When I was growing up one of my favorite movies was Clue. I was always a detective geek and the classic locked mansion murder mystery was my Star Trek. The first time we rented the videotape (kids, ask your parents), I remember seeing the three alternate endings and wondering if we rented a different copy would there be three other endings. Like a movie Choose-Your-Own-Adventure (kids, you may need to go to your grandparents for that one) each tape would bring different possible resolutions.
While the movie made each scenario as possible as the last, the final one was introduced with the placard “now, here is what really happened” and of course found a way to incriminate the entire cast – like a modern day Murder on the Orient Express (kids…umm… maybe grandparents again? If you have great-grandparents you can try them).
Anyway, in honor of Clue, I have decided to not just provide one preview of the Super Bowl but three separate previews with the final one being what will really happen. Almost like I am getting ready for my March Madness brackets a month early.
Scenario #1: The Saints are exposed as frauds and are steamrolled by the Colts machine. The Saints showed serious deficiencies toward the end of the season losing at home to the Bucs (seriously, the Bucs!) and have the 20th ranked defense. If the wide receivers can’t get open or Brees doesn’t have time to wait for them, then the Colts could do what they do and we could be looking at a 21-3 halftime that puts everyone to sleep even before The Who come on. The Who will also be struggling to stay awake but that is mostly because halftime comes about 2 hours after their own bedtimes.
Scenario #2: The lack of running game finally catches up with the Colts. Has a Super Bowl champion ever had the worst running game in the league? Let’s say the Saints clamp down on Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark and the already jittery young, unproven Colts wide receivers can’t get open for Peyton. The lack of running game could leave the Colts machine stuck in neutral. The Saints pop one or two big plays and their running game grinds out the clock.
Those are both perfectly acceptable possibilities for what could occur. But here is what will really happen.
The first half will inevitably be choppy as nerves impact the ability to make plays and both teams feel each other out like boxers in the early rounds of a championship fight (at least they did the last time I watched a fight which was probably back when Peyton Manning was still losing to Florida every fall).
The Colts won’t be able to run and will settle into an approach of short passes, probing and prodding the Saints defense. The Saints will have some success running the ball but won’t be able to sustain long drives as their big plays get shut down by the Colts secondary. A couple field goals in the first quarter and maybe one touchdown for each team in the second quarter, as Peyton finally finds a weakness and exploits it while the Saints finally get a big play out of their stable of playmakers. 13-10 Colts at the half.
Barring Reggie Bush taking over the game like he did against the Cardinals, the Saints just won’t be able to cobble together enough offense to offset the machine that is the Colts. As the second half wears on, the Colts are able to slowly grind down the Saints offense and slowly pull away, one long touchdown drive at a time. Final score: 31 – 17 Colts.
My logical side wants to talk about how the Saints will win due to the lack of running game for the Colts and their big-play ability but there is just one factor I can’t get over. A factor that is “six-five, 230-pound quarterbacks with a… laser rocket arm”. As I said the other day, this all comes down to the quarterbacks and right now Peyton is playing as close to perfect football as we have seen since the old Forty-Niner juggernauts.
I really wish I could come up with some unique spin on the game that all the experts are missing so I can call them all idiots (and for once be justified in my name calling). But I can’t.
Much like Jim Nantz owns CBS. Peyton owns the NFL right now. We are all just pawns in their chess game for global domination.
