It’s finally Super Bowl week, and the rains keep on coming down hard in Miami, driving the media day indoors and making for a soggy Pro Bowl. The AFC won 41-34, and a familiar name, Matt Schaub, won the MVP award. But that game is now in the rearview mirror as Super Week is well underway. Who has the edge this weekend?
Quarterbacks
With all due respect to Drew Brees and his amazing 15-3 season(including playoffs) for the Saints, the best quarterback in this game, and arguably ever, is Peyton Manning for the Colts. Peyton picked up an NFL-record fourth MVP award last month, and has never missed a start in 12 seasons in the Pros.
Manning excels calling audibles at the line of scrimmage, and is coming off a 377 yard, three touchdown passing game in a win over the NFL’s top defense team, the New York Jets, in the AFC title game.
Winner: Colts
Running backs
In addition to their high-flying passing attack, the Saints league-leading offense possesses a running game that is extremely explosive, balanced and unarguably better than the Colts.
Joseph Addai and the rookie Donald Brown are solid, but the Colts finished last in the league in rushing yards with 80.9 per game, while the Saints finished sixth with 131.6 rush yards per game.
Winner: Saints
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Let’s not forget the Colts no longer have future Hall of Famer wide receiver Marvin Harrison. But into the vacuum left by the departures of Harrison and last year’s No. 3 receiver Anthony Gonzales, the Colts have inserted second year player Pierre Garcon and rookie Austin Collie, and along with veterans Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark, they are as lethal as ever at the wide receiver position.
Garcon and Collie combined for 18 receptions, 274 yards and two touchdowns in their AFC title game win over the Jets, while Wayne and Clark were relatively quiet, combining for seven catches, 90 yards and one touchdown.
Marques Colston and Devery Henderson may give the Saints an edge in speed, and Robert Meachem and Jeremy Shockey give them toughness, but none of them have played to their potential in these playoffs. Short passes to Bush and Thomas have been productive weapons for the Saints, but their receiving core has averaged only 222 yards per game in the playoffs, good for fifth, while the Colts rank second.
Winner: Colts
Defense/Special Teams
The Colts deserve the edge once again after shutting down the top running games of the Ravens and Jets, and allowing only 20 points in their two playoff wins. They held the Ravens’ Ray Rice to 67 yards and no touchdowns, and kept the Jets’ Thomas Jones and Shonn Green scoreless, locking them down for a combined 83 yards.
When it comes to special teams, the Colts’ field goal kicker Matt Stover has already won a Super Bowl with the Ravens in 2000, while the Saints’ Garrett Hartley didn’t attempt his first field goal this season until Week 13. Despite nailing the game winner against the Vikings in the NFC title game, the edge here goes the Colts for big game experience.
Prediction: Colts win 31-23
