Super Bowl XLIV: Two Potent Offenses, but Game Will Be Won By Defense

It comes as little surprise that the top two quarterbacks in the league this year are in the Super Bowl. This was the predicted match up from about week five in the regular season.

The field generals from both the Colts and the Saints had led their team to undefeated records through weeks 14 and 15, and combined for a total of 67 touchdowns through the air.

With commanders on the field with such offensive potency, it is to be expected to be a scoring shootout. The biggest key to victory on either side of the ball is going to be defense. It could come down to defensive stand, and it will have to be a big one.

Breaking down the defense from both perspectives, it is apparent to me what the big defensive factors should be.

Defensive secondary is one of the biggest problem factors for both the Colts and the Saints. The Saints ended the regular season with the 26th ranked pass defense in the league, and their only bright spot was future Hall of Famer hopeful Darren Sharper, who actually score four defensive touchdowns this season. The Saints, however, are no stranger to giving up passing plays that result in big yards.

The Colts have other issues in their defensive secondary, who wasn't too bad this year, given how young they are. With all star Corner Marlin Jackson and former defensive player of the year Bob Sanders out for the year, the Colts have had to improvise with young, under-developed talent.

The headliners of this list are saftey Melvin Bullitt, who took over for Sanders, and rookie cornerback Jerard Powers. Powers has miss read some pass plays this year which he got burned on, and even led to the joking comment by teammate Pierre Garcon on twitter that he was "slower than Peyton Manning" (@ShowTimeP85)

Another big worry that both sides should have is the ability to get pressure on the quarterback. The Saints have shown their ability to get to quarterbacks not only in their first two games, but all season compiling 35 sacks. Their biggest concern needs to be making sure that late hits and questionable hits at the knee do not occur.

Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams stated that the team wanted to get some good "remember me" shots in on Manning. They just better be weary of penalties, as this will eat them alive.

The Colts again have another worry about their pass rushing. An ankle injury sustained by DE Dwight Freeney has landed him on the injury report as "Questionable." Freeney will most likely play, but on a limited basis. With the league's premiere pass rusher having a limited role, this will open the door for Raheem Brock.

Brock is more of a container than a chaser. He will be able to keep Brees in the pocket, and contain the run to the outside, but his pressure on the quarterback will be light at best. This will make the secondary have to come up to provide pressure, and that will leave some one on one coverage down the field.

The Saints have a pretty good rushing defense, and have all year. In the game against Minnesota, the team had five take aways, three of which were fumble recoveries. The Saints linebackers are great at stopping the run up the middle, and are still pretty decent to get to the outside. They aren't the fastest guys or the biggest at the linebacking position, but they are hard hitting and luckily for them, the Colts aren't exactly bringing the best running game ever in. (32nd overall rushing attack)

The Colts have vastly improved over the last three seasons in regards to rushing defense. Their two new defensive tackles are a combined 100 pounds heavier than the two players in that position a year ago. Their other big contributors have been Gary Brackett and Clint Session. Their passion to "shoot the gap" and ability to take away the slant passes over the middle have been one of the highlights of the Colts defense.

The last thing I looked at was the match up potentials. The one that really stuck out to me was who is Sharper going to be covering down the field. Sharper is certainly a premiere defensive player, and has the ability to pick off any pass and turn it into six. The problem is that there is no doubt that Sharper will be on Wayne more often than not, and either Collie, Garcon, or Clark will be getting double teamed. This will leave one on one with at least one of them, or even two.

The Colts have to make sure to call the right coverages just like the Saints will. The only advantage that the Colts have is that Brackett and Session have speed. They do have to make sure that they are not only covering well down field, but also keep tabs on the Saints running backs too, as we all know that Reggie Bush can be quite a receiver.

So all in all, this game will come down to defense. Not in the traditional sense of shutting the other team down, as it is apparent that points are going to be scored. I am talking about the sense of those one or two defensive stands where a drive stalls into a punt instead of six points.