Go ahead and throw out any pre-season doubts that you may have had with this Indianapolis Colts team. Last night’s 41-10 blasting of the New Orleans Saints showed why the Colts are the World Champions and why they are still a heavy favorite in the AFC despite losing 25% of the Super Bowl roster.

Peyton Manning is freakish. Watching him surgically pick apart the Saints defense, specifically Jason David who got absolutely abused, reminded us of just how great Manning is. There isn’t a quarterback in the league who is anything like Manning in terms of overall ability and talent. We saw several instances in the game last night, namely the touchdown throws to Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne, where the receiver only needed one step on the cornerback for Manning to deliver a picture perfect pass. And how about Joseph Addai? Addai got cranked on the first play from scrimmage in what was a “hold your breath” kind of moment but returned to the game moments later and rumbled for 118 yards and a touchdown. Addai doesn’t need Dominic Rhodes to spell him in the backfield. While he has never taken on a full-time running back job, he’ll be just fine handling it this season.

What happened to the Saints? One of the league’s most high octane offenses managed just three offensive points, scoring their touchdown on a Jason David fumble recovery. Drew Brees looked lost. Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister couldn’t break the front seven of the Colts defense. Marques Colston disappeared for about three quarters. It didn’t seem like Brees was comfortable last night particularly because of the Colts pass rush. Dwight Freeney, Raheem Brock, and Robert Mathis were causing trouble all night.

I fully expect New Orleans to bounce back from the beating they took last night. They have to. A favorite in the NFC can’t come out and get trounced like they did last night. As for the Colts, it appears as if they haven’t skipped a beat. I suppose that’s why they’re World Champs.

They’re two players that will be linked for a number of reasons, most notably the resounding difference of careers they had. Their names are Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf, the top two selections in the 1998 NFL Draft. We all know what happened. The Colts’ road to resurrection began with Manning, while the Chargers’ selection of Leaf set them back years. But what if the two selections were flip-flopped? What if the Colts went with Leaf’s arm strength and athleticism over Manning’s…well..Hall of Fame pedigree? Would things have turned out any different?

To fully understand each team’s situation, you need the look at the rosters. It was apparent that both the Colts and Chargers (who traded up to the 2nd overall pick) were in desperate need of a young quarterback. The Colts’ duo of Jim Harbaugh and Kelly Holcomb was mediocre complete ass, while San Diego’s Stan Humphries, Craig Whelihan and Jim Everett were even worse. Humphries’ brains had the consistency of scrambled eggs by that time, so the Chargers needed someone new.

Despite having a 3-13 record in 1997, the Colts appeared to be headed in the right direction, which is why the Manning pick made sense. Marshall Faulk was a budding superstar and the Colts had just hired a guy by the name of Jim Mora to be head coach. Meanwhile, the Chargers suffered through a year of Kevin Gilbride and Gary Brown at runningback. The Manning pick was safe and ultimately, it was the right one. There were some knocks on Leaf’s character, knocks that Manning didn’t have.

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An Indianapolis Colts quarterback is in trouble with the law. While it’s not the one we were hoping for, Jack Trudeau’s new troubles are certainly amusing. Trudeau has been charged with contributing to the delinquency of minors by allegedly serving alcohol at his daughter’s graduation party. Trudeau, as expected, is denying these allegations.

Police got an anonymous tip that alcohol was also being served and went to the home.

“They noticed 20 or 30 juveniles run from the front of the house around to the back,” said Boone County sheriff’s Deputy A.J. Naekel. “They went around to the back of the house, where they noticed alcohol being consumed by the juveniles.”

At least the police handled it maturely and let the party continue. Oh wait, the opposite happened. A search warrant was obtained and every single person was given a Breathalyzer test. A 17 year old blew positive and was sent home to sit in the corner his parents. Twelve others under 21 also tested positive and were arrested. Even Trudeau’s seven year old son was given a Breathalyzer test but as expected, only blew positive for fruit punch.

