by John Romano and Gary Shelton, Times Sports Columnists Today's special Super Bowl electronic conversation between Sports columnists John Romano and Gary Shelton: JR: Dwight Freeney's ankle injury might be worse than the Colts are letting on. Tell me, Gary. Who wins in a liar's poker tournament: football coaches or politicians? GS: It's a photo finish, but I'm going to go with coaches. A lot of politicians are just easily confused. Coaches go out of their way to lie. They study films to do it better. Of course, they study films about politicians, so that might negate my answer. JR: Obviously, if Freeney is hobbled, it will help the Saints. The question is how much. Is Freeney a big enough piece of the puzzle that it could actually affect your opinion of the game's outcome? GS: Obviously, rushing the passer is a big deal. The better the passer, the more important the rush. Give Drew Brees another heartbeat to throw and it helps the Saints immensely. Still, I don't remember Freeney making a lot of plays against the Jets, either. I think the Colts will survive. JR: Yeah, but Mark Sanchez is not nearly as dangerous as Brees. I do think you're right, and the Colts will still probably win. But I did hear someone saying that without Freeney, the Saints won't have to keep a back in for protection, and that gives Brees an extra option on pass routes. GS: No question, the lack of a Freeney would give the Saints more options. But my guess is that Freeney plays, and then it's a guessing game as to how good he is and for how long. Here's a thought: Maybe the Colts should bring back Simeon Rice. You know, just in case. JR: Just in case they need to contact someone on Neptune? GS: Say this for Sim. When it came to players, he was out of this world. 