MIAMI — Peyton Manning would not go within 100 yards of the subject this past week.

Is he the greatest quarterback ever? How much does he care about where he ranks? What will

Super Bowl XLIV mean for his legacy?

"I certainly am not looking at the game that way," Manning said. "There is enough pressure

to win this game as it is. At some point when I retire, I'll reflect back, but it's still year

to year to me."

Manning, in fact, never talks about his legacy.

Rest assured, however, the NFL's mastermind quarterback is well aware of what today's game

against the New Orleans Saints can do for his place in history.

The Indianapolis Colts' No. 18 can take a great leap toward establishing himself as the

greatest quarterback in pro football history with a win tonight.

Manning, 33, already ranks third all-time in touchdown passes, fourth in passing yards,

third in completions and fourth in wins as a starting quarterback. He has led the Colts to an

NFL record seven straight seasons with 12 or more victories, and his Colts hold the league

record of 23 consecutive regular-season victories. He owns a record four NFL Most Valuable

Player awards.

Nevertheless, Manning has just one Super Bowl title. His postseason record is 7-8. Joe

Montana has four Super Bowl rings. Tom Brady has three. John Elway has two. Johnny Unitas and

Otto Graham each won three NFL titles.

Manning needs another ring.

Manning arguably has achieved his success with a less dominant supporting cast than most of

the other quarterbacks in the "greatest all-time" discussion, including Montana, Unitas and

Graham.

Manning is the only quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl on a team that had the worst run

defense in the NFL. That happened in the 2006 season. Not only did the Colts rank 32nd against

the run that year, their 5.33 yards-per-rush allowed ranked seventh worst of any team in NFL

history.

This year Manning can become the first quarterback to win a Super Bowl with the worst

rushing offense in the NFL. The Colts' ground game ranks 32nd.

That already makes Manning the best ever in the mind of at least one Hall of Famer.

"I think he's the greatest QB to ever play now, period," said Bills great Jim Kelly. "He's

such a technician out there, his arm strength, how he commands respect and is a leader, too.

There's no doubt in my mind he's the greatest QB to ever play. ... But for all those media

types who have never played, in their minds, he has to win this to get put on that pedestal."

This season might be Manning's greatest because he broke in two first-year receivers,

Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie, in place of the great Marvin Harrison, and his defense once again was less than

suffocating. The Colts ranked 24th in rushing yards allowed, 18th overall in yards allowed.

Indy will have All-Pro pass rusher Dwight Freeney only on a limited basis today, if he

plays at all, due to a torn ligament in his right ankle.

So while the Colts' defense tries to contain Drew Brees and the Saints' No. 1-ranked

offense, the pressure will be on Manning to carry his team.

New Orleans' defense ranked only 25th in the NFL this season. But the Saints have done a

good job in the postseason of punishing opposing quarterbacks. Saints defensive coordinator

Gregg Williams employs a big variety of pressure packages, and his defense ranked No. 2 in the

NFL in takeaways, forcing 39.

But will Williams have the audacity to attack Manning all out? Few have succeeded doing it,

and it's one of the reasons Manning is so great.

This year, Manning faced an average of only nine blitzes a game (149 overall). He completed

67.7 percent of his passes against the blitz with 10 TD passes and just five sacks. His

completion rate was just 1 percent below his overall mark.

Defenses frequently can dictate where a quarterback throws the ball by effective use of

blitzes (rushing five or more men) and the less-risky zone dogs (in which the defense rushes

four men but drops a defensive lineman into coverage).

Why do so many NFL offenses look the same — dink pass right, dunk pass left? Because

the defense is forcing the quarterback to unload to the "hot," or safety-valve, receiver.

Not Manning. No quarterback since Kelly has had such control of the offensive

play-calling. On every down, the Colts generally send in two pass plays and one run play for

Manning to choose from, said Colts quarterbacks coach Frank Reich.

This is part of the reason why Manning goes into his hyperactive gesturing at the line of

scrimmage. Manning has complete control of the offensive line's blocking assignments on each

play, and this often is where he beats the defensive coordinator's schemes.

"Peyton tries not to ever throw hot," Colts offensive line coach Pete Metzelaars said. "His

attitude is I want to get everybody blocked up so that I can throw it downfield instead of

letting them dictate where I'm going to throw the ball. So he changes, adjusts, flips [the

line calls], so that everything is available."

The Colts go into a game with 12 to 16 different line calls, or pass-blocking options,

depending on the game. That's more than most teams.

"It's one of the things that makes him great," Reich said. "He can change protections like

nobody else. The result is we can throw downfield and be more aggressive. I've never been

around a football player who has as aggressive a mind-set as Peyton. He wants to throw it deep

every play. He has the patience to have 15-play drives, but he's looking for one-play drives."

A great example of Manning's uncanny reading of defenses came on the Colts' touchdown drive

late in the first half of the AFC title game against the New York Jets. Manning threw a 46-

yard pass to Austin Collie down the right seam of the field, dropping the ball between two

defenders. Collie barely had to move his hands to grab the ball. The Colts scored on the next

play.

"That was a huge play," Reich said. "He saw they did something coverage-wise. Normally

that's a throw you would put on a rope. He's thrown 100 of those this year, and they were all

on a rope. He was able to see the technique the corner and the safety were playing, and he

looked the safety off a little bit longer and put more air under it. He executed it in a split

second.

"His film study is such that you know if we're going to run this play, there are three or

four defenses they can play that it's optimal against," Reich said. "They're always trying to

disguise it. He just has this knack of knowing. Even when teams are at their best at

disguising, most of the time he's one step ahead of them."

Another aspect of the game that sets Manning apart is inside the opponents' 20-yard line,

where precision passing is even more key.

The Colts ranked No. 2 in the NFL in touchdown percentage in the red zone, scoring on 66

percent of their trips inside the 20. The Saints ranked sixth, scoring on 58 percent of

theirs.

"I think the game comes down to red-zone defense," Williams said. "If you look at us, we're

pretty good in red-zone defense and they're lights out in red zone offense.

"If you take some time — and I might have watched a few films on this," Williams said

with a smile, "take a look at the spots he throws to. He throws to spots in the end zone.

Those guys understand they have to get to those spots depending upon the reads of the

quarterback."

If Manning matches his season average in the red zone, the Colts probably will be champions

tonight.

"I guarantee you if we win Sunday," said Colts receiver Reggie Wayne, "it would make it a

lot easier for the critics to say who is the greatest ever."

Super Bowl preview with Mark and Al