FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. --



Super Bowl XLIV -- New Orleans Saints (15-3, 4-2 NFC South, 2-0 NFC playoffs, NFC Champions) vs. Indianapolis Colts (16-2, 6-0 AFC South, 2-0 AFC playoffs, AFC Champions); 6:00 p.m. (EST); Sunday, February 7, 2010; Sun Life Stadium (74,000), Miami, Florida.



The coaches -- Indianapolis: Jim Caldwell (Regular season record, 14-2, 1st season; Record vs. the Saints, 0-0, Postseason record: 2-0). New Orleans: Sean Payton (Regular season record, 38-26, 4th season; Record vs. the Colts, 0-1, Postseason record: 3-1).



Game coverage -- CBS Sports (Jim Nantz, Phil Simms, Solomon Wilcots, Steve Tasker); Indianapolis Colts Radio Network (Bob Lamey, Will Wolford, Kevin Lee); Westwood One Radio Network (Marv Albert, Boomer Esiason, James Lofton, Mark Malone).



The series -- 11th overall meeting. The series is tied, 5-5. Super Bowl XLIV is the first-ever postseason matchup between the two franchises. Indianapolis has won the last two meetings, posting a 55-21 decision at the Superdome in New Orleans on 9/28/03 and winning 41-10 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis on 9/6/07. Prior to the last two games, the Saints had won five in a row (17-14, at Indianapolis, 10/12/86; 41-6, at New Orleans, 12/24/89; 17-14, at New Orleans, 11/12/95; 19-13 in overtime, at Indianapolis, 9/27/98). The Colts won the initial three meetings, posting a 30-10 win on 12/10/67; 30-10 on 10/19/69; and 14-10 on 9/30/73.

Pre-game team notes -- Super Bowl XLIV will be the fourth such appearance for the Colts franchise...The Colts are 2-1 in Super Bowl games, winning 16-13 in Super Bowl V (over the Dallas Cowboys) and 29-17 (over the Chicago Bears) in Super Bowl XLI. The franchise's lone loss was a 16-7 decision to the New York Jets in Super Bowl III...Ironically, all three Super Bowl appearances for the Colts have been played in Miami...Before the creation of the Super Bowl, the Colts were 2-0 in NFL championship games with wins over the New York Giants (23-17 in overtime, 1958; 31-16, 1959)...The Colts are one of 13 NFL franchises to make four or more Super Bowl appearances (8, Dallas; 7, Pittsburgh; 6, New England, Denver; 5, Los Angeles/Oakland, Miami, San Francisco, Washington; 4, Colts, Buffalo, Green Bay, Minnesota, New York Giants)...Offensive coordinator Tom Moore coached in Super Bowls XIII and XIV with the Steelers and XLI with the Colts...Defensive line coach John Teerlinck coached in Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII with the Denver Broncos and XLI with the Colts...Team president Bill Polian, as the general manager of the Buffalo Bills, helped to guide the Bills to Super Bowls XXV, XXVI and XXVII and the Colts to a Super Bowl XLI title...Assistant offensive line coach Pete Metzelaars played tight end with Buffalo in Super Bowls XXV, XXVI, XXVII, and XXVIII and won Super Bowl XLI with the Colts...Quarterbacks coach Frank Reich played quarterback with Buffalo in Super Bowls XXV, XXVI, XXXVII, and XXVIII...Defensive backfield assistant coach Rod Perry played cornerback with the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl XIV and he was the secondary coach with Carolina in Super Bowl XXXVIII..The Colts are the only NFL team to make the playoffs 10 times in the past 11 years...The Colts have earned their league-best eighth consecutive playoff berth and 10th such accomplishment in the past 11 seasons...The Colts have an all-time postseason record of 19-18...The Colts are owners of the NFL's best regular-season record (128-48) since the start of the 1999 season...Indianapolis has won 73 of its last 89 regular-season games...Since 2002, the Colts are 51-13 at home and 48-16 on the road...The Colts own a 98-28 record, counting the playoffs, since the start of the 2003 season and are 84-23 since 2004...The franchise's streak of eight consecutive playoff appearances spanned both Tony Dungy's and Jim Caldwell's tenures with the Colts...Caldwell hopes to join Adam Walsh (Cleveland Rams, 1945), Paul Brown (Cleveland Browns, 1950), George Wilson, Sr. (Detroit Lions, 1957), Lou Rymkus (Houston Oilers, 1960), Wally Lemm (Houston Oilers, 1961), Don McCafferty (Colts, 1970), and George Seifert (San Francisco 49ers, 1989) as the only rookie head coaches since 1933 to win a league championship.



