Peyton Manning vs. Saints' Secondary
By Judd Hall
As we continue to break down Super Bowl XLIV, we’re seeing the Saints matching up with Indianapolis fairly well. But how well can New Orleans’ secondary match up against the Colts’ All-World quarterback, Peyton Manning? Let’s find out.
Peyton Manning
What can I possibly say about Peyton Manning that hasn’t been said about him already? Well, I heard that he noisily eats kittens at the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument in downtown Indy. Okay, that’s a total lie, but it’s the only thing that probably hadn’t been said about Manning.
We can look at the beginning of his career, when the Colts were debating on taking either Manning or Washington State’s Ryan Leaf with the No. 1 pick in the 1998 NFL Draft. It definitely goes without saying that Indianapolis and its President Bill Polian made the correct choice.
All the signal caller from Tennessee has done in his 12 years in Indianapolis is complete 65 percent of his passes for 50,128 yards, 366 touchdowns and just 181 interceptions. Manning also has the highest passer rating for a single season to his credit (121.1), achieved back in 2004. And let’s not forget that he won the Most Valuable Player award in Super Bowl XLI.
As if those numbers aren’t scary enough, we could even hypothesize that Manning is in the prime of his career right now. Over the last four seasons, Manning has completed 67 percent of his passes for an average of 4,235 yards, 31 touchdowns and 13 picks. This year alone, Indy’s signal caller has thrown for the second-most yards in a season for his career (4,500) and his most throwing scores (33) since tossing for 49 in 2004.
Manning has shown that he can stand up to the upper echelon of opposition this year with a 3-1 record against playoff qualifiers. In those four regular season tests, he completed 67 percent of his passes for 1,197 yards with nine touchdowns and five interceptions.
During this run to the Super Bowl, Manning has the most passing yards of any QB in the playoffs (623) and is second to only Drew Brees in touchdown-to-interception ration (5:1). And keep in mind that he put those numbers up against two of the NFL’s best defenses, the Ravens (300.5 yards per game) and the Jets (252.3 YPG).
New Orleans’ Secondary
When you think of a team that has a great offense, they normally are lacking on the defensive side of the ball. If you’re looking the points allowed, then the 21.3 points per game isn’t all that attractive. Even against the pass, the Saints are in the lower levels of the league at 26th by giving up 235.6 passing yards per game.
While the numbers on scoring and passing are awfully big, they hide the fact that New Orleans has one hell of a secondary. The Saints were behind only to the Packers and Bill this year with 26 interceptions during the regular season. Their secondary unit of Jabari Greer, Roman Harper, Darren Sharper and Tracy Porter have combined for an average 69 tackle per player with 15 total interceptions, returning five of those for touchdowns.
That quartet was definitely up to the task when taking on playoff qualifiers this season. The Saints’ starting secondary combined for an average of 22 tackles per game, two forced fumbles, recovering one. They also picked off six passes, taking two of them to the house.
Sharper has been incredible this year for New Orleans, picking off nine passes, returning three for touchdowns. To give you an idea of how much of a factor this guy is, Bodog has only listed him for a prop of possibly picking off a pass in Super Bowl XLIV (Yes +250, No -325).
Who has the edge?
If the Saints were going against any other quarterback that played in the AFC playoffs, I’d give them the edge. Playing against Peyton Manning, however, doesn’t give them a chance at the advantage.
Manning has proven that you can get to him early. If you don’t change your gameplan, he’s going to make you pay. We saw him get knocked down a few times by the Jets early on in the AFC Title Game. And yet you knew that even though the Colts were trailing at halftime of that game, you knew they were going to win. Manning adjusts better to defenses better than anyone in the league.
I see this matchup as the Saints’ secondary will get a couple of chances early in the game when nerves are an issue. After that, it’s all for the Colts’ QB.
Edge: Indianapolis
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