26-year old Joseph Addai is going to need to pick it up in 2010 or he is going to lose more carries to Donald Brown.  Addai played in 15 games for the Colts last season and he carried the ball 219 times for 828 yards (3.8 ypc) with 10 TD runs.  He also caught 51 passes for 336 yards (6.6 avg) with 3 TD grabs last year.  Addai has had a good career so far with the Colts but he needs to prove that he can handle a full workload.  He has now played in 58 games for the Colts in his career and he has carried the ball 861 times for 3,525 yards (4.1 ypc) with 34 TD runs.  Addai also has caught 157 passes for 1,231 yards (7.8 avg) with 9 TD grabs in his career. 

Things were looking good for the Colts yesterday at the end of the first quarter with them up 10-0.  Even at the half with the Colts up 10-6 the coaches had to be happy.  But then the roof caved in as the Saints recovered a onside kick to start the second half and they never looked back outscoring the Colts 25-7 the rest of the game.  Peyton Manning’s overall numbers looked pretty good yesterday but the fact his that the Colts only scored 17 points.  Manning completed 31 of 45 passes for 333 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception.  The pickoff was returned 74 yards for a TD by Saints’ QB Tracy Porter which was a huge blow in the 4th quarter as it put the Saints up 14 points with not much time left in the game.  Manning is now a very pedestrian 9-9 in his career in the post season.  Joseph Addai had a solid game for the Colts as he carried the ball 13 times for 77 yards (5.9 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 7 passes for 58 yards (8.3 avg).  Donald Brown pitched in with 18 yards on 4 carries (4.5 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 11 yards.  Dallas Clark led the way in the passing game for the Colts yesterday with 7 grabs for 86 yards (12.3 avg).  Austin Collie (6 rec, 66 yards) and Pierre Garcon (5 rec, 66 yards, TD) pitched in with solid games for the Colts yesterday.  Reggie Wayne had a tough game as he caught 5 passes for 46 yards (9.2 avg).  He dropped a ball that hit both of his hands that would have been a TD late in the 4th quarter that would have cut the lead to 31-24.  The Colts finished up with 432 total yards on offense (99 rushing, 333 passing) but it wasn’t enough to win the Super Bowl.

The Colts defense played great in the first half yesterday but they were awful in the second half.  Linebacker Gary Brackett led the way for the Colts on D yesterday with 13 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  DE Dwight Freeney made little impact in the game as he played finishing with 1 tackle and 1 sack.  The Saints finished up with 332 total yards on offense (51 rushing, 281 passing) in this game. 

The Colts had a great season but it’s back to the drawing board as they didn’t reach their goal for 2009 which was to win the Super Bowl.

Tomorrow in Miami, Florida Peyton Manning is going to try to lead his Colts to their 2nd World Championship in Indianapolis.  It won’t be an easy task though.  The Saints have a solid secondary that makes a lot of big plays so Manning will have to be careful when throwing the ball downfield.  With all of the talk about Dwight Freeney this week you just know that the Saints’ Will Smith (DE) wants to put his name in the bright lights.  That means that OTs Ryan Diem and Charlie Johnson are going to have their hands full with him.  If they can keep him out of the backfield then Peyton Manning will have a lot of time to throw the ball.  I think the Saints are going to have to play straight up on defense with the way that Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon have played in the playoffs so far.  That brings Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark back into the gameplan as major players.  The Colts are also going to run the ball a bit more than usual in this game to keep the ball away from Drew Brees and the Saints’ offense.

The Saints have a more balanced offense than the Colts do and that will cause problems for the D.  The Colts can’t afford to play extra defensive backs to deal with the WRs of the Saints because of Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush.  The Saints should really be worried about Reggie Bush who is playing like a man possessed during the playoffs as he is averaging 7.7 yards per carry and 9.5 yards per reception.  When Drew Brees drops back to pass the Colts better get someone in his face.  That will be easier said than done with Dwight Freeney either playing gimpy or not playing at all.  If Raheem Brock is forced to start at DE the Colts are in trouble because the Saints will double-team Robert Mathis on the other side every single play.  The hard thing about defending the Saints is that they like to keep the passing game short to lull you into a sense of security then they got up top to Devery Henderson who is one of the fastest receivers in the NFL. 

