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THIS WEEK: Super Bowl XLI:
The Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears - Sunday; 3:30 p.m PT on CBS
PLEASE NOTE: Those looking for injury updates as the week progresses will find them in the News & Views section of the site. I will also be posting the officially daily injury report updates as they are released by the league office through Friday afternoon.
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CHICAGO BEARS
As Associated Press sports writer Rick Gano suggested this past weekend, it's hardly a surprise to the Bears that they are underdogs in the Super Bowl against Peyton Manning and the Colts' high-powered offense.
Gano went on to explain that even though the Bears have won 15 of 18 games, including two at home in the playoffs, they're not considered as good as their record, in large part because the NFC North is considered a weak division in the weaker of the NFL's two conferences.
"We've won more games than anybody else in the league. That's enough right there," head coach Lovie Smith said. The Colts also have 15 victories, including the playoffs, and four losses.
"As far as us being underdogs, if you look at what all the Colts bring to the table I could see why they would make us underdogs, but we've been in that role before and our guys like the underdog role.
"I wouldn't bet against the Bears if I were a betting man."
The Colts and Bears last met in the 2004 season at Soldier Field and Gano reminded readers that Manning riddled a Chicago defense missing injured linebacker Brian Urlacher for four TD passes in a 41-10 runaway victory. Chicago's quarterback that day was rookie Craig Krenzel, who had four turnovers.
This weekend, cornerbacks Charles Tillman and Nathan Vasher will be on the spot, trying to contain Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne. And then there's tight end Dallas Clark giving the Colts a big threat over the middle.
The Bears did clamp down on the Saints and their top-rated offense in the Conference Championship game, coming up with four turnovers and yielding a pair of touchdowns, one an 88-yard pass to Reggie Bush.
One similarity between the Saints and Colts that won't mean much: They both play in a domed stadium. But the weather in Miami will be much better than the weather the Saints faced in Chicago. ...
The Bears defense got a lift last Tuesday when a judge granted a request to allow defensive tackle Tank Johnson to leave the state of Illinois as he awaits trial on gun possession charges.
Meanwhile, receiver Mark Bradley, who missed the NFC championship game with an ankle injury, practiced Monday along with the rest of his teammates.
While the Colts worked out in Indianapolis before heading to Miami, the Bears held a light practice at the University of Miami.
Bradley ran without difficulty and impressed Smith.
"He looked good," Smith said of Bradley, who also missed six games during the season. "He should be fine and ready to play. Both ankles looked the same to me."
The Bears installed nearly all of their game plan back home last week. Vasher said they didn't work on much other than game planning on Monday.
Much of the practice was conducted with 11-on-11 drills and a 40-second clock. Smith called that "routine."
He also acknowledged it's difficult to simulate the pace of the Indianapolis offense during practice.
"Only one team, the Colts, can run it like that, and especially with what Peyton Manning does," Smith said. "But we want to get as close to it as possible. ..."
Of course, as NFL Network insider Adam Schefter noted this week, Smith already knows what Manning can do from his own up close and personal view.
Back in 1994, Smith was the defensive backs coach at the University of Tennessee. The same year, Manning was a freshman quarterback at Tennessee.
It's also safe assume Smith has spent considerable time over the last week and a half refreshing his memory. ...
Moving on to other items and issues of interest heading into Super Sunday. ...
One of the biggest issues facing the Bears this weekend will be the play of Rex Grossman. The "Good Rex" versus "Bad Rex" conundrum is of primary concern.
That said, he's fared reasonably well in post-season play.
Grossman has been intercepted just once while throwing two touchdown passes in post-season play. Still, not everybody is on board.
According to SI.com insider Don Banks, the Bears won the NFC title game in spite of Grossman. Not because of him. Banks went on to suggest: "I'd even go as far as saying Grossman -- in his current incarnation -- is the worst Super Bowl quarterback since guys like New England's Tony Eason and Miami's David Woodley made the big stage.
"I know it's subjective, but I'm sticking by that assessment."
Banks argument makes sense -- up to a point.
The 39-14 final score masked how badly Grossman played in the first half, when the Bears could only muster three Robbie Gould field goals -- despite starting numerous drives in Saints territory -- and a Thomas Jones-led touchdown drive.
