FINALLY...

It is here!!! Super Bowl XLIV is just days away and I can not wait. This is the date football fans have been looking forward to since last April when their team drafted the missing link from the previous season. The best from the NFC battling the best from he AFC. As the season played itself out, there were many story lines. Brett Favre's retirement (again), Brett Favre's comeback (again), Brady's comeback, the Colts pursuit of perfection, Jim Caldwell's decision to sit starters while pursuing perfection, the amazing playoff run by the Jets, and so many others. Yet as we sit here on the Wednesday before the Super Bowl the most amazing story of the season is the Colts capturing their second Super Bowl, Peyton Manning becoming the greatest quarterback of all time, and the fact that the Colts have completed this season without losing any game that they tried to win (do not get me started on this nonsense - I thought "You played to win the game!" Thanks Herm). Way to go Colts, you had a great season and you are a fine champion.

Wait a minute. They have not won the Super Bowl yet. That's right, there will be another team on the field on Sunday night in South Florida. Oh well, I am sure this is just some meaningless high school team who is just the sacrificial lamb that has to be played as a formality (kinda like the 1st game of an SEC teams schedule). What? The team they are playing had the number one ranked offense this past year? It must have been against some soft schedule. They played the NFC & AFC East (both divisions sent 2 teams to the playoffs) as their non-divisional opponents.

Why is everyone counting these guys out? That is the million dollar question that I can not figure out. When you look at common opponents, New Orleans cruised and easily out played everyone of the common opponents (New England, Miami, Jets, and Bills), while Indy was outplayed against the only 2 of those teams they "played" against (New England and Miami). Consider the teams that gave Indy trouble this season, they could spread them out and throw the ball all over the field, someone please tell me what the strength of the Saints is (my memory is going as I get older). Oh yeah they throw the ball. Look at Peyton Manning's career, he struggles against teams who show one thing and then bring everything else at him. That is exactly what Gregg Williams is going to do...hit him hard and often. Manning in these types of pressure situations struggles because when you take away his greatest strength, and that is the pre-snap read, he is forced to make decisions with guys in his face. I know the Saint were 25th in defense, but we all know when you get a lead in anything you take your foot off of the gas and you coast. This is a defense that gets pressure and creates turn overs and Manning is a qb that turns the ball over when he gets pressured. This is not good for the Colts fans.

So please, allow me to say hold off for just a little while before we make this the greatest team ever. Please hold off before we give Manning the best qb of all time title (he may not even be the best qb of his generation). And please give the Saints a little respect, because it just might be that they are the team who will be fulfilling their destiny on Sunday night in South Florida.

This will be a very entertaining ball game and there are several great match ups and as the week goes along, I will point out some of them. Please keep a check back and please help get this blog noticed.