When the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts take the field for Super Bowl XLIV, they will be ready to complete the final leg in their journey and hold up the Lombardi trophy.
Here are four key areas the teams will need to focus on to help ensure they come away as Super Bowl champions.
Pressuring the Quarterback
In order to win the big game, both defensive units need to find a way to put adequate pressure on the quarterback and force them into rushing the play.
This is easier said than done when it comes to Peyton Manning and Drew Brees. These two quarterbacks are at the top of their game and have shown the ability to avoid the rush and direct their offense efficiently.
It will be important for the front four of each defense to find a way to put enough pressure on the quarterback.
Since the Colts’ are going to be a man down with the injured Dwight Freeney, they will find it difficult to get to Brees. The Saints will need a strong game from
Passing Accuracy
During the regular season, Brees and Manning had the highest completion percentage in the NFL. The defensive units will need to step up and make sure the trend does not continue.
On the surface the Colts passing game seems to have the advantage over the Saints 26th ranked pass defense. While the Saints defense did allow 235.6 yards per game, they were fourth best in the NFL, allowing the opposition to complete only 57.5% of their passes.
The Colts pass defense was the exact opposite in 2009. While they were ranked 14th in the NFL by allowing 212.7 yards per game, opponents had a higher completion rate.
The Colts defense allowed the opposing quarterback to complete 63.8% of their passes, which was ranked in the bottom seven of the NFL.
Converting Turnovers into Points
We all know turnovers are going to happen in the Super Bowl, it is just a matter of time. The biggest thing each team will need to do is to make sure these turnovers are not converted into easy points for the opposition.
In 2009, the Saints were one of the most opportunistic in the NFL, scoring 144 points off of the turnovers they created. They have been able to maintain this trend racking up 21 points.
On the other side of the field, the Colts notched 68 points off turnovers in the regular season but have only been able to score three points in the playoffs.
Success with Special Teams
While the performance of NFL kickers has been dreadful in the 2010 playoffs, thankfully we will see Matt Stover and Garrett Hartley who have been perfect in the post season.
While it appears the Colts have the advantage due to the experience of Stover, do not count out Hartley who showed he can step up like he did in the NFC Conference game.
The Saints’ Reggie Bush will need to find a way to step up like he did against the Cardinals. His performance on punt returns is going to be critical for field positioning. If he remains in the shadows and does not contribute, the Saints are going to find themselves on the outside looking in.
In the end the Colts are going to be too much for the Saints to handle and Manning will earn his second Super Bowl ring.
