Now that we're past the whole Gregg Williams/Peyton Manning mini-controversy, and the will they or won't they show up at the Pro Bowl saga... a real story is forming as the teams fly to South Beach today. Colts all-world DE Dwight Freeney might have a torn ligament in his injured right ankle. As has been reported all over the web, it is looking less and less likely that Freeney will be able to play in the Super Bowl, let alone have an impact.
For Freeney, I would be shocked if he at least didn't try to give it a go on Sunday. This is the Super Bowl after all. But, with an ankle injury that serious for someone who depends on speed and agility cutting around bigger offensive linemen, he won't be a factor. It wouldn't be surprising to see Freeney play on a handful of passing downs with minimal impact. Similarly, Jeremy Shockey only appeared in a few plays last week playing with a hurt knee and only had one catch. Freeney will most likely have a similar effect in the Super Bowl if he plays.
As a Saints fan, I think back to the Saints Week 15 loss to the Cowboys. If you'll remember, DeMarcus Ware was a question mark for that game with a neck injury. Of course, he played and ate Jermon Bushrod for breakfast. Ware singlehandedly beat the Saints that night. But, Ware's speed around the end was not affected by his neck injury - Freeney's speed will be affected by an ankle injury.
If Freeney doesn't play, it does not make the Saints 2 TD favorites as clickondetroit.com columnist Rob Parker noted this morning (maybe I should appear on ESPN too, I think RSS has just as much national credibility as clickondetroit.com). Losing Dwight Freeney won't help the Saints D slow down Peyton Manning, but it will help them if the game turns into a shootout.
Obviously, the biggest impact with Freeney's injury will be the impact on the Saints passing game. Brees had three of his worst passing games of the season against teams with elite pass rushes. 3 INTs and a season low 58.9 passer rating against Miami, a 29/45 game for only 298 yards (6.62 YPA), 1 TD and 3 TOs v Dallas, and a sesson high 7 three and outs against the Vikings and only his 4th sub 200 yard passing game of the season.
Unlike the games against Dallas and Miami, the Saints did a decent job protecting Brees in the NFC Championship (1 sack vs 4.5 sacks the other two). But, against Minnesota, the Saints did not hit any big pass plays down the field. They played their most conservative offensive game of the season keeping extra guys in to block and dinking and dunking for most of the afternoon. None of the Saints receivers caught a ball for over 20 yards, a trademark of the Brees Era. The two biggest pass plays were a screen to Pierre Thomas and a route by Reggie Bush out of the backfield.
Freeney's injury will be massive for the Saints offense because it will allow New Orleans to put more receivers down the field and open up bigger plays in the passing game. Remember the show put on against New England on MNF? In that game, Brees threw 5 TDs and had a ginormous 16.1 YPA. Freeney's injury has a domino effect that helps the Saints passing game immensely. The Colts historically have not been a big blitzing team, and Robert Mathis will not turn into Reggie White without Freeney on the other side to draw most of the attention.
By kickoff, it will have been 2 months since Drew Brees' last 300 yard passing game. But, if indeed #93 can't go at full strength, Drew Brees will have a Super Bowl to remember. While that may be encouraging news for Saints fans, there is still that matter of stopping Peyton Manning on the other side. The loss of Dwight Freeney is certainly a big story, but Who Dat Nation shouldn't be polishing up the Lombardi Trophy just yet.
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