Irony 101: Matt Stover Auditions To Take Garrett Hartley's Job
by Brad Wells on Sep 27, 2010 10:38 AM EDT
in 2010 Colts Analysis
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PrintOne could make a strong argument for Garrett Hartley as Super Bowl 44 MVP.
OK, maybe not 'strong.' Hartley isn't a quarterback and did not complete 80% of his passes in the biggest game of his life, as Saints quarterback Drew Brees did. But, Hartley did execute a near-flawless onside kick after halftime in Super Bowl 44, and hit field goals from 46, 47, and 44 yards away. His clutch field goal in overtime against the Vikings two weeks prior to the Saints victory in Miami will likely go down as the greatest kick in New Orleans sports history.
Contrast this with Matt Stover. For many Colts fans, Stover was the GOAT for Super Bowl 44. His 48-yard 50-yard miss in the fourth quarter sparked the Saints game winning drive on offense. Despite Stover's excellent play all throughout the 2009 season, I still talk to Colts fans who have nothing but burning hate for the veteran kicker.
Hartley hero. Stover GOAT. All that was just eight months ago.
Today, Garrett Hartley is fighting for his job in New Orleans, and the guy who might take it from him is none other than Matt Stover.
Obviously, all this frustrates me a bit. Hartley has been horrible to start the 2010 season. He missed a 29-yard chip shot in overtime yesterday that would have beaten the Falcons. Why Hartley has chosen this particular time to show his true kicking colors, I don't know. It would have been far more convenient for us Colts fans if this kid had choked this bad in the Super Bowl. Now, eight months later, Sean Payton is bringing in Stover as a possible replacement.
I'm not sure whether I should laugh or cry at this irony. To quote Agnes Reppilier (because her feelings on irony seem appropriate here):
"Humor brings insight and tolerance. Irony brings a deeper and less friendly understanding."
I guess this means I should be crying. In fact, if I see Matt Stover replacing Garrett Hartley as the Saints field goal kicker, I probably will.
All that said, I'm glad Adam Vinatieri is back. Like all kickers, he has struggled at times. Unlike all kickers, Vinatieri has a strong track record of overcoming his struggles. Oh, and he's 2-2 this year.
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It would have been far more convenient for us Colts fans if this kid had choked this bad in the Super Bowl.
Got a good – if not a bit tear-filled – chuckle from me on this one, BBS. Though I had hoped he would have choked that bad in the NFCCG.
How can you not love a team that does this?
Anyone who claims
that Stover is the reason we lost is a moron. It’s just not the case….. you want to blame someone….blame the defense…blame Hank I can’t catch a ball Basket….but Stover was put in a bad situation.
He doesn’t really have the leg for a kick like that, and the Colts knew that when they signed him….yet they deemed it worth a shot….
Also, redmid17 has the right of it….. McAfee would have been the better option there anyways….
Anyone who claims [the opposite of what I'm claiming] is a moron!
Thank you, DevilsReject, for using the standard template used on this site for explaining your position.
Anyone who calls anyone a moron is a moron
Oh, crap, just implicated myself.
Anyway, agreee with DR and strooster above.
I hate Joe Namath. That's how long I've been a Colts fan.
HeHeHe
In this case however, it is true… Stover’s missed kick didn’t lose the game for us….but the way the defense failed to get pressure in the 2nd half, the idiocy of running 3 straight plays to kill the 1st half, and the on side kick all did far more damage than Stover’s kick attempt…
To put it bluntly, the loss in the SB was more a case of the defense getting shredded than anything Manning or Stover did…
by DevilsReject on Sep 28, 2010 9:06 AM EDT up reply actions
what goes around
fame is fleeting ,,would have been nice for him to make that kick in the Superbowl, but I more angry at Hank (the Bassett hound) for not handling the onside kick, that is why he was placed in that position on the kick off and for not giving a SH— about it, as he stated, few days later and a healthy Freeney and Powers and Mr Sanders would have helped
Near Flawless onside kick?
I know its been I a while since I watched the Superbowl last february. But I remeber it different:
“But, Hartley did execute a near-flawless onside kick after halftime in Super Bowl 44…”
Am I mistaken or didn’t he kick it right into Colt’s WR’s hands (Hank Baskett) and even close to a Tight End (Tamme). I would think a Wide Reciever’s hands are the last place to let the ball go to. I would think the Colts’ special team is to blame on that. Garrett Harley didn’t do anything special on that, especially if he hit it right to a Wide Reciever…
That was just a risky call by Saints who knows that Colts don’t put any thought into their special teams. Hartley didn’t make the Colts look bad as much as the Colts made Hartley look good.
Hartley didn't kick the onsides kick in the Superbowl
It was our punter Thomas Moorestead, he handles the Saints kickoffs.
