[StBernard] AP sports writer: it was the Colts who played bad, not Saints great play

[Westley Annis]

Michael Marot is an Associate Press sports writer.  I came across an article
he contributed to in the New Orleans Examiner blog.  In the story it talks
about how great the Super Bowl was and how the Saints shone through.  Of
course, they didn't mention another story Mr. Marot wrote for the AP.  In
that story it was an embarrassing, whining tale of "how the Colts blew it"
and clearly leads the reader that the outcome of Super Bowl XLIV had nothing
to do with the Saints' performance, but how poorly the Colts played.  He
also conveniently forgets to mention he wrote a pre-Super Bowl AP story on
how the Colts were going to easily beat the Saints.
 
Naturally, anyone who knows me knows well I'm not going to let of the hook
that easily someone who talks out of both sides of his mouth - but I guess
that comes with the territory of being a journalist - whatever that means
anymore.  So, I had to bust his ass.
 
Below was my response/comment followed by Marot's AP story on only how the
Colts played poorly:
 
 
It's too bad Michael Marot's "other published story" on the Super Bowl isn't
mentioned here - "Colts' supporting cast falls short in Super Bowl."
 
Marot must write two versions of a story - one to cover the victors and one
to cover the goat.
 
In his "Colts Fall Short" story is hundreds of words after words whining
about how the Colts' choked - and I guess an attempt for Marot to cover
himself from his prediction the Colts would easily win.
 
No where in the "other story" is any mentioning (by him) of how the Saints
played great football, outplaying and outcoaching the Colts.  The other
version only talks about how the Colts blew the game, not how the Saints
better play "caused" the Colts to lose.  It's almost as if one team's
performance had nothing to do with the other.
 
Don't worry Michael, I'm sure there's a future job for you at the White
House where the man in charge there is always looking for someone who's good
at coming up with good excuses for failure.
 
- John Scurich
 
 

Colts' supporting cast falls short in Super Bowl


Published: 2/8/10, 4:45 AM EDT
By MICHAEL MAROT


MIAMI (AP) - The can't-miss Colts got it all wrong in the Super Bowl.

They dropped passes. They missed tackles. They couldn't recover an onside
kick. Even the impeccable Peyton Manning made a costly mistake.

Indianapolis was full of flaws and it showed.

"I don't know man, they had a good scheme, they did a good job using it
tonight and they're celebrating," receiver Reggie Wayne said.

The bigger problem was that nobody in a blue uniform played like themselves.

All-Pro defensive end Dwight Freeney was effective rushing Drew Brees early,
but struggled in the second half when his sore right ankle stiffened up.
Indy's other pass rushing end, Robert Mathis, was mostly an afterthought.

The receivers struggled, too. Wayne caught five passes for 46 yards. Pierre
Garcon and Austin Collie each dropped passes that would have kept drives
going, and Manning's late interception was returned 74 yards for the
game-sealing score.

Given those storylines, the Saints' 31-17 upset was as predictable as it
seemed improbable just hours earlier.

"I can't say we ever saw that coming at all," center Jeff Saturday said.
"They just outplayed us."

It was the first time all season Indy could say that.

After establishing a new NFL record for consecutive regular-season wins
(23), setting the league record for most victories in a decade (115) and
trading a shot at 16-0 to win a second Lombardi Trophy in four years, the
Colts were left with this: Wait till next year.

"The main thing is as a defense we didn't stand up," cornerback Kelvin
Hayden said. "We didn't take advantage of our opportunity."

The collapse was a complete surprise, too.

Manning the model of consistency was outplayed by Brees. Manning went 31 of
45 for 333 yards with one TD, one interception and a quarterback rating of
88.5. Brees finished 32 of 39 for 288 yards with two TDs and a much better
rating of 114.5.

When the Saints needed scores in the second half, Brees delivered. Manning
did not, and the Colts couldn't protect an early 10-0 lead.

Who would have expected that?

Freeney, playing on a torn ligament in his right ankle, provided the only
consistent pass rush. The other Colts defenders repeatedly missed tackles.
New Orleans took advantage by driving for scores.

"What we did do well was take away the big plays," defensive captain Gary
Brackett said. "What we didn't do well was wrapping up."

But the biggest miscue came on special teams.

Hank Baskett had a chance to make the Saints pay a price for opening the
second half with a surprise onside kick, trailing 10-6. The little-used
receiver got his hands on the ball, but let it bounce away and New Orleans
recovered to set up a TD drive at their own 40.

Baskett's wife, Kendra Wilkinson, was so upset she walked to the back of her
suite. Baskett didn't take questions after the game.

Teammates, however, called it the turning point.

"As the special teams captain, I felt like we didn't do the little things
right," safety Melvin Bullitt said. "If we do, we're getting the ball there
at the (Saints') 40 and it might have been a totally different game."

Maybe.

But the way Indy played, it might not have mattered.

After New Orleans kicked its first field goal early in the second quarter,
Garcon dropped a third-down pass that hit him in the shoulder. Indy ran only
six plays in the period and didn't pick up a first down.

There was more of the same in the second half.

Collie was stopped for a 3-yard loss on second-and-8, a play Manning has
used to pick up first downs all season. Manning came right back to Collie,
who couldn't catch a third-down pass.

On Indy's next series, Tracy Porter took Manning's interception to the end
zone and the perfect season came to an imperfect end.

"You never know how it's going to turn out," said Manning, the Super Bowl
MVP three years ago in Miami. "The Colts started hot, the Saints came back.
We just didn't play well enough at certain times and in certain phases. The
Saints deserved to win."