NFL- Super Bowl Preview: Colts vs. Saints
The Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints will be facing off this weekend in the Super Bowl. This is the first time since 1993 that the two top-seeded teams from the conferences are making it to the major title game.
The Colts are looking for their second Super Bowl title in four seasons. Their star player and quarterback, Peyton Manning, has been in the spotlight as he is playing against his home team. Born in New Orleans, Manning still has family in the area; his father still lives there and has been close to the Saints for almost 39 years. Indeed, Manning senior was a Saints quarterback for many seasons.
Now Manning is looking for his second title; two years ago, he led the Colts to a 29-17 victory over the Chicago Bears in South Florida, winning his first championship. Now, he’s coming back to the same place looking for the same thing: a championship title.
Manning has been sacked only ten times this year, leading the team to a great winning streak of 14 games in the regular season. He was benched for the last two games of the season along with the best players on the team. The Colts may have lost those games, but now the team’s key players are well-rested and ready to go.
At the beginning of the season, no one thought that the Colts would be able to reach the Super Bowl; their head coach Tony Dungy left the team and rookie Jim Caldwell was brought in as head coach. Caldwell seemed a long shot for the team, but the new coach proved the naysayers wrong. He and his staff are now considered among the best in the NFL.
The Saint then have their match in the Colts. The Colts’ defense is one of the best, led by captain Bob Sanders who has done a great job despite a career-long battle against injuries. The defense also boasts several Pro-Bowlers, including Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis; their secondary includes Pro-Bowl safety Antoine Bethea.
The Saints have been struggling to get to the Super Bowl since 2007, when they lost the NFC title against he Chicago Bears. Since that time, the team and its head coach, Sean Peyton, have been trying to improve their defense with new acquisitions. The Saints offense has been very solid, one of the best of the season in fact, averaging 31.9 points and 403 yards. Quarterback Drew Brees has set records with 34 TDs, 11 picks, 4,388 yards, and 70.6% completions.
“You understand just how explosive their offense can be,” Manning said of the Saints. “I think you have to be careful trying to get out of your rhythm in order to keep up with them. You still have to go play offense the way we have played all year, trying to be efficient. We have been excellent on third down, been well in the red zone. Those things will be important this year.”
This is the first time in franchise history that the Saints will be participating in the Super Bowl. Their very newness may be a plus for them; the desire for a first title may give them the drive they need to defeat the Colts.
But anything can happen; it is, after all, the Super Bowl.
About the Author
Audrey Nolan has been a prominent writer on daily NFL Football Season reviews, sports news and sports betting industry updates for many exceptional sports web sites. You may reprint this article in its full content, please note no modifications to it are accepted.
