Why the Bears lost the SB

[RWLongy4]

was to a WIDE open Reggie Wayne (still not sure how he got that open) and he had to come back for it.

To be fair, it was a 40 yard toss to the left side of the field while rolling to his right and being tackled as he threw so I think he gets a pass on the 2 yard underthrow. It was pretty lucky that he was able to even physically get the ball that far in that situation.

I wasn't trying to discredit Manning's throwing ability just trying to point out that he wasn't beating them with the deep ball.

[mattb47]

was to a WIDE open Reggie Wayne (still not sure how he got that open) and he had to come back for it.

To be fair, it was a 40 yard toss to the left side of the field while rolling to his right and being tackled as he threw so I think he gets a pass on the 2 yard underthrow. It was pretty lucky that he was able to even physically get the ball that far in that situation.

I wasn't trying to discredit Manning's throwing ability just trying to point out that he wasn't beating them with the deep ball.

Well....he was actually doing what he should've done by not trying to beat them with the deep ball. They were dropping guys back all game long....if they hadn't been playing with their safeties so deep all game would he have beaten them long? I think so.

[RWLongy4]

Eh that's the debate I guess, I think the Bears were honoring something that was never there given the conditions.

[onnestabe]

Excellent analysis so far, but I wanted to go ahead and throw in some of the issues I saw with the Bears:

1. Playcalling on offense. It seemed like the Bears stuck to the same game plan they had all year, even though they didn't need to. They would run the ball to get in short yardage situations on 2nd and 3rd downs, then drop back and try to hit a double-move for a big play. Unfortunately, it is virtually impossible to get behind the Colts' defense. the Colts' D is vulnerable to a team that can methodically run the ball and complete short passes to keep the chains moving. The Colts and Bears run the same defensive scheme, but apparently the Colts are the only ones who knew how to play against that scheme. The Bears kept going for those big plays, and it didn't pay off.

2. Rex Grossman is not very accurate. Those two interceptions were flat out bad throws by Rex. The one to Bob Sanders should have never been thrown because he has too much speed to get back across the field when you throw it up like that. The other one, though, should have been a TD for Chicago. The Bears receiver (I think it was Berrian, but I'm not sure) had the guy beat, and the safety had taken a bad angle. Grossman threw it about 10 yards shorter than he should have thrown it. If Grossman throws it up the field instead of to the sideline, it's a TD (14 point swing) and a totally different game.

3. Losing Benson shouldn't have been that big of a deal. I know Benson and Peterson (the 3rd string RB) have different running styles, but Thomas Jones' "slashing" style was very effective, so the most pressing concern was keeping him fresh. Peterson could have done that, because we have seen him have some very good games pulling backup duty over the past few years. I think the injury to Benson had little impact on the game when you consider #1 and #2 above.

[Free Bagel]

The Colts averaged 25 points per game this year COUNTING defensive touchdowns (so it's actually less for the offense). That's including games against teams with putrid defenses like two games against the Titans, two games against the Texans, etc.

So why is everyone acting like they did some great job of holding the Colts to "only" 22 points? That's right around their average. When Indy has lost in the playoffs since they got good it's been because their offense was shut-down, failing to score 20 points in any of those losses.

Really the Chicago D, which was just as schizo as Grossman towards the end of the year, has been given a pass in all this as they failed to show up multiple times including in the playoffs against Seattle where they were bailed out by everyone's favorite Grossman.

With how incredible everyone thought they were through 8 games, I'm surprised they didn't see more criticism down the stretch.

[maddog60]

Where ever you want to lay blame on that team, the simple matter of the fact is Grossman is the weak link. However good or bad you think he is, QB is the spot they can improve the most upon.

[daullaz]

Rex Grossman.

...

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Rex Grossman.

[Kilroy]

The Colts averaged 25 points per game this year COUNTING defensive touchdowns (so it's actually less for the offense). That's including games against teams with putrid defenses like two games against the Titans, two games against the Texans, etc.

So why is everyone acting like they did some great job of holding the Colts to "only" 22 points? That's right around their average. When Indy has lost in the playoffs since they got good it's been because their offense was shut-down, failing to score 20 points in any of those losses.

Really the Chicago D, which was just as schizo as Grossman towards the end of the year, has been given a pass in all this as they failed to show up multiple times including in the playoffs against Seattle where they were bailed out by everyone's favorite Grossman.

With how incredible everyone thought they were through 8 games, I'm surprised they didn't see more criticism down the stretch.

Agreed. The Bears' Defense struggled down the stretch and against Seattle, and their "success" against New Orleans had a lot to do with horrible playcalling by the Saints. They're not completely to blame for their performance against Indy (any defense will give if they're on the field all day), but the talk of the Bears having a "dominant" defense had been ringing false for a while.

[Azrael]

Why the Bears lost the superbowl...Rex Grossman.

Yes the defense gave up 22 points but it also created 3 turnovers and then Grossman turns around and gives it right back. The defense was also on the field twice as long as the offense.

Did you know the Bears offense only crossed mid field 2 times!! The first time they started on their own 42. The 2nd time they started on their Colts 40. The offense could not move the ball because Grossman crapped his pants.

Your special teams gives you a TD and your defense creates 3 turnovers and you can't do squat.

[daullaz]

I forgot the exact numbers, but of Chicago's first nine drives, only one was more than ten yards. That was about 58 years, and over 50 of those yards came on the long Thomas Jones run after an Indy turnover. Take away that play and Chicago couldn't muster ten yards of offense for its first nine drives!