Tennessee football: Top 10 former Vols to win Super Bowls the past decade
New Orleans Saints. Robert Meachem. 10. player. 15. . Wide Receiver
Super Bowl XLIV
New Orleans Saints: 31
Indianapolis Colts: 17
Okay, so this is a default one. The New Orleans Saints had more former Tennessee football players on their team than the Indianapolis Colts in this game, but former Vols fans were all rooting for the Colts because of Peyton Manning.
On this day, Drew Brees out-dueled Manning, largely thanks to how aggressive Sean Payton was. Brees completed 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Two of those completions, and six of those passing yards, went to Robert Meachem.
The single-season record holder for Vols’ receiving yards was part of that collection of big targets that Brees liked to throw to during this time. So although he only accumulated two receptions, it’s safe to say that Meachem was a valuable piece of the team. He could at least act as a decoy if he wasn’t getting the ball.
It’s also important to note that both of Meachem’s receptions came on scoring drives. One was for no-gain. But on the touchdown that put the Saints ahead for good, he had a six-yard reception that gave them the ball on the Indianapolis 14-yard line and made it 2nd and 4 when they were down 17-16. So it was a big catch at the time. We can say Meachem was valuable in this game.