFC title game, and that's why this feels like one of those destiny situations to me. The Colts have the edge at QB, but I think Sean Payton will put together a masterful game plan.
This one started off bad - I almost didn't even read the second sentence - but ended on a high note.
James Walker
Pick: Colts, 30-20
In a game filled with offense, I'm going with the better defense. I'm shocked the Colts are not getting credit for posting second-half shutouts in back-to-back playoff games.
I'm shocked you [edited for content] !
Bill Williamson
Pick: Saints, 37-34
Be prepared for a game you'll remember forever: Mix two great quarterbacks who always answer the bell with two defenses that can be vulnerable to the big play and you have the makings of a festival of points. Drew Brees will deliver the final dagger and send Bourbon Street into instant Mardi Gras mode.
Not much of a festival of points but definitely right about the festival downtown.
Greg Garber
Pick: Colts, 27-21
Indy has been here -- literally, in Miami -- and done that. Experience takes down first-time Saints.
You know what you can do with your experience?
Elizabeth Merrill
Pick: Colts, 31-21
You got the sense, right after that wild November comeback win over the Patriots, that nothing fazes these Colts. And they're so comfortable in Miami. Some of them are sleeping in the same hotel rooms they did three years ago, when they won Super Bowl XLI.
If we're using games against the Patriots as barometers of success, how about including the fact that the Saints didn't even need a comeback against the Patriots. And if we're comparing statement comeback wins let's also refer to the Saints wins in Miami and Washington.
Gregg Easterbrook
Pick: Colts, 20-17
I pick 20-17 not because I have any reason to think that score will happen; 20-17 is simply the most common NFL outcome, happened 11 times this season.
Now that we know how you chose the score would you care to tell us why you chose the Colts?
David Fleming
Pick: Saints, 37-34
The bigger the game the more likely finesse yields to physical.
Hmmm. Interesting.
DJ Gallo
Pick: Saints, 30-24
New Orleans and Indianapolis have similar defenses. But the Saints' offense is more explosive. That's why I am picking them. Of course, if the Colts win, I was just joking with my pick.
Way to cover your butt.
Sal Paolantonio
Pick: Colts, 28-17
Indianapolis won't turn it over five times, and Peyton Manning kills the blitz.
See, the problem with this prediction was that Sal assumed the Saints would come out with the exact same game plan for the Colts they had when they beat the Vikings in the NFC Championship. Pretty nearsighted, Sal.
Seth Wickersham
Pick: Saints, 34-28
The NFC is simply stronger than the AFC this year. The Saints' road to the Super Bowl was tougher than the Colts', whose defense won't look as good against Drew Brees as it did against Joe Flacco and Mark Sanchez.
Boom! Rec'd it!
Gene Wojciechowski
Pick: Colts, 28-21
The Colts can stick it to all the people who thought they shouldn't have sat their starters against the Jets in Week 16.
The debate will continue to rage on.
Rick Reilly
Pick: Saints, 27-24
Because I am sick to death of being happy for the Mannings.
I love Rick Reilly. I wish he'd never left Sports Illustrated's back page. He was the best part of that magazine.
ESPN analysts
Chris Berman
Pick: Colts, 31-21
Both quarterbacks will have big games. I don't think it's quite the pinball-wizard, high-scoring affair we think it's going to be, but there will still be plenty of points. Peyton Manning may be playing the best football of his career, which is saying a mouthful.
<Insert tasteless, food or sex related joke referencing Berman using the word "mouthful" here>
Trent Dilfer
Pick: Saints, 35-31
The Saints' offense dominates the game, not only finishes drives with touchdowns but gives Peyton limited opportunities.
Dilfer's the only one with any sense on that channel. He's backed the Saints all year.
Marcellus Wiley
Pick: Colts, 38-23
The NFL's Most Valuable Player will prove his worth once again. Too much Peyton -- Colts win.
Drew Brees is pretty good. Just wanted to throw that out there.
Trey Wingo
Pick: Colts, 37-24
Peyton at the peak of his powers.
Alliteration doesn't make it true.
Mike Tirico
Pick: Colts, 34-26
A day for the offenses and the masters of the quarterback craft. I feel a strong emotional pull toward the Saints but can't go against the best on the biggest stage. Peyton is the gold standard.
Should have trusted your emotions.
Tedy Bruschi
Pick: Colts, 35-31
No team has beaten the Colts all year.
