Colts' RBs vs. Saints' LBs
By Judd Hall
We’ve looked at which set of big men at ground zero gained the edge for Super Sunday. Now we venture further into the backfield and into the second tier of the defense as VegasInsider.com continues our breakdown of Super Bowl XLIV. Will the Colts’ running backs be able to gain the advantage over New Orleans’ trio of linebackers?
New Orleans’ Linebackers
The Saints aren’t getting a whole hell of a lot of respect for their defensive line. Their corp of linebackers, on the other hand, have been noticed on more than one occasion this season.
Now that might sound a little strange when you consider that New Orleans is in the lower tier of the run defense (122.2 yards per game) and pass defense (235.6 YPG) during the regular season. They didn’t wow people on forcing punts during the season either, holding the opposition to a 38 percent success rate on third down to rank 19th in the National Football League.
Yet the trio of Scott Fujita, Jonathan Vilma and Scott Shanle has proven themselves to be formidable force against the NFL’s best teams. In four regular season meetings against playoff qualifiers (Philadelphia, New York Jets, New England and Dallas), the Saints’ starting linebackers have registered 68 tackles, one sack, two tipped passes, one pick and a forced fumble.
Vilma has proven himself to be New Orleans’ top defender this year, leading the club with 110 tackles, two sacks and three interceptions. It’s no wonder that he was picked for his second Pro Bowl appearance.
New Orleans’ troika of ‘backers have been positively fantastic during the postseason in amassing 25 tackles, two fumble recoveries and a pick against the Cardinals and Vikings. They’ve also held the opposition to just eight third-down conversions on 20 chances.
While all three linebackers have performed well during the second season, it’s Shanle that has truly shined on the Saints’ trip to Sun Life Stadium. The seven-year pro out of Nebraska picked up six tackles against Arizona and got another eight against Minnesota in the NFC Title Game.
Indianapolis’ Running Backs
You’d think that if you had an offensive line that allows the fewest sacks in the NFL, they would also have one hell of a running game to boot. Nothing could be further from the truth with the Colts as they are dead last in the league with 80.9 YPG on the ground. Of course, you can’t blame a team like Indy for being in the cellar on that stat when you have arguably the greatest quarterback in history like Peyton Manning under center.
Despite the short numbers, Indy has a potent one-two punch of Joseph Addai and Donald Brown in the backfield.
Addai has proven himself to be a top flight rusher, having earned a Pro Bowl invite in 2007. And the LSU alum has bounced back nicely from an injury-plagued 2008 campaign with 828 yards on the ground with 10 touchdowns this season. This was the first year in the pros that he went without a 100-yard rushing game. Addai might get a few more carries for this game giving they’ll be playing on natural grass, a surface he’s averaged 61.7 YPG on over his four seasons in the NFL with eight scores.
While Addai gets the brunt of the workload for Indianapolis’ ground attack, Brown will get his touches here and there during a match. The rookie from Connecticut has shown flashes of why the Colts took him with the 27th overall pick. Brown has gained 281 rushing yards and found the end zone three times.
This pair of rushers were also effective outlet options for Manning to unload the ball during the year. Addai had 51 catches for 336 yards and three touchdowns this year, while Brown gained 169 yards on 11 receptions.
Addai and Brown haven’t shown up for most of the playoffs together, gaining 33 rushing yards combined against the Ravens in the divisional round. However, Addai did gain 80 yards on 16 carries against the Jets in the AFC Title Game. He did have one fumble that turned into a field goal for New York in that contest.
As great as that performance was for Indy, its running game is almost an afterthought during the early stages of the game.
Who has the edge?
It isn’t a matter of the Colts having lousy running backs to compliment their offense. Addai, Brown and (to a lesser extent) Mike Hart are a quality set of rushers. The only thing is Indianapolis makes no bones about how they go about moving its offense via the skies.
The oddsmakers over at the Las Vegas Hilton are thinking just as much when you looking one of their props for the game. They have set the total of yards for Addai at 65 ½. That should give you an idea that most people aren’t expecting a lot out of Indianapolis’ running attack.
New Orleans should have no issues in holding the Colts down in terms of moving the game on the ground. In fact, the Saints are more apt to be concerned with Addai and Brown being receiving targets for Manning than anything else.
In either regard, the Saints have the clear advantage.
Edge: New Orleans
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