SUPER BOWL PREVIEW

Indianapolis Colts vs. New Orleans Saints

The Colts and Saints are set to kickoff Super Bowl 44 in Miami on Sunday, February 7th, 2010 and it should be an entertaining football game.
Both of these teams are the number-one seeds from their respective conferences and posted the top records in 2009.
Both teams have high powered offensive attacks that rely mostly on the passing game with the running game sprinkled in to keep opposing defenses honest.
The Saints are led by Drew Brees, the top rated quarterback in the NFC who leads the team through the air with his rifle arm. The Colts' leader is four-time NFL MVP Peyton Manning, who is a pin-point passer who can dissect a defense in no time. Just ask loudmouth Jets' Coach Rex Ryan about that.
When it comes to the defense, the Saints rely on turnovers while the Colts are a little more consistent against both the run and the pass than their opponent from the Big Easy.
New Orleans' opportunistic defense led the league in scoring on defense this season as defensive back Darren Sharper led the way with multiple scores off interceptions.
The Saints have Reggie Bush, punt returner extraordinaire as well who could be a wild card factor in the outcome of this game on special teams.
Look for the Saints to try and out pass the Colts (if that's possible) to win the game. If they succeed, they will win. Brees has multiple targets to throw to in Marques Colston, Jeremy Shockey, Bush, Devery Henderson, Lance Moore, Pierre Thomas and Robert Meacham.
Meanwhile, Manning can throw to a number of different receivers as well. His favorite targets are Dallas Clark and Reggie Wayne. If they are covered, he can go to Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie as well as running back Joseph Addai.
These two quarterbacks should light it up as the game goes along and the call here is for a high scoring game with the outcome possibly being decided simply by which team has the ball last.
That being said, the defenses will probably ratchet it up a notch or two and take over in much the same way New England and the New York Giants did two years ago in the Super Bowl.
One intriguing factor for the Colts may be the possible loss of defensive end Dwight Freeney (severe ankle sprain) for this game. He will be a game-time decision and if he cannot go, then Brees will have even more time to pick apart the Colts secondary, which can be suspect at times.
No matter, these two teams should provide for a great Super Bowl and the call here is for the Colts to come away with the Vince Lombardi trophy in a close one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: COLTS 34, SAINTS 28

heftyinfo playoff picks record: 7-3