Philadelphia, PA (My Sportsbook) - For those folks who have to wager on player prop bets, the best advice I can offer is to come up with your own figures for all the key individuals and then compare them to the actual numbers. If you've watched most of the games involving the two teams all season long, it shouldn't be that difficult a task.

The numbers I used for quarterback predictions are as follows: Drew Brees will throw for 270 yards on 23-of-35 with two touchdowns and zero interceptions, while Peyton Manning will complete 27-of-40 for 300 yards, two touchdowns and one INT.

Based on those figures and the ones used by the bookmakers, there are three wagers I have my eyes on. Go with the over in both attempts and completions for Manning even though both are favored at -125 for total attempts (37.5) and -130 for completions (25.5). Then I would take the under at +135 on how many picks Brees will throw. The line is set at 0.5.

My running back numbers calculated to 12 carries for 53 yards and one touchdown for Pierre Thomas and 16 rushing attempts for 57 yards and one score for Joseph Addai. In addition, I expect Donald Brown to rush for 17 yards on four carries.

The two plays I circled were the under in total rushing yards for both Addai and Brown. Addai's number stands at 65.5 while Brown's is 22.5. The under is favored at -125 for the former while the under for the latter is set at even money.

Addai averaged 56 rushing yards-per-game in the first 14 contests and 52 in the two playoff games, both under the 65.5 total. Moreover, he picked up 66 yards or more in only five of his 17 total games while Brown has rushed for 23 yards in just one of his last seven matchups.

I expect the receivers to have much more of an impact than the backs so make sure your numbers for the wideouts reflect that. Look for Marques Colston and Reggie Wayne to lead their respective teams in both catches and receiving yards but I had both players' totals extremely close to what the actual numbers are. Therefore, I feel it's best to shy away from using either one. The same held true for the rest of the Saints' pass-catchers.

However, there are two wagers to make on the Indianapolis side.

Take the under 62.5 receiving yards at +105 on Pierre Garcon as I had him at four catches for 48 yards.

Garcon had the game of his life against New York two weeks ago but that was due to Darrelle Revis covering Reggie Wayne. The second-year receiver has reached the 63-yard mark only three other times since October 4.

The other side to take is the under (+105) on total receiving yards for Dallas Clark. The tight end is expected to gain 67.5 yards according to the bookmakers, which is an absurd number considering he's reached the 68 mark just once in his last 10 games.

I like two more wide receiver plays that involve picking the player that will record more yards. The first compares Colston and Garcon while the second has Devery Henderson up against Garcon.

I expect Colston to snag five balls for 70 yards and Garcon, as mentioned earlier, will be hard-pressed to top 50. Go with Colston as the -145 favorite.

In the second head-to-head matchup, I like the underdog Henderson to come out on top at +115.

The final player prop bet comes under the category of "which player will score the first touchdown of the game?" Since all the participants are close in terms of odds, my choice is Devery Henderson at the juicy price of 15-1.

FIRST TIME JITTERS? NOT A PROBLEM!

There has been a lot of talk lately about how the Colts will have a huge advantage over New Orleans since they have Super Bowl experience.

For the Saints, this will be the first time in franchise history they have made it to the big game and many pundits have expressed their views that it could be a dicey situation for New Orleans.

Well, are those folks aware that since the 2000 season, teams that have never made it to the Super Bowl are 2-3 straight up against teams that have been there already? In addition, those squads are 4-1 against the spread!

Arizona was the last club to cover as the Cardinals almost knocked off the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team that had just won a Super Bowl three years earlier. That sounds eerily similar to what's taking place this season.

OVER/UNDER AT 56.5

The 56.5 over/under total is the highest in Super Bowl history. For those keeping track of such statistics, the previous high came two years ago when the Patriots-Giants game was set at 54.5 and we all know how that turned out.

Looking back at previous final scores, it's interesting to note that none of the last five Super Bowls have finished higher than 50. Moreover, only two of the last 14 have totaled more than 57.

It's true the two clubs in this year's matchup are offensive machines, but I severely doubt both teams will score in the thirties or that one squad will pull away to a 35-24 victory.

Super Bowl XLIV will be a very tight game from start to finish so go with the underdog Saints and the under as the main wagers.