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The Saints opening training camp next Friday, but let's first look back at the play that changed the outcome of the Super Bowl--the surprise onsides kick to start the second half -- and the guts shown  by coach Sean Payton in calling it -- as the boldest single play of the game.

"It was amazing," said Saints center Jonathan Goodwin. "When we took the field after we recovered the onside kick it was a whole different feel to the game. It just felt like there wasn't any now that we could lose the game. That particular moment changed history for us." Many said it was the biggest play in Super Bowl history."
"I wasn't worried," said Thomas Morstead, who made the onside kick. "I was just terrified and excited at the same time."

It took the officials a long time to determine who had recovered the kick, and Morstead at one point actually heard an official say the Colts had it. If the Colts had actually gained possession, maybe all of us would still be talking about the bonehead decision by Payton that handed the Colts the Super Bowl.

Colts defensive back Melvin Biullitt said: "That was a huge turning point. They caught us off guard. It was gutsy. If we could have got it, the game might have been a blowout."

But Payton was always confident, telling his players beforehand, "It's going to a great play."   It was.

"Every time we ran the play in practice the week before we left for Miami, the ball landed perfectly." said Payton. "Morstead would land the ball where he wanted to and do it repeatedly. The players knew they could beat the Colts to the ball."

At the time Morstead lined up to prepare to kick with the Colts leading 10-6 and 30 minutes of the game left, the Saints had a 40 per cent chance to recover the kick.  After safety Chris Reis recovered the kick and Drew Brees drove down the Saints down the field for a go-ahead touchdown at 11.41 in the third quarter, the Saints had a 60 per cent chance of winning.

Brian Burke, founder of AdvancedNFL.stats.com, said his research came up with those percentages. "Holding ball is so much more valuable while field position isn't so valuable anymore," said Burke.  "Exactly where you are on the field isn't as important as just having the ball. It works out so that it’s a good gamble to try the unexpected onside kick."

Using a play the Saints call "Ambush” Morstead ran to the ball as if he were going to kick it deep, but instead tapped it to his left.  The ball went 15 yards before bouncing off the hands of Colts backup wide receiver Hank Baskett,  Reis, a gunner, lined up on the left side, dove onto the loose ball and bobbled it before finally maintaining control from the bottom of a 10-player pile.

Payton, in his new book, "Home Team," writes about the second-half kickoff. "Morstead hit the ball and it was perfect. You have to sympathize with Hank Baskett and the rest of the Colts' kickoff-return crew. This kick was exactly what they weren't expecting, and it was exactly what they didn't want. They certainly acted surprised.

"The ball careened off Basket's helmet and into Reis's lap.  But it didn't stop there. The ball slid down Chris's leg -- then the scrum ensured.

Jonathan Casillas was the guy who really made the difference. Just as the ball was reaching the lower legs of Reis, Baskett reached desperately for it, pulling as hard as he could. But Casillas's body was firmly in the mix. He managed to keep several Colts back.

"When the bodies were untangled and yanked off the pile, it was our ball on the 42-yard line.

"Hail, Ambush!"

That play made Super Bowl history.

SOME HITHER, OTHERS YON:    USC has already sent back its copy of Reggie Bush's Heisman Trophy, but the Heisman Trust, however, has yet to determine when it will decide whether Bush should be stripped of his Heisman. USC said there are other measures the school is taking to distance itself from the Saints running back. USC should consider returning the money it made from the sale of Bush jerseys and TV and bowl appearances...Brett Favre told WDAM-TV in Hattiesburg he has gained 14 pounds since January. The aging quarterback also tried to explain the harsh comments his agent Bus Cook made to Men's Journal were taken out of context, and that Cook was "joking around" when he called Favre a "Drama queen." "I guess the lesson learned in all this is, that you can't trust anybody...

Saints safety Darren Sharper is keeping a diary which he'll use in a book he is going to write. He is keeping notes on the quarterbacks he has faced throughout the years. "It won't be on the best-seller list, like Sean Payton's and Drew Brees's books." said Sharper, who will discard his knee brace when he returns to training camp...Actress Sandra Bullock, professional golfer Kelly Gibson, legendary press box worker Harold Shelly and the New Orleans Boosters baseball team will receive special awards on Friday for their outstanding contributions and active involvement in the community by the All-State Sugar Bowl's New Orleans Hall of Fame...LSU has received a commitment from White Castle safety Ronald Martin for their recruiting class of 2011. He had nine interceptions and 58 tackles last season...O. Perry Walker cornerback Cortez Johnson has committed to Southern Mississippi...

Ravens safety, regarded as the best safety in the NFL, said he expecst to miss the start of training camp while he recovers from offseason hip surgery. The St. Rose native expects to be placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list...BleacherReport.com picks LSU to play Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Other picks by the website:  BCS Championship game (Fiesta Bowl): Alabama vs.Ohio State; Sugar Bowl: Florida vs.Boise State; Rose Bowl: Penn State vs. Stanford...Adults are just kids with money. Actors are actors because they can't do anything else...

by Ed Staton

Contact Ed Staton at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or go to his web site  at http://www.LouisianaSportsTalk.com

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