Crown Peyton, Tony, and the Colts as Champs
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by user Leslie Monteiro
On Monday October 16th, the Arizona Cardinals blew a 23-3 lead against the Chicago Bears. It was a meltdown. The Cards offense and defense just imploded when the noose got tighter. The NFC champs eventually defeated the Cardinals 24-23. This was the loss that got former Cardinals head coach Dennis Green to snap at the media. He had that memorable meltdown in which he mentioned if the media wants to crown the Bears, crown em. They may be crowned as the NFC champs, but they will not be crowned as Super Bowl champs. That honor went to the Indianapolis Colts as they beat their counterpart 29-17 at Miami last night.
The Colts were fantastic. They executed their gameplan with precision. Their offense was able to have their way against the overrated Bears defense. The Bears really did not have a chance to perform offensively thanks to the Colts dominating the possession of the football. When the Bears offense were on the field, they did not make the most of their opportunity as the Colts defense was able to make quick work of Rex Grossman and his unit. Tony Dungy outcoached his protege, Lovie Smith all night long. Basically, it was a mismatch.
It looked like Chicago was going to blow Indianapolis out. They had a great start. Devin Hester ran right away to the endzone for the touchdown and the first score of the game. Then, Grossman threw to Muhsin Muhammad to give Da Bears a 14-6 lead in the first quarter. After that, it just went downhill for them. The Colts settled down and their quarterback, Peyton Manning took it from there.
Manning had an excellent night. He put on a clinic out there. He was able to dissect the defense very good. It got to the point where he was comfortable of doing so. He was not being tossed around like a ragdoll.
It is so fun to see him play football. Tom Brady may be the best quarterback in football based on his championship pedigree, but when Peyton is on, he is the best guy to watch in that position. He just does a good job of figuring out who is open. His decision making is second to none. He knows when to throw and when to give the ball to his running back. He knows how to run for first down. He has a great eye on the field. It is not easy as it looks. Most quarterbacks win ugly, but Peyton just makes the game fun when he is at the controls. He is another athlete that should be appreciated. Hopefully, people will enjoy him now that he did what people wanted him to do which was to win big games and to win a Super Bowl title. He might just get better now that he does not have to deal with the pressure.
The Colts got very good work from their runningbacks in this game as they had all season. James Addai and Dominic Rhodes did a very good job of running past the Bears stop run defense. It was like they did whatever they wanted out there. They played a huge part of this win. Football fans can make a case that either one was more deserving for the playoff MVP than Manning. They made his job easy along with the Colts offensive line. Their work has made everyone in Indiana forget Edgerin James, who had a season to forget with the Arizona Cardinals.
Speaking of their offensive line, they deserve a huge love from everyone for their work last night. This was a very good performance. They were able to play physical out there. They were able to beat up on the Bears beefy defensive line players. At times, the Bears defensive unit were being manhandled. Peyton never got sacked for most of the game or go backwards for negative yardage. Without their work, the Bears likely would have won. They were the story of this game really when fans really think long and hard about this game at the water cooler today. They may not be mentioned in the newspapers today, but they are honored in this column.
Tony Dungy and his offensive coordinator, Tom Moore really did a great job of game planning in this game. Dungy and his defensive staff really had the defense on the go by getting to Grossman and his offensive line. Moore was able to put Peyton, Addai, and Rhodes in a position to succeed. He drew up a great game plan in getting those guys in motion. Bears fans could not have said the same about their team's coaching staff.
Lovie Smith is a great coach, but he and his staff struck out in the biggest game of the year. Where were the game adjustments after the halftime? They ran the same plays basically from the first half. They never got to Manning at all via the blitz. They could not figure out what to do against the Colts offensive line. Why was Thomas Jones not used often in this game? Jones was a big reason why the Bears went to the Super Bowl along with Grossman's clutch plays.
The NFC Super Bowl representative stunk the joint. It is the best assessment to describe their performance. They looked soft. They were disorganized. They played like the AFC's whipping boy out there which is why the score looked lopsided not close.
