SuperBowl Preview: The Defense

Lets be honest- the Defense is here to do just a little better job than the ones we saw in the Pro-Bowl last week. Both teams run a 3-4 base defense.

The Saints front four of Bobby McCray, Sedrick Ellis, Remi Ayodele & Will Smith are in for a LONG day- you have to get a lot of pressure up front to make Manning move- and most of that pressure has to come from Ellis, who is fighting through some injuries. Ellis is HUGE and is going to be a huge reason if the Saints win. The Saints have a solid run defense in a division with the Panthers, Bucs and Falcons- all for naught with the Colts- but IF the Colts want to run, the Saints will be more than happy to make them one-dimensional again.

The Colts front four of Robert Mathis, Antonio Johnson, Daniel Muir, Dwight Freeney are a HUGE question mark- and not only for Freeney injuries (and the chances of him not playing are only slightly less than the chances of me not getting chicken wings for dinner.) The Colts like to skim down the sides and create pressure of the edges, now the best bet for the Saints is to come right down the middle and bumrush against Muir and Johnson.

The second line of the Colts is going to have to comeup STRONG in this game- especially Gary Brackett for the Colts to win this game then Bracketts is going to have to just dominate the running of Bell and Thomas. Mathis and Freeney can take away Bush, but its up to the second line to stop the other two and work Shockey.

The second line of the Saints is going to key on Scott Fujita, he is going to have to pick the right spot to be in the lineup, and he is active enough to be in the right place at the right time. There is a good chance that Saturday is going to see a lot of Jonathan Vilma during the game.

Kelvin Hayden & Melvin Bullitt on one side and Jerraud Powers and Antoine Bethea on the other side. I look for a TON of zone here with a lot of help for Bullitt, especially if Colston is on his side. Bethea is excellent in run support, but if he is having to do a lot of that- the Colts are in trouble. The Colts biggest help is they have all been together and they play very well as a unit. The Saints won't throw anything at them they haven't seen in practice. Expect to see a lot of Jennings on the field as well.

The loss of Randall Gay hurts more than anyone else is talking about, the fact that Malcolm Jenkins has not lived up to expectations is overshadowed by the rise of Darren Sharper who has been just a BEAST back there, yes he gambles and yes he can be beaten and is not as fast as he once was- but he is playing smart and he does not miss many picks in his range. He is an underrated tackler as well.

Bottom line, these guys are going to have a lot of pressure on them, and thats what they have expected to see. The issue is the last time the Saints saw a pass first team was the Patriots back in October, unless you count the Cardinals weak attempt in the playoff and for the Colts - you can look to the Broncos or the Same Patriots.

Both Coaches have total control of their team. I do think Caldwell has put a stamp on this team more than he gets credit for, but this team is still Peyton Manning's team. Thats not going to change. The Saints have almost built a wall around themselves and play as a unit, most teams stumbling down the stretch as they did would have been crushed after the Cardinals went 80 yards on one play. Not this team. That answers all questions about how tight a grip the staff has on them. I still have major problems with the play-calling, but This battle is still Peyton vs Payton.

Colts - None, we know everything- they are going to show up, do what they do- and make the Saints stop them

Saints: Bush, if he shows up like he is still being paid by USC- then the Colts have no chance. he plays like he has in FAR too many games, the Saints have no shot. Bush has to come up strong to win this game


QBs		We KNOW he's going to Clark, and still can't stop it.
RB	More weapons, more effect
WR/TE	More weapons, more options
OL	They excel at run as well as the pass
DL		Just too powerful on the edge
LB	Keep an eye on Fujita
DB		If Sanders was playing- this wouldn't be close. This is the faster unit
Coaching	NONE: I don't trust Payton's play-calling, and Caldwell has never been tested.
X-Factor		Bush has failed to show up more than Kim has missed a camera.