Thread: Brian Urlacher: Bears best in NFC

Originally Posted by dabears54

Not sure how you can say our ground game was weak, when avg over 6 yards a carry. Agree that rivera blew the "D" in the 2nd half by knowing manning wasn't throwing deep and Allowing them to dink/dunk their way up the field.. BUT despite all those tactical errors, the score was still 17-14 at 1/2 time and 23-17 into the 4th quarter( ie a Td wins it for bears), for not being "badly outplayed",, and the mistakes in the rain were the difference( 4 fumbles and 2 int),, 6 turnovers and still still in the game in the 4th quarter, IMo says w/o the rain and turnovers it could have been very different.yes, idny was better prepared for the rain, I just think without that an the 6 turnovers, we do wi on a sunny day, esp after the hester beginning. the pooch kick that reid fumbles took all the momentum away from bears and that likely never happens on a clear day

The stats show we gained 111 yds on 19 attempts, avg 5.8 ypa. But 52 of those yards came on one TJ run so overall we only gained 59 yards on the other 18 carries, avg. 3.3 ypa, and that included 4 attempts that netted -1 yards. That's not a good enough or consistent enough running game to win many games and especially one played in a monsoon where a dominant running game may have made all of the difference. This is one time when the stats don't tell the real story. It was a weak running attack or we wouldn't have passed so much that day.

Turnovers are also a part of the game and if the other teams gets them and you don't that's getting outplayed too. Now consider that despite the game being relatively close going into the 4th quarter our offense had only generated 10 points to the Colts 22, a 12 point differential. Add in the two "big play" scores for each team and the final 29-17 is the same 12 point differential. Those 12 points and the fact that we lost the TOP battle 38 min. to 22 min and the number of offensive plays 80 to 47 I say is getting badly outplayed. I think most who watched the game would say the same. Indy would have beaten us that day if we'd have played under clear blue skies or under a dome. I won't accept the rain as an excuse. Both teams played in it and since Indy played in a dome they weren't any better prepared for it than we were. That sounds too much like a Packer fans excuse to me.

But that was another time and another place. Next time we get our shot we have to play better plain and simple.

Originally Posted by dabears54

the play differential is directy related to the 6 turnovers, only the sanders hit on benson was a real "D" play , not a fumble caused by the wet conditions, that do NOT happen in blue skies and rex's INT's again weather related trying to throw deep against strong winds and torrential rain was idiotic , heck even manning failed when tried that- So disagree that "blue skies" would not be different or same 2-1 play differential.. and on the rushes I do not count the rex fumbles that technically -1 yard rushes( or the run game for those).. for why had a different YPR... "IF" the turnover's ahd come on hard "D" plays( like sanders one),then would agree doesn't mnatter,when fumbles happen w/o being hit or just on snaps.. that is different

OK, so now I can add out coached offensively to out coached defensively too. So I take those non-rushes out and only include TJ's 112 yds on 15 carries. Take away the one big run and he averaged 4.2 YPA. Not lousy but nowhere near enough often enough to win the game which can also be attributed to piss poor playcalling on Turner's part.

But everytime you put in all those exceptions for the weather you just create more excuses for getting outplayed. None of that changes the fact that both teams played under the same crappy conditions yet one of them conquered them much better than the other. Those TOP and NOP stats can't just be excused by turnovers which may or may not have happened under blue skies. The fact is that they did happen and they contributed to our being outplayed. When you lose the football more often than the other team that's being outplayed
since holding on to the football or not getting it picked off is a critical part of the game.

To say that we weren't outplayed is taking your fandom to an extreme. We got whupped and whupped good. Now if you want to debate the Championship Game with GB, there I would say just the opposite. We got badly outplayed for one quarter and then pretty much owned the rest of the game defensively and only an injury and a poor personnel decision caused the offense to be less effective than it should have been. That's not taking anything away from the Packers defense but I believe we had what it took to beat them. Not so with the Colts in that Super Bowl.

Originally Posted by soulman

OK, so now I can add out coached offensively to out coached defensively too. So I take those non-rushes out and only include TJ's 112 yds on 15 carries. Take away the one big run and he averaged 4.2 YPA. Not lousy but nowhere near enough often enough to win the game which can also be attributed to piss poor playcalling on Turner's part.

