So I was right...The Bears and the Colts are going to meet in the Super Bowl. I am excited and nervous (seeing i live in Indy). The Bears D played like the old Bears D even without two pro-bowlers (Harris and Brown). Rex Grossman was good when he needed to be and our running backs were awesome. Can an injured Bears team beat Indianapolis? Only if Rex Grossman has a good game. If Grossman and Co. can put up 27 points it should be enough to win the game.For now it is time to celebrate!!! I was 6 years old the last time the Bears were in the Super Bowl. I wasn't even born the last time they won there 9 old school NFL Championships (papa bear halas). I was thinking about selling my Nissan to go down to Miami for the big game but my brother reminded me my car is not even worth 1k. Oh well, there is always the old TV.
Go Bears! Go Bears! Go Bears!!
Colts fans don't go crazy on me now. Look at playoff history before you go nuts. Don't try and bring Peyton Manning smack (esp. when Tom Brady has one, two, three rings and i believe 2 Super Bowl MVPS. IF Manning gets one on Feb 4th he'll only be two rings away from the Magician. The Patriots did not have enough weapons this year. Caldwell and Gafney just can't compete with Harrison and Wayne. ;) I was cheering for the Pats in large part because i think they would have been a better matchup w/Chicago. Of course the other reason is because i don't like the Manning clan... I predicted this match up LAST WEEK, Bears versus Colts in Miami.
GO Bears!!!!
23 comments:
Some good stuff at cbssportsline.com
"I said a little prayer on that last drive," Manning said. "I don't know if you're supposed to pray for stuff like that, but I said a little prayer."
Not only was it a win for Manning, the All-Pro, All-Everything son of Archie, it was a riveting, back-and-forth showcase of two of the NFL's best teams, best quarterbacks, and yet another example of why football is America's favorite sport.
CK
This article can be found at cbssportsline.com
"Manning's Colts are as much seven-point favorites with most Las Vegas bookmakers after a 38-34 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday.
The Bears' dominant 39-14 victory over the New Orleans Saints for the NFC title did nothing to ease concerns about the shaky arm of Bears quarterback Rex Grossman, who completed 11 of 26 pass attempts for 144 yards and a touchdown.
"If I was a Bears fan I would worry a little bit if Grossman had to come from behind," said Jay Kornegay, the race and sports book director of the Las Vegas Hilton. "But he was fortunate that his defense caused a lot of turnovers so that he wasn't put in that position."
Chuck Esposito, assistant vice president of Harrah's Entertainment Inc.'s Caesars Palace sports book, made the Colts 6.5-point favorites, giving a nod to the Bears' defense, which had four takeaways from the Saints.
The over/under line for the Super Bowl, in Miami on Feb. 4, was set at 49 or 49.5 points, meaning book makers expect a high-scoring game and the public to root for lots of points.
"I see it as a wide open game," said John Avello, director of race and sports operations at Wynn Las Vegas. "This is one of those games where you've got to score, you've got to put points up to win the big one."
Las Vegas book makers were preparing literally hundreds of proposition bets, on everything from interceptions by the quarterbacks to how many tackles Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher will make in the biggest sports betting event of the year."
AP NEWS
The INDY STAR gave the keys stats on Manning vs Brady in Sunday's paper.
Manning: 5-6 playoff record; 0 Super Bowl Titles; 16 Tds & 13 INT.
Brady: 12-1 playoff record; 3 Super Bowl Titles; 19 Tds & 8 INT.
I don't give much credit to oddsmakers...it is all about the hype to get people to bet.
I don't give much credit to stat geeks...it is all played out on the field. If you rely on stats, the Bears should have gone down in flames weeks ago with bad Rex. But to his and Lovie's credit, they play the game and well.
Why is this stupid blogger thing locking me out...
MTmact
As I figured, all the smack against Peyton will not vilify him if he wins a SB. My question was why wasn't the "magician" able to pull one out last night? Answer: because it takes a TEAM, not one person. Arguably the passes dropped by Caldwell were possibly thrown too hot by Brady...probably not, but one could argue. Bottom line is all you Peyton bashers fail to see it takes a team, not just one guy. Peyton has helped win some and helped lose some.
