Super Bowl Preview - NFL News, Tips And Picks

Super Bowl Preview
By Chris Goudey
Posted: 4:00 am PDT 2007-02-03

Bet The Super Bowl At Bodog Sports Book

One of Peyton Manning's early commercials was a MasterCard spot that featured the Indianapolis quarterback making nice with some of the NFL's best defenders on a tropical vacation. In one of the scenes of the commercial, as Manning and the others sit meditating, Chicago linebacker Brian Urlacher privately eyes the quarterback from behind with a predatory gaze.

Now life will imitate art as Urlacher, the 2005 NFL defensive player of the year, gets his chance to hunt Manning, a two-time league MVP.

But Super Bowl XLI is more than just Manning vs. Urlacher or the Indianapolis Colts against the Chicago Bears.

It's Tony Dungy vs. Lovie Smith. It's Rex Grossman vs. his critics. It's Manning vs. his legacy.

The most prominent storyline pits Dungy and Smith, the first two African-American coaches in Super Bowl history and two guys who happen to be good friends.

The friendship was struck in 1996 when Dungy, then the coach in Tampa Bay, hired Smith to coach linebackers for one of the league's best defenses. They were together for five years until Smith took the Tampa 2 defense to St. Louis, where he was hired to be the Rams' defensive coordinator. Dungy was fired by the Bucs after the 2001 season and became the Colts' coach immediately, and Smith was hired by the Bears after three seasons with the Rams. Both have been among the NFL's most successful coaches in their current posts.

Dungy said it meant a lot for him and Smith to be the first black coaches in the Super Bowl. "I'm very proud to be representing African-Americans. I'm very proud of Lovie," Dungy told reporters.

Smith said one of his dreams had been realized, with the other just a victory away.

"My dream was for Tony to get to the Super Bowl, and he's there now," Smith said. "My ultimate dream, of course, is for the Chicago Bears to win it all."

To do that, the Bears will need a mistake-free game from Grossman, the first-year starter who used to root for the Colts when he was growing up in Bloomington, Ind. Grossman had an extremely inconsistent season and heard it from Chicago fans who wanted Smith to bench the starter and elevate Brian Griese to No. 1. But Smith stayed with Grossman, the Bears' first-round pick in 2003, because the Bears were winning even when Grossman's play was, well, gross.

Manning's play is usually grossly better than most quarterbacks, but he had not been able to get his team over the hump and into the Super Bowl in his first eight seasons.

"I know how hard it is to get here because it has been," he told reporters in Miami. "You feel a small window of opportunity. While we're here, we sure want to go ahead and win it."

It would put the finishing touches on a certain Hall of Fame career, giving Manning something NFL passing legends such as Dan Marino, Dan Fouts, Jim Kelly and Warren Moon never achieved.

As much of a focus as the quarterbacks are, the running games could be what determines the winner. The Bears need to run it with Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson to take pressure off Grossman, and the Colts need to give Manning balance with Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes running it. The advantage there could go to the Colts, whose defense has been very tough against the run in the playoffs. After giving up a league-high 173 yards per game during the season, the Colts have held all three playoff foes under 100.

Smith said his team will come right at the Colts.

"We are a running football team. We get off the plane running the ball," said Smith, whose Bears ran for a season-high 196 yards in the NFC title-game blowout against the Saints.

Each team has other strengths as well. Chicago's Devin Hester set an NFL record with six returns for touchdowns this season, and Indianapolis' Adam Vinatieri reaffirmed his status as one of the league's best kickers ever by nailing five field goals in the divisional-playoff win against Baltimore. Vinatieri won two Super Bowls with last-second kicks for the New England Patriots and is 11 for 11 in these playoffs.

The Bears had a couple of distractions early in their Super Bowl preparations as legally challenged defensive tackle Tank Johnson had to get permission to leave the state of Illinois to play in the title game. Also, Chicago defensive coordinator Ron Rivera has been hotly pursued by teams in need of head coaches, and the Dallas Cowboys are expected to interview him next week.

The Colts are favored to win this Super Bowl somewhat easily, given the perceived dominance of the AFC this season and a 41-10 win by the Colts over the Bears in 2004. But the Bears can win it if Smith can out-coach his mentor, Grossman can stay mistake-free and Urlacher can finally get his hands on Manning.

COLTS AT A GLANCE

Offense: 379.4 (third). Passing: 269.3 (second). Rushing: 110.1 (18th).
Defense: 332.3 (21st). Passing: 159.3 (second). Rushing: 173.0 (32nd)

Individual leaders
QB Peyton Manning: 65 percent, 4,397 yards, 31 touchdowns, nine interceptions.
RB Joseph Addai: 1,081 yards, 4.8 average, seven TDs.
RB Dominic Rhodes: 641 yards, 3.4 average, five TDs.
WR Marvin Harrison: 95 receptions, 1,366 yards, 12 TDs.
WR Reggie Wayne: 86 receptions, 1,310 yards, nine TDs.
TE Dallas Clark: 30 receptions, 367 yards, four TDs.
K Adam Vinatieri: 113 points, 25 of 28 field goals.
RS Terrence Wilkins: 24.5 average on kickoffs, 9.2 average on punts with one TD.
LB Cato June: 142 tackles, three interceptions.
LB Gary Brackett: 122 tackles.
DE Robert Mathis: 9.5 sacks, four forced fumbles.
DE Dwight Freeney: 5.5 sacks, four forced fumbles.
CB Nick Harper: Three interceptions.

Injury report: CB Nick Harper (ankle), LB Keith O'Neil (rib) and FS Bob Sanders (knee) are questionable.

BEARS AT A GLANCE
Offense: 325.0 (15^th). Passing: 205.1 (14th). Rushing: 119.1 (15th).
Defense: 294.1 (fifth). Passing: 194.8 (11th). Rushing: 99.4 (sixth).

Individual leaders
QB Rex Grossman: 54.6 percent, 3,193 yards, 23 touchdowns, 20 interceptions.
RB Thomas Jones: 1,210 yards, 4.1 average, six TDs.
RB Cedric Benson: 647 yards, 4.1 average, six TDs.
WR Muhsin Muhammad: 60 receptions, 863 yards, five TDs.
WR Bernard Berrian: 51 receptions, 775 yards, six TDs.
TE Desmond Clark: 45 receptions, 626 yards, six TDs.
K Robbie Gould: 143 points, 32 of 36 field goals.
RS Devin Hester: 26.4 on kickoffs with two TDs, 12.8 on punts with three TDs.
LB Brian Urlacher: 142 tackles, three interceptions.
LB Lance Briggs: 134 tackles, four forced fumbles, two interceptions.
CB Charles Tillman: 81 tackles, five interceptions, 14 passes defensed.
CB Ricky Manning Jr.: 53 tackles, two sacks, five interceptions, 10 passes defensed.
DE Alex Brown: Seven sacks, two interceptions.
DE Mark Anderson: 12 sacks.
Injury report: No injuries reported.

Best bet: Grossman will not be able to avoid mistakes against a Colts defense that surely will focus on stopping the run to force the quarterback into throwing the ball, and Manning and the Colts' offense should be able to move the ball against a Chicago defense missing two of its top defenders (Tommie Harris and Mike Brown). Indianapolis, 31-17.

NFL Football Betting Line, Upcoming Game Previews & More

Online NFL Football Betting Sites