Pre-game Colts notes -- Placekicker Adam Vinatieri played in Super Bowls XXXVI, XXXVIII and XXXIX with New England and XLI with the Colts...Vinatieri had the game-winning Super Bowl field goals against St. Louis and Carolina...Vinatieri is one of 30 NFL players with four Super Bowl rings. He is one shy of the record held by DE Charles Haley...Vinatieri is one of 42 other NFL players who have won Super Bowls with more than one team...Placekicker Matt Stover was the kicker for the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV and was on injured reserve with the New York Giants in Super Bowl XV...Safety Aaron Francisco played with Arizona in Super Bowl XLIII last year...Colts quarterback Peyton Manning (4,500) and Saints quarterback Drew Brees (4,202) combine for the second most passing yards (8.702) of two Super Bowl quarterbacks facing off in NFL history. Dan Marino (5,084) and Joe Montana (3,630) combined for 8,714 yards in the season leading up to Super Bowl XIX....Brees (34) and Manning (33) have combined for the third most touchdown passes (67) of two Super Bowl quarterbacks in NFL history. Marino (48) and Montana (26) combined for 76 touchdown passes leading up to Super Bowl XIX. Tom Brady (50) and Eli Manning (23) totaled 73 touchdown passes prior to Super Bowl XLII...Manning has a career 2-2 won-loss record against the Saints...Manning has completed 75-of-115 passes for 1,173 yards, 11 touchdown passes and four interceptions in four career games with the Saints...Manning has a career 116.3 passer rating against his hometown Saints...Manning has passes for 300 or more yards twice against the Saints. He also has two games with 250 or more yards passing...Manning threw for six touchdown passes and 314 yards in a 55-21 win over New Orleans in the Superdome on 9/28/03...Manning is the 15th reigning NFL Most Valuable Player to play in a Super Bowl game...Manning was born and raised in New Orleans...Manning's father, Archie, is a former quarterback with the Saints and is currently a broadcaster for the team...Manning and his younger brother Eli have played in three of the last four Super Bowl games (Peyton 2, Eli 1)...Wide receiver Reggie Wayne is a New Orleans native. Wayne's favorite player growing up was former Saints wide receiver Eric Martin...Wayne attended college at the University of Miami, where his position coach was Saints receivers coach Curtis Johnson...Wayne was a collegiate teammate of Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey...Wayne scored a touchdown for the Colts in the last Super Bowl appearance for the franchise, played ironically in the same stadium that will host Super Bowl XLIIV...Defensive end Keyunta Dawson is a native of Shreveport, Louisiana...Running back Joseph Addai attended Louisiana State University. Addai also had 10 catches for the Colts in Super Bowl XLI...Matt Stover attended Louisiana Tech University.



Quotes of the week --"Peyton has this knack just when the other team’s about to score and think they’re going win, he’s just better when he has to be. Look at the New England game this year. He has this insatiable will to win and then is able to execute under the pressure of it that few, if any, have ever had.



“It’s not just one guy, but he is certainly the leader amongst them. The New England game this year, the Miami game, the seven fourth-quarter comebacks this year. Unlike anybody I’ve been around, he knows everything that’s going on, on the field. Everything. It’s impressive.” Colts quarterback coach Frank Reich on Peyton Manning.



