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DAVIE, FLA. -- There was no indication that New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has been sleepless.

Defensive end Will Smith wasn't experiencing a bout of uncontrollable tics.
So if you're waiting for visible signs that the Saints have been swallowed by the moment, that they're going to be anything less than the calm and collected team they've been all season en route to winning the NFC championship, the wait is going to have to last a little longer.

"It's been like that throughout the season, " said Sharper, one of the handful of current Saints that has played in a Super Bowl. "To be honest with you, this group of guys kind of has a feel as though we belong.

"There's never been a point where we're about to play a team, or a situation in a game, where guys were looking around like, 'What's going on? What are we supposed to do?' Even this week it seems as though we belong.And guys are understanding what's at stake and are extremely focused. We know we have a task at hand. We know that getting here is good, but winning would be better."

It's easy for the Saints to be calm now. Monday was, and today is, almost a lifetime before the storm.

No less a spokesman than noted philosopher Mike Tyson offered what perhaps is the best sentiment, the paraphrase of which runs along this line: Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.

And the Saints -- regardless of what they might say to the contrary -- blinked against the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC championship game Jan. 24 at the Superdome. New Orleans' offense looked timid in gaining 257 yards, the defense forced five turnovers but yielded 475 yards, and a special teams turnover (Reggie Bush muffed a punt) could have been deadly if the Vikings hadn't committed an unforced error and handed the ball back over.
Similarly, New Orleans knows it will be punched in the mouth by the Indianapolis Colts a few times in Super Bowl XLIV on Sunday. Only the nave would imagine that wouldn't happen.

But the Saints, for what it's worth, didn't appear to be a collection of first-timers during their Super Bowl week debut, the group of players presented as spokesmen serving as the voice of a team that isn't going to be satisfied with just being here.

The Colts, winners of Super Bowl XLI in Miami three years ago, are back in the same place they were when they beat the Chicago Bears for the title. Indianapolis is staying at the same hotel, probably doing all the same things to the letter.

But the Colts were no more experienced and Super Bowl-hardened when.... (read the rest from below link)
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