Anyone from Chicago that wants to castigate Rex Grossman, needs a chill pill. The Bears deserved to be there. He has time to get better and if the fans are patient, he will deliver. But tonight belonged to Peyton Manning and the Colts.
To every Colts fan, this is the realization of the dreams and goals that were set, the day they drafted Peyton Manning. For every one that said Manning was a choke artist and gave up on these guys, I have some delicious crow recipes.
To every Bear fan (and the Bears, themselves), I say," good game" and "do not give up". This is a young team and you have an excellent coach that knows how to treat his players. It took Tony Dungy awhile, you will be back next year. There is nothing to be ashamed about, the time will come. The Bears have established themselves as an NFL powerhouse and will be in contention again.
But to the Colts and their fans, congratulations on a well deserved title.
31 comments:
Well, it wasn't 42-0, but still a convincing win. I thought the rain would bother Manning and the Colt's offensive but it probably bothered Grossman more.
Congrats Colts fans, you deserve it. And the trophy ceremony was pretty classy.
Congrats to the Colts. I think the Grossman bashing is disgraceful. Next season or the following will show he has it in him. The whole team (Bears) ran out of steam after that first quarter. Maybe next year.
Congratulations to all Colt's fans!
Now, LA, aren't you sorry you didn't take me up on my bet? :-D
I think the Bears will be back and I'm glad we had a great season to take my mind off the lack of baseball. 57 more days until White Sox opening day. WoooHooooo!
AC,
//Well, it wasn't 42-0, but still a convincing win.//
Time of possession and pounding the ball right at them was what did it. The defense did their job and got the ball back for Peyton. In short, they just executed better.
//the trophy ceremony was pretty classy.//
Years of frustration and disappointment have taught the Colts what it's like to lose and has kept them humble. Year after year of being eliminated early in the playoffs has kept them grounded. Year after year, they didn't quit. You can't be a good winner, until you know how to lose with class. I thought the Bears were disappointed but they are a class organization and they will remember this, they will be back.
//The whole team (Bears) ran out of steam after that first quarter. //
Experience is necessary to win at this level. They have that now and next year, they will be even hungrier.
ME,
//Now, LA, aren't you sorry you didn't take me up on my bet? :-D //
You never would have delivered. If you had, you'd have been in confession for hours. I did not want to subject you to that. I did not want to cause my brother or sister to sin. ;)
What a transformation of that Colts team. I have known them as a soft team that can't take a physical pounding, that stubbornly sticks to the pass even when it's not working and that fold under pressure. All that is out the window, now. They beat up a physically tough team, mainly by running the ball all game and sticking to short passes. Pretty impressive showing.
Greg
//What a transformation of that Colts team.//
When they beat Baltimore on the road, I knew they'd be tough to beat down the pike.
How about that half-time show? I thought Prince was fantastic....
Any thoughts on why Dungy didn't go for the field goal at the end of the game? That was bizarre....
greg,
I didn't see all of the Prince show, I am too hyper to sit through 4 hrs of TV, so I moved about the house but heard most of it. My focus was the game, more than halftime and the ads.
I like some of Prince's songs, the ones he did last night were fairly safe.
greg,
//Any thoughts on why Dungy didn't go for the field goal at the end of the game? That was bizarre.... //
Game was wrapped up, and didn't want to pile on points on his friend? My guess, anyway.
LAS - I guess, but there was about 1:30 left. Imagine if the Bears had managed to score a miraculous TD and recover the onside kick. Wierder things have happened. The easy 3 points would have put the Bears completely out of reach. I hope someone asks Dungy about that.
//I hope someone asks Dungy about that.//
So far, I haven't heard it addressed. But then again, I have been pretty busy today.
The only thing that I can see is, what I said earlier. While it is true that miracles could happen at any time. The Colts had established the fact that the Bears could not move the ball, so it could be that the Colts had an enormous amount of confidence in their defense, at that point. And why shouldn't they? They held the Bears to one FG in the entire second half.
One thing to note here is, the Colts gave up 17. But the D only gave up 10. Not a bad defensive performance, by anyone's standards.
Here's some more food for thought while reflecting on the Super Bowl.
One thing that hasn't been mentioned a whole lot is, the Bears seemed a bit cocky after they went up 14-6. Nothing wrong with displaying your confidence, after all, it is a chest thumping, contact sport. You certainly want your team to be fired up.But there is often a fine line between confidence and arrogance.
I cannot say exactly what the Bears were thinking at that point in the game. But I can say that at this level, you have to respect your opponent. You have to stay in the game, the entire game.
Neither team got there by mistake, they worked to get there. I know many will say that the NFC is far weaker than the AFC. I happen to be one of those people, but I must put an asterisk on that opinion; and I feel compelled to highlight this fact: throughout NFL history one conference or another has had their moments in the sun, so to speak.
