Thoughts on Super Bowl XLI

Just some opinions and thoughts I wanted to share about the Super Bowl and all that transpired in the big game.

First, the MVP shouldn't have gone to Peyton Manning. He was alright but hardly worthy of the award. Joseph Addai was very good - over 70 yards rushing and 10 receptions, but I wouldn't have selected him either.

No the true MVP of the game was the offensive line of the Indianapolis Colts. Jeff Saturday, Ryan Lilja, Jake Scott, Ryan Diem and Tarik Glenn blew the vaunted Bears defensive line right off the ball - allowing Addai and Domenic Rhodes to rush for 191 yards in the game.

They also kept Chicago off of Manning, allowing him the time to make his reads and deliver passes to multiple targets.

The offense piled up 430 yards and the reason for it was the play of the offensive line - the true MVPs of the game.

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What happened to Chicago's defense? The Colts had 430 yards of total offense, including 191 on the ground.

Chicago has won 26 games over the past two seasons because of an aggressive defense that pressures quarterbacks and smothers running backs in their tracks.

So why did Ron Rivera and Lovie Smith neuter them?

The Bears defense stayed back in a Cover 2 for most of the game and let Manning pick them apart with short passes to Addai and Marvin Harrison. The only long pass the Colts had that was successful was the Reggie Wayne TD pass that happened because of blown coverage.

Why go away from what made you successful all year? The Bears attack, they don't play back. You have to turn lose guys like Mark Anderson, Adewale Ogunleye, Lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher. They can't be made to set back and play timid.

It seems Rivera was so worried about being beat long that he sacrificed his teams strength - aggressiveness - to play conservative and avoid being beat by the big play. Bad move on his part.

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Chicago will have to address the Rex Grossman issue in the offseason. The good news is he led the Bears to the Super Bowl in what was basically his rookie season. injuries kept him from playing much early in his career.

The bad news is the horrendous inconsistency which plagued him most of the season. When he was good, he was real good. When he was bad, it was ugly to watch.

Grossman's confidence was shaky in the Super Bowl and you could see it on his face from the start. He threw lazy, off-target passes and turned the ball over three times, including a back-breaking fumble right after the Colts had given the Bears a gift with a fumble of their own.

Chicago must bring in someone, Brian Griese isn't the answer, that will press Grossman for the starting job. Maybe some real competition will bring out the best in him. Either way, it's to the Bears' advantage to have somebody waiting in the wings in case of injuries or inconsistent play - just ask the Philadelphia Eagles where they would have been this season without Jeff Garcia.


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