What to watch for: Super Bowl 44

As Super Bowl XLIV approaches, there is no shortage of things to be discussed.

 

This year’s game features two great quarterbacks, a team that has never been to the Super Bowl in New Orleans and many other storylines. 

 

Super Bowl XLIV is definitely going to be entertaining to watch.

 

 

Both of these teams feature high-powered offenses, but what is not talked about is the talent level on the other side of the ball. 

 

The Colts’ defense is only allowing a little over 19 points per game this season, compared to the 21 points the Saints’ defense gives up on average. 

 

So, this game may not be an offensive shootout like many experts think.

 

 

Peyton Manning is a part of one of the most popular families in New Orleans’s history. 

 

Peyton’s father, Archie, was an all-star quarterback for the Saints for 10 years. During those years, the Saints were one of the worst teams in the NFL and Archie was one of the team’s only bright spots. 

 

Archie then went on to raise his family, including his three sons, in New Orleans. Archie’s three sons, Peyton, Eli and Cooper, were all highly recruited high school football players at Isidore Newman High School in New Orleans. 

 

Cooper had accepted a football scholarship to play at Ole Miss before a back injury caused him to stop playing football. Eli and Peyton have gone on to have phenomenal careers in the NFL.

 

Now Peyton is squaring off against his childhood team in Super Bowl XLIV, and the only thing that stands between the Saints and their first Super Bowl victory is one of their own fans — Peyton Manning.  

 

 

One advantage the Indianapolis Colts have in Super Bowl XLIV is they have been to — and won — a Super Bowl. 

 

The Colts won Super Bowl XLI just three short years ago in the 2006-2007 season. The Saints coming into the 2009 season were one of five teams to have never played in one of the 44 Super Bowls.

 

The Colts and all their players know how to handle the pressure and temptations leading up to the game, which the Saints have never experienced. 

 

Every year, it seems one player screws up and misses curfew or gets into trouble. It is going to be interesting to see if it happens this year and which team the player comes from — the team that has been to the Super Bowl before or the team that has never been.

 

 

Super Bowl XLIV features two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. 

 

Drew Brees has led the resurgence of the New Orleans Saints after a stint with the San Diego Chargers. Brees has continued on his spectacular regular season into the playoffs. He has completed 40-63 pass attempts while throwing six touchdowns and zero interceptions. 

 

Peyton Manning was named the AP Offensive Player of the Year this season and he has also continued his success into the postseason. Manning has thrown five touchdowns to only one interception in two playoff games. 

 

Both teams’ defenses are going to try and find as many ways to force the opposing quarterback into making crucial mistakes, but that task is going to be harder than one may think.

 

 

The Colts 6-foot-1, 268-pound defensive end is nursing an ankle injury, and his availability for Sunday’s Super Bowl is questionable. 

 

Freeney tore ligaments in his right ankle in the AFC Championship game on a sack by New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez. 

 

The talented defensive end leads the NFL since 2002 in sacks, tackles for loss and forced fumbles, and if he can’t play, it is a huge loss for the Colts’ defense. 

 

Behind Drew Brees and Peyton Manning, Freeney is arguably the third best player on the Saints’ and Colts’ rosters combined. 

 

If Freeney is limited or out on Sunday, Brees will have more time to sit back in the pocket and attempt to pick apart the Colts’ defense, giving the Saints a big unexpected advantage.

 

This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com.