The first ten SBs, the AFL/AFC won it seven times. From 85-97 the NFC won thirteen straight. Recently, the AFC has won eight out of the last ten.
Another consideration is, the Buffalo Bills made it four times in a row, only to lose every time. The Vikings made it to the big dance, 4 out 8 times, without a win. Dan Marino played in one, but didn't win it. John Elway had to lose three before he won two, winning eight years after his last loss.
I could go on, but the point I am trying to make is simple. You cannot get to this level without being good, yet, only one team wins it. When you get there, you have to realize that there are 60 minutes and getting cocky in the first quarter will not deliver a title.
This may not be the case at all, and I could be dead wrong. But it sure seemed that while the Bears were looking cocky and smug, Indy was still all business. And that's the way they stayed the entire game. That's the difference between an experienced veteran team and a young impetuous one.
Again, Bear fans have nothing to be ashamed of, their team was undoubtedly the best in the NFC. That entitled them to be there. Congrats to the Chicago Bears for great year.
LA
I can't believe you are writing a comment to bash the Bears after the Colt's win. To say they acted "cockey" when they were ahead is ridiculous. How many football games have you watched in your life LA? I can't believe you have never seen a team pump themselves up after a great play. The Colt's have done it and they did do it during this game.
You talk as if the Bears have never held on to a lead or have not come ahead from behind in a game. You also have to remember that they lost a key player in yesterday's game. One team had to lose, and I can tell you, I would never had trashed the Colt's after a loss ln the Super Bowl.
My gosh, that comment was pretty poor sportsmanship, LA. I expected better of you than that. A real disappointment, I might add...not in my team, but in your smug remarks.
ME,
I have been watching football since I was in single digits. I watched the first Super Bowl, in black an white. I have played the game, coached the game, and refereed the game.
All I am offering here is an opinion and an an analysis based on what I could see. However, I could be wrong and I said so in my comment.
This is not bashing. I have the utmost respect for the Bears, their coaches and players. But, they are a young team. I have seen many young teams get overconfident and impetuous, over these many years. it is not necessarily a testament to their character or anything else like that. But it is a developmental thing that will pass as the players gain more experience at this level and mature.
What I cannot believe is that you would think that I am piling on. I would have said the exact same thing about my team, had the roles been reversed. In fact, I have been very critical of my team(s) over the years, when they have blown games or just lost them outright.
If there is anything I should be bashing after the fact, it would be the Chicago sports pundits for trying to lay the blame on Grossman. What idiots they are.
He is young, he will learn, he will perform. Yet, these overpaid blow-hards seem to think that Brian Griese is better. Well, they forget that Griese got run out of Denver, because he wasn't worth a damn under pressure.
Grossman got them to the big game, he was instrumental in their obtaining the #1 seed. While he had moments that most young quarterbacks can and do have, he will come out of it. The question then becomes, will he improve into a seasoned veteran quarterback in Chicago or somewhere else.
ME,
Another thing that I'd like to say is:
Despite the fact that I love football (and I mean that I do love it, much like you love baseball), I take the same approach to it as Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy do, it's just a game.
I would add that while it is a welcome diversion from the ills and problems that we all face, in this day and age; it's still, just a ball game.
I agree with you 100% about the unfair treatment of Grossman. I was frustrated with him many times this season, but like you said, the guy is just starting out. John Kass in the Trib has been sticking up for his all along, and I respect that. I haven't heard any of the fans in Chicago laying the blame on him, though. IMO, you can't blame the guy for the loss, it was the whole team that played that game, not just one guy.
Regarding the "cockiness" you spoke of, look at the game again and you will see the Colt's on the side line acting in the same manner. I didn't take offense at that or thing they were being over confident, I just thought they were doing what every team does when they are doing well...they are pumping each other up to go out and keep fighting.
I also don't think the Bears weren't focused in this game. They had a few bad breaks, just like the Colt's did...only difference is, they didn't recover from theirs. I also think losing a key player in the beginning of the game hurt them a lot. They were up against a great team and they needed every advantage they had to beat them.
To say the Bears were cockey, IMO, is trashing them. I certainly wouldn't say that about any team after a big loss. To me, it's poor sportsmanship. It takes a lot to be a good winner and, IMO, remarks like that are uncalled for. If you want to talk about a play, or a mistake in execution, that's one thing...to say that somebody lost because of a skewed view of how they perceived themselves, that's something else.
That said, I'm happy for the Colt's....I just don't think I'm too thrilled with all the fans. ;-)
ME,
//To say the Bears were cockey, IMO, is trashing them.//
I disagree. At the point in time I noticed this, they had just opened up a lead 14-6. No, they didn't stay cocky. But my remarks are only a snapshot of that moment after the Bears got off to their fast start.