Ummm...pretty sure that's not true. Yup, just checked. The Colts lost two games this season.
Herm Edwards
Pick: Colts, 31-27
The winningest play-caller of the decade, Peyton Manning, will have the biggest impact in this game. Manning's ability to keep his poise under pressure will allow him to focus on the job at hand.
I'll never forget the time Herm said the New Orleans Saints would be a great fit for Michael Vick. I turned the volume down on him after that.
Scott Van Pelt
Pick: Saints, 28-24
Not one human thinks this can happen, so I will take the Saints (and I'm not happy about it).
Van Pelt subscribing to the George Costanza opposite theory. If every instinct the MSM has is wrong, then the opposite would have to to be true! Must be a bald guy thing.
Jon Gruden
Pick: Saints, 30-27
It's the Saints' year. Who Dat!
Greatest. Prediction. Ever. You gotta love Gruden. I think he and Payton have man crushes on each other. I wouldn't be surprised if you told me Gruden would have a position on the Saints coaching staff sometime in the future.
Matt Millen
Pick: Colts, 35-31
The Saints' defense is similar to the Jets' in what they try to do and how they give you different looks. They play great as a unit, but it will take Peyton about a half to figure it out.
Yet another in a long line of bad choices by Millen.
Scouts Inc.
Jeremy Green
Pick: Saints, 34-31
With so much hype surrounding the prolific passing offenses in this game the run games have been overlooked. The Saints will run the ball and stop the run, and that will be the difference.
It's the thought that counts.
Gary Horton
Pick: Colts, 31-21
Peyton Manning can carve up even elite defenses. The Saints do not fit in that category, but at least they are opportunistic. Manning will make the necessary adjustments, and the Saints will be shocked at the speed of the Colts' defense.
There's that word "shocked" again. You'd think the Saints were completely out of there element. Like the Bears or something.
Doug Kretz
Pick: Colts, 31-26
Even if Dwight Freeney is unable to play, the Colts will put too much pressure on Drew Brees as well as on the back end with their cover corners. Both teams will score plenty, but Peyton Manning will end up with the ball at the end and punch it in.
It's funny because Freeney was the only one who did get to Brees.
Ken Moll
Pick: Colts, 30-20
Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis have been held at bay (zero sacks) in the postseason, but will get to Drew Brees in this game coming off the edge. If Peyton Manning had had this year's Colts' defense in previous seasons, he would have won at least one more Super Bowl.
Yep, this was definitely the defense the Colts needed to win the Super Bowl.
Matt Williamson
Pick: Colts, 30-21
This is the score I picked when I wrote my scouting report and I will stick with it, although the more I dig into it, the more I feel like the Colts will win by double digits. Because of nerves and being on such a huge stage, expect the Saints to start slowly. That won't happen to Peyton Manning.
Good thing you stopped digging there and avoided making yourself look ever more silly.
ESPN.com NFL editors
John Banks
Pick: Colts, 35-24
The only question will be where this Indianapolis team will rank in NFL history. Better than three-time winner New England? Better than the Steelers of the 2000s? Anybody think anyone else but Peyton Manning will be this game's MVP?
Screw dat.
Jamar Hudson
Pick: Colts, 31-27
In what will go down as one of the best Super Bowls ever, Peyton Manning will engineer a late fourth-quarter drive to give the Colts the win and solidify his spot among the all-time greats.
Screw dat.
Alex Kimball
Colts, 31-27
The Saints have a shot after scoring a late touchdown, but they fall short of the end zone in the final seconds.
Screw dat.
Sheldon Spencer
Pick: Saints, 38-24
Beano Cook says this is going to happen. Who are we to argue?
Your cool.
Patrick Stiegman Colts, 35-24
Three reasons the winningest franchise of the decade will add another Super Bowl title: (1) The Colts will boast eight of the top 10 players on the field, and they are all at explosive, play-making positions -- QB, WR, TE and DE; (2) The Colts converted nearly 50 percent of their third-down opportunities in 2009; (3) Toss out the two meaningless games after clinching home field, and the Colts were plus-6 in turnover margin. The Saints will score, but the Colts will soar.
Screw dat.
Scott Symmes
Pick: Colts, 32-24
In 2009 (and 2010), we haven't seen the Colts fall short when their sole focus was winning. We won't see it on Sunday, either. Peyton Manning will be a step ahead of the Saints' defense and will guide Indy to a semi-comfortable victory.
Screw dat! I'm out! (<-----bad language)