Congrats to the Colts

A belated congrats to the Indianapolis Colts on winning the Super Bowl. I was glad that at least a couple of good friends of mine from high school and college were happy last night. Having suffered through many years of bad Colt teams, and good teams that couldn't finish, that had to be a great feeling. I remember the Steelers Super Bowl victory very well.

The Colts proved to be much tougher than I imagined them to be. I guess Tony Dungy's hard work and toughness paid off. Peyton Manning - as overexposed and annoying as he can be - played well and won the big game. I was surprised at how he was able to shake off rocky starts in post-season games and play big when everything was on the line. But the real stars of the game were the offensive and defensive lines. They played physical and allowed the Colts to run the ball which allowed Peyton to run the offense. It is hard to think of a team that looked more vulnerable heading into post-season but who turned it around in such remarkable fashion.

The Bears executed their game plan in many ways. They got a big special teams play and the defense held the Colts to field goals on a couple of key occasions. They were very much in the game in the fourth quarter. But Rex Grossman - Sexy Rexy as he is known on the Internets - just couldn't manage to hit his open receivers. When his mechanics are bad - happy feet and throwing off his back foot - his throws are highly inaccurate and have a tendency to sail on him. Against the Saints he put together a key drive or two and this allowed the running game to get going. Last night Grossman couldn't hit his receivers to save his life. One a couple of key plays he had open targets for potential big plays but his throws were jump balls. When the Colts got the pick-six in the fourth quarter it was over. If Grossman could have found a way to hold on to the ball or complete a decent pass downfield, the Bears were positioned to win the game much like they had won their last couple. But it was not to be. The soggy wet ball just hung in the air like some kind of sick duck and came down in the hands of the Colts defender. Grossman' stats might like half decent but he gave the game away.

Peyton gets the MVP even though it looked pretty clear to me that Dominic Rhodes deserved it (if not Rexy). Grossman has to be on the shakiest ground a super bowl QB has been on heading into the next season. Despite Lovie Smith, and his teammates, faith in him I find it hard to be confident about his job prospects

So congrats to the Colts and the Indy fans. They found a way to keep winning and that is really what it is all about.