By Jimmy Smith, The Times-Picayune

February 05, 2010, 12:32AM

MIAMI – In the on-field chess game that will take place Sunday in Super Bowl XLIV, New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton likely will try to offer the Indianapolis Colts something they haven’t yet seen on video.

A difficult task, to be sure, but one thing is probably certain: Indianapolis will see a game plan that involves a great deal of motion from receivers and backs.

Movement has been a staple of Payton’s play-calling since he joined the Saints in 2006, and a primary reason why New Orleans has become one of the most productive and high-scoring offenses in the NFL.

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Ex-Pahokee High and Saints great Rickey Jackson, a Hall of Fame finalist, went from hurting people on field to helping them off it

BY JOSEPH GOODMAN

jgoodman@MiamiHerald.com

Standard issue football pants in the NFL come with pockets sewn inside the legs. That’s where the pads go. That’s where Rickey Jackson stuffed sponges.

Jackson played in the NFL for 15 years. He didn’t wear sponges the whole time. That would be crazy. No, usually, Jackson didn’t wear anything. The sponges just came in handy when he needed to trick the NFL in order to avoid a fine.

Ricky Jackson

“Pads — I wasn’t about all that,” Jackson said. “The only time I wore pads was when the NFL made me.”

What were you about, Rickey?

“Hurting people,” Jackson said.

A career outside linebacker, Jackson played for the New Orleans Saints for 13 years and for the San Francisco 49ers for two. He hurt a lot of people, earned six Pro Bowl selections and finished his career with 128 sacks. He’s a member of The Miami Herald’s Champions Club by way of Super Bowl XXIX, when San Francisco beat San Diego 49-26 at Joe Robbie Stadium on Jan. 29, 1995.

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By Carlos Frias Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

FORT LAUDERDALE — If Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney enters Sunday’s game, expect the New Orleans Saints to try to knock him out as quickly as possible.

That’s according to Mark Schlereth, an analyst for ESPN and two-time Super Bowl champion offensive lineman with the Denver Broncos. He said the Saints likely will run a play right at Freeney if he enters the game with his severely sprained right ankle at anything less than 100 percent.

Schlereth said the Saints would try to cut his legs out from under him.

“Is it cruel? Yeah, it’s cruel, but that’s Football 101,” Schelerth said Wednesday. “If you’re going to play big-boy football with an injury, you better believe guys are coming after you.”

Schlereth said a Saints fullback or tight end would try to pound Freeney even if the play were going away from him.

“If I’m an offensive coordinator, that’s what I’m doing: going after the weak link,” Schlereth said. “And it’s not a surprise. He knows if he’s in the game, they’re going to test him.”

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Who will win the Super Bowl? The ecdysiasts at Rick’s Cabaret pick the Saints, maybe because they are partial to New Orleans tight end Jeremy Shockey, a regular on the strip club scene when he played for the Giants. “We’re not allowed to talk about our celebrity customers,” said busty Rick’s girl, and NYU student, Cynthia. “But let’s just say that we all know and love Jeremy.” “Jeremy is my favorite athlete,” said petite Alyssa. “He’s more fun than the baseball guys.” One Rick’s dancer disagrees — Monica is rooting for the Colts, explaining, “I love older men, and Peyton Manning is so cute.”

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Saints DE Will Smith vs. Colts OLT Charlie Johnson

The Colts know it, and the Saints know it, too: The best way to beat Peyton Manning is to knock him around and force the Colts to alter their protection schemes. Manning is so adept at getting rid of the ball quickly, which is why he was sacked only 10 times this season on 571 pass attempts. Although a closer look reveals that the Ravens and Jets — two pressure-based teams — were able to have a little more success in that department in the two postseason games, sacking Manning four times on 83 passes, along with more pressures than in the regular season.

Saints DE Will Smith vs. Colts OLT Charlie Johnson

DE Will Smith is a good edge rusher, probably the Saints’ best individual in terms of beating tackles with moves and countermoves. Smith isn’t explosive, and a lot of his pressures and sacks come off blitzes creating one-on-one matchups, but he has the zip to get to a quarterback’s backside quickly.

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By Judy Walker, The Times-Picayune

February 04, 2010, 5:00AM

The foodie forums for Saints fans on NOLA.com and Chowhound had lots of punny fun with party food ideas for the first-in-a-lifetime Super Bowl featuring the New Orleans Saints.

Beth Fury, aka Mrs. Fury, saluted favorite players: Mac & Sharper Cheese, Reggie Bush Beans. Cindy Smith suggested “The SeaBrees” cocktail. Chowhound posters came up with MarQuiche Colston, Roman Candy Harper and Scott Fujita Fajitas.

Here’s the funny thing. Reggie Bush’s personal chef, a New Orleans native who won scholarships from the James Beard Foundation to the culinary arts program at Delgado Community College, actually uses Bush’s Best Baked Beans in a dish he makes often for the star running back.

Chef Gason Yen Nelson said Bush is “exciting to work for, open to trying new and different things.”

Read the rest of the story here…. just for the record I have had Chef William Jones cooking a few times and it rocks : )

By Molly Reid, The Times-Picayune

February 04, 2010, 1:00AM

If there’s anything New Orleans has shown the world during the past two weeks — through spontaneous second-lines following the Saints‘ victory over the Minnesota Vikings; a trademark-shattering outcry over the National Football League’s claim to ownership of “Who Dat”; a parade of more than 1,000 men in dresses paying homage to late WWL radio personality Buddy Diliberto and the Saints’ Super Bowl XLIV bid — it’s that we have spirit.

Yes, we do.

We have spirit, and it’s guaranteed to grow to a fever pitch starting today and tomorrow with a pair of public pep rallies, all leading up to the big day: Super Bowl Sunday.

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By Nakia Hogan, The Times-Picayune

February 04, 2010, 6:00AM

MIAMI – Calm and calculating, Sean Payton moves through the ballroom of a downtown hotel. Occasionally, between strides, he nods at well-wishers and slaps hands with people he knows.

But he doesn’t miss a step. The coach of the New Orleans Saints has somewhere to go.

Since his arrival in New Orleans in 2006 as a rookie head coach, Payton has been on the fast track to success, refusing to slow down for any distractions.

So there was no chance that the coach was going to break stride for any small talk Wednesday, not with a practice to get to, not with all the preparation still needed before the Saints take on the Indianapolis Colts in Super XLIV on Sunday in Sun Life Stadium.

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By Jimmy Smith, The Times-Picayune

February 04, 2010, 6:00AM

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. – Since 2002, and for the past 122 weeks in which an NFL game has been played, a player from the University of Miami has scored a touchdown

For 14 consecutive years, at least one Hurricanes player has been a first-round NFL draft choice.

Sunday evening in Super Bowl XLIV, a handful of former Hurricanes, from Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne to Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma and tight end Jeremy Shockey will participate in the NFL championship game, a destination most who pass through the football program at the Coral Gables, Fla., school come to expect from the moment they arrive on the palm tree-lined campus through the time their name is called by the NFL commissioner on draft night.

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By Mike Triplett, The Times-Picayune

February 03, 2010, 12:41PM

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. – New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was named the FedEx Air Player of the Year for the second year in a row. His wife Brittany will accept the award on his behalf this afternoon.

The award is based on fan voting. Brees beat out Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre. In the process, he earned a $25,000 donation from FedEx to the New Orleans-area Safe Kids USA coalition.

Tennessee Titans tailback Chris Johnson was voted as the FedEx Ground Player of the Year.

From Times Picayune