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 34, COLTS 30

23-year old WR has taken advantage of the single coverage he has been getting in the playoffs.  He has caught 16 passes for 185 yards (11.6 avg) with a TD grab so far in the playoffs.  I see no reason to think that Garcon won’t be huge in the Super Bowl as I would think the Saints would go all out to try to stop Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark.  Garcon also had a breakthrough regular season for the Colts.  He played in 14 games this year for the Colts and he caught 47 passes for 765 yards (16.3 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 10 yards (5.0 ypc).  This is just the beginning for Garcon who has the speed and hands to just get better for the Colts with experience.

31-year old DE Raheem Brock might be called on to replace Dwight Freeney in the starting line-up if he can’t go on Sunday.  He has played in 2 games in the playoffs this season and he has 7 tackles, 1 forced fumble and he has defensed 1 pass.  Brock played in all 16 games during the regular season for the Colts in which he made 32 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 3.5 sacks and 1 pass defensed.  I have a feeling that Raheem Brock has a good game left in him and that he will do a solid job if called upon to start in the Super Bowl.

The Colts got four key performers who they will be counting on in the Super Bowl this Sunday in last April’s Draft.  RB Donald Brown was the 27th overall pick in the first round out of the draft out of Connecticut.  He played in 11 games for the Colts this year and he carried the ball 78 times for 281 yards (3.6 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  Brown also caught 11 passes for 169 yards (15.4 avg) and he returned 1 kickoff for 21 yards.  He will likely put pressure on Joseph Addai next season.  DT Fili Moala out of USC was the Colts’ 2nd round pick (#56 overall).  He played in 10 games and he made 7 whole tackles last season.  CB Jerraud Powers (3rd round, #92 overall) out of Auburn will be a key player in the Super Bowl this Sunday.  He played in 12 games for the Colts this season and he has made 66 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, forced 1 fumble, defensed 10 passes and he has 1 interception.  WR Austin Collie was a steal in the 4th round (#127 overall) out of BYU.  He played in all 16 games for the Colts this year and he caught 60 passes for 676 yards (11.3 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 1 yard (0.5 ypc) and he returned 1 kickoff for 8 yards.  QB Curtis Painter was selected in the 6th round (#201 overall) out of Purdue.  He played in 2 games for the Colts this season and he completed 8 of 28 passes (28.6%) for 83 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 INTs (9.8 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 3 times for 4 yards (1.3 ypc) this year.  The Colts better pray to the big man above that nothing happens to Peyton Manning on Sunday.  Punter Pat McAfee was selected in the 7th round (#222 overall) out of West Virginia.  He played in all 16 games for the Colts last season and he punted the ball 64 times for 2,837 yards (44.3 avg).  He also had 6 touchbacks (9.4%) and he placed the opposing team inside their own 20-yard line 21 times this year (32.8%).  NT Terrance Taylor (4th round, #136 overall) out of Michigan and OG Jaimie Thomas (7th round, #236 overall) out of Maryland just weren’t good enough to play for the Colts as they didn’t make the team.

GRADE FOR 2009:  B+

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A

Peyton Manning is coming down to Miami, Florida which is where he won his first Super Bowl Championship against the Bears.  He’s looking to repeat that feat this weekend against the Saints.  Manning’s job just got tougher with the injury to DE Dwight Freeney.  His injury makes it more likely that the Super Bowl will be a offensive shootout putting a lot of the pressure on Peyton Manning to have a big game.  That seems to be when he plays his best football however so look for him to turn in a superhuman effort this Sunday.  Manning has completed 56 of 83 passes (67.5%) for 623 yards with 5 TD passes and 1 INT (104.6 QB Rating) in his two playoff games already this season.  The great thing about Manning’s numbers is that he produced them against the Jets and Ravens who both have better defenses than the Saints do.

29-year old DE Dwight Freeney might not be ready to play in the Super Bowl due to a torn ligament in his right ankle.  His game is speed so if he has a bad wheel I don’t see him helping the Colts much by playing.  This also hurts Robert Mathis on the other side of the Colts’ D-Line as the Saints will no doubt double team him all game long.  If the Colts can’t get a good pass rush on Drew Brees then this game has become a lot more interesting.  Freeney has 7 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss in his two playoff games so far.  He played in 14 games for the Colts during the regular season and he made 24 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, forced 1 fumble, he defensed 1 pass and he had 13.5 sacks.  The Colts can’t afford to be without Freeney in the Super Bowl, period.