Who Dat winning the Championship?

Written by Michael GenovesecloseAuthor: Michael Genovese Name: Michael Genovese
Email: mgenovese21@yahoo.com
Site: http://www.genevosey.com
About: I am a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University's Masters of Sports Management Degree. I currently work for Academy Bus in Hoboken NJ. I also run my own blog www.genevosey.com. You can also catch me on www.betweenthepoles.wordpress.com and www.yankeesonlinemagazine.comSee Authors Posts (29) on February 6, 2010

Who takes home the Lombardi Trophy?

Everyone talks about what the Super Bowl win will mean for different parties involved. A Saints victory would be tremendous for the city of New Orleans. A Colts victory will solidify Peyton Manning’s place in history as one of, if not the best quarterback to ever play in the NFL. Pierre Garcon is playing for the Colts with a heavy heart after his home country of Haiti was devastated by a Hurricane. Reggie Bush and Jeremy Shockey are looking to emerge as big factors in a Saints Super Bowl win after some disappointing seasons.

The story lines are plentiful and the ones I just named are but a few. The real question is who wins the game on the field? It seems that is always secondary during Super Bowl week. Not today.

There are several keys to victory for both teams. The Colts and the Saints are both passing teams. They have hitched their wagons to two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Some experts like Tony Dungy, (admittedly bias as the former coach of the Colts) say the Colts will walk to the victory. Other people say that if the Saints can force turnovers and rattle Manning that they can hoist the trophy. Everyone has a valid point that is for sure. Ultimately, what has to be done for each team to snatch that championship?

The Colts are the better football team. The only reason the Colts lost any games this year is because they chose not to play their starters. If they had played their guys right through to the end of the regular season there is a really good chance they are going for perfection right now. Of course that is a debate for another article. The Colts really only have to do two things to be victorious. They have to protect Peyton Manning, and not turn over the football. If they do both of those things they are going to be successful in this game. The Saints love to blitz the house. It is a trade mark of their Defensive Coordinator Greg Williams. Everywhere Williams has been he has preached blitzing the quarterback and hawking the ball. That’s his gig. If the offensive line of the Indianapolis Colts can give Peyton enough time he will pick apart the blitz. Nobody is better at doing that then Peyton Manning. As long as they don’t make poor decisions or put the ball on the ground the Saints will not be able to stop Manning.

Defensively the Colts need to attack the quarterback with their defensive front. Drew Brees is also fantastic at picking apart a blitz. However, if the Colts can get pressure on Brees with their defensive line and drop everyone else back into coverage it will go a long way to helping the Colts in this game. If they take away the passing game as best they can and force the Saints to run the ball Manning will out score them on the other side of the ball.

On the flip side this game is not a foregone conclusion. The Saints were the best team in the NFC for a reason. They can light up the scoreboard. They have more weapons on offense than any other team. Their list of weapons includes Brees, Reggie Bush, Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Jeremy Shockey, and Pierre Thomas among others. If the Saints can establish the run and force the Colts to fill in the gaps with linebacker help it will open up the passing game. Once the linebackers have to blitz, underneath the secondary will be open for Brees to get the ball into his talented receiver’s hands and let them make plays. The run game is the key component in this game plan. Once the offense opens up for the Saints they are as dangerous, if not more so then the Colts.

Defensively the Saints have to do just what I mentioned earlier. They have to put Peyton on his ass and they need to hawk the football. It is as simple as that.

What an exciting game the Super Bowl will be if it turns into a Manning, Brees shootout. Let’s all hope that each quarter ends in a 3 (for the Colts) and a 1 (for the Saints) or a 7 and 7. If it does I am bringing home a chunk of the office square pool! My prediction is that Manning and the Colts will be too much offensively for the Saints. 27-17 the Colts win the Championship. You see what I did there? I gave myself the office pool in that prediction!