NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

Rachel Nichols interviews Saints players and reports on the community’s response to the team’s first title.

As a Colts fan, this game really disappointed me. But hey, the New Orleans Saints wanted it more. They needed this. After all New Orleans has gone through for the past few years with Hurricane Katrina and all that. Along with that, the Saints were never a good football team. The NFC Championship was the farthest they've ever gone before the season started. And they only made the NFC Championship once in their life.

The Saints were undervalued. With losing to teams like the Buccaneers with their starters, the Saints were not favorites entering the playoffs. They proved everyone wrong. And then, the heroics of Tracy Porter came in the NFC Championship game. After that pick, it was over. It happened last night in the Super Bowl, against a high-powered Colts' team.

The first quarter started off hot for Indiana. 10-0. But in the second quarter, it all began to slip away. The Saints made mistakes, but they know. They know how to stop Peyton Manning and this Colts' offense. Amazing job by Gregg Williams with the defense. As a Colts' fan, I wasn't all that bad about Indianapolis losing to be honest. 2006 was more memorable, more intense. This season was destined for New Orleans. They needed this.

The NFC Championship win two weeks ago was a sweet win on Bourbon Street. Last night, it would have to be the sweetest. Back to the game. With the second quarter over, it was 10-6. Entering the third, it felt like the Colts knew what was going to happen. Every time they lead at the half, they are pretty much undefeated (the New York regular season game does not count to me in any way). And plus, if they were trailing, they always found a way to win and figure out the defense.

The game started off…with an onside kick. My god. Sean Payton pulled off a crazy stunt. Hank Baskett almost had it, but they were too surprised by this. So it started off with Saints' ball, for both halves. That is when the Colts' defense plummeted. They weren't ready to go on and they failed on the drive. Couldn't tackle, left guys open throughout the game and kept Manning off the field.

That was the way to stop the man. That was to way to stop the "Greatest of All-Time." It started to get out of hand big during the end. Matt Stover misses a field goal while Garrett Hartley makes all of them. It was 17-16, Colts holding on real tight. They had this. Everything was going good for them. Joseph Addai was running the ball great. It was very unexpected. For the drive on the Saints, Indiana played horrible defense. They left guys open the whole game and gave Drew Brees so much time to throw.

Since the onside kick, it ruined it all. Jeremy Shockey got the touchdown and the Saints were up 22-17. Then came the two-point conversion. Lance Moore made a crazy catch. To me, it was 50/50 for a catch. It seemed liked he had it and then he loses possession. But New Orleans got it and it was 24-17. No reason to worry. If the Colts' defense doesn't want to take the push, Manning needs to take the control. It was Manning. It was all down to No. 18. With this drive, it would be legendary. He already had one with the 96-yarder. This had to be better.

Manning got a couple of first downs. It was now third. Manning was looking good with Reggie Wayne. There went Manning, hiked the ball. He threw a quick pass right at Reggie Wayne, and out of nowhere came Tracy Porter. He went to Indiana University. Now he was taking an interception back for a touchdown…on his hometown NFL team back then. Porter was something. He made legendary guys sad. First Brett Favre to end it, and now Manning. Saints were up 31-17 with three minutes to go.

Could the Colts come back? Yes they can. Manning threw a lob and long pass to Austin Collie. They were now in the red zone. After a few plays, they made it into the goal line. On those downs, they weren't worth it. On third and goal, they ran it. They ran it! What the eff! It was a wasted down. Now it just came down to this. Fourth down. Manning threw it and it was tipped. Turnover on downs with 44 seconds to go. The Saints were going to win their first Super Bowl ever!

Colts' fans, don't get too overwhelmed with the loss. The Colts can run the ball now, in my opinion. It's time for Joseph Addai to get back like he was back then. He will do it. And also, it's not so bad being the second-best team in the league. Don't worry. AFC Champions is something positive to look at. The Colts made it, but the New Orleans Saints just wanted it more. They needed it. The Saints can build on a future with Brees, Reggie Bush, Marques Colston, and more. Saints fans need to be very luck with Tracy Porter. They wouldn't have even made it to the big show without that interception in the NFC Championship.

Don't worry Indianapolis. You're the team to beat in the AFC. With the way you were playing this year and you can bring it on more this season, it's another Super Bowl. You'll make it in one of the next two years, I know it. Hats off to New Orleans. They played one hella of a game. And fans of the NFL, don't think as if the Saints killed Indy. 31-17 may look like it. To me, it felt more like 24-17. It was over from 24-17 anyways. Porter just ended it. Both teams played hard. The Colts gave the Saints a challenge, but they found out quickly about them after the half.

So again, hats off to New Orleans.

This has got to be the sweetest night ever on Bourbon Street.

