Jeremy Shockey's greatest hits: Go-ahead touchdown in Super Bowl XLIV

Arguably the biggest play of Jeremy Shockey's three-year stint with the New Orleans Saints came on the biggest stage, trailing the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLIV.

In this excerpt from a June 22 article by Mike Triplett, Coach Sean Payton breaks down the play:

Now at second-and-2 from the Colts' 28-yard line, the Saints called a run play, but Brees changed it at the line of scrimmage when he saw that only one safety was lined up deep instead of the two-deep zone the Saints expected. He completed an 8-yard pass to receiver Marques Colston.

Payton said defenses will often try to disguise what they're doing at the line of scrimmage -- "they'll sugar it sometimes, " as he put it. But he said the Colts weren't able to disguise their alignments because the Saints' tempo from play to play was so quick.

The next play was also supposed to be a run, but Brees again decided to change it up. This time, instead of calling an audible at the line, he decided to make a quick throw out to receiver Robert Meachem on the far right side of the field, a "smoke" option that was built into the play.
It actually might have been the wrong decision. Payton pointed out that there appeared to be a decent hole available for the run. But Meachem did a great job of fighting off an early tackle and turning the play into a six-yard gain.

The next play was a "simple stick route" to tight end David Thomas on the left side, a nine-yard gain that gave the Saints first-and-goal from the 5-yard line.

"They're coming, but not in chunks here, " Payton said again.

The next play was a three-yard run by Pierre Thomas that did exactly what it was designed to do: get the Saints down closer to the goal line. Payton had already called the next play even before Thomas ran the ball. It was a quick pass designed for Shockey if he got the right matchup.

And sure enough, the Saints got the matchup they wanted. Shockey was lined up outside, and the Colts opted for zone coverage with cornerback Jacob Lacey directly across from him.

"If you listen to the audio, you'll hear me say, 'He's going to throw to Shockey here, '" said Payton, who indeed predicted the touchdown before the ball was snapped, according to the raw footage from NFL Films, which had put a microphone on the coach for the game.

"If this corner, who's short, matches up on Shockey and we feel like Shockey can get inside technique, which Drew sees right now" Payton explained as he highlighted the key players with his coach's clicker. "We've got just what we want. Soft coverage and the big athlete on the small corner. Shockey's just going to run what we call a bullet, and Drew will take one step and he's going to throw this.

"It's just a big player on a small player. The corner didn't play it badly at all. It's like an inbound on a basketball court."

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(nola.com)