Congratulations to the Indianapolis Colts for winning Super Bowl XLI. Ok, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way (so I don’t look like I have sore loseritis), here are my Super Bowl related thoughts:
1. The Bears would be wise to bring back Thomas Jones. Cedric Benson had two carries, fumbled once, and got hurt. Jones had 15 carries and gained 112 yards. For the playoffs, Jones out-rushed Benson 301-104. I’m not saying Benson will never amount to anything (although I have my doubts), but the Bears offense really clicks when Jones is running the ball well.
2. The Bears would be wise to keep an open mind on the QB position. Brian Griese is most certainly not the answer but Rex Grossman may not be either. Improvement comes with experience and Rex, being a glorified rookie, still has a lot to learn. But throwing up jump balls? Who does that? How can a coherent strategy be to just chuck the ball downfield and pray that it gets caught? That’s not acceptable from a starting quarterback and Rex’s inability to minimize turnovers makes me doubt his ability to last in the NFL.
3. Honestly, for a team from a bad-weather city, the Bears looked like they’d never played in the elements before. I’m sure the ball was as slippery as a wet bar of soap but some of those fumbles were ridiculous. I’d have expected that from the Colts, but not from a team that plays outdoors in miserable weather four or more times a year.
4. Peyton Manning won the Super Bowl MVP because people can’t stop worshipping him, even in spite of his sometime mediocrity. Joseph Addai was the Colts’ leading receiver with 10 catches for 66 yards and also rushed for 77 yards on 19 carries. All told, Addai accounted for over a third of Indy’s total offense. In the meantime, Manning went 25/38 for 247 yards with a TD, an interception, and a final QB rating of 81.7. Take away that busted coverage/lucky heave-ho touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne and Manning’s final stats are 24/38-194-0-1-65.0. Not so MVP-ish to me.
5. Why does one victory have to be legacy-defining? Outside of sports, can anyone think of another facet of life where one thing erases all other things that have come before it? Peyton Manning is a player who clearly understands all aspects of the position he plays and he plays it better than just about anyone that’s ever played before him. Anyone who disputes that clearly knows nothing about football. Likewise, however, it’s always been fair to say that Manning has never played as well in big games as he does when the stakes are lower. I think that still holds true since, after all, Manning had another lousy playoff season. Throwing three touchdowns against seven interceptions and compiling a QB rating of 70.5 in January 2007 is hardly excellence personified. Does everything have to be so black-and-white? Can we simply not say that Manning will go to the Hall of Fame but that questions about his playoff performances are still valid?
1. The Bears would be wise to bring back Thomas Jones. Cedric Benson had two carries, fumbled once, and got hurt. Jones had 15 carries and gained 112 yards. For the playoffs, Jones out-rushed Benson 301-104. I’m not saying Benson will never amount to anything (although I have my doubts), but the Bears offense really clicks when Jones is running the ball well.
2. The Bears would be wise to keep an open mind on the QB position. Brian Griese is most certainly not the answer but Rex Grossman may not be either. Improvement comes with experience and Rex, being a glorified rookie, still has a lot to learn. But throwing up jump balls? Who does that? How can a coherent strategy be to just chuck the ball downfield and pray that it gets caught? That’s not acceptable from a starting quarterback and Rex’s inability to minimize turnovers makes me doubt his ability to last in the NFL.
3. Honestly, for a team from a bad-weather city, the Bears looked like they’d never played in the elements before. I’m sure the ball was as slippery as a wet bar of soap but some of those fumbles were ridiculous. I’d have expected that from the Colts, but not from a team that plays outdoors in miserable weather four or more times a year.
4. Peyton Manning won the Super Bowl MVP because people can’t stop worshipping him, even in spite of his sometime mediocrity. Joseph Addai was the Colts’ leading receiver with 10 catches for 66 yards and also rushed for 77 yards on 19 carries. All told, Addai accounted for over a third of Indy’s total offense. In the meantime, Manning went 25/38 for 247 yards with a TD, an interception, and a final QB rating of 81.7. Take away that busted coverage/lucky heave-ho touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne and Manning’s final stats are 24/38-194-0-1-65.0. Not so MVP-ish to me.
5. Why does one victory have to be legacy-defining? Outside of sports, can anyone think of another facet of life where one thing erases all other things that have come before it? Peyton Manning is a player who clearly understands all aspects of the position he plays and he plays it better than just about anyone that’s ever played before him. Anyone who disputes that clearly knows nothing about football. Likewise, however, it’s always been fair to say that Manning has never played as well in big games as he does when the stakes are lower. I think that still holds true since, after all, Manning had another lousy playoff season. Throwing three touchdowns against seven interceptions and compiling a QB rating of 70.5 in January 2007 is hardly excellence personified. Does everything have to be so black-and-white? Can we simply not say that Manning will go to the Hall of Fame but that questions about his playoff performances are still valid?
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