The Super Bowl's Colts and Saints: A look back

As we await pro football’s biggest day, we look forward to watching the game’s current best vie for the ultimate prize. But why not look back and see where both the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts came from to get to this point. The latter has had much more overall success, but both have had talented players at all positions. Below is a rundown of each club’s top five best all-time players.

Indianapolis Colts

1. Johnny Unitas (1956-72): A tough call between him and Peyton Manning, and No. 18 could move into this spot with another championship this Sunday. Johnny U was a three-time MVP and still has the unbreakable mark of 47 consecutive games with a touchdown pass.

2. Peyton Manning (1998-Present): Another ring could very well vault Peyton to the top. What’s more, Manning is likely to put up career totals that will dwarf many others at his position.

3. Gino Marchetti (1953-66): Marchetti was the best defensive ends of his era, with his ability to get a fantastic jump on the snap as his best means of getting to the quarterback. He made the Pro Bowl 11 times.

4. Lenny Moore (1956-67): Moore was fantastic not just as a runner, but as a receiver as well. He caught a career-high 50 passes in 1958 in helping the Baltimore Colts win the NFL title and was a seven-time member of the All-Pro team.

5. Raymond Berry (1955-67): Another great from the 50s and 60s, Berry was a tireless worker in terms of practice. And it certainly paid off. He had a 14.7 yard per catch average, reaching the Hall of Fame in 1973.

New Orleans Saints

1. Archie Manning (1971-82): When they were called the ‘Aints, this quarterback may have been the only member of those dreadful teams that didn’t lack talent. Archie lacked a supporting cast, which is the main reason why his career is mostly unnoticed. However, he compiled nearly 24,000 passing yards and was the NFC Offensive Player of the Year in 1978.

2. Ricky Jackson (1981-93): Jackson led a group of stout linebackers, forming one of the best trios to ever play the game. He had 128 sacks and eight interceptions, and is currently one of the finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

3. Willie Roaf (1993-01): Played in 189 games as a cog in the offensive line, earning a spot on the NFL’s All-Decade team for the 1990s and 2000s. The Saints have made some questionable first round picks in the NFL Draft, but this eighth selection in ’93 was surely not one of them.

4. Pat Swilling (1986-92): Swilling was a member, with Jackson, on the fierce line-backing corps that propelled the Saints to the playoffs on several occasions. He finished his career with 107.5 sacks.

5. George Rogers (1981-84): It was brief, but spectacular. Rogers was the Heisman Trophy winner from South Carolina when he was selected No. 1 overall by New Orleans in 1981. He then proceeded to lead the league in rushing 1,647.

— Brian Wright