Super Bowl matchup: New Orleans Saints vs. Colts run game | – NOLA.com

by on Friday, March 19th, 2010 | No Comments

By Ted Lewis, the Times-PicayuneFebruary 04, 2010, 10:31PMEllis Lucia/The Times-PicayuneIndianapolis Colts running back Joseph Addai will try to gash the New Orleans Saints defense on big plays like the Minnesota Vikings' Adrian Peterson and the Arizona Cardinals' Tim Hightower have in the playoffs.NFL coaches familiar with the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts breakdown the matchups that will be key in Super Bowl XLIV on Sunday in Miami.

By mark Duffner, Jacksonville Jaguars linebackers coach

Just because the Colts don't run the ball that much (Indianapolis was last in the league in rushing) doesn't mean they can't.

Nobody takes advantages of another team's weaknesses more than Peyton Manning, and if he sees any opportunity he's going to take it.

The Colts usually go to the line with two pass plays and one running play, and Peyton won't hesitate to check into a running play, especially early in the game. Arizona and Minnesota both broke big running plays early against the Saints, so you can expect the Colts to come up with something designed to do the same thing.

Indianapolis' offensive line is usually thought of as a bunch of no-names who are out there because of their pass-protection ability. But they're very well-coached and very well-honed.

Howard Mudd is simply the best O-line coach out there, and he does an excellent job teaching tandem blocking.

(Center) Jeff Saturday is the guy who makes that offensive line go. He and Peyton know each other so well they're like peanut butter and jelly.

They're small, at least by NFL standards, and some of them, like (right guard) Kyle Devan are better known for their backgrounds (at this time last year Devan, after being cut four times in two years, was a substitute teacher in his hometown of Vacaville, Calif.), but Howard is such a great technique coach that he overcomes whatever other deficiencies he might have.

(Right tackle) Ryan Lilja gets by on his toughness and (left guard) Ryan Diem wouldn't be playing on a team that wanted to run the ball more. You can say the same about (left tackle) Charlie Johnson.

Peyton's quick release makes them look better than they really are.

But still, they all play with great technique thanks to Howard. Trust me.

Joseph Addai is the Colts' no. 1 running back, but Donald Brown has been more effective for them lately, especially on stretch plays.

They're not in Adrian Peterson's caliber, but the Saints haven't been tackling very well lately, and if you do that, anybody can look great against you.

In Super Bowl XLI, the Colts rushed for 190 yards, with Dominic Rhodes getting 113 of them. He looked terrific that day. Now he's out of the league.

I don't expect that the Colts will be looking to run for that much against the Saints, and Gregg Williams certainly will have his team prepared to stop it.

But if they don't tackle well, Indianapolis is capable of running up and down the field on them.

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