Colts Or Saints?

[headscan]

So the Colts are 4 point favourites right now. Personally I think that's way too low and expect the Colts will pick apart the Saints' terrible defence. The Colts played way too good yesterday and the Saints only won in overtime because Favre was beat up.

[bigbowtrout]

I'll be cheering for the Saints but if I was going to lay down some cheddar I would bet the Colts.

[trailhead]

I have to go with the Colts, Manning only got better as the game went on. He relishes playing under pressure, gets that look in his eye and it's real hard to stop him. Brees on the other hand wilts under pressure, a few good hits and he disappears. It's great that the Saints are in the Super Bowl, but unless something real unexpected happens all they will get to do is play in the game.

[126barnes]

If the Saints play like they did yesterday, Colts by 30+, that was a brutle game, by both teams.

 

Colts will wins, even if the Saints brings their best.

[headscan]

Manning just brings too much. Yesterday the Jets used Revis to take Reggie Wayne out of it, so Manning threw to Garcon and Collie instead. Plus Dallas Clark always seems to be open any time Manning is about to get sacked.

[reevesr1]

A couple of things to consider:

1. In the Super Bowl, particularly recently, people flock like crazy to the favorite and discount the "underdog", if there really is such a thing in a final game.

2. Do not discount the Saints defence. I don't have the stats in front of me, but they are a takeaway machine. Best in the league, if memory serves. The fact that Minnesota had more turnovers in this game than anytime this season is not an accident. They will most likely win the turnover battle.

3. When rolling, the Saints have the best offense in the league.

4. The Colts defence gave up 17 points in one half to the JETS. If they don't tighten that up, look out.

 

My heart is with New Orleans. All the above said, Peyton Manning is at the pinnacle of his game. Brees is a great quarterback, and his array of weapons is formidable, but I cannot bet against 18. But a rout? No way. It will be a game well into the 4th quarter. And there will be points aplenty.

 

But to counter 126Barnes a bit. If the Colts don't bring their best, they loose as well.

[darrinhurst]

I think, I HOPE, that it will be one of the BEST Super Bowls in recent memory.

 

The two best offenses in the league going head to head. Will be a good one to watch to be certain.

[headscan]

Rick, not sure what the takeaway stat is for them, but the NO defence is ranked 9th out of the 12 teams in the postseason and 25th out of 32 for the regular season in terms of yds/game.

[reevesr1]

The Colts defence can't stop New Orleans either. If it takes them 1 half to figure out the Saints like it did the Jets (and what a complicated offence they have), then they are in deep, deep trouble. This will come down to who can slow the other the most. And turnover battle will be very important. Their defence sucks in total yards, and yet they won 13 games in a row before they took their foot off the gas. One of the reasons is opportunistic defence.

 

I'm just telling you, anyone who thinks this is going to be one sided is likely to be wrong. Just like they were wrong with the Giants two years ago, Arizona (though they ultimately lost) last year. I am a big Colts fan. Probably my third favorite team behind Dallas and NO. I think 18 is the best quarterback I've ever seen. But they can loose this game. Don't just remember how good they looked in the second half yesterday. Remember how bad they looked in the first. They pull that against the Saints and they loose.

 

What happened to Minnesota didn't happen in a vacuum. They are the same team that utterly destroyed a pretty good Dallas team. Indy played a second rate team that has a great defence and got on a roll at the end of the season. Before that, they beat a very good defence (Baltimore) who couldn't score if you gave them the ball on Indy's 10 every possession. They are going up against a different beast in two weeks.

[126barnes]

I think the 17 points in the first half (2nd quarter) is very misleading, they stoned the Jets run 86 yrds for the whole game, thats their game and indy beat them at it. The 80 catch by Edwards is what makes that score stand out. With out the Jets running game, no lead was safe againt the Colts.

 

Manning will not have to adjust againt the Saints D, this was the Jets defence and he shredded them in the second half. If the Saints come at him like they did against Minny, Clarke and Collie will have monster games.

