Super Bowl XLIV Preview

New Orleans Saints vs. Indianapolis Colts

Super Bowl XLIV   Venue: Sun Life Stadium

Sunday, February 7th  6:25 pm

Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints (15-3) will take on Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts (16-2) in Super Bowl XLIV in Miami this Sunday.  It’s only fitting that the teams with the best regular season records in their respective conferences made it to the big dance.  For Peyton Manning, it will be a matchup against his hometown team, once led at QB by his father Archie Manning, as the Colts try for their second Super Bowl title in four years.  For the Saints, it’s been a long time coming as it will mark their first Super Bowl appearance in their team’s 43 year history.  This game has the potential to be one of the highest scoring Super Bowls we’ve ever seen, as both teams offenses operate like well-oiled machines, led by two of the best quarterbacks in the game.

Manning threw for 377 yards and 3 touchdowns against the NFL’s top-ranked defense in the AFC championship game, leading  the Colts to a 30-17 win over the Jets.  However, the Colts defensive leader, Dwight Freeney, suffered a torn ligament in his ankle in the second half of that game when he tripped over the foot of Jets QB Mark Sanchez.  The injury could keep him out for the Super Bowl and even if he’s able to play, it will undoubtedly limit his effectiveness in the game.  Raheem Brock is expected to see an increased role and will need to step up in order to fill Freeney’s shoes.  The Colts defense takes a big blow with the injury to Freeney, but they’re still a fast group of players who should match up relatively well with the Saints offensive weapons.

Brees also threw for 3 touchdowns in the Saints 31-28 victory over Minnesota to capture the NFC title.  He finished with 197 yards passing with no turnovers, while managing to get sacked just once against the NFL’s best pass rushing defense.  As he has done all year long, Brees spread the ball out to an array of receivers, eight in all and three different receivers on his touchdown throws.  The Saints defense intercepted Brett Favre twice in the game and forced 4 fumbles, recovering 3 of them.  They’re a team that makes their opponents pay for turning the ball over and this game was no different.  Their defense will need to be just as opportunistic against Manning and the Colts in the Super Bowl if they have any chance of winning.

BOTTOM LINE:

The Saints absolutely MUST get pressure on Peyton Manning if they’re to have any chance of being crowned as Super Bowl champs.  Seeing as Manning has only been sacked 10 times all season, I don’t see the Saints having much success, if any, getting to him and disrupting the rhythm of the Colts potent offense.  The Saints forced 39 turnovers during the regular season and 7 this postseason.  They will find it much harder this week to create turnovers up against one of the smartest players to ever play the quarterback position in the history of the league.   The Colts won’t run the ball much, but they rarely if ever abandon the run completely as it helps to keep the opposing defense honest.  Joseph Addai does have a nose for the end zone and he could find it once or twice in this game.  Of the two teams, the Saints have the better ground game, led by a resurgent Reggie Bush and their 2009 rushing leader, Pierre Thomas (793 yards).  In an effort to help out their defense, the Saints may focus on running the ball more than usual to control the clock and keeping Manning off the field.   But that won’t be enough, so the Saints must not get away from what got them here.  Brees needs to get the ball downfield to his talented group of receivers (Marques Colston, Robert Meachem and Devery Henderson) and execute the screens and misdirection plays to his backs (Bush and Thomas).  While the Saints certainly have an edge over Indy when they’re on offense, the Colts defense is fast and physical and more than capable of matching up with the Saints talented group on offense.   As good as these two offenses are, defense will ultimately decide the winner of this game and the Colts have the better defense.

The Colts also hold a significant edge when it comes to experience.  It’s their 2nd Super Bowl appearance in 4 years and they’ve made it to the playoffs every year dating back to 2002.  You can’t underestimate the edge that experience gives a team, especially when that team is led by Peyton Manning.  Drew Brees along with many of his teammates such as Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush, Marques Colston and Jonathan Vilma have never experienced a Super Bowl.  While emotions will run high for these players to start the game, that intensity will fade as the game goes on and Manning will look to take advantage of that.  I like both these teams a lot, but with a high-powered offense, edge in experience and a more talented group on defense, I like the Colts to win Super Bowl XLIV.

