The Wake

So the football analysts and pundits finally got what they needed in order to crown Peyton Manning the greatest quarterback of all-time. Yes, he still must win the Super Bowl, but as soon as he does the talk will begin.

Manning finally decided to step up and play the game rather than whining about non-calls against his wide receivers. He led his team to victory like the quarterback we came to know during the regular season. The feat he accomplished should not go unheralded, because his team looked flat in the first half. Whatever somebody said in that locker room certainly made the Colts get their shit together quickly, because they came out like the team that ought to have shown up in all the previous playoff meetings against the Patriots.

The Bears, on the other hand, looked like the Bears. During the NFC Championship game, their offense did just enough to win while their defense dominated as usual. Yes, they put up a lot of points, but they came well after the game was decided and against a Saints defense that had been on the field way too long because their offensive line couldn’t give Drew Brees any time.

The four turnovers by the Saints did not help their cause, but their defense held strong against the Bears, holding them to field goals early. It could have been a great game until the Saints gave up the safety.

The Bears remain an enigma because they find a way to win when it matters, so this Super Bowl will be an interesting match-up.

We all know the strengths of each team coming into the game, but it will be fascinating to see how the weaknesses of each team play out. The Colts defense did not look as good as they did in the previous rounds, but they limited the run game of the Patriots. That is a huge advantage for the Colts coming into the grand finale. Rex Grossman looked decent against the Saints because he didn’t make any big mistakes, but with Grossman you never know which Rex will show up.

This Super Bowl will look ugly in the early going unless the Colts can rush the ball. The Saints were unable to do so against Chicago and got stuck passing. The offensive line of the Colts did little to quell the Patriots pass rush, so the run game will need to be established early for the Colts to be effective.

The plan for the Bears should remain as it was against the Saints, not only because it worked, but also because the game is out of Grossman’s hands. The Bears must have their running game working like it was against the Saints in order for the Bears to have a snowball’s chance. Their offensive line must dominate and take advantage of the tendency of the Colts’ defensive line to over pursue.

Look for the excitement to begin during Prince’s halftime show, especially if he decides to go raunchy. Let’s all hope he does for the sake of entertainment. The second half should produce some good moments if Manning exploits the Bears’ secondary, but we’ll be stuck watching field position for much of the game.

On paper this looks like a push with a great offense against a great defense, but let’s not forget this is Peyton’s game. Football often looks like some cheesy Hollywood movie with all of the drama surrounding the hype and some player finally receiving the ring he so richly deserves (e.g. John Elway, Steve Young, etc…) so don’t be surprised if Manning pulls this one out of his ass like the AFC title game. This way we don’t have to listen to Berman, TJ, Ditka, Jaws (I’m purposely excluding Irvin because I’ve never heard anything resembling an intelligent thought come out of his mouth) and all the other windbags go on about how Manning is a choke artist. Final score: Colts 27, Bears 13