Despite a loss in Super Bowl XLIV, the Colts have the inside track on winning Super Bowl XLV according to bodog.com. Below are all the odds on all the teams making the Super Bowl in Dallas in 2011:

Indianapolis Colts 13/2
San Diego Chargers 8/1
New England Patriots 10/1
New Orleans Saints 10/1
Pittsburgh Steelers 11/1
Dallas Cowboys 12/1
Green Bay Packers 12/1
Minnesota Vikings 12/1
Philadelphia Eagles 16/1
Baltimore Ravens 20/1
New York Giants 20/1
New York Jets 25/1
Tennessee Titans 25/1
Atlanta Falcons 30/1
Cincinnati Bengals 30/1
Arizona Cardinals 35/1
Chicago Bears 35/1
Houston Texans 35/1
Carolina Panthers 40/1
Miami Dolphins 45/1
San Francisco 49ers 45/1
Seattle Seahawks 45/1
Denver Broncos 50/1
Jacksonville Jaguars 50/1
Washington Redskins 50/1
Buffalo Bills 100/1
Cleveland Browns 100/1
Detroit Lions 100/1
Kansas City Chiefs 100/1
Oakland Raiders 100/1
St. Louis Rams 100/1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 100/1

The Saints' victory over Indianapolis in the Super Bowl was watched by more than 106 million people, surpassing the 1983 finale of "M-A-S-H" to become the most-watched program in U.S. television history, the Nielsen Co. said Monday.

Compelling story lines involving the city of New Orleans and its ongoing recovery from Hurricane Katrina and the attempt at a second Super Bowl ring for Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning(notes) propelled the viewership. Football ratings have been strong all season.

"It was one of those magical moments that you don't often see in sports," said Sean McManus, president of CBS News and Sports. Nielsen estimated Monday that 106.5 million people watched Sunday's Super Bowl. The "M-A-S-H" record was 105.97 million.

The viewership estimate obliterated the previous record viewership for a Super Bowl—last year's game between Arizona and Pittsburgh. That game was seen by 98.7 million people, Nielsen said.

The "M-A-S-H" record has proven as durable and meaningful in television as Babe Ruth's record of 714 home runs was in baseball until topped by Hank Aaron. Ultimately, it may be hard to tell which program was really watched by more people. There's a margin for error in such numbers, and Nielsen's Monday estimate was preliminary, and could change with a more thorough look at data due Tuesday.

"It's significant for all of the members of the broadcasting community," said Leslie Moonves, CBS Corp. CEO. "For anyone who wants to write that broadcasting is dead, 106 million people watched this program. You can't find that anywhere else."

Our Friends at TMZ sent us the following today about some issues with the Saints website:

Hours after the New Orleans Saints put a hurtin’ on the Indianapolis Colts last night, “Who Dat” nation put a serious hurtin’ on their team’s online shop — crashing the website with a massive amount of traffic.

TMZ spoke with an employee for the team shop, who told us from the minute the Super Bowl ended, it’s been “crazy and overwhelming.”

The shop has since gone back online — but the team is warning fans that Super Bowl merchandise may take several weeks for delivery due to “high demand.”

While many will point to the back breaking pick of Tracy Porter as the play that cost the Indy Colts their second chance at a title in four seasons, the Colts offense, one that played so well in playoff wins over the Ravens and Jets, never seemed to get into a flow in Super Bowl XLIV.

"We probably never got into a great rhythm,” Peyton Manning said. “We were certainly worse in lapses in our final possession. Like you said, we got the ball on the first drive and had a good drive, then the second drive went down there and scored and then it was strange there after that not having, I think maybe six plays in the second quarter then of course once the Saints won the toss, it was big to hold them there at the end of the first half on that goal line stand. Disappointing possession on that next series not being able to maintain the ball, run the clock out, gave them three more points, and then we let them have the onsides kick on that first series of the second half. That kind of negated the coin toss. That was disappointing so certainly made it tough."

The Saints deserve the credit for keeping the ball as long as they did, as it was about 70 minutes in between when the Colts ran offensive plays. While in a normal game that would have been a lot less considering The Who doesn’t usually play halftime at most games, it was hard for the offense to get things going after sitting for so long.

“Every possession felt precious out there. I was disappointed on the first series having to settle for a field goal,” Manning said. “Then we had a third-down drop which stopped another drive, had the third one where we got stopped, and then moved the ball pretty well in the second half when we had it. Then obviously the turnover – disappointing – then the turnover on downs at the end of the game was disappointing."

Three years ago it was Manning and the Colts that were celebrating the euphoria of a Super Bowl title, and now, it’s pretty much the same Colts team that will have to sit back and talk about how tough it is to watch another team celebrate with the Lombardi Trophy.

“We are disappointed; certainly having won a Super Bowl three years ago I know how exciting it was for our team and for our players and our fans,” Manning said. “So I know the people of New Orleans and the Saints have that same feeling right now and I congratulate them."

It was the signature play of Super Bowl XLIV, as Louisiana native clinched the New Orleans Saints first ever Super Bowl title with a 74-yard pick pocket of Peyton Manning that went the distance to give New Orleans a 31-17 lead in the fourth quarter. It was a lead that would stand out, and one that Porter says came with plenty of study.

"It was great film study. We knew that on third-and-short they stack, and they like the outside release for the slant,” Porter said. “It was great film study by me, a great jump and a great play."

Porter jumped in front of Reggie Wayne, and there was little question that the moment he had the ball in his hands that he was going to go the distance for the two touchdown lead. "When I saw my blockers in front of me and only Peyton (Manning) and the offensive linemen left,” Porter said. “I cut back and ran it in."

While Drew Brees was the MVP, and rightfully so, it was Porter’s play that will get replayed time after time as the play that brought the city of New Orleans their first title. "It means so much,” Porter said. “Words can't describe how much this means for New Orleans. I am a Louisiana native, and this is real big."