But everytime you put in all those exceptions for the weather you just create more excuses for getting outplayed. None of that changes the fact that both teams played under the same crappy conditions yet one of them conquered them much better than the other. Those TOP and NOP stats can't just be excused by turnovers which may or may not have happened under blue skies. The fact is that they did happen and they contributed to our being outplayed. When you lose the football more often than the other team that's being outplayed
since holding on to the football or not getting it picked off is a critical part of the game.

To say that we weren't outplayed is taking your fandom to an extreme. We got whupped and whupped good. Now if you want to debate the Championship Game with GB, there I would say just the opposite. We got badly outplayed for one quarter and then pretty much owned the rest of the game defensively and only an injury and a poor personnel decision caused the offense to be less effective than it should have been. That's not taking anything away from the Packers defense but I believe we had what it took to beat them. Not so with the Colts in that Super Bowl.

I still say that Rex Grossman lost the game. In fact, that's been established. You don't fumble center-to-quarterback exchanges that late in the season, or ever, in the NFL and hope to win, or throw pop flys to corner backs like he did in the fourth quarter. Also, we went away from the run, and even if we had averaged 3.5-4.0 ypc the rest of the game in the second half, we would have had ample opportunity to win. Couple that with the fact that Cedric Benson went down with an injury (and remember, Benson had become a key contributor in the running game), and that spells disaster. We weren't well prepared for that game, so part of it is definitely coaching, but a larger chunk of it is the fact that we had a candy ass for a quarterback who would cry on camera and openly admit to not having his head in the game to the media. When that happens to your first string quarterback, there just simply isn't much you can say or do to lend credence at any other conclusion other than the one saying, "The largest part of the blame lies with the quarterback."

Rex takes his share of the blame as far as mishandling snaps goes but Turner didn't put him in a very good position to win with his play calling. Even with Benson out with a dubious injury, one that should cause a much bigger question mark than Cutler's exit, the weather called for running the ball and 60% of our plays were passes. When we did run we didn't run all that well short of TJ 52 yard scamper.

You can lay more blame on the defense for it's lack of adjustment to what Manning was doing which was torching us with short underneath routes that we didn't cover. Now match that up with 6 count 'em 6 turnovers and we get our asses handed to us. 54 doesn't see it that way but when you loses the TOP battle 38 min. to 22 min. and the NOP 80 to 47 you can't really say that you were in the game after the first quarter. That's the way it looked to me then and that's still the way I remember it.

Originally Posted by soulman

Rex takes his share of the blame as far as mishandling snaps goes but Turner didn't put him in a very good position to win with his play calling. Even with Benson out with a dubious injury, one that should cause a much bigger question mark than Cutler's exit, the weather called for running the ball and 60% of our plays were passes. When we did run we didn't run all that well short of TJ 52 yard scamper.

You can lay more blame on the defense for it's lack of adjustment to what Manning was doing which was torching us with short underneath routes that we didn't cover. Now match that up with 6 count 'em 6 turnovers and we get our asses handed to us. 54 doesn't see it that way but when you loses the TOP battle 38 min. to 22 min. and the NOP 80 to 47 you can't really say that you were in the game after the first quarter. That's the way it looked to me then and that's still the way I remember it.

You're right on the running game. We could have run the ball a lot more, more like we did this last season, and we would have eventually broken the Colts' backs with it. The Colts were not a good run defense that year, and I think we could have eventually exploited them had we used it. Ron Turner was an idiot for not seeing that.

Soul, do you or DB have a copy of the box score or game summary? I'm wanting to see who all else turned the football over in the game. Frankly, I'm shocked that the game was as close as it was due to that very reason. Had we not turned the ball over but two or three times, we might possibly have walked away a winner. I know that Grossman was responsible for at least two or three turnovers, and possibly more than that.

Originally Posted by Dagan81

You're right on the running game. We could have run the ball a lot more, more like we did this last season, and we would have eventually broken the Colts' backs with it. The Colts were not a good run defense that year, and I think we could have eventually exploited them had we used it. Ron Turner was an idiot for not seeing that.

