Source: http://btr.michaelkwan.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/superbowl44.jpg
If you're a football fan, this weekend is like a second Christmas for you. The best offense in football against the best QB possibly of all time. Two young coaches that were both in the pursuit of perfection where one took his foot off the gas, and the other actually pursued it. One coach is extremely aggressive and isn't afraid to go for it on fourth down, while the other has a quite confidence about his team. Dwight Freeney is coming into the game with an ankle injury, will he be at full force? So many questions are being asked about this Superbowl because it should be a good one.
Both of these teams have the best quarterbacks in their respective leagues. The Colts have four-time NFL MVP Peyton Manning who has experience in the Superbowl and is a Superbowl Champion. He is also familiar with this scene in Miami because that's where he won his only Superbowl against the Chicago Bears. On the other side, Drew Brees doesn't have a ton of experience in the playoffs, but seems to be ready for the big stage considering this is New Orleans' first ever appearance in a Superbowl. Brees said this about dealing with adversity this week, “You have to go through some tough times and fight through adversity in order to get to this kind of level and have these types of opportunities. Had you not gone through some of those things earlier in the history of this organization or in my own career, you wouldn’t have learned the lessons you learned in order to get herehave that chip on your shoulder or have the motivation we have to be here and take part in the Super Bowl." Even though it is something he never experienced firsthand, Brees is looking at his past experiences as character builders to get him to where he is today.
Both of these teams have strong offenses that spread the ball around to several legit targets both on the ground and through the air. The Saints have a used and need a much better running attack in order establish their rhythm on offense. Early in games, the Saints generally use a series of quick outs to try and get the passing game set up, but it all starts with their running game. As good as Drew Brees is, they need a solid running game to back him up. They have a three headed monster in Mike Bell, Pierre Thomas, and Reggie Bush that have very different running styles respectively, When they get going early, the safeties start to creep up and then Brees takes his shots deep down the field to Marques Colston, Deverey Henderson, and one of the most underrated receivers in the league this year, Robert Meachem. They have two great tight ends that are always open on the outside in Jeremy Shockey, and lesser known David Thomas. Thomas has come up big in the play offs so far, and look for him to be a safety valve for Brees this weekend.
The Colts have their fair share of weapons as well, but they don't need that much of an impact from their running game. However, look for Joseph Addai and rookie running back Donald Brown to make an impact in this one. Addai made a difference in the Colts' last Superbowl appearance, which may be because of the conditions, but even with guys like Will Smith and Anthony Hargrove on the Saints defensive line, the Colts shouldn't be timid to run the ball. Brown is similar to Pierre Thomas in that he has surprising power, and can escape out of the backfield into the flat. Addai is similar to Mike Bell in that he comes straight at you and isn't afraid of contact. Will Smith is a great pass rusher on the Saints, but tends to over pursue on the run a little bit, so when the Colts run, look for them to run at his direction. The Colts main attack will obviously be through their aerial attack. With guys like Austin Collie and "The Haitian Sensation" Pierre Garcon stepping up to assist the already established Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark, it's scary how good the Colts are even after the illustrious career of Marvin Harrison. That Saints secondary is legit with Darren Sharper in playing center field, but they are risk takers and tend to go for interceptions a little too often. Look for Peyton to try and exploit this tendency with seam routes to Dallas Clark, who is an extreme matchup problem for them because no linebacker they have excels in pass coverage.
The defenses of both teams aren't particularly the best in the league, however, they aren't the worst either. The Colts probably have the smallest starting defense in the league. Their front seven seems to be full of linebackers that play defensive line, and strong safeties that play line backer. Their size fools a lot of teams though because they are so much faster than any other defense in the league. Gary Brackett is the most underrated defensive player in the league and always has that big interception or open field hit that gives his defense the momentum. Antoine Bethea has stepped up his play in the secondary even with the loss of Bob Sanders. Of course everyone knows about the two studs on the defensive line, Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney, and expect them to both stud it up, even though Freeney is currently battling an ankle injury. The X factor this week could be linebacker Clint Sessions. He's an OLB that is very quiet on the field like Brackett, yet seems to always have that huge tackle for a loss that changes the complexion of the game. Expect Sessions to not only pressure Drew Brees, but to light up Reggie Bush or Pierre Thomas whenever they try to sneak out of the backfield.
The Saints defense is a bit up and down at times. They have a great defensive line made up of Will Smith and the man that came out of nowhere this year, Anthony Hargrove. They did have CHarles Grant until a triceps injury put him out for the rest of the year. The leaders of this defense that I think will make a difference in this game are middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma, and free safety Darren Sharper. Vilma has played like a man possessed ever since the earthquake in Haiti. The Haitian native is apart of the advertising campaign that the NFL put out in an effort to help the cause for rebuilding the nation. He looks like a protege of a man that went to his alma mater and elevated his play the year they won the Superbowl(I'm of course talking about Ray Lewis). The key for Vilma this week is to be able to move laterally sideline to sideline to cover those short patterns that Peyton likes to dish out to his receivers. Sharper has to not go for the interception too much because if that happens, then Peyton will do to the Saints what he did to the Bears and find Reggie Wayne wide open for a huge touchdown.
This will be an epic battle of great offenses versus defenses that don't get enough appreciation. In the end, expect the Colts to pull away in the fourth quarter. The Saints are the sexy pick, but the reality is the Colts are just a little more dominant.
Prediction: Colts-30 Saints-24
