I set out to pen a long, hard exposé regarding the goings on with our beloved team. However, I thought I'd keep it simple with a little pep talk I like to call "E=MCscat".

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Quick. Name the greatest quarterback in the history of the National Football League.

Unitas?

Montana?

Marino?

Elway?

Brady?

Favre?

Manning? Peyton Manning? Peyton  Friggin' Football Manning?

When looking at his credentials he has to be, right?

10x Pro Bowl selection.

5x All-Pro selection.

4x League MVP.

Super Bowl XLI MVP.

He's 6'5", 230 Ibs. A field general. An NFL mastermind. An offensive guru. He's amazing. He's incredibly talented. He's wonderful. He's...human?

Wait, say it ain't so, Joe! Buck, that is.

The pundits, self-proclaimed experts and "analysts" have all but crowned the AFC opponent the Saints will meet in the Super Bowl, touting the Colts' offense as unstoppable, and Peyton's generalship and command of the field as, in the words of Jason Cole, simply "too hot" right now to overcome.

Wait a second. Wasn't this the guy that just three years ago was considered a choke artist? A quarterback who couldn't win the big game, ala Dan Marino? Hell, Michael Silver claimed as recently as 2007 that Brady, then with a newly acquired cast of Moss and Welker, was the "front runner for MVP". Legions of pundits claimed that if Brady had half the supporting cast Peyton did, the Patriots would have won a plethora of Super Bowls.

Why the love all of a sudden? Could it be because Manning has exorcised his demons and gotten the proverbial monkey off his back? Could it be that Manning has now ascended into that upper tier of elite status that only the truly great attain? Or, could it be because Manning is facing a team that isn't supposed to be in the Super Bowl? A team that doesn't deserve to be in the Big Dance? A "finesse" (i.e. *^$$&) team. A defense that's so susceptible to the big play that Manning will do nothing but shred the seams for an hour before trotting off the field alongside a hoisted Lombardi after a 172-0 shellacking?

My opinion? All of the above.

Think back for a moment to all of the experts (and I use this term very, very light) who were the first to jump on the Saints bandwagon, and the first to jump off. Focus on the disdain Skip Bayless holds for our organization. Focus on writers like Michael Silver calling the Saints "old news" and other various men and women in the business considering our beloved franchise a flop after that magical 2006 season. Focus on all of the laughter. The accusations of mediocrity. Of being a "finesse" (God I hate that word) football team. Of our team lacking the star power and skills in the secondary to combat the robot-esque command of Peyton over his respective offense.

Remember, ladies and gentlemen. We don't belong here. We were never meant to win a Super Bowl. We aren't special enough. We aren't winners. We're losers, and we always will be.

Now, reflect on all of these accusations and biased contentions. Put them in your mouth. Chew on them. Swallow and digest said accusations and contentions. Then, waltz on over to your throne, pull down your pants, and take a big, steaming dump. Boy, that feels better, doesn't it?

That's what all of this purportedly objective analysis means to me as a fan - a bubbling cauldron of bull$#!^. The MSM and fans of other teams know little to nothing of us. Most of them don't respect us. Most of them are still crying themselves to sleep at night at the lost prospect of a Favre/Manning Super Bowl. Boohoo. Cry me a river, you insolent turds.

Ahhh, how cathartic that felt. Now, let's take an objective look at the statistics between Drew Brees and Peyton Manning before we crown the latter as the demi-god of football we all know he is:

Peyton Manning statistics:

He has a career 2:1 touchdown to interception ratio, a career percentage of nearly 65% of his passes completed, over 50,000 yards through the air gained, as well as a career rating of 95.2. This guy averages over 7 yards a pass. That's very, very good.

Wow. Wow. That's certainly indicative of how great a player Manning truly is.

On to Drew Brees and his career statistics:

Drew has a career touchdown to interception ratio just behind that of Peyton at about 1.8:1, a career percentage of nearly 65% of his passes completed, over 30,000 yards through the air, as well as a career rating of 92. He also averages over 7 yards a pass. Very good indeed.

At a glance, these statistics, barring the edge Peyton holds in terms of yards gained and touchdowns, is relatively close, a mirror of each other in many aspects (Keep in mind that Drew has played 3 years less than Peyton, and could easily make up at least 1/2 of the ground needed to tie Peyton statistically, if not more).

Let's break this down even further. In fact, let's compare the 2009 season these two quarterbacks have had:

Peyton Manning completed nearly 69% of his passes, threw for 4,500 yards, averaged almost 8 yards per passing play, threw for 33 touchdowns/16 interceptions and holds a quarterback rating of 99.9.

Drew Brees completed nearly 71% of his passes (an NFL record), threw for over 4,300 yards, averaged 8.5 yards per passing play, threw for 34 touchdowns/11 interceptions and holds a quarterback rating of 109.6.

Boy, sure looks like Drew had the overall better year. In fact, it looks like Drew had an MVP year, considering Peyton won it yet again (It couldn't possibly be because he's the most advertised, marketed, well-known NFL player, could it?)

By all accounts, Drew has played better football than Peyton, going on to set an NFL record that I seriously doubt will ever be broken, and yet he, along with the rest of the New Orleans Saints, has been consistently looked over in favor of more marketable, household names such as Favre, Peyton and the marquee NFL teams that dominate headlines.

In the end, none of this really boils down to anything. It's all conjecture, right? Come time for kickoff, all of this will be thrown out the window as the two best teams in the NFL square off against one another. And as the final seconds of the game tick off, maybe, just maybe, the Saints will be the team that remains standing, victorious as hundreds of pounds of confetti rain down upon them. Maybe then everyone will respect New Orleans. Maybe then everyone will remember how Strong we Finished.

No matter what happens, Believe. Believe.