With 20 minutes still remaining in the halftime of Super Bowl XLIV, Saints head coach Sean Payton informed his team that they would open the second half with an onside kick. Rookie punter Thomas Morstead - who would be handling the kickoff, as he had all year - described the moment:
"He just walked by in passing and said, 'Hey we're running it'....I wish he'd told me at the end [of halftime]."
Although Morstead's initial reaction to the decision included a bit of panic...
“It’s the biggest stage in the world.... I wasn't worried, I was terrified. That’s an aggressive move.”
... he also thought it was the right call:
“When coach called that play, and it just made sense to me. My special-teams coach in college, who just passed away last year, he always said, 'Be more aggressive than the opponent.' We knew it was open. I was terrified and excited at the same time because I knew we could do it if I executed."
Morstead's involvement in the play did not end after the ball left his foot:
"When I hit it, it bounced off somebody, Chris Reis recovered it, then it kind of squirted between his legs and then he recovered again right before the dog pile happened. I went over there trying to pull guys off, and then I got pulled off by somebody ... and I hear a referee saying, 'blue ball, blue ball,' like the Colts recovered. That's when I tried pulling guys off again."
After the game, Morstead again recollected on his former college coach, Frank Gansz Sr.:
“I was only with him for a year. It was crazy how he would always tell me 'We got one year. We got one year to get you ready’.... As soon as I got drafted I went to the hospital [to visit Gansz]. He was in a coma. I saw him on a respirator. He used to always tell me 'God had us together for a reason’’, but he never told me what the reason was. Sometimes I feel like ... He's done a lot for a lot of people."
Saints kicker Garrett Hartley also commented on the onside kickoff:
"We had that planned. We had been working on that for weeks, and we executed it at the proper time. Thomas made an amazing kick, and it shifted the whole momentum of the game.''
Hartley also played a key role in New Orleans' 31-17 victory, making field goals of 46, 44, and 47 yards. He was the first kicker to ever make three kicks of 40+ yards in a Super Bowl.
"What record? Apparently this is news to me. That's my job every time I'm out on the field, whether it's 40 yards or 25 yarders, it's my job to put points up there and help my team win."
Hartley commented that he was still in the proverbial zone with his kicking:
"I guess the confidence from a couple of weeks ago was still there.... The ball was coming off my foot pretty well all week."
His own success aside, Hartley was certainly aware that his team had just won the big game:
"Oh my gosh! It's such a surreal feeling. I could never have imagined it like this. It was a storybook ending, and that's how our season has been this year. It was just meant to be.... I can't even explain this feeling right now. Here I am at 23, and we're world champions. It's the most amazing feeling. It's awesome."
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