2008 Woodie Awards
Colts bound to lose
By: Caitlin Ryder
Issue date: 1/29/07 Section: Sports
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The Colts will lose this game, but they have had quite a ride on their way.
I thought Indianapolis was going to play their first game against 230 pound Larry Johnson and the Kansas City Chiefs. Johnson has 30 pounds on every starting member of the Colts secondary. I was shocked when I saw him have trouble getting back to the line of scrimmage against the Colts 31 ranked run defense.
Peyton Manning threw 3 picks. I thought the Chiefs were going to run the ball up and down the field on their defense.
Since then, the Colts have silenced all critics with the performance of their defense and running game. This allowed Manning to continue playing under par in the play-offs while the Colts upset their first two opponents. Manning eventually came back and defeated his nemesis, the New England Patriots in the Championship round.
The Bears on the other hand, came into the play-offs as the number one seed and though they were seen as the underdog on Selection Sunday. They beat the Saints with their running game. 'Good' Rex Grossman was able to sit comfortably in the pocket and hand the ball off to his two running backs to take the heat off of him.
The participants of Super Bowl XLI are a defensive juggernaut from the underdog NFC and an offense-oriented underdog from the consensually superior AFC.
One school of thought would say Manning is going to have to perform well and not allow turnovers to defeat the Bears.
I would have to say the pressure in this game rests squarely on the shoulders of the Colts defense. They have to stop the run. If they did, they would be Super Bowl Champions. The Colts will not be able to do this. The Bears will wear their team down with turnovers and a conservative running game which will consistently put pressure on the Colts defense.
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