Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney has begun a series of treatments to fix an ankle injury suffered in the AFC Championship Game. Freeney set up the use of a hyperbaric chamber to help, a usual technique he uses to try to heal from injuries quickly. The swelling and pain have bothered him all week.

The Colts are keeping their mouths shut in the midst of trash talk from the Saints. On Tuesday, New Orleans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams promised his players would put a couple of "remember-me shots" on Peyton Manning. Indianapolis coach Jim Caldwell said the Colts couldn't control what other teams say.

Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney missed practice on Thursday for the second straight day with a sprained right ankle. Coach Jim Caldwell said Freeney was "coming along" in his recovery but did not provide details. Indianapolis still expects the defender to play in the Super Bowl.

Every player from the Saints and Colts are required by the NFL to be on hand for the Pro Bowl game. Even though they won't participate, each will receive the appropriate paycheck -- $45,000 for players on the winning team, $23,500 for the losers. The Colts complained to the league regarding the situation to no avail. Coach Jim Caldwell could not offer a "fast itinerary" for the weekend, but ESPN.com reported a resolution has the seven Colts fulfilling their Pro Bowl obligations. That involves departing for Miami following a Sunday practice on a charter jet paid for by the NFL and remaining in South Florida, where the remainder of the team will join them Monday.

Colts president Bill Polian called the new Pro Bowl setup "stupid" and "a disruption" to his players. Polian told Dan Dakich of 1070 the Fan in Indianapolis on Monday that having the Pro Bowl before the Super Bowl will be an issue for the seven Colts who will be honored. "It's stupid," Polian said. "It's a disruption, but we'll deal with it. "Well, we'll come back to practice on Wednesday. We'll practice Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. They'll have off Saturday. If it weren't for the Pro Bowl disruption, they would have the weekend off, but they can't because we have to send those players to Miami to do Lord knows what. We'll come back and practice on Sunday, and the Pro Bowl players will go and do whatever they have to do, and then the team will leave on Monday."

Archie Manning played most of his 16-year NFL career with the Saints and he still lives in New Orleans, but he'll root for his son Peyton's Colts in the Super Bowl. "It's a game I'm going to pull for my son," the elder Manning told the Indianapolis Star. "[Saints coach] Sean Payton knows that. He's a great friend of mine," Archie added. "[Saints quarterback] Drew Brees knows that. That's just the way it is. "Anybody who thinks it's different must not have children."

Colts coach Jim Caldwell intends to keep the team's routine as normal as possible this week. That means Indianapolis will institute a game plan for the Saints Tuesday and that it will be installed Wednesday, Thursday and Friday during practice. "We're going to go into it and try to get our guys prepared as quickly as we can," Jim Caldwell said. "That's our intent. We're going to prepare this week exactly like we would be playing them on Sunday." The Colts will face off against the Saints on Feb. 7 in Miami.

The Trench Counter always goes a long ways in indicating which team played superior football at the line of scrimmage and the results from the NFC Championship were fascinating. Minnesota had a +8.0 over New Orleans in the Trench Counter, even despite the Saints having a +4 in the turnover department. The Vikings had 218 more total yards and 16 more first downs, but were unable to capitalize on scoring opportunities at the end of the first half and the end of regulation. Fewer than 5% of losing teams have a positive Trench Counter over the course of a season and it is incredibly rare for a team to lose a game with a differential that high. In the AFC Championship Game, the Colts held a +10.5 advantage over the Jets. Click here for more information on the Trench Counter

Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards wasn't happy with his role in the team's 30-17 loss to the Colts in Sunday's AFC Title Game. Edwards finished with two catches for 100 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown connection with rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez in the second quarter. "We didn't have the same attitude in the second half that we had in the first half," Edwards said. Asked if he wouldn't have liked a few more opportunities, the receiver said, "I don't call plays. I just run them. ... No disrespect but they weren't rolling the coverage toward me."

The Colts have opened as four-point favorites to beat the Saints in the Super Bowl. Oddsmaker Sean Van Patten of Las Vegas Sports Consultants said the firm gave that line after watching New Orleans struggle to beat the Minnesota in the NFC Championship Game. "The big factor here is that Indy has been there," Van Patten said. "The experience factor is such a huge thing when it comes to the Super Bowl." Sports books gave Indianapolis 8-1 odds to win the Super Bowl at the start of the season, compared with 18-1 for New Orleans.