So here it is and expect a long one. I have not blogged since the NFC and AFC championships and the reason for that is the idea of how big and important this game is in the Hubba's household. For me I have talked about the Bears all year long and have been a Bears fan my ENTIRE life (not just one of these Bears fans to come out of the woodwork recently). The Knitting Goddess has been a Colts fan since 1998 when her hero Peyton Manning left our Alma Mater THE Tennessee Vols to take over as QB of the Colts. This in turn has caused a riff in the Hubba Household. No matter what happens The Knitting Goddess will be allowed to stay here tonight, she just might be on the couch. This is the moment that I have been waiting for since the 1985 Superbowl. Lets break down the game but keep in mind I will be TRYING to talk from the mind and not the heart here:
The Indianapolis Colts 12-4: This team as anyone who knows anything about football knows is all about the offense. It would be impossible to talk about the Cots and NOT talk about Peyton Manning. By the time Peyton's career is over he will have every statistical record for a QB. Peyton has been harassed by defensive line man and linebackers his entire career but for some reason no matter how well he does the media has always been his biggest nemesis. The media will get on his bandwagon about how great he is and in the same breath talk about how "he can't win the big game". I have never seen bigger turncoats against anyone in the history of sports (except maybe Philly fans). The other thing about Peyton is this... Peyton does not play defense. No matter what happens if he puts up 37 points and they lose 40-37 the media will go back to "Peyton can't win the big one". The defense is FAST. The only problem with the defense is that they are just small in size. My grandmother always used to say to me "Dynamite comes in small packages" and this is true about the Colts defense. Honestly I could probably go on for hours about the Colts offense with Marivin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, and so on and so on.....
The Chicago Bears 13-3: As the Bears have been know for years as a team with a Great defense and an offense that keeps the ball on the ground and pounds you with smash mouth football this year was a little different. The offense was opened up a little bit with Rex Grossman staying healthy and throwing the ball deep on many occasions. The running game is still there with Thomas Jones and Cedrick Benson but look for a few opportunities for Berrian to be deep down the middle of the field for a 40+ yard throw. Enough about the offense, here is what I LOVE about football.... Defense. The Bears had the best defense in the NFL for most of the year and the media turned on them as quickly as they turn on Peyton for some reason. They had 3 games that were average at the end of the year (after they had clinched everything) and the media started to talk about the Bears defense as if they had lost 13 games throughout the year instead of winning 13 games. They came out in the NFC championship and dominated the #1 offense int he NFC winning 39-14.
The game itself will be one hell of a game in my opinion and come down to protecting the ball. The team with the least turnovers will win. If Grossman can come out and get a few first downs his confidence will grow and he will have a good game. If the Bears defense can hold the powerful Colts offense to field goals that will give them the momentum to play a bend but not break type of defense. This game could come down to a momentum changing turnover on the opponents side of the field. At first I did not want to give a score prediction of this game because of my heart trying to very take my mind but I felt that my faithful readers need one (you both know who you are). The Knitting Goddess did find a lady bug and even gave our 4 dogs treats to bribe them to cheer for the Colts so I might be the only one cheering for the Bears her at Hubba Mansion in the long run. The Colts are favored by 7 points in this game and I expect them to play very hard. So here it is my last prediction of the NFL season:
Bears 24 Colt 23
