It’s been a while since I’ve posted my full weekly NFL preview column on here. But it’s the Super Bowl, so I figure I might as well go out of the football season with one last big push. I have some recap stuff to get to once the season is completely over, and I will always repost the best YouTube video of the year, but as far as demonstrating my awesome predictive abilities for football games, this is it for the next seven months.

All of the story lines and angles for this game have been beaten to death by the mainstream media over the last two weeks. So, I won’t bore you with stories of Hurricane Katrina, the Manning’s connection to New Orleans, Kim Kardashian’s ass, or Dwight Freeney’s ankle. I’ll go with some more exclusive NFL content for you:

That’s right. A young Great Wahl (in a tangerine-colored golf shirt with my tongue hanging out, no less), Wernick, BJones‘ formerly better half, and Sweisen w/ the greatest QB in NFL History. But this was back in 2005 when he kept choking against the Patriots. He went on to win the Super Bowl the following season after hanging out with us. Coincidence? Not at all.

In person, the first thing you notice about Peyton is how tall he is. He is listed at 6′3″ (or, at least he used to be), but he’s really closer to 6′6″. Peyton said he lists himself shorter so that people don’t perceive him to be big, slow, and immobile. But he is big, slow, and immobile…so I don’t know how much of a benefit the shorter listing really gives him.

For the first time in a long time, I don’t really have a team I’m going to be strongly cheering for. I would be happy to see either team win, and I think either team can win. I just am hoping for a close, entertaining game. However, that doesn’t make an interesting blog post, so I have to pick a side. I think Peyton is really too good right now to lose this game. Plus the Indy defense is better than most think (held Chris Johnson to two of his worst games of the season). And if the Saints have to go to overtime to win an NFC Championship team against a Vikings team that turned the ball over 67 times, then I just think New Orleans isn’t peaking at the right time.

The Saints can definitely win this game, but they’ll have to play a game like they did against New England in the middle of the season. That was one of the most dominating performances in recent memory. But, unfortunately, practically every big game New Orleans played this year was in the Super Dome in New Orleans w/ the unbelievable home field advantage. Now they’ll be playing on a neutral field against a team that really hasn’t lost a game more than one game it has tried to win in like the last 25 attempts.

I don’t know these teams nearly as well as I know my Green Bay Packers for my usual Big Game Preview pieces, but I’ll try to put together a few keys to the game that I perceive to be important to the outcome of the game. And I’ll try to make them a little more exotic than ‘Dwight Freeney’s ability to rush the passer’ and ‘winning the turnover battle’:

1. Reggie Bush – ‘X Factor’ is a really overplayed term. But I can’t think of a better phrase to describe Mr. Kardashian. The Saints would be, and are, a perfectly lethal offense without him (if Drew Brees gets back on his game). However, if Bush can add a couple of big plays, both in the running/passing game as well as in special teams, it can completely change a game. The game is going to come down to converting redzone opportunities into touchdowns, and not field goals, so if they can design some plays to get Reggie on the edge diving for pylons, like he seemingly always does, then that will go a long way to improving the Saints chances. Also, field position will be vitally important. Bush needs some good punt returns and shorten the field for the Saints offense.

2. Indy’s White Receivers – Dallas Clark and Austin Collie. If they have big games, the Saints don’t stand a chance. If they have big games, it means Peyton is picking apart the middle of the Saints defense and checking down to take short completions for first downs and extending long scoring drives. The Saints are going to be trying to blitz and pressure Peyton. That just means he’ll take the easy, quick completions to his white receivers. If those connections are successful early and often, especially in the redzone, Indy wins easily.

3. The Last Two Minutes of the First Half – Both Championship games were decided, in a fairly large part, by the last two minutes of the first half. I think the same will hold true for the Super Bowl.

In the AFC Championship game, Peyton threw an entire drive down the middle of the field to Austin Collie (see #2) for a touchdown in the last two minutes of the first half, after being shutdown by the Jets defense for the first 28 minutes of the game. It gave the Colts the momentum and confidence they needed going into the half. The finished the game by scoring 24 straight points and winning 30-17.

In the NFC Championship game, Reggie Bush was trying to make a big play for the Saints (See #1) in the last two minutes of the first half, but actually made a big play for the Vikings by muffing a punt inside the Saints own 20 yard line. Fortunately, for the Saints, Adrian Peterson and Brett Favre mishandled an exchange and fumbled the ball back to the Saints. Had the Vikings scored a TD there, it would’ve significantly altered the outcome of the game. Again, all in the final two minutes of the first half.

There is always a chance the Saints can have a great game (underdogs are 6-3-1 against the spread in the last 10 Super Bowls), but I really think this is a statement game by the Colts, with Peyton cementing his place on the over-cliched ‘Mount Rushmore’ of Quarterbacks — even if he often looks like a bumbling retard (I apologize in advance for using the ‘R-word’, Sarah Palin) most of the time:

The Official Prediction: Indianapolis Colts, 34 – New Orleans Saints, 24.

I may even try to live-blog this game, so check back. Or follow me on Twitter. Or both.