With win, history could be kinder to Colts' Manning

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - From the Saints' end, you might have heard, the storyline is a franchise known for losing getting a chance to win it all, and a city known for being destroyed by a natural disaster getting a chance to celebrate its survival and renewal.

From the Colts' end, Super Bowl XLIV is about Peyton Manning.

Quote all the mind-bending stats you want, a major segment of the NFL establishment isn't about to entertain any arguments about Manning being the best quarterback ever as long as he has one Lombardi Trophy and Joe Montana has four. Manning turns 34 next month. A decent chunk of his prime has been spent in the shadow of the New England dynasty, which now seems to be waning. This chance at a second Super Bowl ring is not something he can afford to let slip past him. You never know how many such opportunities you're going to get - just ask Tom Brady, who once seemed as much a part of the annual Super Bowl scene as Elvis impersonators on media day.

In his final news conference of the week yesterday, Colts coach Jim Caldwell gamely fended off the suggestion that tomorrow's clash could play a large role in defining Manning's career.

"Well, I'm not certain what it will mean in terms of his place in history," Caldwell said. "I think he pretty much has established himself as one of the finest that has ever played this game, and he keeps getting better each and every year. It certainly would be a plus, I think, for our entire organization, our entire franchise. But with Peyton, you look at him and examine his legacy, and he's done a tremendous job. There have been a lot of great quarterbacks that never won any Super Bowls, never had an opportunity to even make it maybe in the second round of the playoffs, but I don't think that diminishes their greatness. I don't think anything will diminish what he's been able to establish through the years, either."

Manning's thrust this week has been similar.

"I certainly am not looking at the game that way . . . I think this game is about two great teams that have had two outstanding seasons, really from the get-go," Manning said. "Just realizing this is the first time since '93, I think, that the two No. 1-ranked teams are meeting in the final game. So that says a lot about both teams. We have had a target on our backs the entire season. Both teams have persevered through some tough circumstances and found themselves in the championship game."

One task for the Saints is to avoid being daunted by Manning's greatness. He ranks third all-time in touchdown passes, behind Dan Marino and Brett Favre, fourth in passing yards (Favre, Marino and John Elway), third in completions (Favre and Marino). Nobody can match Manning's dozen seasons with 25 or more touchdown passes, or his 10 seasons of 4,000-plus passing yards. If you listen to enough expert commentary - Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb posited on ESPN that this could be the sort of game in which Manning is resting on the sideline by the middle of the third quarter - you might get the idea that the Saints' defense should call for reinforcements, or just wave the white flag.

Yesterday, New Orleans coach Sean Payton was asked about keeping his defense from becoming overawed. Payton subtly downplayed the idea that Manning is something beyond what the Saints have seen previously.

"We've got a lot of respect for his accomplishments, just like we did with Kurt Warner, Hall of Fame player, a couple of weeks ago, and Brett Favre, another Hall of Fame player, last week," Payton said. "We've had a stretch here, where each week these guys are special . . . It will be a tremendous challenge for us. We're going to have our work cut out for us, with the way he's playing."

Like many teams have when facing the Colts, the Saints this week have stressed not getting mesmerized by Manning's hurry-up histrionics. He gets Indianapolis to the line quickly, then runs hither and yon, waving his arms and barking out what could be an audible or could be just misdirectional gibberish.

"I don't want to get enamored with what Peyton does," Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma said this week. "Obviously he makes great checks, he makes great reads, he understands the defense. But I don't want to be in a situation where there is 5 seconds on the play clock and he just made a check, and I'm trying to make a check to get us into the right defense and he's hiking the ball and I have half of my defense doing the right thing and the other half doing the wrong thing. We're all better off all playing one defense and whether we're all right or wrong, we'll fix it. We'll just get to the ball, tackle them and just live for the next play."

Someone asked Saints strong safety Roman Harper this week about "matching wits" with Manning.

"I don't know how you match wits with the guy. The guy is all over the place," Harper said. "Anybody that is on the take, that moves or does anything, he's checking it. He is trying to see what you are doing, and he does a great job of that."

A couple of Saints mentioned this week that getting to the line and holding there is a big part of Manning's presnap magic - you can be crouched in your stance for 20 seconds, not sure when you'll be moving. Tends to put defenders back on their heels.

But, again, New Orleans knows it's a mistake to get too focused on everything Manning can do.

"He's human just like everybody else. He makes mistakes just like everybody else," Saints defensive end Sedrick Ellis said. "He gets hit, it hurts just like everybody else. We played two Hall of Fame quarterbacks in this playoff stretch. That was my first time on the field with Brett Favre, and after the first 2 minutes of the 'Wow, I'm playing against Brett Favre,' it kind of goes away." *

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