In the first half, Grossman was 3 of 12 for 37 yards, with a long gain of 30 (a pass to Desmond Clark down the seam). That means he was 2 of 11 for 7 yards the rest of the time. He finished 11 of 26 for 144 yards, one touchdown and a 73.2 passer rating.
Chicago was just three of 16 (19 percent) on third downs.
In fairness, Grossman helped his team by not hurting his team. He didn't commit a turnover, and took no sacks.
I would also suggest that offensive coordinator Ron Turner has no problem putting the game in Grossman's hands. In fact, with the Bears nursing an 18-14 lead against the Saints, Turner called four passes on a five-play, 85-yard drive.
Grossman went four for four for 78 of those yards.
"Never thought to take the ball out of Rex's hands," Turner said afterward.
As Banks' SI.com colleague Peter King put it: "Grossman's play may have been as ugly as it gets for three quarters, but Turner's faith paid off on Grossman's game-clinching drive. ..."
According to the Sports Xchange, after working for five different offensive coordinators in five years, going back to his days with the Florida Gators, Grossman welcomes the stability of a second consecutive year under Turner this season.
"Ron Turner has done a ton for me," Grossman said. "He's brought in an offense that suits what I do best. He gives me a lot of chances to push the ball down the field as well as a controlled passing game, intermediate throws and also some short throws in there.
"He gets me into a rhythm, and that's when I'm playing my best. We run the ball well, get some play-action, get some short passes, get into a rhythm and then, bam, hit them with a long one. He just keeps mixing things up. He's an excellent play-caller and a great offensive leader for this team."
The Xchange went on to note that Turner has had to convince Grossman that it's sometimes best to take the safe play rather than going for the big play when it's not there. During a mid-season slump in which Grossman was picked off 14 times in seven games while throwing just eight touchdown passes, Turner repeatedly stressed to his quarterback the importance of not over-thinking and of trusting his reads and his instincts.
"His job is to coach me within his schemes, and he also prepares me mentally for the game," Grossman said. "He talks to me about being decisive, reading and reacting, trusting what I see and then just having fun. Those are the types of things that he talks to me about before each game."
Grossman and Tuner will have had two weeks to get a handle on Indy's defense. Will it be enough? Is Grossman up to the task? That remains to be seen.
But do you really need a prolific quarterback to win the Super Bowl?
Absolutely not.
Guys like Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson, Mark Rypien and Jeff Hostetler have proven that. ...
In a related note. ... According to The Sporting News, the on-again-off-again love fair fans have had for Grossman isn't something that has affected the front office in its evaluation of the former first-round pick.
General manager Jerry Angelo has stood steadfastly behind the man he based his 2003 draft on even throughout a series of serious injuries. It's hard to say that hasn't paid off.
After all, Grossman has guided the Bears to the Super Bowl and fulfilled a lot of what the team expected in him.
Although he's made only 23 career regular-season starts, the time will come this offseason for the Bears to make a long-term move with Grossman. He' s set to be an unrestricted free agent following 2007, and the proactive Angelo does not want to battle for the player he put so much faith in on the open market.
Once contracts are done for Smith and his assistants, look for the Bears to open dialogue with Grossman's powerful agent, Eugene Parker, on a long-term extension. ...
As Pro Football Weekly noted last Monday, one potential controversy that has not come to a head in Chicago is in the backfield, where the ongoing soap opera between Jones and former first-round draft pick Cedric Benson seems to have dissipated over the course of the season.
"When you get to the playoffs, it's all about winning football games," Jones told PFW. "All three of us together (including Adrian Peterson) make a nice combination of backs with different styles that make it hard for defenses to game-plan for us. So having three good running backs definitely is an asset to your team."
It proved to be a huge asset in the win over New Orleans.
Chicago outrushed the Saints 196-56, led by Jones' 123 yards (on 19 carries) and Benson's 60 yards (on 24 carries). Benson actually had more carries and yards than Jones in the final five weeks of the regular season, but only because Jones was being held back for precautionary reasons.
"I probably could have had 20 carries in all those games (down the stretch), but the coaches just wanted to rest me pretty much each time. We need all of our starters to be physically ready to go."
