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It has been only one day since the New Orleans Saints entered the Louisiana Superdome and punched their ticket to Super Bowl XLIV by defeating the Minnesota Vikings 31-28 in overtime. Yes, only one day and the excitement has not died down yet.
Doubt it is going to either.
The NFC Championship game was by far one of the top two or three games I've ever seen in my close to thirty years of watching the Saints and NFL football. Back and forth action. Turnovers all over the place. An electric atmosphere. And perhaps the greatest finish these eyes have ever seen. I still get goosebumps when I think of Jim Henderson's final call, "It's good! It's good! It's goo-oo-ood! Ha ha ha! Pigs have flown. Hell has frozen over. The Saints are headed to the Super Bowl."
Every single one of the Saints' squad put forth the effort needed to win on Sunday night even though it was not one of their better games. Drew Brees and company produced only 257 yards of total offense. Reggie Bush did not have anywhere near the masterful game he had against the Arizona Cardinals. Marques Colston only had two receptions the entire game while Jeremy Shockey and Lance Moore only had one each. The defense even gave up 475 yards to Brett Favre and that Vikings' offense. Not an ideal game by any stretch of the imagination.
But there were heroes and there were heroic moments or else this game would not have been a victory. Let's take a look at the names that put forth the great efforts and the signature moments that led to the greatest win in franchise history...for now. First, the heroes:
Drew Brees - The leader on the field and in the locker room continued his dominance without even putting up huge numbers. If you watched the way he threw the ball, one could even say that he was extremely off most of the game. He completed 17/31 passes for 197 yards and 3 touchdowns and most importantly, no interceptions.
Jonathan Vilma - 5 tackles, 2 passes defended, a recovered fumble, and an interception. One of the two big generals of this defense (along with Darren Sharper), played his heart out and made sure that nothing would be left in the tank when the game was over. Vilma is a force to be reckoned with and I'd like to thank the Jets for not having a system that worked for one of the best linebackers in the game right now.
Pierre Thomas - Like Brees, this was not a huge game for anyone on the offense but Thomas was a train looking to plow anyone down that was in his way. He got some good blocking on that screen pass that he ran in for the touchdown, but a lot of that was all him. It was a beautiful run as were just about every single one of his strong and punishing carries.
Thomas Morstead - He's been proving his worth and that the Saints moving up to get him in the draft was a great move and not risky, but Sunday was the night Morstead showed just how much he means to this team. 3 of his 5 kickoffs were touchbacks virtually taking Percy Harvin out of the game. Morstead punted 7 times for an average of 51.3 yards with 4 of them being inside the twenty yard line. Only 3 punts were returned and they were for a total of 15 yards. Let's not forget his longest punt of the night was 63 yards. This kid is something special and the main reason the Saints stayed in the game when the offense couldn't convert on turnovers. Field position is a huge factor in every game.
Tracy Porter - 8 tackles, 1 pass defended, and the interception that sent the game into overtime.
Garrett Hartley - When the Vikings froze the kicker with a timeout, it allowed Joe Buck and Troy Aikman enough time to show Hartley's missed field goal from the Tampa Bay loss that just screamed "Jinx!" The second-year player kept his poise for the biggest kick of his life and put it right between the uprights.
Jermon Bushrod - So he can't contain Jared Allen huh? Yeah, he got help every now and then but any offensive lineman in the NFL would need help against Allen. Still, everyone was thinking Bushrod would get manhandled the entire game. All you need to do is look at Allen's stat line for the game: 2 tackles and one QB hit. That's it.
You, the fans (home and in the Dome) - Trust me...this city has come together and rallied around this team and the enthusiasm, noise, cheers, chants, dancing, and so much more has truly helped more then you may ever know.

Saints headed to the Super Bowl - The Heroes

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