By Pat Yasinskas
MIAMI — It was kind of nice to see a crowd of reporters assembled around New Orleans strong safety Roman Harper on media day. Harper’s one of the most underrated players on this team and he’s also a very good quote.
This gave the national media a good chance to hear Harper, who’s been overshadowed by other members of the secondary this season. That’s kind of sad because Harper actually had a very good year.
MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. – As soon as the DVD began whirring and the action displayed on the screen, Indianapolis Colts starting left tackle Charlie Johnson discovered one recurring image.
“It’s the first thing you notice, ” Johnson said at Tuesday’s Super Bowl XLIV media day inside Sun Life Stadium. “You see that defense flying around, and you see 91 coming off the edge.
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“And it’s really kind of a shame. It seems like a lot of people really don’t know about him. But he shows up on tape. He just has a great motor, first of all. You see him and he’s going and going, he’s working, he’s working. He uses his hands well. He’s just an overall good player.”
MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. Â- On the surface, it appears New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has it all — a multi-million-dollar contract, a stately Uptown home, a beautiful wife, a 1-year-old son — and the national spotlight.
But some guys never have enough.
There’s still that one thing that keeps Brees from feeling complete and keeps him throwing passes long after practice is over.
“For me as a quarterback and as a guy who is very competitive, I’m in this league to win championships, ” Brees said Tuesday at Super Bowl media day. “I don’t see any other reason why you would want to play this game. You play this game to be the best. You play this game to win championships, especially at the quarterback position you are measured by wins and losses, you are measured by championships. And we have no greater opportunity than this week to have that chance.”
Provided by the NFL, here is a transcript of New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush’s Super Bowl XLIV press conference Tuesday in Miami.
On media day: “It’s funny, because my senior year of high school, I was actually an honorary reporter for Media Day in San Diego when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Oakland Raiders played in the Super Bowl. It’s funny to be back here, and now I’m actually getting the chance to play. It’s a little ironic, but obviously it’s a blessing to be here, and I’m excited to be here getting the chance to speak to you guys. It’s fun.”
On how healthy he is: “I’m 100 percent. It’s probably the healthiest I’ve been all year. Coming off the injury I had with the micro-fracture surgery was tough. I’d say it took about halfway through the season to really feel like I was back to my normal self.”
Deke Bellavia Reporting
No Respect
Let me take my feelings for the Black and Gold out of this equation for a minute. Why are the Saints doubted more than any other team the Colts have faced this post season? Some members of the media had the Ravens upsetting the Colts in AFC divisional game. Some even picked the rookie QB led New York Jets to knock off the top seeded Colts! But no one-no one I’ve talked to-is picking the Saints.
By Jeff Duncan,
The Times-Picayune
February 02, 2010, 6:00AM FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. –
Dan Green has sold more than 100,000 copies of his motivational book “Finish Strong.”
But one sale in particular changed the fortunes of his burgeoning enterprise.
Green thought it was a cool idea when New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees ordered copies of “Finish Strong” for all of his teammates. Brees distributed the 116-page book, which features inspirational anecdotes about people overcoming adversity in their lives, along with silicone rubber bracelets bearing the message “Finish Strong” to the team on the first day of the offseason conditioning program in April.
At the time, it seemed like a cute little motivational ploy, like Coach Sean Payton’s “don’t-eat-the-cheese” mousetraps or “bring-the-wood” baseball bats.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. – Pro Football Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott could “smell greatness” in the room when he met with the New Orleans Saints during their preseason trip to Oakland, Calif.
Super Bowl-winning coach Jon Gruden was so impressed by what he saw during his visit to Saints training camp that, in his new job as an analyst for ESPN, he predicted that New Orleans would wind up in the Super Bowl six months later.
Former NBA standout player/coach Avery Johnson was equally moved after his visit to Saints camp, so he texted his predictions of “14-2” and “Super Bowl Saints” to all of his family and friends.
A new dialogue has emerged in New Orleans race relations, and it goes something like this:
White guy: “Who dat!”
Black guy he’s never met: “Who dat? We dat!”
White guy: “Yeah you right.”
Both smile, give each other a fist-bump and a hug, then move on.
That was an actual encounter in the French Quarter, hours after the New Orleans Saints earned their first NFC championship and the first Super Bowl berth in the team’s tortuous 43-year history. It could also prove to be emblematic of a turning point in the infinitely more tortured story of race in the Crescent City.
Jerry Izenberg, The Star-Ledger’s columnist emeritus, is one of only three daily newspaper columnists to have covered every Super Bowl. That gives him 43 more appearances at the big game than the New Orleans Saints, who will finally step onto center stage next Sunday for Super Bowl XLIV against the Indianapolis Colts. He begins his coverage with this piece.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — There are voices in the wind that ripple through the palm trees here . . . voices that had their genesis in the Land of the Mississippi River . . . voices that tiptoe through the narrow, winding streets of New Orleans’ French Quarter … voices that whisper from the above-ground cemeteries that are as much a part of the city’s unique lore as its garishly dressed local Mardi Gras krewes.
Go ahead and laugh, but don’t even try to tell me you ever dreamed the New Orleans Saints would one day make it to the Super Bowl. The days are long gone of Marie Laveau, the voodoo priestess whose name once stood alone as their city’s signature symbol at a time when chicken bones foretold the future.
There’s a new sorcerer in town. Sean Payton is the name and minor miracles are his game.
His football team gave the citizens of New Orleans a post-Katrina slice of hope in which to believe when the mayor, the governor of Louisiana and, most of all, FEMA could not.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — Would someone please tell me why the Indianapolis Colts are favored in Super Bowl XLIV?
And not just favored, but favored by a decisive 5 ½ points, according to the Vegas sharpies.
Am I missing something here?
Am I too close to this story?
I think the New Orleans Saints should be favored in this game. At worst, it’s a pick ’em.
I respect the Colts enormously. I think Peyton Manning is best player in the NFL. Heck, he might be the best player in NFL history.
But I can’t find any reason, other than experience, as to why the Colts should be a decided favorite Sunday.
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