Where was that much-heralded defense that people have been hearing about all year? Too much about them has been stuff on our throats, but on the game's biggest stage, they played like wimps. Brian Urlacher was a non-factor. Where was the cornerbacks? It sounded like they were on a paid vacation to Miami rather than a business trip. The Bears are normally good at stopping the run, but it was a different story in this game. Who knew the Colts OL would be the one being physical than the Bears defense? Really, they failed more than Grossman. Instead of ripping Rex, rip that unit.
As for the Bears quarterback, it is hard to gauge his performance here. He was not great, but did he had an opportunity to be great. He rarely was on the field. His protection left a lot to be desired. He tried his best to get his team into a position to take the lead, but his two interceptions just doomed him and his team. You have to give Bob Sanders credit for his timing and his ability to read that ball which resulted to Rex's interception.
What was amazing about this Colts win was that the rain was supposed to help the Bears. They are able to adapt to playing in bad conditions than the Colts since they play outdoors. They are more familiar to get it done than the Colts, who play in the comforts of their own dome. Who knew the Bears would have problems playing in the rain?
One really has to question how good the Bears team really were. They got to the Super Bowl, but with that said, they benefited from playing in a very weak conference this season. To put it in perspective, the New York Giants backed in for the last playoff spot rather than win it on their own. Giants struggled yet the Falcons, Panthers, and the Viking struggled and failed to take advantage of the Giants problems. The only good team in that conference besides Chicago was the New Orleans Saints. Is this any reason for anyone to take the Bears seriously? They had a chance to beat the Patriots at Foxborough, but they did not get it done. Had the Jets had a running game, they may have beaten the Bears at Giants Stadium. Chicago did not beat anyone special this year. Their big win was the NFC Championship Game against a young, Saints team who has not experience playoff football for years.
Not only did the Windy City's pro football teams acted like chumps on the field, but they were chumps off the field all week. Their whining of lack of respect was amateurish. What did the Bears expect? They played in a bad conference and their quarterback is judged each week because of his inconsistency. Even if it is true, real champs do not whine about it to the media prior to the big game or never. This type of act is for children not for professional teams.
They could learn some professionalism by the Colts. They kept their mouth shut all week. They just worry about playing the game rather than worrying about what the hometown media or national media thinks of them. With that type of attitude, it is refreshing to see the Colts win. It starts at the top. Colts head coach Tony Dungy sets the tone with proper leadership and Peyton leads on the field. The players follow their lead.
It is really special to see coach Dungy win it. He is a great coach and most importantly, he is a great human being. People should try to be like him in everyday life. It is nice to see a guy like him succeed. It goes to show you that his approach works. His approach is much better unlike Bill Belichick's manipulative approach, Bill Parcells's bullying methods, and Brad Childress's tyrannical act which resembles too much barking, but not enough biting. After what he has went through in recent years such as losing his son to suicide, seeing his old team win the Super Bowl after he was fired, and coming up short in playoff games, he deserved this moment. It is good to see him rewarded. His late mother, his late father, and his late son are very proud of him up in heaven. This guy is not only a Super Bowl champ, but he is a Hall of Famer as a coach.
It is really great that Peyton got a Super Bowl title. He has had an excellent career. He is a winner even if he did not win the Super Bowl. It is good to know that he can enjoy the rest of his career without dealing with questions about when he will beat the Patriots or win a championship. He does not need to have any regrets. Hopefully, he will win more and beat Brady for most Super Bowl Championships. It is a fun goal to have.
As for the Bears, there has to be regrets. They may not have an opportunity to be in this game for awhile. Who knows if Grossman will ever be great? The Bears offensive line is aging. They may lose out on Ron Rivera and Lovie Smith. There is a good chance that the Dallas Cowboys will overpay Lovie to coach his hometown team. Many teams in the NFC will get better.
This game will not be remembered for what a great game that was. It was far from that. The commercials was nothing to write home about either.
It will be remembered for Tony and Peyton accomplishing their goal.
It will also be remembered for what could it be for Da Bears.