Soul, do you or DB have a copy of the box score or game summary? I'm wanting to see who all else turned the football over in the game. Frankly, I'm shocked that the game was as close as it was due to that very reason. Had we not turned the ball over but two or three times, we might possibly have walked away a winner. I know that Grossman was responsible for at least two or three turnovers, and possibly more than that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XLI

Box score1234TotalColts6106729Bears1403017at Dolphin Stadium, Miami, Florida

• Date: February 4, 2007
• Game time: 6:25 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 67 °F (19 °C), rainy[36]
• Recap

[hide]Game information

• 1st Quarter
  
  • CHI – Devin Hester 92 yard kickoff return (Gould kick), 14:46. Bears 7-0.
  • IND – Reggie Wayne 53 yard pass from Peyton Manning (kick failed), 7:50 Bears 7-6. Drive: 9 plays, 80 yds, 4:30.
  • CHI – Muhsin Muhammad 4 yard pass from Rex Grossman (Gould kick), 5:34 Bears 14-6. Drive: 4 plays, 57 yds, 2:00.
• 2nd Quarter
  
  • IND – Adam Vinatieri 29 yard field goal, 11:17. Bears 14-9. Drive: 8 plays, 47 yds, 3:52.
  • IND – Dominic Rhodes 1 yard touchdown run (Vinatieri kick), 6:09. Colts 16-14. Drive: 7 plays, 58 yds, 3:08.
• 3rd Quarter
  
  • IND – Adam Vinatieri 24 yard field goal, 6:26. Colts 19-14. Drive: 13 plays, 56 yds, 7:34.
  • IND – Adam Vinatieri 20 yard field goal, 4:16, Colts 22-14. Drive: 6 plays, 62 yds, 2:07.
  • CHI – Robbie Gould 44 yard field goal, 1:14, Colts 22-17. Drive: 6 plays, 14 yds, 2:02
• 4th Quarter
  
  • IND – Kelvin Hayden 56 yard interception return TD (Vinatieri kick), 11:44. Colts 29-17.

[edit] Final statistics


President George W. Bush congratulates the Colts on their win


[edit] Overview

This was the third Super Bowl to have two players rush for more than 100 yards as Dominic Rhodes had 113 for the Colts and Thomas Jones had 112 for the Bears. Tony Dungy is the third man to win the Super Bowl as a head coach as well as a player, following Tom Flores and Mike Ditka.
For the Colts, Rhodes rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown, while also catching an 8-yard reception. Addai rushed for 77 yards and caught 10 passes (a Super Bowl record for running backs)[37] for 66 yards. Wilkins returned four kickoffs for 89 yards and 3 punts for 42 yards. Adam Vinatieri became the first kicker ever to play in five Super Bowls and the first to win four Super Bowl rings. Vinatieri's three field goals and two extra points gave him a total of 49 points for the entire 2006 post-season, an NFL record. The Colts' win was the first major professional championship for Indiana since the Indiana Pacers' ABA title in the 1972-73 season.
Hester's touchdown for the Bears on the opening kickoff was the first one in Super Bowl history, and the eighth kick return for a touchdown in a Super Bowl; only two of the eight teams who did this went on to win the game (the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI and the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV). Hester's return also kept a streak alive for there being a kickoff return for a touchdown in each Super Bowl played at Dolphin Stadium. Hester's and Wayne's touchdowns in the first quarter marked the first time in Super Bowl history, the first two touchdowns were scored by players from the same college (University of Miami). Jones was the Bears' top rusher with 112 yards, while also catching four passes for 18 yards. Desmond Clark was the Bears top receiver with six receptions for 64 yards. Grossman completed 20 of 28 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions, leaving him with a QB rating of 68.3 for the game.[38] Muhsin Muhammad became the third player ever to score a touchdown in the Super Bowl for two different teams, joining Ricky Proehl and Jerry Rice.
[edit] Statistical comparison

Indianapolis ColtsChicago BearsScore2917First downs2411Third down efficiency8–183–10Fourth down efficiency0–10–1Total yards430265Passing yards239154Passing – Completions-attempts25–3820–28Passing – Yards per pass6.35.5Rushing yards191111Rushing attempts4219Yards per rush4.55.8Penalties-yards6–404–35Sacks against11Turnovers35Fumbles-lost2–24–3Interceptions thrown12Time of possession38:0421:56
[edit] Individual leaders

