Friday, February 02, 2007

I've been doing a lot of thinking about the Super Bowl. I've been trying to determine whether I think the Bears are going to win because of rational or emotional reasoning. I haven't come to a conclusion on that point yet, but I figured I'd go with this post anyway. Plus, I'm under the gun since 2/3 of my 8 readers visit my blog because they're killing time at work, and the work week realistically ended 10 minutes ago, this being Friday of Super Bowl week and all.

You might not know this, if you've come to this blog recently, but in November just before the Colts were about to utterly devastate the Cowboys in Texas Stadium, I suggested that the reigning kings of the uncalled holding penalty (Tarik Glenn and Ryan Diem) would have an incredible amount of difficulty handling DeMarcus Ware in pass protection. My track record on predictions in the history of this site has not been very good, but I was right about that. Maybe Adawale Ogunleye, Alex Brown and Mark Thompson as individuals aren't as talented as Ware, but in a package, I see them having a field day.

There are those who are foolish enough to think that the Indianapolis run defense might have been reborn in the playoffs because their competition had fatal flaws rather than any new schemes or the return of Bob Sanders. Kansas City couldn't pass, Baltimore's offense was schizophrenic and New England refused to run the ball when they really needed to in the final moments of the game. Chicago's wide receivers can stretch the field, they have two running backs who can carry the load. Things could get ugly for Indy, even though Bob Sanders is an evolutionary mixture of Jack Tatum, Mel Blount (not Bugs Bunny, but the NFL Hall of Famer), Jack Lambert, Mel Blount (this time the man of 1,000 voices), Dick Butkis, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and the miracle ingredient X-247.

The Bears do have their X factor, and it isn't Rex Grossman. It's Ron Turner. Will Ron be patient with the run if it doesn't yield instant gratification? If he is patient, there is no reason (not even Booger McFarlane, the 14th best defensive tackle in NFL history to come out of LSU after 4 years) the Bears can't get somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 yards on the ground this week.

I do love the talk about Rex Grossman being the worst quarterback ever to play in the Super Bowl. I have made a habit of deploring the knowledge of NFL history displayed by the average NFL fan every time a statement like this gains credence. Grossman might turn out to be the worst QB ever to play in a Super Bowl, but at least give him a chance to play in the game. What if he throws for 300 yards and 3 TDs?

While you're pondering the question of what QB is the worst to ever play on the biggest stage, you might want to Google Craig Morton. Or Vince Ferragamo. Or Kerry Collins. Or Stan Humphries. Or Craig Morton, again, since he played in two Super Bowls and submitted two ghastly performances. And what will happen if Peyton Manning wilts under the pressure? How ridiculous will every moron who said Rex was the worst Super Bowl QB ever look then. Hell, even if he is awful I won't look too bad because if you do Google those names, you'll see that he isn't the worst.

I think Rex will play well. There is absolutely no pressure on him right now. The expectations for him are so low that he'd have to take the snap, kick Jones or Benson in the groin and run out of the back of the end zone screaming and waving his arms like the orangutan from Every Which Way But Loose to disappoint. If he doesn't turn the ball over, takes 2 or fewer sacks and throws for 150 yards and 1 TD, the Bears will win the game.

The Bears defense is much better than the Colts D. Yes, it will be incredibly hard for John Tait to handle Freeny (I'm being very optimistic here), and I'm not too confident that Fred Miller will contain Robert Matthis. But I think the Bears with a mix of short drop/quick throws and max protection can beat the pass rush of the Colts. And if you can beat the Colts pass rush, the rest of their defense is as easily dismissed as the Ukraine in the epic Risk game between Kramer and Newman. Unfortunately without Nick Harper, I don't see any linebacker or defensive back for the Colts to play the role of the large Ukrainian man who stepped up to blow up the board.

I see the Bears winning this game by 14. Maybe 21, since I just saw ESPN footage of the tool from the Subway commercials wandering around Radio Row at the Super Bowl Media Center rocking a Jeff Saturday shirt. You don't wear colors like that. You don't even sport them. You rock a Jeff Saturday shirt. That has torn knee ligaments written all over it for the Colts center. Plus you just know Mariotti and the CHB are picking the Colts to win big.

On another note, I am thrilled that Farve is coming back. More than any other individual, he embodied the NFL of the 1990s. I am just not ready to see him go. Now that every quarterback is required to play with no audacity, Favre is the last guy out there who isn't a cyborg. He's the last of the old school QBs, like Sammy Baugh, Sonny Jurgenson, Charlie Connerly, Frank Skeffington or Terry Bradshaw. I'm sure all the real NFL fans who know what's what will recognize the name I made up in there.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I know you'll say I'm jumping on your band wagon, but I'm picking the Bears too. Your explanation of the low expectationsfor Rex was the funniest thing you've ever posted.

And don't forget that Freeney and Mathis got HANDLED big time by both the Ravens and the Patriots.

And I'm going to be really embarassed if Skeffington is not the name you made up.