Super Bowl XLIV

To this day I have yet to watch a highlight, post-game interview, or anything related to Super Bowl XLIV. And that will probably stay true for quite some time, or at least until training camp starts. One thing I have checked on numerous occassions however, is the box score.

The first thing that jumped out at me was Peyton’s stats; they were a lot better than I remembered for some reason, pick-6 aside of course. The second thing that I quickly took notice of was the rushing stats. Addai and Brown combined for a total of 17 attempts, 95 yards, and a 5.6 yard per carry average. Considering how awful the running game has been the past two seasons, that’s a killer looking stat line, but looks can be deceiving.

The truth is, the Saints let the Colts run the ball.  They knew that if it came down to it and the Colts had to run, they wouldn’t be able to convert (cough third and one with 51 seconds left in the second quarter and Mike Hart rushes for no gain).  Everyone knows that the past two seasons has been the Peyton Manning show, hence the back-to-back MVP awards.  And now in the aftermath of the collapse in Super Bowl XLIV, word is starting to circulate that perhaps the Saints have laid the blueprint on how to stop the immortal Peyton Manning and this vaunted (god I hate that word) Colts passing game (via BigBlueShoe from Stampede Blue):

When the New England Patriots beat the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, they built a defense that became the blueprint for playing “Greatest Show on Turf” in the years to come. The same thing may have happened Sunday when Williams went to a 3-3-5 defense (three defensive linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs).

After talking with Saints linebacker Scott Fujita on Monday, I better understand the flexibility the package offers, such as good pressure calls and lots of opportunities to drop eight defenders into coverage. The Saints were fine with the Colts running the ball and bet on the idea that Indianapolis wouldn’t stick with the run. With 19 rushes to 45 passes, New Orleans showed it was right.

Believe it or not, I actually agree with Kirwan on this topic.  The idea of playing only the pass isn’t exactly a revolutionary idea, but I think it has some merit.  The Giants, for the most part, applied adequate pressure on Tom Brady in Super Bowl XLII by rushing four down lineman and dropping seven into coverage.  By playing this style of defense the Giants were able to hold ”greatest offense in NFL history” to a meager 14 points and won the game.  Granted, that was mostly do due their insane pass rush, but I think this analogy works.  Compare that game to this past Super Bowl, where the Saints played the pass-happy Colts offense and allowed the Colts to run at will, and the outcome of both games look quite similar.  The Patriots scored 14 points (with less total yardage than the Colts), and the Colts scored 17 — both teams lost.

The point I’m trying to make here is that one-dimensional offenses usually don’t take you very far.  As Derek pointed out, this Colts team could be argued to have been very overrated.  Something I’ve said for years now and still maintain is that this offense needs to find balance, period.  Yes I get that watching Peyton sling it all over the field is exciting and sells tickets and wins Peyton a lot of MVP awards, but that hasn’t won the Colts any championships, and probably never will.

No matter how much you try to convince me otherwise, I believe the Colts won the Super Bowl in 2006 in spite of Peyton, not because of him.  As much as it pains me to say that, it’s true.  Peyton is the reason they got to the playoffs, and their running game and defense is the reason they made it to the Super Bowl and won.

During the 2009 season the Saints, not the Colts, had the best offense in the league.  To compare where the Saints stood on offense and where the Colts did, let’s look at a few basic statistics.

The Saints were 1st in the league in total offense (yards per game), the Colts were 9th.

The Saints were 4th in the league in passing yards per game, the Colts were 2nd.

The Saints were 6th in the league in rushing yards per game, the Colts were last.

What do these stats tell you?  The Saints were balanced and the Colts were far from it.  The Colts relied on the pass to win games, the Saints didn’t.  The Saints could control the game by running the ball and passing at will, the Colts had to pass win games, not control it.  Didn’t we see this come to fruition against the Dolphins in week two?  What about all of the other close games the Colts had this season against inferior teams, like the 49ers?  The Colts eeked out wins against inferior teams because they knew exactly what the Colts were going to do.

Defensive players like Dwight Freeney, Antoine Bethea, and Gary Brackett have mentioned numerous times this season that the change of philosophy on defense has been that they dictate what an offense is going to do, not the other way around like in the Dungy-Meeks years.  This is exactly what the Saints defense did to the Colts in the Super Bowl, and guess what happened?  The Saints won. 

The 2008 and 2009 Colts teams, while still very dynamic as far as the passing game is concerned, lacked the ability to control games on offense like they did circa 2003-2006.  Their lack of balance on offense allowed defenses to gameplan entirely for the pass.  Teams knew exactly what the Colts were going to do, which favored them, not the Colts.  Is there any wonder why the past two seasons have been filled with improbably comebacks, mostly coming on the arm of Peyton?  No.

The sad fact is no matter how good Peyton is, he can’t win every game by himself.  This Colts team needs a running game, especially with Peyton nearing his mid-30s.  We Colts fans hope to have Peyton around for another 5-6 years, but with the way this offense is assembled right now, that may not happen.

I actually do think that this Colts team could muster up a decent running game, they certainly have the backs to do it.  The problem is the overall lack of effort on the part of Jim Cadlwell, Tom Moore, and Peyton to actually emphasize the running game more and become a more balanced offense.  The goal here shouldn’t be for Addai and Brown to reach 1,000 yards rushing each, just try not to be horrible.  Is that too much to ask for?