Am I the only one thinking this is a Denver/Atl rematch?

Am I the only one thinking this is a Denver/Atl rematch? Denver needed the win to cement the greatness of Elway and that they were an elite team. The ATL were happy to just be doing the Dirty Bird. Sure, they went 14-2, but they clearly just spent the time partying while Denver prepared. The Saints celebrated off a phony win LIKE THEY HAD WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP. Fat, drunk and happy, I think they might just be primed for a blowout here....... The numbers will say 'Saints'. My gut says, NO THANK YOU.

I noticed the same thing [QUOTE=Fezzik;15873]Denver needed the win to cement the greatness of Elway and that they were an elite team. The ATL were happy to just be doing the Dirty Bird. Sure, they went 14-2, but they clearly just spent the time partying while Denver prepared. The Saints celebrated off a phony win LIKE THEY HAD WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP. Fat, drunk and happy, I think they might just be primed for a blowout here....... The numbers will say 'Saints'. My gut says, NO THANK YOU.[/QUOTE] I told my wife as I was watching the Saints celebrate, "you'd think the Saints had already won the Super Bowl!" Every one of the players the commentators interviewed had to remind themselves that there was one more game to play. The Saints are happy to just be IN the Super Bowl. I think they've lost sight of the real goal...to win it! I think Indy is going to crush the Saints in the Super Bowl and that's where my money will be.

Wouldn't it be benificial to see what they are saying and how they are preparing to determine if they will are spending the time partying while Indy is preparing? From what I've seen, they partied Sunday night pretty hard, didn't get any time off however, though their team meeting was pushed to later into the afternoon on Monday. I will be keenly watching how they handle their scheduling for the next 2 weeks as well as how focused they appear to be. I think its too early to predict that they will pull a Dirty Bird. But I've been wrong before. Their team, at least from an outsider's view, appears to take games off a bye very seriously, see NYG and Ari game results. Yes they are on the road this game and yes the stage is obviously the largest it can get. But I'm not going to fade them just because they celebrated an OT win in the Conference Championships. I agree though - it is the one single aspect of the game that scares me the most about the Saints: that they feel satisfied as if they've already accomplished something.

2 weeks off gives you a day or two to blow off steam. I would not put anything into it. Town is hungry for a winner and I think the players are well aware of that

I think Atlanta and their town was shocked they were in the Super Bowl. They had always been bad and no one thought they would win in Minnesota. New Orleans is not shocked to be here

[QUOTE=blackout;15880]I think Atlanta and their town was shocked they were in the Super Bowl. They had always been bad and no one thought they would win in Minnesota. New Orleans is not shocked to be here[/QUOTE] and I doubt any of the Saints will pull a Eugene Robinson. Funny thing is that he said he was focused for the game. I guess he forgot about Rod Smith running by him for an 80 yarder.

i agree, it seems these teams of destiny this decade ( ARIZ, SEA, CHI, ) from the NFC all camne up short against BIG time competition..( it could be argued SEA shud have won tho) ONLY the BUCCS as a first time entrant beat the raiders, but they had few STARS on that team, and hadnt been to SB in years either

And, they were playing the Raiders. Atlanta won its playoff games by a combined five points. Denver had steamrolled its opponents. The nice thing about the Super Bowl is that there are so many props that you don't even need to wager on the game. There are far, far better opportunities that day (and I don't mean the coin toss).

Atlanta was a 11 point underdog in its conference championship game.

As I said in another thread, no way NO D can stop Manning much, especially on a neutral field. Unless NO wins TO battle 5-1 again, I think Indy wins going away. I think NO will come to play to win - that's the beauty of the 2 week break - but their D is just not good enough to win this game.