...And All Is Right With The World

Ah yes, it seems that, for at least one night, things worked out in the right way. I am speaking, of coarse, of the Super Bowl. As a Bears and Colts fan, I was in the enviable position of being able to sit back and truly enjoy this game. Looking back, however, I think I might have rather it been a Colts vs. anyone else game so I could have rooted to my full potential. In this current state, I was hoping for a good game for both teams, and ultimately a Colts victory. Either way, I knew that one of my teams would win, but I missed out on the sheer joy of winning when you could've lost. All in all though, I'll take 'em any way I can get 'em.

The game started out with a bang. Devin Hester, as he is prone to do, burned the Colts suspect return defense for the first opening kick return TD in Super Bowl history. You could actually see it happen. He made one cut, and then was through the first line. After that, it was a done deal. What did this mean, well, ultimately nothing. It turned out to mean exactly as much as the Ohio State touchdown on the opening kick of the college championship game (I wonder how many times both title games have started that way). Both teams started slowly offensively. Peyton threw a pick, which was on 3rd and 12 and really not much worse than a punt, and the Bears struggled to move the ball on their first possession.

The Colts then got on the board 2 possessions later with a 57 yard bomb to Reggie Wayne, who was wide, WIDE open. The Bears chose to blitz, and Peyton evaded it, as he has all year. He then saw that corner Charles Tillman had turned Wayne loose on a go rout, as he is supposed to in the cover 2, assuming that their would be safety help deep. Unfortunately, safety Daniel Manning had bit on the play fake and moved in to cover Dallas Clark. By the time the ball got to Wayne, there was noone within 15 yards of him. He walked in for the score. At this point, there were 2 touchdowns, both on mistakes by the other team, and both by guys from the University of Miami on their return home. The rain then started to really fall, which may have caused Hunter Smith to bobble the hold on the extra point, keeping the Bears in the lead.

Later in the quarter, after a Joseph Addai fumbled hand off that Alex Brown almost took out of Peyton's hand, the Bears embarked on a 4 play, 62 yard touchdown drive. This drive was highlited by a 55 yard run by Thomas Jones on the first play and was capped by a Rex Grossman fast ball to Muhsin Mohammed in the end zone. Little did Bears fans know that this was basically the last thing they had to root for. The first quarter ended with the score 14-6, Bears, with a total of 3 turnovers, 4 busted plays, and one botched extra point try. Not exactly the way old Vince Lombardi drew it up.

From the start of the second quarter on, the Colts dominated all facets of the game. They could pass or run pretty much at will against a Bears D that seemed to have righted the ship against New Orleans. The Colts new and improved D lived up to its billing after the suspect first quarter and totally shut down the Bears offense, with the possible exception of Jones who finished with 100 yards (all be it in large part to the 55 yard run in the first).

The final 3 quarters looked like a clinic by the Colts offense. They mixed up their plays. Peyton seemed to always call the right play or formation, and the Bears seemed to have no idea what was coming. Had the Bears not come up with some key stops in the red zone, and Adam Vinatieri not missed a chip shot field goal (guess it's harder when the game isn't on the line) the half time score would've been much worse than the 16-14 that it was.

In the second half, things continued in the same vain. The game was ultimately decided in true Rex fashion as on back to back possessions he threw INT's, one for a TD. After that, the Bears were dead. Rex's final line - 20/28 for 165 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT's, 2 fumbled snaps (one lost to the Colts) and one trip by the terf (or grass in this case) monster. Not what Bears fans were hoping for.

Peyton was "workman-like" if not spectacular. He was 25/38 for 267, 1 TD, and 1 INT. Not his greatest game, but it was all that was needed. The real story was the running game. Dominic Rhodes had 113 yards on 21 carries and Addai added 77 on 19 carries. Addai also had 10 receptions for 66 yards. Combined the running backs accounted for 264 of the Colts 430 total yards. If there was a case for anyone other than Peyton to be the game's MVP, it would've been a co-MVP for these two.

Peyton, of coarse, won the MVP. I think this was as much due to him being Peyton as anything, but in the absence of a true break out star, I think they made the right decision. What I found most interesting was that Peyton seemed to never "freak out", even after the early INT. The Peyton of the past would've started pressing and made more mistakes. This Peyton, just like in the AFC title game, took what was there calmly, and seemed to know things would work out. That to me is the real sign of his improvement. He has always had the great stats, and was always the most cerebral QB in the league. However, that big brain seemed to get him into trouble in big games in the past. This season, from day one, he seemed to stop over-thinking things, and just play the game.

I really think one of the things that helped the Colts this year was the fact that they played so many close games. Even the ones they lost, like at Tennessee gave them valuable lessons on what to do and not do in close games. Last year they blew everyone out and I think that ultimately killed them against Pittsburgh. They didn't know how to play a close game, let alone come back in one. This year, they seemed to almost thrive on the adversity of a close game. Everyone seemed to pick their games up a notch late, when it mattered most.

I also think this Colts team was exactly that, a team. Yes they are still stars, on both sides of the ball, but this group seemed to genuinely care about each other. It was really about winning, not just putting up sick stats. I also think the adversity late in the season only solidified this "team" mantra going into the playoffs, making them all the more difficult for opponents.

All in all, I think the better team won this game. Honestly, I think Rex could've had a fine game and it would not have mattered. Before the 2 INT's, his QB rating was over 100 and his completion percentage for the game was a respectable 74%, and it still was obvious that the Colts were in control. This was about Peyton and the Colts, and nothing the Bears could do was going to change that.

No matter how it would've gone, Peyton would've made the plays necessary to win this game. It ultimately came down to the fact that he was not going to be denied. I think he knew that there was no guarantee of a return trip, so he had better take advantage of this chance while it was here. Now he can join the likes of Favre, Montana, Elway, Brady, Young, etc. as great QB's with rings and leave behind Kelly, Marino, and Esiason that so many "experts" thought he would forever be associated with.

I'm sure over the next few days we will start to see these same "experts" talk as though they always knew Peyton would get his championship, and that they were one of the few that already included him in the "winners club". They will also be quick to call out a return trip for Indy next year.

I would not be so quick here. As my buddy John so insightfully mentioned, the Colts are probably going to lose at least one of the duo of Cato June and Dwight Freeney, if not both. What does this do to a unit that is already a question mark? Also, where do the Colts use their draft picks this year? Do they finally realize that adding more offensive weapons is not the way to go? We'll have to wait and see. Does Tony Dungy retire now that he has his ring having said in the past that he didn't want to coach past the age of 50 (he's 51 by the way)? I honestly believe that there is a better shot of Chicago returning to the Super Bowl than Indy, and that is not even taking into account the strength of the AFC versus the NFC.

However, none of that matters right now, although I'm sure Bill Polian is already thinking about it. Right now, all that matters is that the quest is complete. Peyton, Dungy, Marvin, etc. have their ring. Indy has it's championship. And I have my first in 7 years, and yes, that does matter.