Who dat gon’ win dat Super Bowl?
“We Dat!”
Nope.
Mission Miami!
Mission Aborted.
WEATHER ALERT: citizens of New Orleans, Hurricane Brett is coming! (I personally thought that one was tasteless)
Actually, Brett had to deliver maybe the gutsiest performance of his career as he was beaten to a pulp by the Saints’ defensive front line. He was so beaten up by the end of the game, that his interview at the post game press conference made him look like a 60-year-old man, instead of a 40-year-old Hall of Famer. There were visible bruises on the side of his face, and an abrasion between his eyes that made the image downright troubling. As most of you know, the Vikings fell to the Saints in overtime in the NFC Championship game after a costly interception from quarterback Brett Favre at the end of regulation led to a 40-yard overtime field goal from Saints’ kicker Garrett Hartley.
Teams and fan bases can have all the confidence they want, but the NFL is moving in a direction favoring teams that have been together and developed chemistry. Clubs that have been together have been dominant when it comes to winning the Super Bowl. If you look at the last five champions (Steelers, Giants, Colts, Steelers again, and Patriots) and more importantly, this year’s combatants, you will find teams whose core group of stars had been together for three or more years. Peyton Manning, Dallas Clark, and Reggie Wayne could play catch in the dark, and Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney have been rushing the passer from across the line together for the better part of this decade. Reggie Bush, Drew Brees, and Marques Colston have been lighting up scoreboards on offense since Brees was signed and Bush was drafted in 2006, including a trip to the NFC Championship that year. Throwing a Hall of Fame QB on a 10-6 football team, or starting a rookie QB just isn’t the formula for winning. That said, here’s my preview for Super Bowl XLIV in Miami.
Quarterbacks: Drew Brees has to be in the top five unrestricted free agent acquisitions of all time. His impact on the Saints and on the community of New Orleans, especially after Katrina, has been immeasurable. Peyton Manning, however, is the Indianapolis Colts. He is the NFL’s Most Valuable Player, and for good reason. Peyton calls the plays, runs the offense and delivers precision pass after precision pass. The fact is that the Colts’ running game has been so putrid this season, as well as Manning’s MVP hardware tips the scales ever so slightly towards the NFL’s favorite spokesperson. Slight Edge: Colts
Running backs: This comparison is a little easier. The Colts drafted Connecticut’s Donald Brown in the first round of this year’s draft, expecting him to take some of the workload of oft-injured running back Joseph Addai, who had been effective when healthy. Something changed this season. Despite an impressive nose for the goal line, Addai was not effective running the ball this year, plain and simple. Brown was hurt for much of the season and was also ineffective in spot duty. The Saints have boasted a three-headed monster all year, with each back successfully carrying out a specific role. Pierre Thomas has been the first and secnod down back, taking the normal carries, and then deferring to Reggie Bush in a change of pace mode, being an electric speed back. After three quarters, when the Saints had usually built up a lead, former Bronco Mike Bell comes in and bruises opponents with punishing runs, earning him the label of the closer. The Saints have a clear advantage running the ball. Edge: Saints
Colts Offensive Line vs. Saints Defensive Front 7: The Colts offensive line is not as dominant as the group that won Super Bowl XLI against the Bears, but it is still an effective group, with its most important cog, center Jeff Saturday. Saturday, and not Dominic Rhodes, should have been the MVP of that Super Bowl, as his dominance of Bears NT Tommie Harris was the real reason that the Colts were able to ram the ball down the throats of that vaunted Bears defense. Left Tackle Tony Ugoh is a very athletic player for his position, but the rest of the Colts line hasn’t been very good in anything but pass protection. The other real problem that the Colts have with running the ball is that their tight end, Dallas Clark, isn’t much of a threat as a blocker. The Saints front seven has talent, especially in middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma and defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis. These groups have talent, but both have shortcomings as well. Edge: Push
Saints Offensive Line vs. Colts Defensive Front 7: The Saints’ offensive line is a very powerful and underrated unit, especially guards Jahri Evans and Carl Nicks. The Saints’ defensive ends Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney are the heart and soul of the defense, especially with Bob Sanders out of the defensive picture this season. Freeney has a torn ligament in his ankle this week, however, and might not be able to play. If that is the case, the pass rush from the edge for Indy will be somewhat negated, which tilts this match up towards the Saints. Edge: Saints
Colts receivers vs. Saints secondary: The Saints do have a very talented secondary, especially at the corner position and they have an exceptional leader in veteran-free safety Darren Sharper. They do a great job of turning the other team over, as was very evident in the game against Minnesota. The Colts receivers are among the best in the league. Everyone knows about Reggie Wayne and tight-end Dallas Clark, but the Colts are getting exceptional production out of newcomers Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon. The Saints will have to hope they can create turnovers because they won’t be able to run with this group. Edge: Colts
Saints receivers vs. Colts secondary: The story is the same with this match up. The Colts have a good group of defensive backs, especially safeties Melvin Bullet and Antoine Bethea, but their young corners can’t run with the likes of Marques Colston, Robert Meachem and Jeremy Shockey. The Saints were a well-oiled machine all season, and a large part of it was the ability of these receivers to get open for Drew Brees. Edge: Saints
Bottom Line: I have gone back and forth on this game several times, much to the dismay of my editor (this may or may not have been submitted in a timely manner), and have finally come to the conclusion that the Saints are going to win this Sunday. Actually, I’ll take the Colts. Nope, I’m sticking with New Orleans.
I’ve thought New Orleans was the best team in the league all year, and the questionable performance against the Vikings shouldn’t change that. The Colts have had countless come-from-behind victories this season, and have allowed teams to jump out ahead of them to start games, just like when the Jets were up 17-6 in the early goings of the AFC title game. The Saints are built to get ahead, and then sustain leads. Brees and Manning will both have very productive days, but the Saints ability to run the ball and keep it away from Manning should be the difference in this contest. The city of New Orleans is fully behind this team, and Who Dat nation is ready to not only invade Miami, but celebrate in the French Quarter as well. Who Dat say dey gon’ beat dem Saints? No one this
post-season. This Sunday, grab a refreshment, get some food and get together with your friends. Expect a lot of points and a close contest, with Marques Colston winning the Super Bowl MVP.
