When Garrett Hartley kicked the field goal which sealed our first Superbowl appearance, I'm sure many old-time fans like me wondered if this would now become know as "The Kick". For you younger/newer fans, "The Kick" had always before referred to Tom Dempsey's 1970 record-setting, game-winning, 63-yard field goal against the Lions to secure one of only two wins that season. I, like many, remember exactly where I was for that moment.

Well, it turns out there IS a connection between the two kicks.

As Garrett Hartley lined up for a 40-yard field-goal attempt in overtime against the Vikings, Dempsey pleaded, “Don’t overkick it!” His thoughts drifted to an earlier home game, in the penultimate week of the regular season, when Hartley missed a 37-yard field-goal attempt in the final seconds of regulation in a game the Saints lost in overtime.

The next week, Dempsey delivered a message to Hartley through John Carney, a kicking consultant for the Saints. Dempsey advised Hartley not to try to overpower the ball because the leg swing, like a golf swing, is most effective when it is rhythmic and unrushed. “The kid has a strong leg,” Dempsey said he told Carney. “He doesn’t need to overkick it.”

On Sunday, as soon as the ball left Hartley’s foot, Dempsey said he turned to his wife and exclaimed, “It’s good!”

By KAREN CROUSE - The New York Times

The entire article is great. Thinking about both of these kicks at the same time, makes me feel extra warm and fuzzy all over. Enjoy.

Saints tight end is expected to play on Sunday in the NFC championship game. He wore a black ski cap at practice one day this week that had the letters BOPP embroidered in white. It stands for Brotherhood of Perpetual Pain, subgroup within the Saints team of guys who endure a little more than the usual pain that goes with playing in the NFL. The only year Shockey has been free of pain was his rookie season at New York.

-From BayouBuzz.com

Here's the full article.

+More entertaining stuff about Shockey and others.

2010 NFL Playoffs (Winning Percentages from 10,001 simulations)

Team	  Win%:          WC      DIV      CC      SB
New York Jets		68.0%	43.8%	29.0%	15.9%
New Orleans Saints	-	59.5%	27.6%	14.6%
Minnesota Vikings	-	50.3%	27.1%	14.0%
Dallas Cowboys		63.0%	36.3%	24.4%	13.7%
Baltimore Ravens	59.1%	36.3%	18.1%	9.7%
San Diego Chargers	-	43.5%	19.0%	7.0%
Indianapolis Colts	-	39.0%	17.0%	6.6%
Philadelphia Eagles	37.0%	19.1%	9.4%	6.2%
Green Bay Packers	65.2%	26.6%	10.0%	4.2%
New England Patriots	40.9%	20.9%	8.7%	3.8%
Cincinnati Bengals	32.0%	16.7%	8.3%	3.7%
Arizona Cardinals	34.8%	8.2%	1.6%	0.6%

-From WhatIfSports These are the same people who predicted the Saints/Cards game so well - I quoted them in my FanShot "Sleepless Saints Fans". At that time I deliberately didn't mention the Jets prediction you see above because I thought it hurt their credibility. Well, apparently not. Kinda eerie. The good news, according to them: we should go to the Superbowl. The bad: we should lose to the Jets. Cheer up though, they are actually only right 75-80% of the time.

I believe. You believe. FAITH over prognostication.

or Is it Saturday Yet?

If you're like me, it's going to be hard to wait until the game tomorrow. It's been almost 5 weeks since I've gotten to watch the Saints win a game. Add to that the re-signing of Deuce today and the need to shut up the pundits and you have the equation for a sleepless night.

WhoDats with their eyes all aglow, will find it hard to sleep, tonight.

I can't and wouldn't do anything about the excitement to see the game, but in case you're stressed about the Saints' chances against the Cardinals, here's a healthy dose of reassurance: WhatIfSports has simulated tomorrow's game 10,000 times and come to the following conclusion:

Whether this game provides another offensive onslaught or not, the computer likes this game as the biggest blowout of the week, with New Orleans winning 83.9% of the time by an average score of 36-20.

Read the entire article here, and sleep tight.