Indianapolis 29, Chicago 17
Well, it was a good day to be a Colts fan. It was a wet, sloppy, fumble-filled day, but a good day nonetheless. Peyton Manning, Tony Dungy and the rest of the Colts were finally good enough. The Chicago offense - which managed one touchdown and 11 first downs - couldn't get it done, though Devin Hester's opening run-back on special teams was a thing of beauty. No wonder the Colts squibbed for the rest of the day - that guy's a beast.
So, Manning's into the Hall of Fame for certain - twice a regular-season MVP, he's now got a ring and a Superbowl MVP to boot. All that talk about being a choker, unable to win the big game, is over. Poor, poor Dan Marino is now back to being undisputed as the best QB to never win a Superbowl. Had to happen in Miami, too. That's gotta sting a bit.
As to the MVP award, Hubby, Randy and I started talking about who should win around the middle of the third quarter and kind of agreed that Dominic Rhodes deserved it - the guy had the game of his career, for Pete's sake. Then, Bob Sanders, who had been pretty stellar up to that point anyway, made a critical interception to close the door on the Bears. Personally, I would have given it to Sanders. But defensive players rarely get the Superbowl MVP (Ray Lewis notwithstanding). So I figured it was going to be Manning's day. With a few good candidates and no one single dominating performance, the default is the QB. So it has always been, so it shall always be. Just ask Tom Brady. Or better yet, ask Ty Law and Rodney Harrison.
A few thoughts on the day:
Performance of the Day: Phil Simms. Normally I'm not a Simms fan - he states the obvious and is almost always wrong about which way a play review will go. But Simms was seriously on point yesterday. I shouldn't have been surprised though - he did play basically the best game of his career in the Superbowl once upon a time. Clearly, he's a big game guy, even in broadcasting.
What the Hell? of the Day: Shannon Sharpe was actually making sense in the pregame. That never happens! What magical producer was speaking in his ear this week? And where have they been all season?
Question of the Day: Dan Marino to Peyton Manning in a pregame sit-down. To paraphrase: "If you win, is it all humanly possible to make any more commercials?"
You're killing me! of the Day: CBS - a feature on the very-ill coaching legend Bill Walsh, then one on dearly departed Bears Brian Piccolo and Walter Payton, then a long, touching story on Heinz Ward and his mom. You will not make me cry CBS! I'm not crying. Damn you, CBS.
So, Manning's into the Hall of Fame for certain - twice a regular-season MVP, he's now got a ring and a Superbowl MVP to boot. All that talk about being a choker, unable to win the big game, is over. Poor, poor Dan Marino is now back to being undisputed as the best QB to never win a Superbowl. Had to happen in Miami, too. That's gotta sting a bit.
As to the MVP award, Hubby, Randy and I started talking about who should win around the middle of the third quarter and kind of agreed that Dominic Rhodes deserved it - the guy had the game of his career, for Pete's sake. Then, Bob Sanders, who had been pretty stellar up to that point anyway, made a critical interception to close the door on the Bears. Personally, I would have given it to Sanders. But defensive players rarely get the Superbowl MVP (Ray Lewis notwithstanding). So I figured it was going to be Manning's day. With a few good candidates and no one single dominating performance, the default is the QB. So it has always been, so it shall always be. Just ask Tom Brady. Or better yet, ask Ty Law and Rodney Harrison.
A few thoughts on the day:
Performance of the Day: Phil Simms. Normally I'm not a Simms fan - he states the obvious and is almost always wrong about which way a play review will go. But Simms was seriously on point yesterday. I shouldn't have been surprised though - he did play basically the best game of his career in the Superbowl once upon a time. Clearly, he's a big game guy, even in broadcasting.
What the Hell? of the Day: Shannon Sharpe was actually making sense in the pregame. That never happens! What magical producer was speaking in his ear this week? And where have they been all season?
Question of the Day: Dan Marino to Peyton Manning in a pregame sit-down. To paraphrase: "If you win, is it all humanly possible to make any more commercials?"
You're killing me! of the Day: CBS - a feature on the very-ill coaching legend Bill Walsh, then one on dearly departed Bears Brian Piccolo and Walter Payton, then a long, touching story on Heinz Ward and his mom. You will not make me cry CBS! I'm not crying. Damn you, CBS.
posted by Jen @ 11:21 a.m.
2 Comments:
At 12:18 p.m.,
Marky Mark said…
Didn't you think Manning was a bit off when his receivers didn't catch the ball? He seemed to be too demonstrably annoyed almost to the point of showing them up. I agree with you that others easily could have been chosen as the MVP.
I thought Chicago got out coached.
At 2:17 p.m.,
Jen said…
I'd agree on both points.
Manning does tend to get pissy when his receivers drop the ball - I think being a bit of bitch is just who he is. A few weeks ago, CBS showed awesome footage of Peyton as a little tyke playing football with some other little gaffers (who I can only assume would be Cooper and Eli). Lil' Peyton's making a run with the ball and gets horse-collared. He promptly starts the best whine at the camera tantrum I've ever seen. So, I figure once you're a cry-baby, it's always with ya.
As to the out-coaching - I think Dungy coached a heck of a game. But he also had the better team. Flat out, raining or not, the Colts are better than the Bears. Indy has a good defense (when Sanders plays) and a really great offense. Chicago has a great defense and an okay offense with a loose cannon QB. Indy had to really screw up to lose. That said, I do think there is something to the suggestion that Dungy doesn't get credit for his intelligence in the way that some other, whiter coaches do. It's all about praising his character rather than his football smarts. Fact is, he's now build two Superbowl champions (the Bucs and the Colts).
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