Colts' Cathartic Rise to the Top
February 9, 2007
Two weeks ago, in the NFC championship game, the Chicago Bears benefited from a rain-slicked field in shutting down the explosive passing attack of the New Orleans Saints, a dome team playing out of its element. This Sunday, the Bears probably looked at the rain falling into Dolphin Stadium as a little bit of help from above.
They were about to face another dome team, the Indianapolis Colts, whose prodigious passing attack, quarterbacked by Peyton Manning, has made them a fixture in the playoffs the last few seasons. In the end, the wet turf and wet ball hurt the Bears more than it did the Colts, and as a result, Indianapolis won Super Bowl XLI in convincing fashion, 29-17.
The game was sweet vindication for Manning, a player whose name has become synonymous with playoff disappointment and the failure to win a meaningful game. After leading his team to an amazing comeback in the AFC championship game against New England, Manning made enough plays and kept mistakes to a minimum against the Bears to win both the game and the Super Bowl MVP award.
The opposing QB, Chicago’s Rex Grossman, was as poor a passer as advertised. Grossman completed 20 of his 28 passes, but was picked off twice in the second half, including one that Kelvin Hayden returned for a back-breaking touchdown with 11:44 left in the game. On the very next drive, Grossman was picked off again on a terribly thrown ball to an open receiver.
More so than in any Super Bowl in the last few years, both teams came out very jittery and played mistake laden football in the early going. The opening kickoff was returned for a touchdown by Chicago’s All-Pro return man Devin Hester, a Super Bowl first. Hester appeared to be hemmed in by Colts defenders, but as he has done many times this year, made one quick cut and took it to the house.
The first half alone featured an astounding six turnovers, five of which were fumbles—a testament to the steady rain. Even Manning started the game poorly, getting intercepted on Indy’s first drive of the game. But on Indy’s first touchdown drive, Manning found a wide-open Reggie Wayne for a 53-yard touchdown, despite being pulled down by Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson.
After Bears running back Thomas Jones’ 52-yard romp through the Indy defense, Grossman found Muhsin Muhammad for a 4-yard touchdown to make the score 14-6, Bears. It seemed that the game was going to be defined by giveaways by the offense and blown tackles and coverage by the defense.
The Colts responded by driving for a field goal early in the second quarter, and after a Bears punt, they drove 58 yards for a touchdown, this time on a one yard run by Dominic Rhodes. At half the Colts lead 16-14, and after three third quarter field goals, two by the Colts, the game was close in spite of Chicago’s lack of offense.
Chicago’s longest drive in terms of plays in the first three quarters was a six play drive that covered only 14 yards and lead to their only field goal of the game. But with the score at 22-17, a solid quarter of offense by Rex Grossman and company could redeem their performance up to that point. Instead, Grossman took a step back with his two interceptions, and the Indianapolis Colts assumed temporary position atop the football world.
This Super Bowl was a study in the importance of the position of quarterback. Chicago had a better defense, arguably a better running game, and perhaps the best special teams in the league, yet were never really in the game after the Colts offense started to click in the second quarter.
The Bears offensive line had a very nice game, opening holes for Thomas Jones to run through for 112 yards on 15 carries. Grossman was only sacked once, as was Peyton Manning. The difference was Manning’s ability to consistently hit his receivers downfield. Grossman had a better completion percentage, but this was due to the fact that he attempted easier throws which resulted in less yardage. Consequently, the Bears could not sustain long drives. Indianapolis, like Chicago, runs a cover two defense designed to shut down deep throws, and once again Grossman was not able to beat a defense that did not give up the deep pass.
Manning passed for 247 yards with one touchdown and one interception, relatively unimpressive numbers, but his interception was not at a crucial juncture in the game. Against Chicago’s cover two, he did a good job mixing short, intermediate, and deep throws. While his performance against the Patriots in the AFC championship game was far more impressive, Manning played well enough to earn Super Bowl MVP honors.
While the offensive players who handle the ball combined for eight giveaways, a missed field goal, and a botched extra point, the offensive lines of both teams played very solid games. Each team only gave up one sack, and neither quarterback faced much pressure. Thomas Jones had a nice game and Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai of the Colts combined for 190 rushing yards.
Addai and Rhodes had excellent games for the Colts. Indianapolis raised a lot of eyebrows this off-season when they let Edgerrin James, one of the premier running backs in the NFL, leave in free agency. However, the duo of Rhodes and Addai proved sufficient all season, and continued their proficiency in the playoff. Addai ran for 77 yards to complement Rhodes’ 113, and quietly had an additional 62 yards on ten catches. Teams in the NFL have been increasingly employing two-headed running back attacks, and the Super Bowl-winning performance of the Colts’ dynamic duo should encourage the continuation of that trend.
Special teams strategy played a large role in Indy’s victory, as the Colts found a way to neutralize Devin Hester. Chicago’s kick return stud took the opening kickoff back for a touchdown, but for the rest of the game touched the ball once, on a punt he returned for just three yards. Five different players returned kickoffs for the Bears, as Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri was ordered to kick the ball anywhere but at Hester. As a result, the Colts often gave Chicago good field position, but eliminated the threat of Hester. If given a chance to showcase his talents more than twice, Hester could have turned the tide of the game. Kudos to Indy’s coaches for not letting that happen.
On Sunday, the Colts’ head coach, Tony Dungy, made good on his first attempt at winning the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Dungy and Chicago’s Lovie Smith became the first two African-American head coaches in NFL history to coach in a Super Bowl. Smith is a protégé of Dungy’s from their days with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.The inspirational Dungy managed to overcome the loss of his son by suicide last year and perform admirably in a high-stress job, and on Sunday he earned his spot at the top of the game.