Just wanted to say... Options

[natedogg]

GO BEARS!!!

[turbohcar]

DA BEARS!!!!



I hear that Hurricane Lovie is coming to town.....

[AWD DSM 1]

GO BEARS!!!

[Zmann42087]

Foose balls the devil.

x2

The only "football" I'll be watching today is Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur.

[xian 1g]

dammit!

[awd4kicks]

Talk about being outdone at their own game! I'm sorry to say, but the Bears were out-classed tonight guys.

[scorp28]

Now maybe the Bears will realize they need someone that possesses more skills than a mediocre Division lll QB.

[natedogg]

I don't know if I'd say outclassed at their own game (Bear's defense in my opinion). That was actually a pretty decent defensive effort against the overpowering offensive force that is the Colts led by the best QB in the league. Doesn't mean the defense couldn't have done better though (i.e. more pass rushes).

The Bears offense is what lost them the game. Can't blame it all on Grossman either because the running game wasn't what it should have been. I attribute some of that to the early loss of Benson. Jones is good but the one two punch of Jones and Benson works much better. Of course it would have helped quite a bit if Grossman hadn't fumbled 2 snaps and thrown 2 interceptions.

[mitsu90]

  Of course it would have helped quite a bit if Grossman
didn't fumbled 2 snaps and thrown 2 interceptions.

don't forget the 2 times he sacked himself

[natedogg]

Yeah that too. Considering how far the Bears got on a QB like Grossman, just think how well they'd do if they had someone consistent and reliable in the pocket.

[Kazz5]

Oh, my, gotta leap in here. When your defense is on the field over 20 minutes in the first half you're in deep.

That deep coverage, almost "prevent" approach got chewed up with short passes and runs. There weren't any apparent adjustments during the game, either. Urlacher didn't come through as a star, nor did anyone else, really.

Yep, Rex HELPED lose that game. No, he's not good enough right now to play regularly at the professional level. The Bears are going to have to do some off-season soul-searching there.

The defense didn't play well enough for Rex to throw 2 ints. However, the facts are, they didn't play well enough to make up for even one int.

Frankly, from my beer-soaked seat, it didn't seem that the Colts won as much as it was the Bears losing. Thank God for Hester.

Anyway, my $.02 ...

[natedogg]

The defense was on the field so much because the offense couldn't put together any drives. Notice how the defense did well in the 1st quarter but started hurting after that? The offense couldn't stay out long enough to give the poor guys a rest. That said, the few times the defense did rush Manning, he couldn't produce. If they had taken that into consideration and blitzed more often they would have done a better job.

So yes the defense did play too conservatively, but I still think its the Bears offense that lost them the game. You can't expect to win the Superbowl against a team like the Colts when you turn the ball over 3 times, pass for 150 yards and run for a net 60 yards not counting the rare 50 yard run for a TD.

[awd4kicks]

I agree. I was refering to the Colt's marching up the field each time mainly using their running backs right up the middle like the Bears had said they were going to do. Every time the bears tried it or the short throw down under they got shut down. The Colts were on them like glue.

I came into the game expecting a much different outcome and I think the Colts were worried at first. The offesive line seemed scared by pre-game media, but in a short period of time they found that they could hold the Bears offensive line and Star Urlacher to a minimum production.

So I felt that regardless of the fact that it looked like Grossman was paid to lose the game, the the game was lost at the line. And that's not ment to take anything away for Payton Manning...his talent and experience definitely shown through.

Then again...I don't know football as well as some.

[haunter]

I saw urlacher make more than a few hits, especially some HUGE knocks, one popping the ball out of the receiver turning a 1st down reception into an incomplete, and lets face it, they are very aware of his presence and avoid him at all costs........makes it harder to 'be a star' in a game when you are not taking the ball from the center.


anyone else think it was total bullshit that manning got the MVP?

It should have been Addai

[natedogg]

Addai or the Colts offensive line for MVP.

[JBone]

I have to agree with Kazz on the defense. They never respected the short passes to Addai the WHOLE game. That was bad on their part. For the amount of time they were on the field they didn't do bad. But, the short passes chiseled the defense away. That was probably one consideration why Manning got the MVP award. I'm not saying I'm not shocked by that, however, but he is usually given base plays and then will improvise from the set what play will result. He is a frickin' offensive genius out there (no, I'm not sucking his %&*$).

Bottom line: the better team prevailed. The colts recognized their weaknesses from the regular season (run defense) and reworked it in the playoffs.

Congrats to the Colts!

[Kazz5]

Manning got the MVP because the press loves the "getting the monkey off his back" story line. It blows.

Notice he didn't do the "I'm going to Disny World!" thing? Apparently, he told Disney he wanted more money from them than they were willing to pay. That from a man that makes $4 million a year in promoting his own ass.

[RacerX11]

The defense holding Indy to only 29 points is pretty good considering how long they were on the field.

We all know Rex didn't play a good game. The one deep pass down the field where the Berrian was WIDE open was an easy 7 points that Rex threw away (literally).

But I think the key of the game was the offensive play calling that just sucked. Turner should have had a better play book for the contingency of Grossman having an off-night. You have 2nd and 1, so you throw the ball? Come on!

Later in the game the short passes started to work for them, but it was too late. They should have started this from the beginning. It would have set up the run a lot better than a couple ill-thrown deep balls. Instead, Indy covered the deep ball (which Grossman couldn't connect even if it was there) and stacked the line of scrimmage to stuff the run.

Maybe next year the coaching staff will come with a better game plan to go along with a (hopefully) more mature Grossman.