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Super Bowl Sunday always brings to mind the words of Charles Dickens: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Granted, we've never actually read "A Tale of Two Cities," but it's fitting nonetheless. Super Sunday is a day you look forward to all year. There's so much media hype in the two weeks leading up to the game that it's hard not to get caught up in it, if you're lucky it's an entertaining game, and if you're real lucky your favorite team is actually playing in the game.
But once the final seconds tick down in the fourth quarter, it's over. No more NFL Sunday Ticket, no more tailgating, no more armchair quarterbacking, and no more obsessing about your fantasy team (unless you're in a keeper league, of course). For the next six months, you're on your own, anxiously waiting for camps to open again in July.
So soak it up while you can, especially this year with such an intriguing matchup on tap. A lot of people subscribe to the "defense wins championships" mentality, and we may very well find out this year if that holds any water. Of course, while everyone's primed for the Colts' offense vs. the Bears' defense, let's not forget that the Bears can score too, and not just offensively. When you can put points on the board in every facet of the game like Chicago, you're never overmatched and you're never out of a game. There's no doubting that Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Joseph Addai can light up a scoreboard. In fact, the Colts ranked second in the NFL with 26.7 ppg during the regular season, a mark that tied them with...yep, the Chicago Bears.
On paper, this looks like a stellar pairing, but how will it play out on the field? Anthony Stalter's Pivot Points identifies the five matchups that will decide the game. But while Peyton Manning's ability to beat the Bears' defense is definitely a key to the game, Anthony wonders why so many quarterbacks are defined by their Super Bowl credentials (or lack thereof) when football is the consummate team sport. Finally, John Paulsen was rooting for a Colts/Saints Super Bowl, but he says he'll take this matchup over the Patriots/Bears travesty that we narrowly avoided.
PIVOT POINTS: Can John Tait stop Indy speed-rusher Dwight Freeney? Will Peyton be able to solve the Bears' Tampa-2 defense? Anthony Stalter says these are two of the five matchups that will decide Super Bowl XLI. |
Super Bowl XLI offers us the chance to not only watch one of history's greatest QBs try to secure his legacy, but we also get to see if Rex Grossman has what it takes. John Paulsen says anything is better than a Patriots/Bears matchup. |
But wait, why is everyone so focused on Peyton and Rex? Sure, quarterback play is important, but Anthony says guys like Brad Johnson and Trent Dilfer have proven it takes more than a quarterback to win a title. |