 

I think the only way the Saint win, is if the Colts hand them the game. Don't mean to rag on the Saints , and I'm not even a Colts fan, I just think they are the class of the NFL this year, with a huge gap between first and second.

 

But like they say Any Given Sunday.

[reevesr1]

Last week when the Jets beat San Diego, the cheer coming from Indy could be heard for miles. Why? Indy doesn't fear a team that is all defence, no offense. Who do they have a hard time beating? San Diego. In fact, haven't they lost to them the last two years in the playoffs? Great offense, not much defence. Sound familiar?

[headscan]

I don't think anyone in the playoffs feared San Diego this year. LT is pretty much done and their defence isn't what it once was either.

 

Straight across, I think Indy is the better team. Like any game, if they believe their own hype and don't show up to play for real then they'll lose. NO only won yesterday because of a flag for too many men on the field at the end of regulation. If it wasn't for that we'd be debating the battle of the quarterback titans. But hey, someone always says something about that being why they play the game.

 

Let's see how many other bad football cliches I can fit into this post...

The Colts offence needs to take what the Saints defence gives them.

The Colts need to want it more than the Saints.

They need to play the full 60 minutes.

If the Colts offence can get into the endzone and their defence can hold the Saints, they'll win.

They have to make plays on both sides of the ball.

 

 

[reevesr1]

Sorta giving away that 45 yd. field goal.

 

You do have the battle of quarterback titans. And the two best offences.

 

Like many of these battles, everyone is focusing on one aspect: Indy offence vs. Saints defence. My point is the opposite is a BAD matchup for Indy. So lets break it all down:

 

Offence- NO has been unstoppable at times. Indy adjusts better than anyone. NO has the most points in the league. Slight advantage NO

Defence-NO is a gambling defence that gives up a bunch of yards and counts on turnovers. Indy is a bend but don't break defence. Neither will stop the other's offence, but certainly Indy has the edge here.

Special teams: Big advantange New Orleans

Kicking game: Is Vinateri (I'm sure I spelled that wrong) going to be ok? If not, ad NO, if so, ad Indy.

Intangibles: Indy has more big game experience, though I like New Orleans coaching better. But Indy's best coach also plays!

 

Quarterbacks: Well, hard to not go Indy-But remember this my friends: Manning used to be the quarterback who couldn't win the big one, until he finally did. And when he finally did, if anyone remembers, he played like crap but still won. Brees is a fantastic quarterback who hasn't won the big one yet. It would not surprise me at all if this is his first.

 

My prediction? 38-35 Indy. The team with the ball last wins sorta game.

 

 

[Rp3flyfisher]

If the Saints get at Manning like they did to Farve, then the Saints WILL win!!!!!!

 

Rick

[acurrie]

Saints.

[headscan]

You do have the battle of quarterback titans. And the two best offences.

Yeah, Brees and Manning are both good QBs, I just meant the guy who holds most of the records against the guy most likely to break them next.

[Hawgstoppah]

I'd be so bold as to say, ANY team that turns over the ball as much as the vikings did, deserves to lose. Favre kept them in it. And the viking defence was good too. But I dont see the colts giving up the ball 6 times in a game... and if they do... watch out.

 

I say colts by 2 TD's.

[reevesr1]

I love this analysis of FAAAAAVVVVRREEEE. From ESPN

Hamartia. The "tragic flaw" described by Aristotle: A leader cannot control his own inner shortcoming, which causes him to achieve the reverse of what he desired. In "Antigone," the king, Creon, tells himself he is acting in the interest of the city, when actually he is acting to glorify his own ego -- this hamartia destroys him. Brett Favre comes up a bit short of a character in ancient Thebes, but on Sunday he was brought low by hamartia all the same. It was not enough for Favre's team to reach the Super Bowl -- he had to get the credit. Game tied with 19 seconds remaining, Favre scrambled at about the New Orleans 40-yard line, with open field ahead of him. All he needed to do was run a few yards, hook-slide, call timeout, and the Vikings' strong-legged kicker, Ryan Longwell, had a solid chance to win the NFC championship. But the credit had to go to Favre; he had to throw a spectacular pass at the end, so television announcers would swoon. So he heave-hoed a dramatic across-the-field pass. It was intercepted, and the Saints won in overtime.