Like I said there's a fine line between cockiness and confidence. You want confidence in a football team, but it has to stay grounded.
Again, I may be wrong. But it's my opinion and I am entitled to it, just as you are entitled to yours. For the record I had many an argument with Bears fans over Grossman and other aspects of the game, so you are not the first to take exception to my comments. ;)
But do understand that my saying this should in no way be misconstrued as trash talking. I too have watched the Bears this year and they are a class organization.
The Colts had trouble with this when Dungy took over the reins of the team. It's taken some time, but he has plucked a lot of that out of them. I have no doubt that if this is the case with the Bears, Smith will do the same thing. I have been and always will be a fan of the Monsters of the Midway. I will be pulling for them to return to the big game next year. Go Bears.
I agree, everyone is entitled to their opinion. I only want to point out that if you look at the tapes again, you will see the Colt's behaving in the same manner...I wouldn't call that cockiness or being over confident. I just think it's ironic that you are putting that label on the Bears team, when in fact, by your own statements, you are acting quite...cockey! :-D
Go Bears!
Oh,...and I just heard on the radio this morning that this was the most watched Super Bowl in history. I would say that is because it was the Bears who were competing and that would have been true no matter what team they were playing....how's that for cockey?
:-D
ME,
//I just think it's ironic that you are putting that label on the Bears team, when in fact, by your own statements, you are acting quite...cockey! :-D//
But I do not feel cocky. I am tickled that the Colts won, yes. But I have been through many a Colts season, when they lost. During those seasons, many of our young players got over confident and it cost them some games.
//I would say that is because it was the Bears who were competing and that would have been true no matter what team they were playing....how's that for cockey?//
I'd say you are right. Chicago is the third largest market, I am not surprised at these numbers. That is why, Chicago teams make money no matter how lousy a team they may be. the same is true of NY and LA teams.
After the Bulls owner disbanded the team that won six out eight years, they still made money. In fact, I do not have access to their P&L reports but they probably made even more, because the owner didn't have to pay out those huge salaries. Pro sports has always been ans always will be forst and foremost, a business.
The first thing the Bears need to do is raise Lovie Smith's salary, by redoing his contract. I think I read somewhere that he is the lowest paid coach in the league.
I'm sure Lovie will get a pay raise. I also think that Grossman is smart enough to build on this season and he will work his ass off to perfect his game. The guy isn't a slouch and his team love and respect him.
I still have a difficult time trying to figure out why the Cubs manage to get so many people to go to their games. Their team stinks and has been lousy for a long time, and the park is a piece of garbage, it's falling apart...literally. The food is also pretty bad and the beer is swill. Of course, whenever the cameras pan the crowds, most of them aren't watching the game, but talking on their cell phones.
//I still have a difficult time trying to figure out why the Cubs manage to get so many people to go to their games. Their team stinks and has been lousy for a long time, and the park is a piece of garbage, it's falling apart...literally.//
Beats me.
If I had to guess low overhead means lower prices. They aren't paying a mortgage on a new stadium, they aren't paying to keep the stadium up. That means more profit for the owners.
Back when Marge Schott owned the Reds, they played in Riverfront stadium. They had the best deal in baseball. Tickets, hot dogs, beer, and other items were a bargain. Enter the new "Great American Ballpark" and that all got thrown out the window. We went to a Reds game there, the first year it was open, and I thought I was going to need to take out a loan to buy an Aquafina water.
LA
It's a shame that the prices to go to the ballpark are so high. It just keeps out many of the inner city kids who can't afford it.
We have season tickets and the prices are going up every year. We only keep about 28 or so games out of the season and sell off the rest to friends. It's impossible to go to every game. Even though the tickets are paid ahead of time, we end up dropping a lot of money on food and drinks. Although, at the Cell you can bring in bottled water and some food as long as the bottled water is sealed when you come in. I usually throw in some snacks and water so it cuts down on the costs. It's hard to resist the food there, it's pretty good. You can also get better beer if you go up to the mezzanine to get it.
I have the feeling the Sox games won't be sold out very often this year because of the construction on the Dan Ryan. It was bad last year trying to get in. This year they are working on phase two and from what I hear, all our backroads are going to be closed. It's going to be a major problem. There were days when it took us almost two hours to get to the park last year when it shouldn't take more than 45 min. to an hour on a normal day.
Hey I used to be a Red's fans way back when
http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j9/rivierarocket/Big%20Red%20Machine/
Ugh - too long
try this
http://tinyurl.com/2hg6kb
Rocket! How cute is that??? ;-)
Now...I LOVE THAT CAR!!!! A '57???
Hi ME
Yeh, that was our my father's best friend's car. How he loved that car!
Rocket,
Looks like those pics were taken before Johnny Bench, no?
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