Super Bowl Shuffle Remix

Its time to talk about the Chicago Bears. But first I wanna hit on a couple things. I was thinking about how Chicago might seem like a football town, but really isn't. Chicago is always going to be thought of as probably the second best city for basketball, and often gains identity through the Cubs.

The other thing is while watching NFL Films presentation of Tampa Bay's Super Bowl I learned something. Coaches are vital to team success in football. I think coaching should be ranked in importance from most to least by football, basketball, and then baseball. The game had John Lynch (future Hall of Fame) safety for the Buc's wired for sound. He was calling plays in the backfield for the defense. But he wasn't calling their sets, he was calling the Raiders plays based on formations. Both of Dexter Jackson's INT's were read before the ball was snapped. Gruden, the Oakland coach just the season before, knew player tendencies and weaknesses. Through the magic of film editing, we are privy to an absolute coaching masterpiece.

Now for XLI's other team. The Bears are getting no respect, and we all understand why. There isn't really a marketable person on the team, outside of Brian Urlacher. And even Urlacher isn't personable. They aren't getting the respect they deserve because Rex Grossman stunk it up for a while, and defense never gets love. So this seems like a team that underachieved or shouldn't be here. This is not the case and its never good for the Colts.

What the Bears need to do to win:

1. Be no worse than +3 on turnovers. They cannot turn the ball over even once. They must force more than two. The more possessions or plays you can take away from Peyton Manning the greater your odds of winning. The Colts called about 20 more plays than the Patriots two weeks ago. It's vital.

2. Gain field position through the kickoffs. Did you see how well New England ran back kicks. If the Bears can start the field position at the 40 or better, its gonna be hell on the Colts.

3. Get an MVP performance from Ricky Manning. If he can shut down his receiver, it will cause Manning to telegraph his intentions.

4. Get 150 rushing yards from Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson. If they can do this it won't be close. And the past being the best indicator of the future, they can do this and should.

MVP Watch
Bernard Berrian, Desmond Clark, Devin Hester, but the most critical guy to the Bears success is Mark Anderson. Who is Mark Anderson? Well he's Dwight Freeney in navy and orange. The rookie speed rusher will go head to head with Ryan Diem, who I predict will be the most critical component to Indy's success. Watch the Diem and Anderson matchup. If Anderson is in Peyton's head it might not even be close.