Colts PassingC/ATT*YdsTDINTPeyton Manning25/3824711Colts RushingCaraYdsTDLGbDominic Rhodes21113136Joseph Addai1977014Colts ReceivingReccYdsTDLGbJoseph Addai1066012Reggie Wayne261153Marvin Harrison559022Dallas Clark436017
Bears PassingC/ATT*YdsTDINTRex Grossman20/2816512Bears RushingCaraYdsTDLGbThomas Jones15112052Bears ReceivingReccYdsTDLGbDesmond Clark664018Bernard Berrian438014Muhsin Muhammad335122Thomas Jones418014

*Completions/Attempts aCarries bLong play cReceptions
[edit] Starting lineups

IndianapolisPositionPositionChicagoOFFENSEReggie WayneWRMuhsin MuhammadTarik GlennLTJohn TaitRyan LiljaLGRuben BrownJeff SaturdayCOlin KreutzJake ScottRGRoberto GarzaRyan DiemRTFred MillerDallas ClarkTEDesmond ClarkMarvin HarrisonWRBernard BerrianPeyton ManningQBRex GrossmanJoseph AddaiRBThomas JonesBen UtechtTEFBJason McKieDEFENSERobert MathisLEAdewale OgunleyeAnthony McFarlandLDTTank JohnsonRaheem BrockRDTIan ScottDwight FreeneyREAlex BrownRob MorrisLOLBHunter HillenmeyerGary BrackettMLBBrian UrlacherCato JuneROLBLance BriggsNick HarperLCBCharles TillmanJason DavidRCBNathan VasherAntoine BetheaSSChris HarrisBob SandersFSDanieal Manning
[edit] Officials

• Referee: Tony Corrente #99
• Umpire: Carl Paganelli #124
• Head Linesman: George Hayward #54
• Line Judge: Ron Marinucci #107
• Field Judge: Jim Saracino #58
• Side Judge: John Parry #132
• Back Judge: Perry Paganelli #46
• Alternate Referee: Jeff Triplette #42
• Alternate Umpire: Butch Hannah #40
• Alternate Line Judge: Carl Johnson #101
• Alternate Field Judge: Buddy Horton #82
• Alternate Back Judge: Richard Reels #83

There ye' are sar!

Originally Posted by Dagan81

You're right on the running game. We could have run the ball a lot more, more like we did this last season, and we would have eventually broken the Colts' backs with it. The Colts were not a good run defense that year, and I think we could have eventually exploited them had we used it. Ron Turner was an idiot for not seeing that.

Soul, do you or DB have a copy of the box score or game summary? I'm wanting to see who all else turned the football over in the game. Frankly, I'm shocked that the game was as close as it was due to that very reason. Had we not turned the ball over but two or three times, we might possibly have walked away a winner. I know that Grossman was responsible for at least two or three turnovers, and possibly more than that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XLI

Box score1234TotalColts6106729Bears1403017at Dolphin Stadium, Miami, Florida

• Date: February 4, 2007
• Game time: 6:25 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 67 °F (19 °C), rainy[36]
• Recap

[hide]Game information

• 1st Quarter
  
  • CHI – Devin Hester 92 yard kickoff return (Gould kick), 14:46. Bears 7-0.
  • IND – Reggie Wayne 53 yard pass from Peyton Manning (kick failed), 7:50 Bears 7-6. Drive: 9 plays, 80 yds, 4:30.
  • CHI – Muhsin Muhammad 4 yard pass from Rex Grossman (Gould kick), 5:34 Bears 14-6. Drive: 4 plays, 57 yds, 2:00.
• 2nd Quarter
  
  • IND – Adam Vinatieri 29 yard field goal, 11:17. Bears 14-9. Drive: 8 plays, 47 yds, 3:52.
  • IND – Dominic Rhodes 1 yard touchdown run (Vinatieri kick), 6:09. Colts 16-14. Drive: 7 plays, 58 yds, 3:08.
• 3rd Quarter
  
  • IND – Adam Vinatieri 24 yard field goal, 6:26. Colts 19-14. Drive: 13 plays, 56 yds, 7:34.
  • IND – Adam Vinatieri 20 yard field goal, 4:16, Colts 22-14. Drive: 6 plays, 62 yds, 2:07.
  • CHI – Robbie Gould 44 yard field goal, 1:14, Colts 22-17. Drive: 6 plays, 14 yds, 2:02
• 4th Quarter
  
  • IND – Kelvin Hayden 56 yard interception return TD (Vinatieri kick), 11:44. Colts 29-17.

