MIAMI, Fla. — Unhappy anniversary.
That’s the greeting anyone recalling what took place exactly two years ago yesterday could have served up to Randall Gay, a Saints cornerback who wished he could forget.
“Oh man, I’m going to do the exact opposite of whatever I did that day because that’s a bad memory,” Gay told The Post. “I was trying to block that out. Why would you bring that up?”
Hey, facts are facts. It was the night of Feb. 3, 2008, when the Giants shocked the world by pulverizing Tom Brady en route to upsetting the favored and undefeated Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII. Gay was with the Patriots and would like to believe what transpired can provide inspiration for his underdog Saints as they brace for Peyton Manning and the high-powered Colts in Super Bowl XLIV.
“We had the best offense ever and the Giants defense came to play and it just took our offense out of the game, and they won the championship because of that,” Gay said. “That’s how we have to be as a defense. If our offense is not playing well this game, we got to be the reason we win this Super Bowl. Eli [Manning] got the MVP, but everybody knows the MVP of that game could have been the whole D-line, just the whole defense, so defense can win a championship.
“That Giants defense came after us. Against a great quarterback that’s how you have to do it. They just kept Tom off-balance that game and we’re going to have to keep Peyton off-balance and confused, not have him just playing pitch-and-catch out there in order to win this game. Nobody has done it yet, nobody has stopped them because they haven’t lost one game with Peyton in there the whole game. Not one.”
Such was the case with Brady and the Patriots, who were 18-0 before running into the devouring Giants defense. The Saints don’t pack that sort of punch when it comes to punishing the opposing quarterback. The Saints this season were 25th in total defense (21st against the run, 26th against the pass) but these rankings can, at times, be dismissed.
“The yards teams generally wrack up, they’re throwing the ball a lot because for the most part they were trying to come from behind,” cornerback Tracy Porter said. “We still think we’re one of the best defenses out there.”
What they do especially right is create turnovers. They finished second to the Packers in takeaways with 39 and forced seven more turnovers in their two playoff games. Still, it’s a defense without bona fide star-power. Will Smith leads the charge up front with 13 sacks and safety Darren Sharper leads the back group with nine interceptions.
Mostly, the Saints lean on Drew Brees and Co. to pile up big leads, allowing the inner-bullies on defense to emerge.
“We’re going out there to stop them, but there is a comfort level that we have the best offense in the league so if we happen to make one mistake a game our, offense is there to back us up,” Gay said. “We can take a chance to intercept a ball where somebody else might not. We can go out there and gamble a little bit more because our offense can make up for our mistake.”
That formula produced a 13-0 record for the Saints before a late swoon, but here they are, bracing for a battle between two of the most lethal offenses in the league. Wouldn’t it be something if the game turns on a play made by the defense?
“It’s gonna be,” Gay said. “Whatever defense goes out there and makes the most plays, keeps the other off-balance and gets turnovers, that’s who’s going to win, point blank. We think we have the defense to win this game.”
paul.schwartz@nypost.com