If it took one guy, why didn't Brady win last night? If it took one guy, why isn't Vick or Vince Young in the playoffs? If it took one guy, why didn't the Saints win with Reggie Bush?
Equally, one guy can't define a team i.e. Rex's few bad games this year and yet the defense comes through. I like Rex...hey, he is a Hoosier. The media is way too hard on him...but that is why he and Manning get paid the big bucks.
Brady has three rings not because he is some sort of magic man, but because thier teams were awesome...defense, special teams, offense, coaching, ownership, etc.
Mark Tacosik wrote a pretty good post today. I will try and post it a little later. He gave Brady his due and blasted Caldwell (who chocked BIG time). Manning played a good AFC Championship game.
The one stat Mark failed to mention (which is really huge) is that the Chicago Bears D forced 4 Fumbles and (i believe) recovered 3... That is an amazing stat. I taped the Bears game if anyone wants to watch how football is suppose to be played. And by that i mean OUTDOORS (not in a silly heated dome).
Good stuff here
So my life is full of notes like this now:
Hey, Colts and the bears, awsome
its gunna be a great game but in the end the colts are going to crush the bears.
Snakeman (Josh Greenslade)
Caleb, what’s up?
This is Joe Tacosik! This is the kids email address so we can communicate with the people back here when we move…
Rex and Lovie pulled it off…I give them their credit…
But so did Tony and Peyton. It was an exciting game, did you watch it??
After the game, at around 1130, we went to dick’s sporting goods and got our AFC Championship shirts and hats…they didn’t have any bears J..
Just wanted to say hi and let you know you can email me here about the colts super bowl win anytime ;-)
GO COLTS!! SUPER BOWL MVP PEYTON MANNING!!!!!
Joe Taco
Here is note from Tacosik that was pretty well done minus a few stats that were left out (like turnovers forced, fumbles recovered, etc).
Colts vs Bears…this should be interesting. I have read already that the Bears should blow out the Colts and also that the Colts should blow out the Bears.
Offense:
Rexie and the Bears offense in the NFC Champ game:
11/26 for 144 yards and 1 TD / 0 Int
196 yards rushing for 3 TD’s / 4.3 yards per carry
0 sacks allowed
PM and the Colts offense in the AFC Champ game:
27/47 for 349 yards and 1 TD / 1 Int
125 yards rushing for 2 TD’s / 4.2 yards per carry
3 sacks allowed
Defense:
Bears
2 sacks / 1 int
Held Saints to 56 yards rushing / 354 yards receiving and 2 TD’s
Colts
1 sack / 1 int
Held Pats offense to 93 yards rushing / 221 yards receiving and 2 TD’s total
I will go out on a limb and say of the Colts are to win, it is in the air, and if the Bears are to win, it appears to be on the ground, which has been our Achilles heel.
This should be a great match up…
By the way, I’ll go ahead and say it…Brady did NOT choke yesterday. I have already heard some Indy fans saying this…which is ridiculous. That guy has ice in his veins and if Caldwell catches just one of those two drops, all of Indy is downing Prozac right now most likely.
Mark A. Tacosik
This quote was classic, "That guy has ice in his veins and if Caldwell catches just one of those two drops, all of Indy is downing Prozac right now most likely."
My older brother and I are very different. He is a CHIP in So. Cal. He is die-hard Packer fan if that tells you anything about our relationship.
He called my cell yesterday and left me a great message. "Congrats on your teams trip to the Super Bowl. I hate Peyton Manning. Let's go Bears!"
I guess my family shares one silly thing in common. :)
I am getting lots of love from Colts fans. Here are a few more examples
"Are you sure you don't want to leave town for the next 2 weeks?! It must be pretty painful for you having the Colts imminent victory in your face every day!!!"
Caleb,
"Be afraid. Be very afraid."
CK
First off, congrats to the Bears for for their win over the Saints. Great season by the Saints but I couldn't stand listening about how great Bush is and how much the Saints are doing for the Katrina victims. The only way the media could fawn over the Saints any more would be if Farve showed up as their QB next season followed closely by Favre saying he may be ready to retire.