PREDICTION:

Colts  34  Saints 20 (MVP: P.Manning)

**YMM Staff Predictions**

-KRM:  Colts 33  Saints 27 (MVP: P.Manning)

-Dubbs:  Saints 38  Colts 35 (MVP: R.Bush)

-Shamus O’Cabbage:  Colts 34  Saints 24 (MVP: K.Kardashian/Reggie Bush)

-Bobby O:  Saints 38 Colts 31 (MVP: D.Brees)

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Jsunfella, February 5th 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Week 6 Preview: Giants @ Saints

It must be nice to be an overrated football player

It must be nice to be an overrated football player

The New York Giants (5-0) will be facing the New Orleans Saints (4-0) in a battle for NFC supremacy.  New Orleans comes into this game after a big win against the previously undefeated New York Jets in Week 4 and are fully rested after the bye week.  The Giants are clicking on all cylinders after last week’s domination of the Raiders.  This will be THE game of the week and possibly the season. Let’s see how it breaks down:

MATCHUP BREAKDOWN:

The Saints and Giants are both undefeated and both have more or less dominated every opponent that they faced this year.  The Saints are the new greatest show on turf and have weapons at every key offensive position.  Unlike in years past, the Saints are not just a passing team anymore.  The running game is 2nd in the league in yards per game.  The Giants are doing what they are suppose to do so far this season, beating up on inferior teams.  The Giants have not been tested since Week 2 against the Cowboys, but with Tom Coughlin and his staff the Giants will not be lackadaisical coming into this game. This should be fun!

GIANTS RUNNING GAME vs. SAINTS D

The one thing that has been missing from the Saints over the past couple of years is a defense that can stop somebody.  Well that has changed as defensive coordinator Gregg Williams installed a new 4-3 defense that revolves around a whole lot of run blitzing and forcing turnovers.  The Saints D is currently ranked 7th in the league against the run at 83.3 yards per game.  The Giants counter the Saints with Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw.  Bradshaw has been absolutely unstoppable this season averaging about 7 yards per carry and is looking more and more consistent on a game to game basis.  Jacobs on the other hand has struggled this year.  His yards per carry have gone down by almost 2 yards from a gaudy 5 yards per carry last year to 3.2 this year.  Also Jacobs is starting to let the talk of his downfall by the media get to him.  I don’t see this as a bad thing, I expect Jacobs to make this game a statement game and return to his dominating self.

Edge: Giants Running Game

GIANTS PASSING GAME vs. SAINTS D

Eli and the passing game will have their hands full with the Saints D this week.  The Saints rank 11th in the league in passing yards allowed at 212 per, but don’t let that number fool you.  The Saints secondary is scary good this year.  With 10 picks this year they are number one in the league.  The key to this game for Eli is turnovers.  Eli has been great this year at limiting the turnovers so if he can keep that up the Giants will have a good chance this week.  Steve Smith is becoming one of the better wide outs in the game and seems to always be at the right place at the right time. Eli’s security blanket should have another stellar game.

Edge: Giants Passing Game

SAINTS RUNNING GAME vs. GIANTS D

The Saints come into this game with the 2nd best rushing attack in football.  The Saints have a 3 headed monster of Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush, and Mike Bell that is very similar to the Giants Earth, Wind, and Fire of last year.  Pierre is the starter and has a nice combination of size and speed that defenses have trouble with.  Reggie Bush is a great pass catcher out of the backfield and is their 3rd down back and Mike Bell is their bruiser back who will be active for this game after suffering a sprained knee in Week 3.  The Giants defense has been very good against the run since the Cowboys game, but they have faced some pretty bad running attacks over the last 3 games.  The last time the Giants faced a running attack like the Saints they gave up over 200 yards on the ground.  This will definitely be a test for the Giants D.

Edge: Saints Running Game

SAINTS PASSING GAME vs. GIANTS D

Drew Brees is arguably the best quarterback in the game.  The Giants D will have their hands full this week.  Brees has slowed down over the last couple of games, but I don’t see this being the case this week.  The Giants are still banged up in the secondary and Brees knows how to exploit that.  The Saints have the 11th ranked passing attack in football, but that is mostly due to the bye week and 2 average showings against the Jets and Bills.  Don’t be fooled this passing attack could be the best in the league and they will show that this week in the Superdome.

