Sports Then and Now

The upset of the Jets over the Colts is among the great Super Bowl moments that have occurred in Miami.

Sunday will mark the tenth time the Super Bowl has been played in the City of Miami and like most of the other nine you can expect lots of excitement and fireworks between the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints.

Billed as a shootout between two high scoring offenses, Super Bowl XLIV matches two teams capable of scoring lots of points and a pair of marquee quarterbacks at the height of their success. Both teams finished the regular season ranked in the top 10 in several offensive categories including points, points per-game, total passing yards, passing yards per-game, and total yards per-game. New Orleans was first in points (510), point per-game (31.9), and total yards per-game (403.8). The Saints also ranked fourth in both total passing yards (4,355) and passing yards per-game (272.2). On the other side, the Colts ranked seventh in both points scored (416) and points per-game (26.0). Indianapolis also ranked second in the league in both total passing yards (4,515) and passing yards per-game (282.2) while placing ninth in total yards per-game (363.1). While these are gaudy numbers, they only address one side of the ball.

There is something else called defense and with it a saying that, “Defense wins Championships.” So what do the defenses have to offer in this one? If you are the Colts, you hopefully have Dwight Freeney at defensive end. However, the torn ligaments in his right ankle that he suffered in the AFC Championship game against the Jets make him virtually a game time decision. Freeney teams with Robert Mathis to give the Colts bookend tackles that can pressure the quarterback. If Freeney is limited by the injury or can’t play at all, Indianapolis will turn to eight-year veteran Raheem Brock. Linebackers Clint Session and Gary Brackett will have to shoulder more of the tackling load. The Colts secondary could be tested more if the absence of Freeney leads to more time for Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees in the pocket. Read the rest of this entry →