SUPER BOWL DEPRESSION

Normally, I always pick up the local newspapers and read the daily articles on various sports sites. Today was different, mainly because the Bears loss in Super Bowl XLI has me really depressed. That being said, here are a few impressions from Super Sunday:

1—Peyton Manning is now officially the greatest quarterback in NFL history. The debates can finally end. Unless Manning breaks his leg and never returns to his current form, he finally has the ring to back him up. While Brett Favre will most likely break many of Dan Marino’s records in 2007, Manning will break Favre’s down the road. He is the QB that will be featured on “how to” tapes for Pop-Warner league QB’s in the future. His name can be penciled in along with Walter Payton and Jerry Rice as the best offensive players the NFL has ever seen.

2—While fans began wishing all forms of torture upon Rex Grossman only minutes following the game, he didn’t perform much different from what many experts, including myself, expected. First and foremost, after two mistake-free games, “Bad Rex” was due back. It had been too long (a full month) since we’d last seen him. Grossman wasn’t that terrible really, although the interception return for a TD was the gamebreaker. Bottom line is that after the first six games of the season, Grossman stopped doing his Manning impression and morphed into Heath Shuler. In order for him not to throw the ball away five times per game, the offense had to be "dumbed down" for him not to lose the game instead of to win the game. That’s not how the QB position needs to be played.

3—That being said, Grossman cannot take all of the blame. More of the blame for the loss should be blamed on the defensive line. Outside of Tank Johnson wrapping his arm around Manning in the first quarter, (which prompted Manning to throw a bomb to Reggie Wayne for a TD) they weren't close enough to smell Manning if he had bathed in a pile of duck droppings. Did Alex Brown, Adewale Ogunleye or Ian Scott even make the trip to Miami? If it wasn’t for a meaningless sack in the fourth quarter, the same question could be asked for Mark Anderson. Even when the Colts lost starting tackle Ryan Diem in the first half, it didn’t matter.

One thing is for certain: the Bears vaunted defense was NEVER the same after Tommie Harris went out for the season. While Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs are All-Pro linebackers and among the top-5 in the NFL at their position, it is crystal clear that Harris is the key to the defense for the Bears. He requires a double team on every play, thus allowing his fellow defensive line mates to get better pressure on the opposing QB. With him the line was the best in the league and possibly one of the best of all time, without him they were merely average and the Bears needed to blitz more frequently to get pressure.

4—Barring injury, Devin Hester will go down as the greatest kickoff/punt returner in the history of the league. He is so dangerous; teams simply cannot kick to him, which constantly ensures the Bears outstanding field position. Should the opposing team really mess up and give him a chance, he can change the game in the blink of an eye. He is as close to a guarantee on returns as there has ever been. If the kick coverage is poor, he will find the end zone and there is no argument about it. All he needs is the narrowest of holes and he won’t be caught. Hester will have a negative affect on concession sales for the rest of his career, as you simply can’t afford to get a beverage following a touchdown anymore. You would most likely miss the most exciting play of the game.

5—Finally, the Bears will be back and make a run at Super Bowls for the foreseeable future. They are relatively young and talented at every position. This off-season, the only real concern is the contract of Briggs, who will become a free agent. Even if they can’t reach an agreement, the Bears can still use the franchise tag on him. Briggs has said he wants to stay, so he should return for at least another year. General Manager Jerry Angelo has proven to be great at evaluating talent, having drafted Anderson, Hester, Charles Tillman, Nathan Vasher and Alex Brown in addition to many others. He has also been shrewd in his spending with contracts going to unlikely stars such as John Tait, Thomas Jones, Desmond Clark and Robbie Gould. Under his construction and Lovie Smith’s development, a new dynasty might take Chicago by storm.