[edit] Final statistics


President George W. Bush congratulates the Colts on their win


[edit] Overview

This was the third Super Bowl to have two players rush for more than 100 yards as Dominic Rhodes had 113 for the Colts and Thomas Jones had 112 for the Bears. Tony Dungy is the third man to win the Super Bowl as a head coach as well as a player, following Tom Flores and Mike Ditka.
For the Colts, Rhodes rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown, while also catching an 8-yard reception. Addai rushed for 77 yards and caught 10 passes (a Super Bowl record for running backs)[37] for 66 yards. Wilkins returned four kickoffs for 89 yards and 3 punts for 42 yards. Adam Vinatieri became the first kicker ever to play in five Super Bowls and the first to win four Super Bowl rings. Vinatieri's three field goals and two extra points gave him a total of 49 points for the entire 2006 post-season, an NFL record. The Colts' win was the first major professional championship for Indiana since the Indiana Pacers' ABA title in the 1972-73 season.
Hester's touchdown for the Bears on the opening kickoff was the first one in Super Bowl history, and the eighth kick return for a touchdown in a Super Bowl; only two of the eight teams who did this went on to win the game (the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI and the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV). Hester's return also kept a streak alive for there being a kickoff return for a touchdown in each Super Bowl played at Dolphin Stadium. Hester's and Wayne's touchdowns in the first quarter marked the first time in Super Bowl history, the first two touchdowns were scored by players from the same college (University of Miami). Jones was the Bears' top rusher with 112 yards, while also catching four passes for 18 yards. Desmond Clark was the Bears top receiver with six receptions for 64 yards. Grossman completed 20 of 28 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions, leaving him with a QB rating of 68.3 for the game.[38] Muhsin Muhammad became the third player ever to score a touchdown in the Super Bowl for two different teams, joining Ricky Proehl and Jerry Rice.
[edit] Statistical comparison

Indianapolis ColtsChicago BearsScore2917First downs2411Third down efficiency8–183–10Fourth down efficiency0–10–1Total yards430265Passing yards239154Passing – Completions-attempts25–3820–28Passing – Yards per pass6.35.5Rushing yards191111Rushing attempts4219Yards per rush4.55.8Penalties-yards6–404–35Sacks against11Turnovers35Fumbles-lost2–24–3Interceptions thrown12Time of possession38:0421:56
[edit] Individual leaders

Colts PassingC/ATT*YdsTDINTPeyton Manning25/3824711Colts RushingCaraYdsTDLGbDominic Rhodes21113136Joseph Addai1977014Colts ReceivingReccYdsTDLGbJoseph Addai1066012Reggie Wayne261153Marvin Harrison559022Dallas Clark436017
Bears PassingC/ATT*YdsTDINTRex Grossman20/2816512Bears RushingCaraYdsTDLGbThomas Jones15112052Bears ReceivingReccYdsTDLGbDesmond Clark664018Bernard Berrian438014Muhsin Muhammad335122Thomas Jones418014

*Completions/Attempts aCarries bLong play cReceptions
[edit] Starting lineups

IndianapolisPositionPositionChicagoOFFENSEReggie WayneWRMuhsin MuhammadTarik GlennLTJohn TaitRyan LiljaLGRuben BrownJeff SaturdayCOlin KreutzJake ScottRGRoberto GarzaRyan DiemRTFred MillerDallas ClarkTEDesmond ClarkMarvin HarrisonWRBernard BerrianPeyton ManningQBRex GrossmanJoseph AddaiRBThomas JonesBen UtechtTEFBJason McKieDEFENSERobert MathisLEAdewale OgunleyeAnthony McFarlandLDTTank JohnsonRaheem BrockRDTIan ScottDwight FreeneyREAlex BrownRob MorrisLOLBHunter HillenmeyerGary BrackettMLBBrian UrlacherCato JuneROLBLance BriggsNick HarperLCBCharles TillmanJason DavidRCBNathan VasherAntoine BetheaSSChris HarrisBob SandersFSDanieal Manning
[edit] Officials

• Referee: Tony Corrente #99
• Umpire: Carl Paganelli #124
• Head Linesman: George Hayward #54
• Line Judge: Ron Marinucci #107
• Field Judge: Jim Saracino #58
• Side Judge: John Parry #132
• Back Judge: Perry Paganelli #46
• Alternate Referee: Jeff Triplette #42
• Alternate Umpire: Butch Hannah #40
• Alternate Line Judge: Carl Johnson #101
• Alternate Field Judge: Buddy Horton #82
• Alternate Back Judge: Richard Reels #83

There ye' are sar!

