Colts, Saints meet in “Super Brawl” 44

What’s on the line in Super Bowl 44 other than the Lombardi Trophy? Legacy. The New Orleans Saints are a franchise that couldn’t put together a winning season in their first 20 years of play. Not even the genealogy of Colts QB Peyton Manning could lead the Saints to victory, as Manning’s father Archie played for the Saints from 1971-81. In 2005, New Orleans nearly lost the team in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Their home stadium, the Superdome, was badly damaged, leading to a season with no Saints home games. Now, the Saints are in the Super Bowl for the first time in their team’s history. 

On the Colts side of the field, Peyton Manning is looking to solidify himself as possibly the greatest quarterback of all time. The unbelievable thing about watching Manning play, is that he essentially functions as the Colts’ offensive coordinator. Peyton calls the offensive plays at the line of scrimmage based upon how he reads the opposing defense. Already named this year’s NFL MVP, Peyton has led the Colts to countless 4th quarter comebacks this season, as well as a 14-0 start. 

Both teams are offensively minded, with tons of offensive weapons. Both teams are very deep at the receiver position. The Colts aren’t dependent on WR Reggie Wayne to catch passes; TE Dallas Clark, WR Pierre Garcon, and WR Austin Collie are more than capable at snagging any pass that Peyton throws their way. The Saints have an equally talented receiving core in Marques Colston, Jeremy Shockey, and Devery Henderson. Although the Colts probably have the advantage at the quarterback position, the Saints have a more powerful running game. Saints RB Pierre Thomas has had more success than any of the Colts backs. 

However, Saints RB Reggie Bush is one of the most overrated figures in this Super Bowl. A super-star at USC in college, Reggie hasn’t made much of an impact on the Saints during since he joined them in 2006. This season, he was having another typical Reggie Bush year, never putting together an 100-yard from scrimmage performance during the regular season. In the Saints first playoff game against the Arizona Cardinals, Bush looked like a star, returning a punt for an 86-yard TD, and breaking countless tackles on a 46-yard running TD. It was clearly the best game of his career, although it was against a defense that gave up 90 points combined in 2 playoff games this year. Before the NFC Championship game against the Minnesota Vikings, many thought that the super-star Reggie Bush was back. Nevertheless, Bush was once again a non-factor. Aside from his 28-yard TD catch, Bush touched the ball 8 times for 13 yards. He foolishly refused to signal a fair catch on a punt return, which resulted in a fumble and turnover. Reggie Bush won’t be a playmaker for the Saints in this Super Bowl.

The scariest defensive weapon on either team is Colts 3-time All Pro defensive end Dwight Freeney. This week, a report surfaced mentioning that Freeney has a torn ligament in his ankle. It is believed that Dwight will end up playing in the Super Bowl, but who knows how well that ankle will feel. The vicious pass-rush combo of Freeney and fellow defensive end Robert Mathis is crucial to the success of the Colts defense. The Saints defense has looked very inconsistent this year. Safety Darren Sharper will try to lead this defense against Peyton Manning’s offense. The Saints need to turn turnovers into points if they want to stick with the Colts.

One of the big keys to Super Bowl 44? The Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins were the only team to play both Super Bowl defenders this season, and they played both very well. In Week 2, the Dolphins possessed the ball against the Colts for 45 of 60 minutes while running for 239 yards. However, they squandered their fourth quarter lead when Peyton Manning threw a 45-yard game winning TD pass with 3 minutes left. In week 6, the Dolphins played the Saints, and took a 14-point lead at halftime. With a 10-point lead going into the fourth quarter, the Dolphins blew another lead, getting outscored 22-0 in the fourth quarter. Both Super Bowl contender coaching staffs will be carefully examining these two Dolphins games.

The Dolphins’ two games against the Super Bowl contenders showed that both the Saints and the Colts are comfortable coming from behind. In the Jets’ Conference Championship against the Colts this year, it was clear that the game was over as soon as the Colts took the lead in the 3rd quarter. Neither Drew Brees nor Peyton Manning will crack under pressure when down multiple scores. That being said, it’s hard to imagine the Colts failing to meet the goal that they’ve had their eyes on since day one. Although the Saints are a great team with a loyal fanbase which is well overdue for victory, Peyton is playing as well as he ever has, and I would be shocked if the Colts didn’t bring home another championship. 

My Prediction: Colts 30, Saints 24.