--"I certainly am not looking at the game that way. I agree with Drew [Brees]. I think this game is about two great teams, that have had two outstanding seasons, really from the get go. Just realizing this is the first time since 1993, I think, that the two number one 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. So I think it is going to be a wonderful football game. It is two excellent teams, competitive on both sides of the ball and there is a lot of great players in this game and I am just proud to be a part of it.” Colts quarterback Peyton Manning on what a win in a second Super Bowl would mean to his legacy in the league.



--“It’s not as easy as everyone thinks. I’m still making mistakes and there are still things I need to learn. I think it will be a couple of years before I get this offense down pat.” Rookie wide receiver Austin Collie on doing well as a first-year player in the Colts' offensive system.



--“You know when you look at my age and the fact that I’m still kicking it tells you that God’s handprint is all over this. I see that this team looked through the age and saw my ability and trust in me. I can help out this team, especially since they have one of the all-time best, Adam Vinatieri. It shows that they are committed to the position and they don’t want to take any chances with it. I feel like it’s a great privilege.” Placekicker

Matt Stover on being the oldest player in the league. He'll become the oldest player to ever take the field for a Super Bowl game this week.



--“From that aspect, there’s no question the importance of what this means to us. The legacy in terms of getting a second one and being able to be a two-time world champion and separate yourself form some other franchises that have won one. It’s a big thing, and also in terms of even some of your players that are going to be considered for the Hall of Fame when their careers are done.



"When you’re a two-time [Super Bowl] winner, it’s something that means a lot. This is something that’s really big for us. At the same time -- I can definitely say this form a personal point of view -- is that having won one, you’re somewhat playing with the house’s money because you know that you have that world championship. No one can ever take that away from you. Winning the world championship is what it’s about. It’s something for us that means a lot to get the second world championship, no doubt about it. Having that first one in the bank, that takes some pressure off, I guarantee you that.” Colts team owner Jim Irsay on what winning a second Super Bowl title would mean for the franchise.



The game plan -- When playing a team like the New Orleans Saints, controlling the tempo on offense and taking advantage of their scoring opportunities will loom large for the Indianapolis Colts this week.



Indianapolis can't settle for field goals when on offense and have to be able to run the football well enough in order to control possession time. The Saints will attempt to keep the Colts' offense off-balance with a variety of blitz packages and will try to disrupt Indianapolis' passing game.



Defensively, the Colts can't be caught looking flatfooted at a highly paced New Orleans offensive attack. Getting to the Saints quarterback, putting pressure up the middle of the defensive line and not allowing New Orleans to settle in on offense.



Key matchups -- Colts defensive ends Dwight Freeney/Robert Mathis/Raheem Brock vs. Saints offensive tackles Jermon Bushrod/Jon Stinchcomb. There's probably a good chance that Freeney will not play due to his ankle injury. Even if he see very limited work, the tandem of Mathis and Brock is expected to see the bulk of the playing time.



Saints quarterback Drew Brees vs. Colts middle linebacker Gary Brackett. With Freeney looking iffy for Super Bowl XLIIV, getting pressure on Brees will be the key for Indianapolis. Brackett has blitzed more from his middle linebacking spot this season. His quickness to the football and ability to read offenses will be important.



Colts kickoff and punt coverage units vs. Saints wide receiver Courtney Roby/RB Reggie Bush. Indianapolis has shown a vast improvement in is kick and punt coverage units this year. But the last time the Colts were in a Super Bowl game, they allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown on the game's opening play. Keeping both Roby and Bush contained is a major prerogative.



Saints safety Darren Sharper vs. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning -- Two wily veterans who aren't afraid to take chances will match up against one another. Sharper may not be as athletically gifted as he was earlier in his NFL career, but he is a playmaker. Manning is also a gambler who will try to test Sharper in a classic chess match that is being contested on the biggest stage of the 2009 season.