Originally Posted by soulman

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XLI

Box score1234TotalColts6106729Bears1403017at Dolphin Stadium, Miami, Florida

• Date: February 4, 2007
• Game time: 6:25 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 67 °F (19 °C), rainy[36]
• Recap

[hide]Game information

• 1st Quarter
  
  • CHI – Devin Hester 92 yard kickoff return (Gould kick), 14:46. Bears 7-0.
  • IND – Reggie Wayne 53 yard pass from Peyton Manning (kick failed), 7:50 Bears 7-6. Drive: 9 plays, 80 yds, 4:30.
  • CHI – Muhsin Muhammad 4 yard pass from Rex Grossman (Gould kick), 5:34 Bears 14-6. Drive: 4 plays, 57 yds, 2:00.
  
  
• 2nd Quarter
  
  • IND – Adam Vinatieri 29 yard field goal, 11:17. Bears 14-9. Drive: 8 plays, 47 yds, 3:52.
  • IND – Dominic Rhodes 1 yard touchdown run (Vinatieri kick), 6:09. Colts 16-14. Drive: 7 plays, 58 yds, 3:08.
  
  
• 3rd Quarter
  
  • IND – Adam Vinatieri 24 yard field goal, 6:26. Colts 19-14. Drive: 13 plays, 56 yds, 7:34.
  • IND – Adam Vinatieri 20 yard field goal, 4:16, Colts 22-14. Drive: 6 plays, 62 yds, 2:07.
  • CHI – Robbie Gould 44 yard field goal, 1:14, Colts 22-17. Drive: 6 plays, 14 yds, 2:02
  
  
• 4th Quarter
  
  • IND – Kelvin Hayden 56 yard interception return TD (Vinatieri kick), 11:44. Colts 29-17.
  
  

[edit] Final statistics


President George W. Bush congratulates the Colts on their win


[edit] Overview

This was the third Super Bowl to have two players rush for more than 100 yards as Dominic Rhodes had 113 for the Colts and Thomas Jones had 112 for the Bears. Tony Dungy is the third man to win the Super Bowl as a head coach as well as a player, following Tom Flores and Mike Ditka.
For the Colts, Rhodes rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown, while also catching an 8-yard reception. Addai rushed for 77 yards and caught 10 passes (a Super Bowl record for running backs)[37] for 66 yards. Wilkins returned four kickoffs for 89 yards and 3 punts for 42 yards. Adam Vinatieri became the first kicker ever to play in five Super Bowls and the first to win four Super Bowl rings. Vinatieri's three field goals and two extra points gave him a total of 49 points for the entire 2006 post-season, an NFL record. The Colts' win was the first major professional championship for Indiana since the Indiana Pacers' ABA title in the 1972-73 season.
Hester's touchdown for the Bears on the opening kickoff was the first one in Super Bowl history, and the eighth kick return for a touchdown in a Super Bowl; only two of the eight teams who did this went on to win the game (the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI and the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV). Hester's return also kept a streak alive for there being a kickoff return for a touchdown in each Super Bowl played at Dolphin Stadium. Hester's and Wayne's touchdowns in the first quarter marked the first time in Super Bowl history, the first two touchdowns were scored by players from the same college (University of Miami). Jones was the Bears' top rusher with 112 yards, while also catching four passes for 18 yards. Desmond Clark was the Bears top receiver with six receptions for 64 yards. Grossman completed 20 of 28 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions, leaving him with a QB rating of 68.3 for the game.[38] Muhsin Muhammad became the third player ever to score a touchdown in the Super Bowl for two different teams, joining Ricky Proehl and Jerry Rice.
[edit] Statistical comparison

