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The Saints will seek to mix it up

The Colts run a simple passing game, while the Saints are much more complicated.

“The Colts do what they do and they do it well,” New England safety Brandon Meriweather said. “They’re not going to try and trick you with a million different formations like the Saints do when they make you stop to think what’s going on. They just run their plays and run them well.

“New Orleans will give you 1,000 formations. They might run four verticals out of 13 different formations. The Colts will run four verticals out of two. One coach is a little more creative than the other, while the other believes that if you do it right you’ll be OK.”

It’s hard to imagine the Colts and their aerial success being considered simple. After all, isn’t Manning the thinking-man’s quarterback, the line maestro who conducts every single play?

He is that, which is why the Colts offense can be so simple. His ability to read defenses at the line is how Indianapolis can operate so well without much movement before the snaps, and with limited formations.

“They don’t do a lot of motioning because it’s Peyton’s game,” Dallas Cowboys secondary coach Dave Campo said. “They do what they do, and they don’t care what you do. With the Saints, they do what they have to do.”