And here's the coup de grace of the days-long collaboblogging project with Big Blue Shoe of Stampede Blue, 5 questions. Be sure to click over to his site to see his questions/my replies.

CSC: So I guess the most obvious question comes first: Why do the Colts repeat? Do their personnel losses come back to hurt them, or has their drafting been so comprehensive that they patched the holes immediately?

Big Blue Shoe: Please, please. Call me El Guapo. We’re all friends here. They repeat because they have Manning, Freeney, Sanders, Harrison, Wayne, Clark, Saturday, Vinatieri, and a slew of other great players. Each of those guys is considered one of the best at their respective positions. When you have that kind of talent on your roster, you are going to win games. The teams also has Tony Dungy, one of the best coaches of his generation. Bill Polian has done a masterful job with the draft the last two years. Guys like Antoine Bethea and Freddie Keiaho (2006 draftees) are poised to have breakout years in 2007. I really think 2007 was the best year Polian had drafting. Gonzalez is the most polished rookie WR I’ve ever seen. From what I’ve seen of your kid Meachem, he’s looked good too. Had Meachem fallen to the Colts, they would have taken him over Gonzo. I also like the Tony Ugoh and Dante Hughes picks. Polian made out like a bandit on draft day, in my not-so-humble-homer opinion.

CSC: In your expert opinion, is this Tony Dungy's final season as the coach of the Indianapolis Colts? What would inspire him to stay or leave?

El Guapo: Dungy is gone after this season, regardless. I said that after the Super Bowl. Football is second to Dungy, and the next thing he wants to accomplish in it is repeating. After that, he’ll turn to either ministry work or maybe even front office work.  

CSC: Joseph Addai is following in the footsteps of some all-time running backs like Eric Dickerson, Marshall Faulk and Edgerrin James. Can Addai eventually be on that level? Will there come a day when Saints fans rue the fact that their team drafted Reggie Bush over the local boy?

Senor Shoe: No, because it’s not like Bush stinks or anything. Addai is just a better running back right now. The Saints will rue the day if McAllister breaks down and Reggie Bush doesn’t develop some inside rushing push. Also, Reggie Bush needs to keep his trap shut. One of the reason Joseph Addai has a ring and Reggie Bush doesn’t is you don’t see Addai taunting other teams on the way to the endzone, ala Bush in the NFCCG. Addai just handles himself well and runs the ball with tremendous efficiency.  

CSC: Who is the better quarterback: Peyton Manning or Johnny Unitas? Why?

Zapato: Peyton. Better stats. More ability. Both are similar in that they both revolutionized passing football for their eras. Unitas’ stats would look good in today’s game. Back in the day, they were mind-blowing. It’s like Peyton today. He throws 6 TDs in a game, and fans go ho-hum. He throws 49 TDs and only 10 INTs, and people question his ability. Teams like Cincy, Pittsburgh, and even New England start employing no-huddle attacks because Manning is so good at it. If you read the latest edition of SI, it is very telling in how much in awe NFL QBs are of Manning. Even Brady talks about him as if he’s the best ever. Also, Unitas was a big Manning fan. It was rare to see Unitas praise anyone, but he often praised Peyton.  

CSC: So what do you see happening tonight? I'm thinking this will be a 45-43 game, where the team that posesses the ball last will win. Tell me why I'm right (or wrong).

HorseWhisper18: I actually think defense and special teams will be the difference, and we’re talking more 21-17 in terms of score. Again, I’m a homer. I think this Colts defense is very good. They’ve been lights out in pre-season (last pre-season, very shaky). They got rid of chronic oh-lay! tacklers like Cato June. Their corners are now very, very physical, and they might have found a gem in rookie DT Ed Johnson. That said, Drew Brees often has great games against Indy. It should be exciting, but I think defense will play more of a roll than offense.

Many thanks to Big Blue Shoe for participating in this week's collaboblogging and for being such a good sport. Let's hope for a well-played game where everybody stays healthy and the Saints come out victorious.

I'll be lurking around the threads tonight and any ongoing commentary will certainly be answered. So leave some comments.

Hooray, Football's Back.