Thoughts on Super Bowl XLIV

• It's hard to criticize the Saints given that they earned a 14-point victory over the Colts, but what were they thinking running the ball on 4th-and-goal from the two in the 2nd quarter? Did Sean Payton forget that Drew Brees was his quarterback?
• Similarly, did Caldwell forget that Manning was behind center on the very next drive? The Colts ran it three times, failed to get the first down, and had to punt it away, eventually resulting in a Saints field goal just before halftime.
  
• The only thing that definitely WASN'T going to happen in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl was Peyton Manning throwing an interception. So of course he throws a pick six. I wonder if Vegas had a line on Peyton throwing an interception on that particular drive. They couldn't have, because I don't think anyone would have bet on him to do so. Even Saints fans must have been focused on the clock, wondering how much time Manning would leave the Saints after tying it up at 24.
• Speaking of that interception, that was a phenomenal play by Tracy Porter. Everyone wants to establish blame between Manning and Wayne, but sometimes a defender just makes a great play. Perhaps Wayne could have made more of an effort to get inside Porter, but sometimes interceptions can be chalked up to great defensive play as opposed to bad offensive play.
  
• There were two Paytons (technically, a Peyton and a Payton) and two Pierres in the Super Bowl.
• Did Jim Caldwell have any say in the Colts going for it on 4th-and-2 in the 4th quarter (the play on which Manning threw a slant to Wayne that was bobbled and then caught)? It looked like Peyton said "We're going for it," and all the other players immediately ran up to the line. I think it's entirely possible that Caldwell was screaming "Punt! Punt! What's wrong with you people?!" on the sideline, but no one cared.
• This was the first Super Bowl to use four different Roman numeral characters.
  
• This marks three straight Super Bowls in which the underdog covered; the underdog pulled off the upset in two of the three.
• The Steelers and Cardinals combined for more points in last year's Super Bowl (50) than the Saints and Colts did in this year's (48).
• Drew Brees defeated Kurt Warner, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning in consecutive playoff games.
• Does anyone remember that Drew Brees went to Purdue Freakin' University? The school's next best player in the NFL is Kyle Orton. Kyle. Orton.
• Was anyone else shocked that Garrett Hartley became the FIRST kicker to make three field goals over 40 yards in a Super Bowl? Also, did you know Hartley is just 23 years old and was suspended for the first four games of this season due to testing positive for a banned substance?