Being the backup -- albeit an effective one -- has been an adjustment for Benson, the former Texas star who gained more than 5,000 yards for the Longhorns. Signed to a large contract that included $16 million in guaranteed money after the Bears made him their first-round pick in 2005, he's used to being the main man.
Their styles are different and they're certainly not best friends, but they have a working relationship, one that has helped bring the Bears to the cusp of an NFL championship.
"I mean, we're cool. There's no conflict or drama between the two of us. I mean, everything's good. I mean, what is the perception?" Benson said earlier during the postseason.
The Bears are going to need a two-headed attack against the Colts' run defense, which has been nearly impenetrable in the postseason. Indianapolis held Kansas City's Larry Johnson to 32 yards rushing in the first round of the playoffs; limited Baltimore's Jamal Lewis to 53 yards the next; and allowed only 93 yards to New England as a team.
Jones said he expects to get the bulk of the carries Sunday at Dolphin Stadium, but it will depend again on how the game is unfolding.
"Both guys have bought into it, we feel they are both very good players and we want to utilize both their strengths," Turner said. ...
All that said, don't expect both men to remain on the roster next season.
As the Chicago Sun-Times framed it this week: "You can use a starter's pistol to mark the beginning of Jones trade talk when the Super Bowl ends. ..."
The hot rumor is that one of the New York teams is going to make an offer to the Bears -- either the Giants to replace Tiki Barber or the Jets to replace Curtis Martin. ...
As DailySouthtown.com staffer Gene Chamberlain noted last week, during the NFC championship game buildup, Bears running backs felt slighted by all the attention paid to Bush and Deuce McAllister.
The Bears wideouts expect to be the ones slighted this time around.
Bernard Berrian, Muhsin Muhammad and Rashied Davis say it's inevitable they'll be overlooked, considering the Colts' starting tandem of Wayne and Harrison.
"Pretty much a lot of teams are like that a lot of times with us," Berrian said. "People don't talk about our receivers. We can't make plays or we're no-name receivers or whatever. If you want to do that, then we're going to go out there and we're going to attack you. There's still a lot we can do a lot more. We're still making mistakes. We've got another level to take our game to."
Berrian has developed into the Bears' main receiving threat in the postseason. In three career playoff games, dating to 2006, he has 15 catches for 258 yards and two touchdowns. Muhammad has seven catches for 116 yards in three playoff games with the Bears.
"I think [Grossman] is doing a good job of taking it to Bernard when it calls for it, going to 'Moose' when it calls for it, or [Clark], and Rashied," Turner said. "I think he has confidence in all those guys. Rashied has done a tremendous job of stepping up. ..."
And finally. ... Getting back to Smith's contract situation. Team president/CEO Ted Phillips said last week that talks on an extension for the coach are on hold until after the playoffs in order to avoid becoming a distraction.
Phillips also said reports that the Bears had offered Smith an extension worth less than $3 million was a "complete falsehood, inaccurate," although multiple sources said the Bears made a final pass at getting a Smith extension done in the range of $2.7 million per year after publicly stating that talks were on hold.
"Lovie Smith has indicated to me that he wants to be the head coach of the Chicago Bears and that is my goal," Phillips said.
Phillips defended Smith's current deal, which pays him $1.35 million this season, the lowest salary for an NFL head coach. "I'm not embarrassed at all," Phillips said. "It was a market-valued contract for a coach who had not been a head coach in the NFL. It was a fair deal."
Sources have said the Bears and Smith are far apart on money, although Phillips insisted, "It wasn't about the money." Phillips indicated, however, that there were no other substantive issues in the way other than financial.
How's the digit that he injured in the team's Conference Championship win over New England?
"It's like I said earlier, I attended the Bill Belichick school (about) discussing injuries," Manning said, referring to the Patriots coach who seldom gets specific his team's about injuries. "There's my answer." Will you practice?
"Yeah, I will," Manning said.
End of discussion.
Manning has started the first 156 games of his career and missed only one play because of injury. As Star staffer Phillip B. Wilson suggested, "He is a rub-some-dirt-on-it kind of guy who is inclined to just play."
For the record, X-rays on the thumb were negative and Manning hasn't missed any practice time since. ...
