Super Bowl 44!

Tomorrow night is the championship game for the NFL, commonly known as the Super Bowl. It is single-handedly the biggest sporting event in the calendar year. It attracts close to 100 million viewers in the U.S alone, and it is the second largest day for food consumption. It's so huge, that it's even considered as a U.S holiday, commonly referred to as Super Bowl Sunday. It's the type of day where people not only tune in to see who goes home with the coveted Vince Lombardi Trophy, but how the half-time performances are and what type of commercials are broadcasted, which companies by the way, pay close to $3 million for a 30-second air time.

This year, in the 44th edition, the NFL pits the 2 best teams in the league, the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts, which will mark the first time in 16 years that the 2 number one seeds have made it to the Super Bowl. For the Saints, they will be making their first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history, while the Colts make their 2nd in the past 4 seasons, fourth overall. With 2 high scoring offenses facing off tomorrow night, with a kickoff of 6:28 pm ET, this game almost promises a slug-fest with plenty of points to go around.

However, who does have the advantage? Who's got the better goods to win this game? Here's a breakdown of how you should expect this game to go.
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Passing Offense

The Colts ranked 2nd in the league in passing, with 282 yards through the air per game. They have the best quarterback in the league, who is being brought up in the best of all-time discussion this past week. Peyton Manning, who won his league record 4th MVP and who threw for 4500 yards with 2 inexperienced wide receivers (Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie), he is obviously hard to fool. He had two 1000-yard receivers on his team, 1 that included tight end Dallas Clark.

The Saints ranked not far behind, averaging 10 yards less, at 272 per game, good for 4th. Drew Brees has found his groove as of late, throwing to receivers such as Marques Colston, Lance Moore, Robert Meachem, and Dave Thomas. Brees had a lower completion percentage, but a higher QB passing rating than Peyton.

The Edge: Colts, by a few hairs.
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Passing Defense

The Colts' passing defense allowed only 213 yards a game, which was average, as they were 14th. They allowed 19 touchdowns through the air, and picked off 16 footballs. They alowed 23 completions per game, which was the 3rd highest total in the league, only behind the Titans and Seahawks. They have been inconsistent all year and haven't really been the same without hard-hitting safety Bob Sanders.

The Saints are quite the different story, allowing close to 236 yards a game, which is 26th in the league. However, their takeaway ability and potential is far greater than that of the Colts, as they intercepted the ball 26 times, which was 3rd in the league, and 10 more than the Colts. They also only allowed 20 completions a game, and had one of the best completion percentages, at 57.5%, while the Colts allowed a completion percentage of 63.8%. For this game, look for one player: Darren Sharper, who has returned 3 of his 9 INTs for touchdowns.

The Edge: Saints
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Rushing Offense

The worst kept secret: the Colts have an atrocious running attack. They are ranked dead last, with an average of 81 yards per game, 9 back of 2nd place, the Chargers of San Diego. They rush 23 times a game, and only average 3.5, which is 2nd worst. They have had a very bad, but improved running game in the playoffs however, but haven't really produced a total that they would like.

When possessing the 4th ranked passing game, it's hard to believe that your rushing game could be anywhere nearly as great. However, when it comes to the Saints, they have what you're looking for. At 132 yards a game, they are 6th in the league for their rushing game, which has seen the emergence of back Pierre Thomas. On only 6 more attempts per game, they have been able to amass more than 800 yards than the Colts, and have the 5th best rushing yards per attempt, with 4.5 yards per carry.

The Edge: Saints, by a clear 500,000 miles.
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Rushing Defense

Allowing 127 yards per contest, the Colts ranked 24th in the league in this department. They also allowed 4.3 yards per carry, but only 10 touchdowns on the ground. The longest rushing gain against the Colts was 64 yards.

New Orleans has a similar rushing defense, allowing a 21st-ranked 122 yards per game. While allowing a 4.5 yard per carry average, a big concern is the fact that they have given up 19 rushing touchdowns, which is tied for 4th highest.

The Edge: Colts
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Intangibles

As mentioned before, the Colts are making their 2nd Super Bowl appearance in the past 4 years, in which they won the game 3 Bowls before. With players like Peyton Manning being apart of that win, they have the experience. They, however have the utmost pressure of winning the Super Bowl. If they were to win it, then Colts fans and football fans in general will be able to applaud rookie head coach Jim Caldwell's decision to bench their starters, erasing the perfect season capability. If they don't win it, they will be under fire for not winning the full 16 games.

The story has been reported so many times. After Hurricane Katrina wiped New Orleans fully 4 and a half years ago, the city was under a crisis. After years of hope and success, there is no closer and better team-to-fans relationship than that in the Big Easy. The fans are so attached to their teams, and are already so proud and happy that they're in the Bowl, that if they lose, yes they'll be bummed, but they'll still applaud their team.


The Edge: Way too close, and both are very different, so a draw.
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Who's Winning The Game?

It is no doubt that both of these teams are better than the other in different areas of the game. It's heavily agreed on that the Colts are the favourites in this game, as they've been here before.

However, when it comes down to it all, my pick for Super Bowl 43 is the New Orleans Saints.

The biggest factor in this game something that cannot be overlooked is the fact that the Saints have a running game. They have one of the best, while the Colts are dead last. You'd think that the Saints have a crappy passing game, but you'd be wrong, as the Saints are only 2 places behind the Colts who take great pride in their passing game.

The defenses won't really be that existent as it will be a showdown between 2 high-scoring offenses.

5 players that will put on a great performance, in no order:

1) Marques Colston- The Saints' deep-play threat. The wide-out is due for a big game after having an a decent postseason thus far. On the grandest stage of them all, it seems to add up that he should break out of his shell.

2) Pierre Garcon- Since the start of the postseason, the Haitian has stepped up his game to a new level. He has been playing amazingly for the Colts, racking in yards and getting them closer and closer to 7 points on the board every time he touches the ball.

3) Reggie Bush- Whether he's catching Drew Brees' balls or rushing it, it's no doubt that whenever Bush gets the ball, he could explode to huge gains. Plus, this could very well be his last game in a Saints uniform, pending his play, and as of late, he's definitely showed his USC-type form again.

4) Drew Brees- He has been the leader for this team not only on the field, but emotionally. He's brought the city of New Orleans together to heights they have never seen before. He's also performed a hell of a job behind the center, passing the ball like a magician.

5) Peyton Manning- Of course he's going to have a fabulous game. He's Peyton Manning. He's the MVP of the league. With the smarts like nobody has seen in a very long time, it definitely will be tough to take him down.

As you can see from the 5 players chosen above there are no defensive players, because this game will be an offensive showdown. It will be a classic back-and-forth game, with a ton of points going around.

With my pick being the Saints, it's time to pick the score.

Super Bowl 43 --> New Orleans Saints, 34-30. --> Super Bowl MVP: Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints.