Now that the dust has finally settled and we have two left standing nothing could be more appropriate than Drew Brees versus Peyton Manning. The Saints signal caller on the cusp of greatness taking on the great Mr. Manning who continues to write his own legacy. With his fourth NFL MVP award, Manning will try to secure his second NFL title and cement himself as one, if the not the greatest ever.

While his counterpart would appear to have much to play for, Drew Brees is not without his own personal motivation. Brees has become the face of a franchise that not only represents a city, but represents so much more. Following the Katrina disaster the Saints have led a march of great hope and resolve and the face out front of this march has been Drew Brees.

Brees has often been compared to the great names in today’s game; Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Brett Favre, and though he lacks the hardware (Lombardi Trophies and MVP awards) he has the numbers. His first appearance should not legitimize his greatness; he has been great since he arrived to New Orleans. His first appearance in the Big Dance should be the next chapter to his own legacy.

What to Expect

While both teams have two very quick and opportunistic defenses, there is little doubt that this game is going to be all about the two gunslingers calling the signals. The Saints (4th) and Colts (2nd) offenses finished the 2009 season ranked in the top five passing and both clubs were in the top seven in scoring.

While the Saints were second in the league with 39 takeaways, they are going to find it difficult to capitalize on Manning who has just one turnover in 83 passes this post season. Like his counterpart Brees has been steady taking care of the ball with no turnovers in 63 passes.

The Saints led the league in scoring and finished number one in yards per game; they will surely test the Colts defense all game long. And when Manning takes the field with his number two ranked passing offense (9th overall) the Saints defense will face their ultimate test this season.

Don’t expect too many punts or a lot of stops, this one could easily turn into a regular shootout at the O.K. corral with the quarterback with the ball last deciding this classic matchup of a pair of gunslingers.

Injury notes for Sunday…

RB-Pierre Thomas (Saints)…..ribs-probable.

RB-Joseph Addai (Colts)…..shoulder-probable.

WR-Robert Meachum (Saints)….ankle-probable.

TE-Jeremy Shockey (Saints)….knee-questionable

DB-Darren Sharper (Saints)…..knee-probable.

DL-Will Smith (Saints)….groin-probable.

DL-Dwight Freeney (Colts)….ankle-questionable

Quick Notes:

The Saints wide receiver Robert Meachum has resumed full participation in practice and looks to be ready for the big dance. Meachum could be a big key in the Saints passing game on Sunday. He tied with Colston for the team lead with nine touchdowns this season and finished the year with 45 catches for 722 yards receiving (16.0 yards per catch).

The Colts have made their name on the passing of Peyton Manning all season, but it wouldn’t surprise to see Joseph Addai taking on a larger role in the run game this Sunday. In the AFC title game Addai finished with 80 yards averaging five yards a carry against a pretty good Jets run defense; Saints rank 21st against the run.

For every Mussina and Koufax and Williams, there’s a Willie Mays or Steve Carlton or Jim Palmer, guys who had greatness, lost it with age, but couldn’t let go. Joe DiMaggio had a very good season in 1950 and a pretty good season in 1951, at the age of 36. But he sensed the inevitable and left. He was done. Why tarnish what would soon become legendary?

People are going to look back at Mike Mussina’s 2008 season, as time passes, and consider it a greater achievement than they do now. That’s how history works. Good things become better, bad gets worse.

Remember 2007? Mussina, at 38 years old, went 11-10, battled injuries, only threw 152 innings and had had the highest ERA of his career at 5.15. You think fans wanted him back for 2008? You think the team did? No. Which only will help his legacy. Expectations for 2008 were not such that fans or anyone on that team – they’re lying if they say it – thought he’d win 20 games this year. The hope was for him to not drop off any worse than 2007 because he was done. His body was breaking down. He didn’t have his stuff anymore. You know fans didn’t want him on that staff this year.

But something happened. Mussina defied expectations and had one of the best seasons in his career. The cheers were stronger than since he’d signed his first free agent deal with the Yankees before the 2001 season, leaving the former rival (former because they’ve stunk for 11 years) Baltimore Orioles. He played himself into a career 270-game winner and forced people to ask, “Are you coming back?” It’s better to be asked that than, “Do you have to come back?”

And, apparently, Mike Mussina is not coming back. He’s doing this his way, avoiding more injuries, more time away from his family. He’s got all of the money he and his kids and their kids will ever need. He’s put in 18 years. He missed a perfect game by one pitch. He won 20 games in 2008. He played in a World Series and played for the New York Yankees. The only thing he didn’t get was that ring. At almost 40 years old then, you need to weigh one thing: What’s more important to me now, doing all the work, putting in all the time and effort to hopefully win that World Series ring or staying home and being the husband and father he’s never been before.

Mike Mussina has conquered life on the diamond. It appears his next challenge will be conquering it off the field. Best of luck, because the next 50 years may be even harder. Still, if only we could all go out like Mike Mussina, we’d all go out on top.

Jimmy Scott is probably the greatest pitcher you’ve never heard of. To read more from Jimmy, just click on his website, Jimmy Scott’s High & Tight, which you can find at www.jimmyscottshighandtight.com. There you’ll hear interviews with MLB players, wives & agents and find new perspectives on this great game some of us call Baseball. You can contact Jimmy through email: jimmy@jimmyscottshighandtight.com.