 

Perhaps you are thinking, "It was just a dumb mistake, and the whole thing happened in a couple of seconds." No. Two years of Favre's life built up to that moment. For two years, Favre has insisted that entire NFL franchises, the Jets and the Vikings, become thralls to his celebrity. He has used his stature to demand, demand, demand -- the crux of the demands are always attention and publicity for himself. Now he is brought low. In two of the past three seasons, Favre has lost in the NFC Championship Game. Each time, his team seemed poised to win at the end; each time, Favre's final play was a disastrous interception. And each of those title losses eventually came in overtime -- to punish Favre for his hamartia, twice the football gods allowed him to come so close, so close, then denied him. Favre has been brought so low, he is now being laughed at in Wisconsin, and he has only himself to blame. Aristotle would not be surprised by the ending of the Favre saga. If, of course, it was the ending.

 

Another post game analysis said if you look at the Jets and the Vikings, in both cases they had a great combination of pass/run early in their season's with Favre, but as the year went on, they passed more and more and ignored the run (the Vikes have AP for go eff sakes, how could you not use him more?). Anytime anyone questions his Favreness on this, people start rolling out the "he's run this offence for 15 yrs. Nobody knows it better." And the end is always the same. He makes the big mistake in the end. Can't help himself. He'll come back next year and do it all again. The best, and yet at the same time utterly overrated, quarterback maybe ever.

[Smitty]

I don't follow the NFL really, so I can't offer any thoughtful analysis. But I am cheering for the Saints, just because its New Orleans, ya know.

 

Smitty

[headscan]

(the Vikes have AP for go eff sakes, how could you not use him more?).

You mean butterfingers? And as a Texan isn't it your duty to despise any Sooners past or present?

 

[reevesr1]

I know he puts it on the ground. But so have a lot of very elusive runners through time. But I think he had 7 lost fumbles in 16 games. I'll take 1 fumble every two games to have him on my team any time.

 

And yeah, I hate all Sooners. But I do like to watch him run!

 

 

[headscan]

The thing with AP is it seems he puts it on the ground mainly in clutch situations. I started to think that the Vikes offence was probably doing fumble recovery drills for that reason alone. Barry Sanders fumbled 27 times in 10 years. AP has fumbled 20 in 3 years. Now I know that's not the fairest of comparisons, but it gives it a bit of perspective. Or looking at a "good" but not Barry back like Portis, he's fumbled 26 times in 8 years. If I were AP I'd be worried come contract time unless that improves.

[headscan]

Seems the Saints have thought of a way to take care of Manning.

[bhurt]

After reading your artical Mark, I really hope the Saints Lose.

 

As a coach and a long time player I find it discusting that a coach would teach his players to try and take out a another player. Don;t get me wrong we teach to hit hard and make a impact but I have never taught a player to go out and intentally hurt another player, possible endding his career.

 

But here is how I see it. Colts will win purly because of experince. Sure the Saints have a good Defence but they lack the experince needed to play in the big game. Once Manning played in his first Superbowel he gained alot of experince.

 

It should be an intresting game and I am hoping it will be exciting but hey it is the Superbowel and its been a long time since I was sitting on the edge of the chair watching the game.

 

Anyone holding a Superbowl party?

[126barnes]

Every coach that plays Manning or any other elite QB wants to hit him on every drop and get him out of his game. He wants to batter and bruise him, hurry him up and make him fear that on every throw that he will be crushed. Not that he wants him injuried.