Final Standings
As explicitly predicted on the Super Bowl Sunday post, not only did the New Orleans Saints win their very 1st Super Bowl (after 43 years of futility and only 2 playoff victories prior to this post season), but 2010 Winner came from behind to surprise all other participants and captured his 4th Hewes Super Bowl Trophy, by one of the narrowest margins of victory in HSBT history, 32 points ahead of runner-up Pete the Terp.

• 1st Place – 2010 Winner (784 points)
• 2nd Place – Pete the Terp (752)
• 3rd Place – Greg the Great (725)
• 4th Place – Ben the Butler (621)
• 5th Place – Buffalo Bill (599)
• 6th Place – Henrico FiveOh (497)
• 7th Place – Comeback Kid (496)

Super Bowl Game Analysis
It was truly another classic game, with QB’s Drew Brees and Peyton Manning exchanging completions like 2 heavyweight fighters.  In the end, it was THE interception return for a TD that made Super Bowl Sunday All Saints Day.  After the 1st quarter, many were thinking the final score may be Colts 45, Saints 3, when Indianapolis jumped out to a quick 10-point lead and the Saints looked like, well, the Saints from the past 43 years.

A rather ho-hum 2nd quarter, marked by 2 New Orleans FG’s and a missed Indianapolis FG, capped off a rather boring 1st half, with the Colts ahead 10-6.

After the uninspiring halftime performance by The Who Dat, the Saints made the play that changed the game and the momentum – the onside kickoff.  Once the scrum was unraveled, Brees the Saints went marching on to a quick score.  Then the QB’s took turns with counter-punches until THE pass that Colt WR Reggie Wayne did not catch, to put the Saints up 31-17 with precious few minutes remaining in the 4th quarter.

As Peyton quickly guided the Colts into scoring position, some were thinking he could pull off a tie in regulation and go into OT.  So – Peyton decides to go with the oft-maligned running game on 1st and goal, 2nd and goal and 3rd and goal and eventually the drive fizzles with a pass that goes through the hands of that same Wayne guy.

So in the end, Saints QB Brees ends up outperforming 3 future Hall of Fame QB’s (Kurt Warner, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning) in the playoffs and leads the Saints to victory.  Was he amazing, or what?  Total passing domination in the 2nd half.  And to think that only the Dolphins and Saints had any interest in him 4 years ago after he left San Diego…  He also set the standard for passing completion rate during the regular season with 70.6%.

HSBT Final Analysis (the good stuff)
Round-by-Round Recap

Wild Card Games
So the playoffs started with Comeback Kid making a very strong statement by jumping off to a 137-point lead, earning a record 243 points (which would end up being almost half of his season total) in winning 3 of the 4 games.  Goose-eggs were tossed around like errant Tony Romo passes (do we have to bring him up?) by most of the other participants.

Divisional Playoffs
Pete the Terp started to make his move with a record-setting 383 points for the 4 games, and catapulted into the lead with 443 points.  Buffalo Bill made a solid move, as well, and was comfortably positioned in 2nd place, only 60 points behind the leader.

Conference Championships
Resulted in huge game swings, with 2 goose-eggs and both winners earning over 200 points per game.  Pete the Terp recaptured the lead at this point and visions of his first HSBT victory were in his sights (time to toss out the bronze chicken wing, eh?).  Greg the Great made a serious move in these 2 games and was positioned close behind the leader, trailing only by 27 points.  On the flip side, Henrico FiveOh set a league record for futility with only 15 points in these 2 games, and for all intents and purposes put himself out of contention, while Ben the Butler was quietly keeping pace.

Super Bowl
The Commish had boldly predicted a New Orleans victory.  Did anyone take heed?  Yes, 4 of the 7 participants did.  Believe it or not, Pete the Terp would have captured his 1st HSBT win had Saints WR Lance Moore not caught that 2-point conversion pass, which was challenged by the Saints, reviewed and reversed by the officials.  Oh, how fragile and important those game picks are as the playoffs get deeper…

Participant Recap
So here is the totally unbiased review of the participants results for this year, the 22nd in HSBT history:

• Buffalo Bill – a goose-egg in the Super Bowl and 3 during the playoffs is not a good way to win the trophy, which he has not seen in 7 years.  His 2nd place standing with only 3 games left seemed to indicate he was positioned for a big push down the stretch.  However, predicting the 11-7 Jets to bounce off the 15-2 Colts spelled doom in the Oil Dome.
• Comeback Kid– we’re glad he decided to come back this season after a 2-year retirement.  And he came back with a vengeance in the early going.  Was a landslide victory the way he planned to reintroduce himself to all those other wannabes?  Then, after the Wild Card games, poof.  He lost all momentum with a 27-point showing in the 4 Divisional Playoff games.
• Henrico FiveOh – you can never count him out, especially when his wild and crazy picks net him oodles of points.  The only thing you could count him for this season was mediocrity, although he managed to earn the most points in the Super Bowl.  A 6th place showing with a 4-7 record was not one of his better performances.
• Ben the Butler – he was consistent and probably the sleeper this year.  After the Colts victory over the Jets, he was making a charge to the top, only to be derailed by 2 Saints victories at the end.  His 621-point effort was pretty good, but a slight fall from last year.
• Pete the Terp – he had the trophy in his grasp, only to have it snatched away by that 2-point conversion catch in the Super Bowl.  Another strong showing with 752 points.  He has upgraded from the bronze chicken wing to the silver crab cakes.
• Greg the Great – another sleeper during the playoffs, as he was always in contention.  The pressure of being a repeat winner took its toll, as evidenced with his 44-point effort in the Super Bowl.  The bronze chicken wing gets shipped from Baltimore to Chicago…
• 2010 Winner – another season with no goose-eggs (only 12 in 22 years) may have been the difference in his come from behind 32 point win this year.  He is now officially the trophy holder, dat who…

Wrap-Up
Another great year, with everyone getting their picks submitted on time and no controversy on that subject.  The website is awesome.  Look for more updates, with our training camp analysis for the upcoming 2010 regular season (only 5+ months away).  Will the Bills trade for Mike Vick to complement T.O.?  And what team will end up in LA?  Looks like the Jaquars are the frontrunners right now.  And the Colts are odds-on favorites to win SB XLV…

~~ The Commish