This crackdown on Mr. Trudeau’s party was the latest incident involving the Party Crashers task force launched by authorities in Indiana. Nothing screams “cool job” like the guy who rolls to graduation parties looking to kill a good time. There’s always the “cool parent” and Trudeau must have been one. If anything, he should be arrested for his 42 touchdowns and 69 interceptions. But not for this.

Bradyfan83 has come up huge again. In his newest video parody, he takes a shot at Peyton Manning in the video “Cash for My Soul.” The lyrics are set to “Bad to the Bone” but I think I prefer this version. Even with Peyton winning a championship, we can still have fun at his expense. George W. Bush agrees, he called out Manning earlier in the week during the Colts’ trip to the White House. Bradyfan83 has to be our favorite YouTube member ever. Even better than this guy.

Whenever a professional sports team visits the White House to be honored as champions, you know what’s going to happen before it actually does. George W. Bush is going to receive a jersey from the team, talk about teamwork, and then make a joke. That pattern was in action yesterday, as the Super Bowl Champions, the Indianapolis Colts, visited Dubya.

“So a lot of people here in the White House compound have been really looking forward to seeing Peyton Manning,” Bush said Monday on the South Lawn. “They wanted to see a guy who gets more air time than I do.”

Clearly, Bush is a fan of guys with laser, rocket arms. He’s also a big fan of Manning’s charity work, which was highlighted nicely on Saturday Night Live. The Colts presented Bush with a #43 Colts jersey. No, Bush isn’t a big Matt Giordano fan. He’s President #43. Trust me, it took me a couple minutes to figure it out as well.

Bush also took the time to thank Tony Dungy for his courage. It’s been a roller coaster ride the last couple of years for Dungy. Two years ago, his son committed suicide in the middle of the Colts’ season. A year later, he became the first black coach to win a Super Bowl. Being recognized by the President is a fitting tribute for a guy that’s really gone through a lot.

Just two months after winning the Super Bowl, Indy got their White House invite. For some reason, it took the Miami Heat eight months to get their invitation. But don’t worry, The President saved a real zinger for Shaq and the Heat: ” And then, of course, you’ve got the big man, Shaq. He works as a reserve police officer with the Miami Beach Police Department. He gives new meaning to the phrase, “the long arm of the law.” Unfortunately, he left out the Diesel’s most notable exploits.

Bummer. What was hyped to be a matchup of unstopable force vs. immovable object turned out to be turnover-filled failure. It’s always great to end the NFL season with a great game. It’s a fitting finish to four months of exciting finishes, great plays, and drama. But unfortunately, Super Bowl XLI really didn’t have much in the way of any.

First of all, congratulations to the Colts. I type this feeling happy for Peyton Manning and especially Tony Dungy. Manning has put up phenomenal numbers his entire career and for the most part, has given us zero reason to dislike him. He got the Super Bowl monkey off his back, which is one of the things that was holding him back from being recognized as one of the game’s all-time elite. But a smile couldn’t hurt. Stop smirking you bastard.

Dungy also deserves tons of credit. You saw how much this meant to him when he stood on the podium. You saw how much his players cared for him when they carried him to midfield. For what he’s gone through, a win last night was a nice reward for a great coach.

I didn’t like the Bears gameplan. I loved Thomas Jones and how he played last night, I just don’t think he got enough carries. Had he ran more, I think the deep passes to Bernard Berrian could have opened up. But they never even went vertical until Grossman’s awful desperation heave in the 4th quarter. The Bears’ defense started off aggressive and brought pressure but then backed off…why?

For some weird reason, despite our lack of updates yesterday, we had a real good day traffic-wise. The reason? Some people hate the Super Bowl. Two people reached our site through Google Blog searches of “Super Bowl Sucks”. Another reached the site by searching “Super Bowl Coverage Sucks”, which fits well with Rich’s article from Friday.

Besides from Devin Hester’s electrifying kickoff return for a score, my favorite part of Super Bowl XLI was Prince’s performance. The Rolling Stones were dismal last year but I thought Prince was phenomenal. The constant guitar changes, covers of other songs, and shredding to “Purple Rain”while standing in the rain was extremely badass. But where the hell was 1999 or Little Red Corvette?