New Orleans concluded its pre-Super Bowl work with a walk-through at Sun Life Stadium on Saturday.
The last real practice of the week was on Friday, although it wasn't conducted at full speed.
Saints coach Sean Payton said about 85 percent of the gameplan for Sunday's game was in place before Thursday's practice at the University of Miami, and then cut the session 20 minutes short from the previous day.
The Saints removed their shoulder pads for shells for the final 40 minutes. By contrast, Colts coach Jim Caldwell said virtually of his team's gameplan was in place last week and Indianapolis won't practice in pads all week.
"We're in the second week now and we can do that," Payton said of shortening practice in temperatures around 80 degrees. "It was a little warm out here. I think you have to be a little careful; some guys would worry about getting all the plays in. All I was concerned about was getting good work in and we accomplished that."
—When the Saints were undefeated in early December, quarterback Drew Brees didn't mind envisioning a certain game in early February in which he and Peyton Manning, his counterpart from the then-unbeaten Indianapolis Colts, met with the NFL title on the line.
What would have been an unprecedented matchup in Super Bowl XLIV didn't materialize, of course, when the Saints dropped their last three games of the regular season and the Colts finished with back-to-back losses.
But while both teams stumbled a little in the end, Brees still got his wish. His Saints (15-3) and Manning's Colts (16-2) will play for the Vince Lombardi Trophy on Sunday night in Sun Life Stadium.
Brees certainly wanted the matchup, which was also highly anticipated by fans as the playoffs went on.
watch Saints vs Colts Live streaming super bowl 2010 live online on pc right here
http://sportsworld365.blogspot.com/
http://sportsworld365.blogspot.com/
But when Super Bowl week finally arrived, Brees made sure to let it be known that he doesn't want it to be about him against Manning, who was named the league's MVP for a record fourth time this season.
"That's exactly the trap I'm not going to fall into, which is trying to keep up with Peyton," Brees said. "I know that Peyton is going to make his plays, and he's going to be Peyton. That just means that I need to be me.
"It's me and my offense against their defense and vice versa," added Brees, the consummate team captain and leader. "Certainly, I have a lot of respect for Peyton and what he's been able to accomplish. But it's not me against Peyton."
What Brees was trying to get across was that the Saints will need more than just him to beat the Colts. At the same time, they also have to make sure they don't fall into the trap of just being happy about being there.
That means the Saints will have to rely on the motto they adopted after losing so many close games one year ago and finished 8-8 following a 7-9 season in 2007.
All season, the players have worn T-shirts and bracelets that reminded them to "Finish Strong." Now, it applies to the final game, and the season as a whole.
"We're definitely not finished," defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis said after the Saints advanced to the Super Bowl. "Even though we have made a lot of strides and did a lot of great things this year, we still have one more goal."
"We'll have to put one of our best games together again like we've been doing all year," All-Pro guard Jahri Evans said. "We've got to stay calm, keep our composure, and just handle the game as it comes to us."
SERIES HISTORY: 11th all-time meeting, all in regular-season play. The teams split the first 10 matchups with the Colts ripping the Saints in the last two games. The Colts rolled to a 55-21 victory in the Superdome in 2003 and then took an easy 41-10 win in the RCA Dome in the 2007 season opener. Prior to that, the Saints had won five straight in the series.
Indianapolis Colts Team Report
Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney sat out the Colts' final practice Friday - they conducted a walk-through at Sun Life Stadium on Saturday - and is officially listed as questionable for Super Bowl XLIV.
On Friday, Freeney said his injured right ankle is "still day-to-day. ... I'm just feeling it out. It's starting to feel a little better and it is starting to look more like an ankle now.
watch Saints vs Colts Live streaming super bowl 2010 live online on pc right here
http://sportsworld365.blogspot.com/
http://sportsworld365.blogspot.com/
Freeney continues to hold out hope, despite nursing torn ligaments in his right ankle, that he'll be able to see some playing time Sunday night against the New Orleans Saints.
Freeney was hurt in the final minutes of the Colts' 30-17 AFC Championship Game win over the New York Jets. He has not practiced since he initially incurred the injury and said that he does not expect to see any work in the days leading up to Super Bowl XLIV.
After posting a team-high 13.5 sacks this past season, it doesn't look too promising that he'll be in the starting lineup against the Saints. Playing at all remains a toss-up.
Freeney has been known to be a quick healer. He suffered a strained groin earlier this year and was thought to be sidelined for several weeks. But he returned to the starting lineup much sooner than anybody anticipated.
But an ankle injury is much different. A speed pass rusher who may be the quickest defensive end in the NFL off the line of scrimmage, being able to move off the line of scrimmage in a hurry is his best weapon in his arsenal of moves.
It's still not known if any attempt at playing this week could further damage the ankle. That fact alone could be the deciding factor as to whether Freeney gets in the game at all or winds up watching from the sideline.
"You always factor that in, you never really know. Like I said, it is early to where as though I don't know exactly what's going to happen. Obviously, the competitor in me says, 'Nothing's going to stop me from going on that field.' That being said, you don't know how it's (the ankle) going to be come game time. I'm going to let the coaching staff and everybody collectively come up with that decision," he said.
NOTES, QUOTES
Colts coach Jim Caldwell said the Colts weren't "as sharp as we'd like to be," during their practice at the Miami Dolphins' practice facility in Davie, Fla., on Thursday. But quarterback Peyton Manning was very accurate in working the two-minute offense against the scout team.
"If you watch us practice, the thing you notice with Peyton is the ball is not on the ground very often," said Caldwell. "The way he threw today was typical Peyton."
—Raheem Brock is keenly aware that when Sunday evening rolls around, he'll most likely be one of the closest watched players in recent Super Bowl history.
With defensive end Dwight Freeney's availability for Super Bowl XLIV in doubt thanks to a torn ligament in his right ankle, it looks like Brock and Robert Mathis will be in the starting lineup against the New Orleans Saints.
But it's a role that he is familiar with. Earlier this season, with Freeney nursing a strained groin that kept him out of the lineup for a couple of weeks, it was Brock moving into the Colts' starting defensive lineup.
"Yeah I mean we've been through this before from earlier in the season where Dwight's not playing and me and Rob (Mathis) are starting, (with) the rest of the young guys stepping up and playing a little bit more. We're not worried. We've been through it before," he said.