Saints will probably pick up John Carney, he is the logical choice. He can still kick and can coach/mentor Hartley as he did last year.
"I don't think we're the team with the target on our backs. They're not gunning for us, we're gunning for them. We're the ones with the scope." - Saints defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis
thanks for clarification!
The saints would do good to pick up Carney.
SO NOT ONLY WAS THE POST FULL OF SPURIOUS OPINIONS THAT MAY NOT REALLY EXIST
(Colts fans think of Stover as a goat) but the one verifiable fact is wrong as well?
Sweet.
Journalism at its best.
Oh but hey, it generated a ton of hits, so it must be good.
I need to take a shower now.
I hate Joe Namath. That's how long I've been a Colts fan.
Exactly right. Matt Stover will always be in my good memories for all he did for
our team last season. That’s a ton of field goals when we needed him.
Ditto.
He may not have had the leg to go long distances, but he manned up and did his best anyway. Anyone who thinks poorly of him and what he contributed has a skewed perception of things.
------
"How can a pickup truck contain enough mass to unfold into a towering machine? I say if Ringling Brothers can get 15 clowns into a Volkswagen, anything is possible."
Yup
I still like Matt Stover. Nothing but good from that guy.
Dallas Clark: Some tight ends catch. Some block. Clark just owns.
Why couldn't Mr. Hartley miss in the NFCCG?
I rather would have played Favre and the Vikings than Brees and the Saints.
/just saying
Live life 10 yards at a time.
by TouchdownMonkey on Sep 27, 2010 1:47 PM EDT reply actions
I dislike the Saints and Vikings equally
So I had no bias when watching the NFCCG last year. The officiating during the final few drives was skewed hugely in favor of the Saints, and was, in my opinion, as much a factor of the outcome of the game as Favre’s boneheaded INT.
/just saying
Dont believe for 1 min the officiating was skewed in the Saints favor
There were alot of missed calls in that game for both sides
The refs were letting them play instead of calling every little thing
but it happened to both teams not just one
World Champions at last
A dirty bird cant fly with a broken wing
by mississippisaintsfan on Sep 27, 2010 7:58 PM EDT up reply actions
Unlike you
I watched the game without any favoritism toward either team. I watched the game, thinking “wow, these refs must HATE Favre or something”. Sure enough, the reports on the game the next day agreed with me.
Congrats on the win (and the eventual Super Bowl victory), but very few people outside of the southwest United States agrees that it was called evenly. “Letting them play” and “blatant no-calls on late hits / awful pass interference calls / extremely questionable spots” are very different.
I began watching the game, hoping the Vikings & Saints would just beat the hell out of each other for 60 minutes and the better team would prevail. In the end, I was pissed because I felt the better team had the game taken from them by the black and white, not the black and gold.
by strootster on Sep 27, 2010 8:39 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
hoping... the better team would prevail
funny… I was hoping the worse team would prevail, LOL
How can you not love a team that does this?
Unlike you I'm not bitter towards the Saints because of the super bowl
And I can clearly see it was a game of bad officiating like I stated there were misses on both sides
World Champions at last
A dirty bird cant fly with a broken wing
by mississippisaintsfan on Sep 28, 2010 2:28 AM EDT up reply actions
Calm down kid
Yes I’m obviously not happy how the Super Bowl ended, but I told you that — two weeks before SB XLIV — I watched the NFCCG live and noticed this as the game progressed. Many news articles the following week criticized the officiating, and it was very one-sided when it mattered, not “misses on both sides” as you say. I tried googling for some news blurbs complaining about anti-Saints officiating in that game but came up empty-handed; if you can find some to pass along, I’d appreciate being able to read them.
Bad officiating is part of the game; the Colts have been on both the fortunate and unfortunate sides of poor ref work. I’m not saying it’s a huge conspiracy or anything like that — I’m merely pointing out that the officials — err, ‘luck’ — was on the hometown team’s side for that game. After receiving that little boost in the NFCCG, I felt they won a fairly-called Super Bowl after playing a phenomenal game, and I congratulate them for that; I’m just a little irked on how they got to that point.
Kid???? I'm 50
And you will never be able to convince me the officiating was one sided
Yes there were some late hits and most were called but there were some calls that were BS
The late hit flag on Bobby Mccrae after Brett handed off the ball and then tried to get in between the runner and the defender to obscure his getting to the runner makes him a blocker there should have never been a flag on it
And most people complain about the high low hit yes that was roughing but the refs missed it that happens in every game its not bias its human error
World Champions at last
A dirty bird cant fly with a broken wing
by mississippisaintsfan on Sep 28, 2010 6:54 PM EDT up reply actions
well... with all this goat talk, he probably didn't have the confidence to hit a PAT anymore.
I hate Joe Namath. That's how long I've been a Colts fan.
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