Defenses Face Monumental Task

The offenses in Sunday’s game have gotten most of the attention heading into Sunday’s game and for good reason. The quarterbacks are arguably the two best in the league and both have been spoiled with a plethora of dangerous options with which to work. But faced with the task of keeping these explosive attacks in check, it will be the defenses in my opinion that will determine the outcome of this game. I don’t expect either defense to be particularly stout or force an overabundance of punts, but causing a filed goal as opposed to a touchdown in the red zone or giving their respective offenses as good a field position as possible will be keys in giving their team the upper hand. And of course there is always the game-changing turnover that could determine this year’s NFL champ. But if it wasn’t for Dwight Freeney and his ankle garnering paparazzi-like attention, defense would have been an afterthought entering Super Bowl XLIV. But that is where I come in to give these underappreciated units their due attention and to determine who holds the edge come tomorrow. Now let’s delve into the defensive framework of each team.

It might be up to Mathis to pick up the slack with Freeney at less than full strength.

Defensive line. This gets a little more complicated to judge with Freeney’s status uncertain heading into the game. ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that he’ll likely play, but no one can be certain as to how effective he’ll be when he does. But even with arguably the game’s most feared pass rusher at less than full strength the Colts still have a premier defensive end in Robert Mathis to keep their line buoyed against Drew Brees. Raheem Brock will most likely see an increase in his playing time even if Freeney is active and while he is more than capable filling in, he is definitely far from the talent that Freeny is. Danile Muir and Antonio Johnson anchor the interior of the Colts line and they are solid, but far from spectacular. What they do well though is take up space so that the Colts linebackers are free to roam and their ends are able to rush upfiled and cause havoc. The Saints line is filled with more obscure guys but not guys who lack talent. When Sedrick Ellis is healthy he is an excellent run stopper and he clogs up lanes in the middle which eases the pressure on their best front four player in Will Smith, who can wreak havoc in opposing backfields and has never gotten the attention he deserves. Remi Ayodele, Bobby McCray and Anthony Hargrove are all serviceable guys but none strike fear into opposing offenses. So even if Freeney is less than 100% and is closer to 75%, he is still better than anyone else the Saints have besides Smith, and combined with Mathis on the other side, these units aren’t even really all that close. Give me the Colts since pressure on the quarterback could end up being the deciding factor in this game. Edge: Colts.

Linebackers. Jonathan Vilma mans the middle for the Saints and he is definitely one of the better ones in the NFC. He is very cerebral and instinctive and coordinator Gregg Williams allows him to freelance and change plays if he sees something that he doesn’t feel is right. Case in point: last week against the Vikings he called a last second audible that had Tracy Porter switch his position which left him in the right spot to pick off Favre to end regulation in the NFC Championship. But outside of Vilma is Scott Shanle and Scott Fujita and both are very forgettable guys who don’t do anything particularly well but who aren’t liabilities either but their presence won’t be making the Saints linebacking unit elite anytime soon. The Colts linebackers are also a group of relatively unknown guys, but they are quick, sure tacklers and always seem to be in the right place at the right time to make plays when they’re needed. Gary Brackett and Clint Session are extremely underrated and were the heart and soul of the Colts defense that proved to be one of the stingier units this year in allowing points. Session could soon become one of the better ‘backers in the league while Brackett has been under appreciated for a few years now. Philip Wheeler is the other guy in their unit and while not at the level the other two play at, is no slouch and holds his own helping to make the Colts unit one of the more underrated ones in the league and much better than their counterparts on the Saints. Edge: Colts.

Vilma will have to be at the top of his game on Sunday if he has any chance of keeping up with Manning.

Secondary. While Antoine Bethea is turning into one of the league’s better safeties and Melvin Bullitt has been solid in replacing oft-injured star Bob Sanders, the Colts have been getting by with a less than stellar set of corners. Kelvin Hayden is a good player and scored a touchdown in their previous appearance in the Super Bowl three years ago, but Jacob Lacey and Jerraud Powers are rookies who have been forced to learn on the job a little quicker than the Colts would have liked due to Marlin Jackson’s injury. Complicating things a bit more for the Colts is that Powers missed last weeks game against the Jets with a foot injury but is hoping to play which will be crucial for the Colts because if not Tim Jennings would be forced to play more and that is not good news for the Colts. Compared with the Colts, the Saints are loaded with way more talent in their secondary. It’s not worth getting into how good Darren Sharper has been because we are all very aware by now, but the safety next to him Roman Harper has also been very solid this year as well. Their corners are also very talented and they are pretty deep at the position as well. First round draft pick Malcolm Jenkins has been decent when called on and you could do a lot worse than Randall Gay as your nickel corner. Their starters, Tracy Porter and Jabari Greer are very good and provide the Saints with one of the better tandems in the league. They can also rely on savvy veteran Mike McKenzie if someone goes down. These two units aren’t even close. Edge: Saints.

I will hopefully be back shortly with a little more analysis on the coaching and special teams and a prediction as well. See you shortly as I rush to get stuff done on this Super Sunday.