Edge: Saints Passing Game

SPECIAL TEAMS:

I don’t see the special teams for either team making much of an impact on this game as both offenses are playing at a very high level.  John Carney comes back to kick against his old team the Giants, but all in all Jeff Feagles is Christ reincarnated!

Edge: Jesus Christ

INTANGIBLES/COACHING:

Sean Payton’s offense versus Bill Sheridan’s defense will be the match up to watch all day as both will try to confuse each other into mistakes. Sean Payton has made a good name for himself since his days as the Giants offensive coordinator with an offense that has been at the top or near the top of the league since his arrival to the Saints.  Tom Coughlin knows how to prepare his team week in and week out against their opponent better then 99% of the coaches in the NFL. This should be a great match up between two of the best coaches in the league, but I have to give the nod to the man that has done it longer and with more success.

Edge: Giants

BOTTOM LINE:

The Giants versus the Saints will be the game to watch this week.  Both teams are playing great football so far this season on both sides of the ball.  I believe that this game will be more about offense then defense as the game will be up and down all.  This does play well for the Saints, but the Giants defense will make a stop late in the game that will determine the winner.  I got a feeling that this will not be the last time the Giants see the Saints this year, the next time could very well be in January in the NFC Championship game.

Final Score: Giants 34 Saints 31

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Bobby O, October 16th 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Sports

Jets Week 4 Preview: A Classic Chess Match

 

The Jets will need to limit Drew Brees and the high powered Saints' offense at the Superdome on Sunday if they want to improve to 4-0 on the season.

The Jets will need to limit Drew Brees and the high powered Saints' offense at the Superdome on Sunday in order to improve to 4-0.

New York Jets (3-0) @ New Orleans Saints (3-0)

Sunday- 4:05 pm

Superdome- New Orleans, LA

It’s a the battle of the undefeated in the “Big Easy” on Sunday, as the New York Jets take on the New Orleans Saints.  The Saints enter the game as the top ranked offense in the NFL, averaging 438 yards per game to go along with a 40 points per game average.  The Jets come into town sporting a defense ranked 3rd in the NFL in yards allowed per game (256.0) and 2nd in the NFL in points per game allowed (11.0).  Something will have to give in what should be an extremely entertaining and competitive game between two of the NFL’s early season’s best:

MATCH UP BREAKDOWN:

JETS RUNNING GAME vs. SAINTS D:

The Jets will need to establish their running game on Sunday, mainly to eat up the clock and keep Drew Brees and the vaunted Saints offense off the field.  The Jets mustered a season-low 86 yards on 28 carries (3.1 avg) in last week’s win vs. the Titans, but they’ll need to have much more success this weekend in order to win the game.  The Saints rank 5th in the NFL in rushing defense, but since they’ve yet to trail in a game for even a single second this season, it’s safe to say the teams they’ve played have been straying from their running game while playing from behind.  The Jets have by far the best offensive line that the Saints have seen yet this season, so expect solid production from Thomas Jones and Leon Washington, especially if it’s a close game throughout.  We should also see a healthy dose of the “Seminole Formation” (the Jets’ version of the “Wildcat”), as Brian Schottenheimer tries to keep the Saints defense on their heels.

EDGE:   JETS RUNNING GAME

JETS PASSING GAME vs. SAINTS D

The Jets haven’t exactly opened up the playbook for Mark Sanchez, but the rookie has done everything asked of him to get the Jets to their first 3-0 start since 2004.  He has responded tremendously in crucial game situations and Sunday will be his biggest test yet as he tries to keep up with the Quarterback on the opposite sidelines.  The Saints are tied for the NFL lead with 7 interceptions, but 6 of those picks came in blowouts against QB’s making their first career NFL starts (Mark Stafford- 3 INT’s in week 1 and Kevin Kolb- 3 INT’s in week 2).  Overall, the Saints are ranked 22nd in passing defense, allowing 245 yards per game.  The Jets will look to utilize Sanchez’s masterful play-action fakes to freeze FS Darren Sharper and CB Jabari Greer and allow Jerricho Cotchery and the Jets’ receivers to get free in the secondary.  If the Jets get down early, Sanchez will have to step up and take his shots downfield to get the Jets back in the game.

