The Super Bowl is just days away, but the hype and the media attention is still in full swing with predictions galore and injury reports on who will be a go and no go when the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints go head to head on February 7th in Miami at Sun Life Stadium.  Coming into Super Bowl XLVI, all the hype and media attention will be direction at the stars of the game in the Indianapolis Colts four-time NFL MVP quarterback Peyton Manning and the New Orleans Saints touchdown throwing machine Drew Brees, but the real game changer will be whether or not defensive end Dwight Freeney will be ready to go on Super Bowl Sunday in Miami.
 
The one thing that makes Peyton Manning and Drew Brees so good as quarterbacks in the NFL is their ability to read defenses while getting the football out of their hands as quickly as possible.  Even though many people who don’t know much about the game of football think it is all about arm strength and accuracy, reading the defense and limiting the time you hold the football comes first.
 
This season in the NFL, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning have been the best at getting rid of the football and making plays on a consistent basis.  Brett Favre was amazing in his ability to do that this season as well, but Brees and Manning are in the Super Bowl going head to head for a reason and it is because they are just the best there is right now at playing the quarterback position.
 
Coming into this game, Drew Brees will have an added advantage at what he does best after learning that defensive end Dwight Freeney will either be playing hurt or not playing at all.  Without Freeney putting constant pressure on the quarterback, which he does better than most players at his position in the league, Brees will have the time needed to just cut the Colts secondary in half and get the potent New Orleans Saints offense rolling. Even though the Indianapolis Colts will most likely be without their best defensive player in Dwight Freeeney, all hope isn’t lost just yet as the Colts have another dominant defensive end in Robert Mathis. Playing alongside Dwight Freeney is bound to overshadowed your skills at the defensive end position, so Robert Mathis gets looked over a lot, but with his time to shine coming in the Super Bowl, Drew Brees will get to learn how good Mathis is really quick!
 
With 9.5 sacks this season, just four shy of Freeney’s 13.5, and five forced fumbles, Robert Mathis is a force to be reckoned with on the defensive side of the football.  He may not be Dwight Freeney and bring everything that defensive beast brings to the gridiron, but Mathis is as good as backup as it gets in the NFL.  Robert Mathis is a starter, don’t get me wrong, but with Freeney hurting he will have to step up his game and basically play in the footsteps of one of the best defensive ends in the game.
 
If Mathis can play at a high level and make the Colts forget that Freeney isn’t 100%, Indianapolis might be on their way to their second Super Bowl title in the Peyton Manning era!

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