One thing I am worried about though Caleb is you talking about the injuries to the Bears in every post as if to leave a nice little excuse for you should they lose. I don't think you should worry though. With all the hating on this post board of Rex Grossman, you'd think someone would look at Peyton's playoff QB rating. In case, you didn't know it's 66.8. (Rex's is 75.4) He has thrown 3 INT's for every touchdown! For this reason combined with the Bears D which decided to show up in the 4th quarter of the Seahawks game and hasnt gone back into hibernation, I believe Chicago will win this game 24 - 14. And I can't wait to see Archie, and Eli crying up in the luxury box either!
On another note...Unless you want to be kicked out of the church I would seriously suggest you not watch the Super Bowl with other church members. ;)
Jordan
Michael Smith wrote a great article on Lovie and Tony at espn.com
Here is a portion of it, "Dungy and Smith are role models, not just for coaches who look like them or men who look like them, but for all coaches and all men. They live their lives the right way, and as a result they do their jobs the same way. Their priorities are, in order: faith, their families and football. The outcome of the Super Bowl or any game does not define them. They personify words such as class, grace, dignity, honor and integrity. We all can draw inspiration from men such as these.
Dungy and Smith haven't sold their souls in pursuit of the game's Holy Grail, and yet here they are, reminding us that good men can do great things, that nice guys can and do finish first. Dungy learned from Dennis Green and Chuck Noll and passed it on to assistants Smith, Mike Tomlin, Herman Edwards and Rod Marinelli (all head coaches now) that it's OK to enjoy life outside the facility. Dungy and Smith are family men. And they still win.
You won't hear either utter a word of profanity. And they still win. They care about and foster relationships with their players. And they still win. They serve their communities. And still, somehow, they find time to do what it takes to prepare their teams."
Check out the full article titled, "It's character, not color that seperates Smith, Dungy." The author of the article is African-American.
Both these men are professing Christians and that is the reason why they act the way they do!
Mike Wiley notes,
Subject: Tom Brady in Heaven
Tom Brady, after living a full life, died. When he got to heaven, God was
showing him around. They came to a modest little house with a faded
Patriot's flag in the window. "This house is yours for eternity, Tom," said
God. "This is very special; not everyone gets a house up here." Tom felt
special, indeed, and walked up to his house.
On his way up the porch, he noticed another house just around the corner. It
was a 3-story mansion with a Blue &White sidewalk, a 50-foot tall flagpole
with an enormous Colts logo flag, and in every window, a Colts towel.
Tom looked at God and said "God, I'm not trying to be ungrateful, but I have
a question. I was an all-pro QB, I hold many NFL records, and I even won a
few Super bowls.
God said "So what's your point Tom?"
"Well, why does Peyton get a better house than me?"
God chuckled, and said: "Tom, that's not Peyton's house, it's mine."
Matt Reno made the following Biblical observations re: the Super Bowl. Colt's fans are crazy are they not?
"Biblical Reasons why the Colts will win the Super Bowl
Here are a few prophecies that show why God wants the Colt's to win.
Luke 19:30 - (Jesus) "Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there..."
Luke 19:34 - others asked why they were untying the colt, "The Lord NEEDS it."
Jesus used the Colt to carry Him and now He will carry the Colts to v-i-c-t-o-r-y.
I Samuel 17:34-35 - "But David said to Saul, 'Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a BEAR came and carried off a sheep from the flock, i went after it, struck it and rescued it from its mouth. When it turned on me, i seized it by its hair struck it and killed it."
Even David knew of the horrible bears that lurked around. David killed the bears because they were evil. David God's chosen King. AND we know that Jesus was a descendant of David.
So, to recap. Jesus' great great great etc. grandfather killed bears and Jesus rode on a Colt to help accomplish God's will. Amen and amen."
Jordan,
You are right if i were a coach i could not bring up injuries since life goes on. 10 years from now no one will remember that the Bear's were without two pro-bowl defenders. They will only remember who was in the Super Bowl and Ult. who won.
The Bear's have a great chance to win IF Rex can play under control and IF he can keep drives alive. In other words, he needs to be more accurate and recievers can't drop so many balls.
Manning will probably throw for 250+ yards. Can the Bear's D force any big turnovers?
Can we win the special teams matchup?
I think we have a good shot to win this thing! Lovie will have the men ready to play!!!!!
GO BEARS!!!
