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Saints taking Collection
By Dennis Ranahan

The first week after the combatants’ for Super Bowl XLIV were determined the news was all about Peyton Manning … leading most people to back Indianapolis and lay the less than touchdown point spread.

That all changed last Tuesday, when the highlight of the day dedicated to the media spotlighted the Colts best defensive lineman with an ankle that looked more ominous than any reports had indicated earlier. Dwight Freeney was the attention getter at Tuesday’s press gatherings as he limped from venue to venue with flip-flop footwear that clearly indicated something that appeared to be severe enough to at least hamper, if not eliminate, his play today in South Florida.

The Manning story brought the books mostly Colts money, while the injury to Indianapolis’ leading sacker saw the bettors step in on New Orleans. It would appear that a lot of Saints money was waiting for the line to go to plus 6½, the opening number had already been pushed up a point-and-one-half to 5½ and some 6 point lines were available last Monday.

Then the press tour of Freeney’s ugly ankle, which prompted a spike in public action for the Saints plus the points and forced the books to quickly drop the line to an even 5-points, less in some spots. Those investors waiting for the best line on the Saints quickly abandoned their hopes for a big spread and locked in the plus 5-points before it dropped any further.

This morning, the line has inched back up to where a closing line of 5½ points appears likely. That is an automatic half-point buy, moving the underdog play from the unlikely possibility of the game landing with a five point margin, to 6-points, the third most common differential on a National Football League game.

From the start, with all due respect to Brett Favre, the two quarterbacks squaring off at Sun Life Stadium today are the best football has to offer this season. Manning won an unprecedented fourth Most Valuable Player Award, and Drew Brees has had a career year while leading the Saints to a franchise record 13 straight wins to open the 2009 campaign.

The Colts support Manning with both excellent pass protection and a defense that has team speed faster than most offenses they defend.

NFL QUIZ
Super Bowl

1)    Who is the only quarterback in NFL history to throw for 300 or more yards in seven playoff games?

2)    The New Orleans Saints are making their first Super Bowl appearance this year … how many NFL teams are still without a Super Bowl berth?

3)    This year, the Colts will play Super Bowl XLIV in Miami; what city hosted the games in the three other Colts’ Super Bowl appearances?

4)    How many times has the two conference number one seeds advanced to the Super Bowl?

5)    What quarterback holds the all-time record for completions in the playoffs?

ANSWERS ON JUMP PAGE

 

Question 1:

PEYTON MANNING The New York Jets allowed a season high 377 passing yards last Sunday in their loss to the Indianapolis Colts … it was the seventh time the prolific Peyton Manning threw for over 300 yards in a playoff game, breaking a record of six games with more than 300 yards passing he shared with Joe Montana. During his Hall of Fame career, Montana led both the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs to the playoffs, participating in a total of 23 postseason games which included six contests in which he eclipsed the 300 yard passing mark. Manning accomplished the feat for the seventh time last week in his 17th playoff appearance.

Question 2:

FOUR The New Orleans Saints success this year has led them to their first Super Bowl appearance in franchise history, and pares the number of teams still looking for their initial Super Bowl appearance from five to four. The four teams yet to earn a spot in the Roman Numeral game include one team that has been in continuous operation during the 44-year-history of the Super Bowl, the Detroit Lions, who lost their only NFC Championship Game to the Washington Redskins to complete their 1991 season. The Cleveland Browns, who had their consecutive seasons in the league broken when the original Browns franchise moved to Baltimore after the 1995 season, and were reborn in Cleveland with an expansion team in 1999, are still looking for their first Super Bowl trip. Cleveland lost three AFC Championship Games to the Denver Broncos in a four year stretch beginning with a loss in the game John Elway led Denver back in a contest remembered as The Drive on January 11, 1987. The following season, Cleveland lost at Denver in the AFC Championship Game in another game known by a famous play, The Fumble. Two years later the Broncos pinned a third Championship Game loss on the Browns. The Jacksonville Jaguars lost a pair of AFC Championship Games; to the New England Patriots during the 1996 season and Tennessee Titans three years later. The Houston Texans are the only NFL team to have not yet appeared in a postseason game.

Question 3:

MIAMI The South Florida home of the Miami Dolphins will host their tenth Super Bowl this year, and the Colts have appeared in four of those games. Miami was the host city in three of the first five Super Bowls, II, III and V, and the Baltimore Colts appeared in two of those games. Their historic loss to the New York Jets, the first ever defeat for an NFL team against an American Football League squad in the Championship Game, was in Super Bowl III. Two years later, the Colts earned their first Super Bowl win with a 16-13 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Miami hosted its ninth Super Bowl three years ago when Peyton Manning led his Colts to a win over the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI, and on February 7 Manning will look to lead the Colts to their third championship against the NFL/NFC in their fourth Super Bowl appearance … all in South Florida.

Question 4:

NINE Although the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints are the first two number one seeds to meet in a Super Bowl since the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills advanced to Super Bowl XXVIII, it was common for the top seed in each conference to advance between 1975, the first year home field advantage was determined by regular season records, and 1993. Other top seeds squaring off in a Super Bowl were the 1991 Washington Redskins and Buffalo Bills, 1989 San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos, 1984 San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins, 1983 Oakland Raiders and Washington Redskins, 1981 San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals, 1977 Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos, along with the 1976 Oakland Raiders and Minnesota Vikings.

Question 5:

BRETT FAVRE While Minnesota Vikings Quarterback Brett Favre ended his 2009 season, and perhaps career, just like he closed out his prior two seasons … with an interception and loss, Favre did set one all-time record in Sunday’s game at New Orleans. With 43 completions in the postseason, 15 against the Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional Playoff Round and 28 last Sunday at the Superdome, Favre ran his career total completions in the postseason to 481, passing Joe Montana (460) on the all-time list. Montana completed his 460 career postseason completions while playing for the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs in a total of 23 games. Favre has played in 24 playoff games, 22 with the Green Bay Packers and this year’s two with the Vikings.

 
Indianapolis Colts 12-6
Atlanta Falcons 11-5
Green Bay Packers 11-5-1
Minnesota Vikings 11-6-1
New York Jets 11-8
San Francisco 49ers 10-4-2
Indianapolis Colts 104
New Orleans Saints 86
San Francisco 49ers 0
Chicago Bears 0
Cincinnati Bengals 0
Buffalo Bills 0

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