Bears win thanks to Grossman doing nothing.

January 21, 2007

Chicago, Illinois

NFC Championship Game

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Before the season I predicted on my TV show that the Super Bowl would feature the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears. On my show on Friday I changed my Bears pick because they were without the best defensive player in the NFL in Tommie Harris and the inconsistent play of QB Rex Grossman. I was wrong.

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I was right, they didn’t have the animated Harris and Grossman was inconsistent. Grossman must have summoned the Ghost of Trent Dilfer (11 of 26, 144 yds. and 1 TD along with no int's) because although he did little here today to help the Bears he sure didn’t hurt them.

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The story was Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson. They ran on the Saints at will and even when they stacked the line, the Bears ran over them. The monsters of the Midway swagger was seen with the offense and Ron Rivera, the defensive coordinator who blitzed very little all season attacked Brees. Whether it was the snow or not the Bears attack style on defense and a running game that eliminated the need for Grossman to do anything was the key.

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You will hear a lot of people tell you who should be the MVP but to me it was very clear that the Spartan Nation’s Muhsin Muhammad was the clear winner. His downfield blocking was a clinic to WR’s at all levels and both Benson and Jones had their best runs behind his impressive blocking.

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All-Pro linebacker Brian Urlacher summed up the win and the pundits (like me) jumping off the Bears ship by saying "It didn't matter. This is a great team win for our franchise."
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The Saints penalties 7 for 47 yards (the most critical being an intentional grounding call the resulted in a safety) didn’t help when matched against the disciplined play of the Bears.
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Some will talk about Lovie Smith being the first black head coach to take a team to the Super Bowl in it’s illustrious 41 years. I for one think that is not fair. He is a great coach and quit frankly who cares about his color. Today’s 39-14 win had nothing to do with color, it had to do with a great staff and an even better head coach.
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On to Miami we go!