Mike Johnson thought this was funny (actually it really is)
Subject: Anthrax Scare in Chicago
CHICAGO (AP) -- Chicago Bears football practice was delayed nearly two hours today after a player reported finding an unknown white powdery substance on the practice field. Head coach Lovie Smith immediately suspended practice while police and federal investigators were called to investigate. After a complete analysis, FBI forensic experts determined that the white substance unknown to the players was the goal line.
Practice resumed after special agents decided the team was unlikely to encounter the substance again...
Are Colts fans fair-weather fans?
Where are all these people coming from?
The whole city has turned BLUE!
Good stuff on the blog. I almost sensed the national media wanted Manning to win last weekend. Many have suggested he cleared the monkey, exorcised his demons, etc. etc. It seems they’ve mostly forgiven him now. Supposedly.
He’s so controversial because all the “experts”, current players/coaches, everyone close the game look at how the guy plays and admits he’s a phenom. But then he’s been a complete letdown in games that meant rings. An oddity for sure. You hear the commentators week in week out gush about his skills and they can’t say enough. So if you compare him to Brady….to look at Manning across the spectrum he plays like few QB’s have. But Brady has the rings. Give Brady his due. He’s a major part of why they won Bowl games. Is he a better QB than Manning? Probably not. But he has won when it counted. If Grossman gets a ring, will we consider him a better QB than Manning? How about Rothlesberger? I almost think you’re comparing apples and oranges with these guys. We still talk about Warren Moon, Dan Fouts, and especially Dan Marino. Who can take anything away from these guys? They were great QB’s even without rings.
Maybe Manning will erase that next weekend. (And Caleb is thinking: ‘Maybe Grossman will never have to’
Mike,
You are right Super Bowl wins and playoff wins don't make guys Hall of Famers (alone).
You can't compare a Tom Brady with a Rex Grossman even if Chicago wins next week.
When stats are somewhat close then the playoffs seperate the mice from the men.
CK
This is going to be a HUGE game for Rex. I look for the Colts to commit 8 (maybe 9, depending on the Bear's formation) defenders in the box to stop the run. The Colts have to realize that if they can't stop the Bears RBs, then the game is over. This is their first priority, and I'm sure they'll commit at least 1 DB to it.
What this means to Rex is that the passing game should be open, and that means Rex has a chance to steal the show. He's played well in the previous 2 playoff games (especially hitting deep seam routes), I suspect he'll play a good game against the Colts as well. He hasn't looked brilliant, but he's been hitting the open receivers and he and the coaching staff have done a good job of taking what the defense has been giving them.
I believe a defense more like the Chargers, Pats, Ravens or even Jacksonville would match up better against the Bear's offense, as they can stop the run commiting only 6 or 7 defenders. The Colts will have to use at least 8, which leaves the corners on islands. If Rex can capitalize, its going to be a long day for Colts fans.
I think the Colts will win. BUT, if they don't...don't be surprised if Rex gets the MVP for recognizing the vulnerable coverages and hitting the open receivers. With the D set up to stop the run, he won't have to throw into double coverage or make spectacular throws. All he'll have to do is play at a NFL caliber level, and he could win the MVP. Wouldn't that be something!!!
Jordan said "Great season by the Saints but I couldn't stand listening about how great Bush is and how much the Saints are doing for the Katrina victims. The only way the media could fawn over the Saints any more would be if Farve showed up as their QB next season followed closely by Favre saying he may be ready to retire."
...ouch. That isn't very nice...
Jordan also said "With all the hating on this post board of Rex Grossman, you'd think someone would look at Peyton's playoff QB rating. In case, you didn't know it's 66.8. (Rex's is 75.4)"
...and Rex's playoff record is...I know, 2-1. You Peyton bashers need to be consistent. You say that Peyton's numbers mean nothing and then you throw numbers at Peyton fans. Besides, the difference between a 66.8 and 75.4 is maybe 50 yards.
Jordan also said to CK on his cell phone "My older brother and I are very different. He is a CHIP in So. Cal. He is die-hard Packer fan if that tells you anything about our relationship.
He called my cell yesterday and left me a great message. "Congrats on your teams trip to the Super Bowl. I hate Peyton Manning. Let's go Bears!"
...only because he doesn't have him as HIS QB.
;-)
Chip Stein is going on record to say look out for Rex Grossman (Super Bowl MVP)!
Thanks Chip!!!
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