Indianapolis ColtsChicago BearsScore2917First downs2411Third down efficiency8–183–10Fourth down efficiency0–10–1Total yards430265Passing yards239154Passing – Completions-attempts25–3820–28Passing – Yards per pass6.35.5Rushing yards191111Rushing attempts4219Yards per rush4.55.8Penalties-yards6–404–35Sacks against11Turnovers35Fumbles-lost2–24–3Interceptions thrown12Time of possession38:0421:56
[edit] Individual leaders

Colts PassingC/ATT*YdsTDINTPeyton Manning25/3824711Colts RushingCaraYdsTDLGbDominic Rhodes21113136Joseph Addai1977014Colts ReceivingReccYdsTDLGbJoseph Addai1066012Reggie Wayne261153Marvin Harrison559022Dallas Clark436017
Bears PassingC/ATT*YdsTDINTRex Grossman20/2816512Bears RushingCaraYdsTDLGbThomas Jones15112052Bears ReceivingReccYdsTDLGbDesmond Clark664018Bernard Berrian438014Muhsin Muhammad335122Thomas Jones418014

*Completions/Attempts aCarries bLong play cReceptions
[edit] Starting lineups

IndianapolisPositionPositionChicagoOFFENSEReggie WayneWRMuhsin MuhammadTarik GlennLTJohn TaitRyan LiljaLGRuben BrownJeff SaturdayCOlin KreutzJake ScottRGRoberto GarzaRyan DiemRTFred MillerDallas ClarkTEDesmond ClarkMarvin HarrisonWRBernard BerrianPeyton ManningQBRex GrossmanJoseph AddaiRBThomas JonesBen UtechtTEFBJason McKieDEFENSERobert MathisLEAdewale OgunleyeAnthony McFarlandLDTTank JohnsonRaheem BrockRDTIan ScottDwight FreeneyREAlex BrownRob MorrisLOLBHunter HillenmeyerGary BrackettMLBBrian UrlacherCato JuneROLBLance BriggsNick HarperLCBCharles TillmanJason DavidRCBNathan VasherAntoine BetheaSSChris HarrisBob SandersFSDanieal Manning
[edit] Officials

• Referee: Tony Corrente #99
• Umpire: Carl Paganelli #124
• Head Linesman: George Hayward #54
• Line Judge: Ron Marinucci #107
• Field Judge: Jim Saracino #58
• Side Judge: John Parry #132
• Back Judge: Perry Paganelli #46
• Alternate Referee: Jeff Triplette #42
• Alternate Umpire: Butch Hannah #40
• Alternate Line Judge: Carl Johnson #101
• Alternate Field Judge: Buddy Horton #82
• Alternate Back Judge: Richard Reels #83

There ye' are sar!

Why thank you! I had forgotten that Wikipedia would have the box score of the game on it.

That was not my favorite game in my long and illustrious history of watcing sports. It's too bad that I don't remember the 1985 team. It seems that unless we win a championship here in the next couple of years, we are going to lose out on a golden opportunity to add another chapter to the glorious history of the Chicago Bears.

Soulman, did you read one of my blog entries titled "My Life as a Chicago Bears Fan"? In it, it tells how I came to love this franchise and how it basically kept me alive after I was hospitalized in 2006 after a nervous breakdown and plans for suicide. Read it sometime. That 2006 team, despite not winning the big one, is the team that I credit with helping keep me sane.

I used to spend countless hours on end listening to the marching band rendition of "Bear Down, Chicago Bears" both in the mornings and at night when I wasn't mentally able to go to work or to school. That December, I found this site, and have been posting on it for the better part of four and a half years with the exception of about two years from March 2008 through this past October. As a fan of the New York Yankees, I believe that you are only as good as your last championship. We are so close to realizing that dream, of being able to forget the 1985 season once and for so that my generation can appreciate the rich traditions and heritage that George Halas started when he helped found the NFL and the franchise in 1920. I believe we have the most glorious history of any NFL team other than maybe the Packers; we certainly have won more games and have a higher winning percentage than any other team. What we didn't have in 2006 were good assistant coaches outside of Ron Rivera. We have some of the brightest minds working for Lovie Smith now, and so its time to utilize that brain trust to its fullest potential and begin a string of championships like what the Bears experienced in the 1940s.