If this isn't the simplest chart to read of all time. The moral of this story is that the Offenses of both of these teams carried them into the Super Bowl (that and a little handy turnover trickeration for the Saints). Both offenses this weekend are vastly superior to their opposing defenses.Colts Pass O vs. Saints Pass D
The Colts ranked second in the league in passing offense (yards per game) and the reality of it is that they truly have the #1 passing attack in the league. Meanwhile the Saints Pass D is pretty much poor, at best. The Saints Pass D ranked in the bottom 25% of the NFL. So on one side you have Peyton Manning, who just absolutely torched the #1 Passing D in the league, and on the other side you have a defense that gives up a ton of yardage. Obviously a major advantage to the Colts.
Colts Rush O vs. Saints Rush D
The Colts have a shitty rushing offense mostly because it really doesn't matter to them. The Saints have done a meh job stopping the run this season, but really does this matchup matter much? How often are the Colts actually going to rush the ball? 15 times?
Colts Pass D vs. Saints Pass O
The Colts Pass D has been decent this season and postseason, but part of that has to do with the presenece of Dwight Freeney and the fact that they faced Flacco/Sanchez in the first two rounds, and even Sanchez dropped an 80 yard td on the Colts. If the Colts can't get pressure on Brees he is going to pick them apart and rival Manning's numbers.
Colts Rush D vs. Saints Rush O
The Colts routinely have a soft rushing defense but overall they played very very well against the Jets in the AFC Title game. A lot of that likely had to do with daring Sanchez to beat them, something they won't be able to afford to do in this weekends game. The Saints should look to take advantage of the Bush/Pierre combo advantage they have and pound to rock some, but to wear down the Colts front seven and to keep Manning off the field.
Summation
So quickly the Saints look to have the "overall balance edge" but the Colts have Peyton Manning and the Saints look like they will have zero success in stopping him. This game should be a flat shootout.
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