FORT LAUDERDALE -- Going to be kind of a busy day down here until The Who concert starts later tonight.
First off, we should all congratulate John Randle on getting into the Hall of Fame. Very deserving. The most dominating defensive tackle of the 1990s only had to wait until his second year of eligibility to get in. I feel for the guys like Bears defensive end Richard Dent, who was on his sixth year as a finalist and will no doubt be put through this all over again next year when he's sure to make the final 15 again.
Turning toward tonight's game, I'm like 99 percent of the population it seems. I don't see the Colts losing.
Why? Because I don't think the Colts will choke like the Vikings did in theNFC title game.
The Vikings were the better team. They dominated the Saints, but booted the game away withfive turnovers and a minus-4in turnover margin. I haven't looked it up, but theyhave to be one of the few teams to ever go minus-4 on the road and still take a playoff game into overtime.
The Colts and Peyton Manning won't throw the game away. They'll have their way withthis Saints' defense and will finish them offrather than keep them in the game and then blow it at the end.
Also, the Colts' defense takes a lot of heat. But when Indy was 14-0 (and before it tanked the last two games), the Colts had the No. 2-ranked scoring defense. This is a decent defense, and I'm expecting Dwight Freeney to find a way to play well on that bum ankle tonight.
After two extremely close Super Bowls the past two years, I seethe Colts winning 41-31.