Written by Chris O’Dell
With the showdown in Miami only days away, Super Bowl XLIV is the hot topic of the week. The expected shootout between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts could be one of the most exciting Super Bowls in recent memory.
The game will feature two No. 1 seeds for the first time since 1993 when the Dallas Cowboys met the Buffalo Bills. For whatever reason, No. 1 seeds have had trouble winning Super Bowls in the past decade. The last top seed to win the championship was in 2003 when the New England Patriots defeated the Carolina Panthers. However, this won’t be the only storyline to keep an eye on during Super Bowl XLIV.
Peyton Manning, MVP of the regular season, will be facing the team he grew up watching. In fact, Manning will be playing against his father’s former team, which will be making its first Super Bowl appearance in team history. Manning’s father, Archie, is still regarded as one of the Saints’ top quarterbacks to ever play the game.
Drew Brees and the Saints come in with the league’s No. 1 offense. Brees threw for a league-high 34 touchdown passes to 10 different receivers in the regular season. The quick-scoring attack of the Saints will battle one of the league’s most dangerous possession offenses. The duel between Brees and Manning could ultimately go down as one of the greatest quarterback matchups in Super Bowl history. A few I would rank above it are Terry Bradshaw vs. Roger Staubach in Super Bowl XIII and Joe Montana vs. Dan Marino in Super Bowl XIX.
With Brees and Manning under center, each team’s defense will have its hands full from the time Carrie Underwood gets done singing the National Anthem until the stadium lights are turned off.
The city of New Orleans will finally get to see their Saints in the league’s ultimate game after finishing 7-9 and 8-8 the past two seasons. This is the Saints’ first Super Bowl appearance after the team ended its 43-year drought by beating Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings 31-28 in overtime during the NFC Championship game Jan. 24. Residents of New Orleans have spent the last few years watching their city rebuild after the destruction left from Hurricane Katrina. Now, its residents will get to watch their team as a Super Bowl contender in Miami this weekend.
Everyone knows these two teams have two of the top passing attacks in the NFL. This further proves that the league has changed from one that is geared toward defense and running the ball to one that puts an emphasis on passing the football.
The Colts could have started this trend with their Super Bowl win in 2006. With the Colts’ victory over the Bears, Indianapolis became the first team to win the title ranked outside the top 10 in scoring defense since 1983. Both teams win with their offense, not their defense. So who has the edge on the defensive side of the ball?
I would take the Saints’ defense over the Colts’ for the fact that New Orleans can change any game with its takeaway potential. Saints defensive coordinator Greg Williams has an in-your-face coaching style that has given the Saints’ defense a swagger it never had under previous defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs. That is probably because the Saints were plus-11 this season in turnover ratio. That was good for third-best in the NFL and a huge improvement from the team’s minus-4 ratio last season.
New Orleans is plus-6 in the turnover department this postseason, making them capable of changing the outcome of any game it plays. The unit led the NFL in defensive touchdowns with eight and scored 141 points this season after takeaways. Their 39 takeaways were second to only the Green Bay Packers’ 40, and nearly double the 22 the team had last season. Williams’ relentless emphasis on creating turnovers has made the Saints’ defense one of the scarier ones to go up against.
The Saints would also have to get the edge in the running game. Although neither team will come out running on every play, the Saints have more potential to break the game open with a huge run. Running backs Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell, Reggie Bush and Lynell Hamilton have to strike more fear into a defense than Joseph Addai. The Saints have shown more of a willingness to have a balanced attack than Indianapolis.
One factor to keep an eye on is how Dwight Freeney’s ankle will hold up. The All-Pro pass rusher is the heart and soul of the Colts’ defense. If Freeney can’t overcome the pain in his ankle, the Saints could have a field day against that Indianapolis pass defense. I mean, who really thinks Raheem Brock will have the same kind of impact as Freeney?
Three years ago this week, in the same city and stadium where they’ll face the Saints, the Colts won their first championship of the Peyton Manning era by defeating the Bears 29-17. The Colts come into Super Bowl XLIV as the popular pick, dubbed as four-point favorites over the Saints. Although I feel this is truly anyone’s game, I see the Saints as the four-point winners in this one. I see Brees winning his first championship by defeating Manning and the Colts 35-31. The city of New Orleans will finally be able to call their team champions.