Meanwhile, the Sports Xchange reports that cornerback Nick Harper remains hopeful of practicing on Wednesday -- or at least by Thursday. Harper suffered a sprained right ankle in the first quarter of the Patriots game two weeks ago.
He did not practice last week.
Tight end Ben Utecht saw light practice last week but is expected to play this week against Chicago. Utecht suffered a hyperextended right knee against New England. ...
Veteran receiver Ricky Proehl remains hopeful of being able to play in his fourth Super Bowl this weekend. Proehl has been sidelined since late in the regular season with a strained hamstring. He returned to practice three weeks ago but has not been active for any of the postseason. ...
Moving on to other items and issues of interest heading into Super Sunday. ...
In an article published last week, Chappell reminded readers that two offseason decisions have proven critical to the Indianapolis Colts' run to the Super Bowl:
First, Edgerrin James, the team's free-wheeling, hard-working career rushing leader, would not be brought back for the 2006 season. Secondly, it would take more than one guy to replace him.
An offense that had made liberal use of the one-back set for more than a dozen years -- first with Marshall Faulk, then with James -- would rely on a different approach following James' free-agent move to Arizona.
"We felt it was going to take a couple of people to replace Edgerrin, that you weren't going to get a guy who could carry the ball as often as he did and hold up," head coach Tony Dungy said.
Enter Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai.
From their first meeting in mini-camp last May, they meshed.
According to Chappell, that share-the-load blueprint was one Dungy and team president Bill Polian settled on when they decided not to pursue James. It was followed during the regular season, when Rhodes, the veteran, started all 16 games and handled 187 carries, and Addai, the first-round draft pick, rushed a team-high 226 times.
Addai became the first running back in NFL history to rush for at least 1,000 yards (1,081) without starting a game.
And it's a script that has proven instrumental in the Colts reaching the Super Bowl for the first time in 36 seasons. After averaging a workable 110.1 rushing yards during the regular season, they've bumped it up to 137.7 in playoff games against Kansas City, Baltimore and New England. Indy out-gained each on the ground.
Addai has rushed for 217 yards in the postseason, second only to Philadelphia's Brian Westbrook (257). Rhodes is No. 3 (193) and has been sparkplug off the bench.
Rather than lean on Addai (the 30th overall draft pick) as they did James (the fourth) when he had a league-high 369 carries as a rookie in 1999, the Colts opted to divide and conquer. James, Dungy noted, was "a freak" who could handle the withering workload while remaining effective in the passing game and pass protection.
"Those guys don't come along very often," Dungy said.
With Rhodes eager to emerge after serving as James' longtime backup, the Colts added Addai and decided to maximize each by using both. Addai's history of being a part-time back at LSU also guided their decision.
The two have been a perfect match, perhaps Chappell suggests because of their differences.
Rhodes is a powerful downhill runner, much more effective between the tackles than running the team's familiar stretch play. Addai is the total package. He has the speed, cutting ability and vision to run the stretch play with James-like efficiency, and the strength and burst to work inside.
Together, they've more than filled the statistical void left by James. Addai and Rhodes combined for 1,722 yards and 12 touchdowns during the regular season. James had 1,506 yards and 13 touchdowns in his final season with the Colts.
Working together, Addai and Rhodes have stayed fresh.
"Right now I feel better than I did in college," Addai said. "It's probably best that me and Dom split carries."
Added Rhodes: "This two-back deal, I never would have expected it to be the way it is, but it's been an awesome thing. Me and Joe get along real well and we kind of feed off each other. ...
"It's been a pretty good and unique situation. ..."
Manning, Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne may be Indianapolis' best-known offensive stars, but as Associated Press sports writer Michael Marot noted this week, defenses can forget about tight end Dallas Clark at their own peril.
The fourth-year tight end has given the Colts a different dimension over the middle -- one that creates nearly as many mismatches for linebackers and safeties as it does scoring chances for the Colts.
"That's the position you want to be in," Clark said after Sunday's AFC championship victory. "You want to be the guy getting Peyton time, running routes and making plays."
As usual, Clark produced his share against New England.
He led all Colts receivers with six catches for 137 yards, and his 52-yarder deep down the middle set up a crucial late field goal that tied it at 31. Indy eventually won 38-34.