EDGE:  EVEN

SAINTS RUNNING GAME vs. JETS D

A lot of praise is given to the Saints passing game, and for good reason, but what people often overlook is the fact that they’re a very solid running team as well.  The Saints currently rank 2nd in the NFL in rushing offense, with an average of over 170 yards per game.  Last week vs. the Bills, RB Pierre Thomas ran for 126 yards and 2 TD’s in the second half alone to lead the Saints to victory.  But Thomas will have a much tougher time finding lanes to run through against a Jets team ranked 9th overall in rushing defense.  The Jets have to be careful not to let up any big plays on the ground while focusing in on stopping the Saints’ passing attack.  Reggie Bush is a weapon out of the backfield, one the Jets will need to contain on the outside and prevent from getting into open space.  This match up is too close to call and will likely be dictated by whichever side is able to gain momentum early on.

EDGE:  EVEN

SAINTS PASSING GAME vs. JETS D

Drew Brees has carved up NFL defenses this year to the tune of 841 yards (280 ypg) with 9 TD’s and 2 INT’s.  He is one of the game’s best signal callers and the true leader of the NFL’s new and improved “Greatest Show on Turf.”  WR Marques Colston, coming off an injury riddled 2008 that limited him to just 11 games, has returned healthy this year and has quickly regained the chemistry with Brees that led to his breakout season in 2007.  He will be shadowed all game long by Jets star CB Darrelle Revis, forcing Brees to have to spread the ball out to his other options, including TE Jeremy Shockey.  “Gang Green’s” defense, which will be without CB’s Lito Sheppard and Donald Strickland for the second straight week, will mix up coverages all day long to try to contain Shockey over the middle.  The Jets will need to get to Brees like they did Brady two weeks ago, but his quick release will make it hard for Bart Scott and the boys to get much pressure on him.  Rex Ryan was a defensive mastermind late in the game vs. the Titans, drawing up an array of blitz schemes and coverages that led to 13 straight incompletions by Kerry Collins to end the game.  If the Jets can get a lead in this game, Ryan will look to attack Brees with a similar repertoire.

EDGE:  SAINTS PASSING GAME

SPECIAL TEAMS:

Whenever you play in a dome, an advantage in the kicking game is hard to gain as both kickers get to play in a climate-controlled, wind free arena.  Both teams have accurate kickers, in Jay Feely for the Jets (19 consecutive successful FG’s) and John Carney for the Saints, so the only advantage to be gained is which kicker gets more opportunities.  Leon Washington and Jim Leonhard have been very good in the return game this year for the Jets, often providing the team with great field position. Reggie Bush can be electric on punt returns, but the Jets coverage unit has been impressive this season, coming off a game in which they recorded two fumble recoveries.

EDGE:   JETS SPECIAL TEAMS

INTANGIBLES/COACHING:

This game will be a classic chess match between the great defensive mind of Rex Ryan and the great offensive mind of Sean Peyton.  Peyton will look to exploit match ups however he can, while Ryan will look to stay aggressive on defense and disguise coverages in an effort to bait Brees into making mistakes.  The Saints have a huge home field advantage playing at the Superdome in front of their 70,000 fans.  On a side note, Saints LB Jonathan Vilma will play against his former team for the first time since being traded back in February of 2008.

EDGE:  SAINTS

BOTTOM LINE:

This will undoubtedly be one of this week’s most entertaining games.  Anyone expecting a blowout in this one is way off base as both teams are well coached and disciplined enough to not allow a let down in this most crucial match up.  The Jets can’t allow the Saints to get up early and in turn force Sanchez to have to beat them through the air, which is their formula for success.  It’s going to be a close game, but in the end the Saints will be a bit too much for the Jets to handle:

Saints 27 Jets 23

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Jsunfella, October 2nd 2009 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Jets Preview, Sports



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