Not surprisingly, Clark's post-season emergence has paralleled Indy's success.
On a team with two Pro Bowl receivers and a two-time MVP, Manning has exploited the soft underneath routes by repeatedly throwing to his tight ends.
The result: Clark has a team-high 17 receptions for 281 yards in three playoff games with a Super Bowl still to play.
Clark's impact in Indianapolis can even be measured in simpler terms. When he's played this season, the Colts are 14-1. When he missed four games with a sprained knee ligament, the Colts lost three times.
Initially, the Colts thought Clark tore the anterior cruciate ligament -- an injury that would have ended his season and devastated Indianapolis' postseason hopes, especially since Brandon Stokley had already sustained a season-ending Achilles' tendon injury.
Fortunately, for Clark and the Colts, it wasn't as bad as first feared.
Clark made it back for the season finale against Miami, a game that seemingly got him prepared for the playoffs.
Meanwhile, as Wilson reminded readers, Brian Urlacher is as good as it gets at middle linebacker. But the Bears probably won't want him running after Clark. The Bears have to figure out a way to cover the tight end. Their cover-2 defense won't be a surprise; Dungy is considered one of the game's best at the scheme.
Harrison has played in the postseason with a sore left wrist. He can still make the big play. So, too, can Wayne. Wilson went on to advise readers the Bears will line up Charles Tillman on Harrison and Nathan Vasher on Wayne.
Bears safeties Todd Johnson and rookie Danieal Manning will have to provide some help. If the safeties split, the middle could be open for Clark.
The Bears were 11th in pass defense at 194.8 yards allowed per game. The Colts were second in pass offense at 269.3 yards per game. The Bears intercepted 24 passes in the regular season, two in the playoffs.
Manning has six interceptions in the playoffs after throwing only nine in the regular season, but he played his best football to bring the Colts back against the Patriots. He finished 27-of-47 for 349 yards.
As Wilson stressed, the Bears must get to Manning.
They had 40 sacks in the regular season, six in two playoff games. But the Colts allowed a league-low 15 sacks in the regular season, five in three playoff games.
Their ability to keep Chicago's pass rush in check could be a determining factor this weekend.
So, of course, could Adam Vinatieri.
"You never know what play's going to be the one that means something in the game," said the veteran place-kicker, who will make his fifth Super Bowl appearance, and first as a member of the Colts. "There are always a couple -- two, three or five -- plays in a game that are defining plays."
It might even be one of the last ones. As Chappell noted, Vinatieri has been there, too. Twice.
In Super Bowl XXXVI after the 2001 season, his 48-yard field goal as time expired lifted the Patriots to a 20-17 victory over St. Louis in the Superdome. Two years later, in Super Bowl XXXVIII, Vinatieri lifted his Patriots mates again with a 41-yard field goal with four seconds remaining to secure a 32-29 win over Carolina.
The key to a Super Bowl-winning kick, according Vinatieri, is to treat it no differently than a kick in the second quarter of the third game of the regular season.
"Obviously the excitement level and everything's amped up a little bit more, but at the end of the day, it's still a 40-yarder or a 50-yarder or a 20-yarder. Whatever it is, you have to go out there and execute the same way."
And Vinatieri has proven more than capable of doing just then when it counts the most. ...
And finally. ... Dungy will wait until after the Super Bowl before considering his future with the team.
As NFL.com reported last week, Dungy signed a contract extension last year that would keep him in Indianapolis through 2009. But many have wondered whether the 51-year-old coach, who previously said he intended to retire at age 50, might resign if he wins the Super Bowl.
"That's something I've not thought a whole lot about," he said. "I'll sit down with (owner) Jim [Irsay] and my wife at the end of the year. The first thing you have to do is make sure you're still wanted back. I never take that for granted any more."
Dungy made a similar statement after last season, when the Colts were eliminated from the playoffs in a 21-18 loss at home to eventual Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh.
He has said since then that he always anticipated returning to the sideline this season.
There's little doubt Irsay would like Dungy back.
Dungy ranks among the active leaders in victories with a record of 114-62. He's gone 60-20 in five seasons with the Colts, who won their first AFC title during their Indianapolis era with a 38-34 victory over New England.
It's the first time Dungy has taken a team to the Super Bowl as a head coach.