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Dwight Freeney will receive a 1-year contract worth $8.644 million dollars after he was franchised by the Colts. He played in all 16 games and made 29 tackles, had 5.5 sacks, defensed 3 passes and forced 4 fumbles. He also really stepped up in the playoffs and was a major factor in the Super Bowl run of the Colts last season.
None of the Colts TEs put up great numbers individually, but together they were an awesome unit as they caught 85 passes for 946 yards and had 6 TD catches. Peyton Manning is always looking for those guys over the middle and I’m certain that will happen again next season.
Ben Utecht had been mostly used as a blocker until Dallas Clark got hurt. But then he showed off a good set of hands. He played in 15 games (all starts) and he caught 37 passes for 377 yards (10.2 avg). For his career, Utecht has played in 27 games (17 starts) and he has caught 40 passes for 436 yards (10.9 avg) with 2 TD catches.
Dallas Clark proved how important he was to the Colts offense in the post-season, but his regular season was marred with injury. Clark played in 12 games (all starts) and he caught 30 passes for 367 yards (12.2 avg) with 4 TD catches. For his career, Clark has played in 52 games (49 starts) and he’s caught 121 passes for 1,618 yards (13.4 avg) with 14 TD grabs.
Bryan Fletcher is the #3 TE but he still was a contributor on offense this season. He played in 15 games (3 starts) and he caught 18 passes for 202 yards (11.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs. For his career, Fletcher has played in 31 games (15 starts) and he has caught 36 passes for 404 yards (11.2 avg) with 5 TD catches.
TOny Dungy has won a ton of games in the regular season but today he became a great football coach. He did it with dignity too as he thanked God for the win on the podium after the game. This win will also put Tony Dungy in the Hall of Fame as this was the elusive goal that he’s been chasing that he finally got! Great job Coach Dungy.
How could he possibly be picked as the MVP of this game? His best pass was to a guy with no one within 15 yards of his receiver! Dominic Rhodes, Joseph Addai or Kelvin Hayden should have won the MVP of this football game. Wasn’t it enough that he got the monkey off his back? Did they really have to give him this award?
The Indianapolis Colts pushed the Bears around tonight and left the field as World Champions. The Colts held onto the football for 38:04 of the game and outgained them 430 to 265!
Peyton Manning won the MVP of the Super Bowl as he completed 25 of 38 passes for 247 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception. The Colts offensive line was dominant as they paved the way for the Colts running backs! Dominic Rhodes was awesome tonight as he carried the ball 21 times for 113 yards (5.4 ypc) with 1 TD run. Joseph Addai was also very, very busy as he carried the ball 19 times for 77 yards (4.1 ypc) and he caught 10 passes for 66 yards. Reggie Wayne only caught 2 passes for 61 yards, but one of the catches was a long TD reception in the first quarter. Marvin Harrison also had a decent game with 5 receptions for 59 yards.
The defense came to play tonight as they kept taking the ball away from the Bears. With cornerback Nick Harper hurting and sitting on the sideline, reserve corner Kelvin Hayden made the biggest play of the football game when he intercepted a pass by Rex Grossman early in the 4th quarter and returned it 56 yards for a TD to give the Colts a 29-17 lead. Bob Sanders then picked Grossman off on the Bears next possession and pretty much sealed the Bears fate!  Linebackers Gary Brackett (8 tackles) and Cato June (7 tackles) both had pretty good games.
1.  Take Peyton Manning to complete more than 21 passes……..he might complete 30!
2. Take Dallas Clark to score the first TD of the game………and you get 10-1 odds.
3. Lay 9-5 that Peyton Manning completes his first pass of the game.
4. Bet against any team scoring on three straight possessions……and you get 5-8 odds
5. Bet that Dallas Clark will score a TD in the Super Bowl…….you get 5-2 odds!
This should be a fantastic football game on Sunday. The weather could be an issue as the forecast is calling for thunderstorms in Miami and that would not be good news for the Colts who rely on precision and timing in their offense. These are the best two teams in the NFL and I’m sure both teams will make the necessary adjustments to the weather.Â
When the Colts have the football look for them to mix it up on offense. They would like the establish a running game early which is easier said then done against the stingy Chicago Bears defense. The Bears don’t blitz a lot so their fast linebackers are always free to attack the running backs as the Bears front line usually demand the double team keeping Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and Hunter Hillenmeyer to make plays. Still, if the Colts can’t run the ball, they will be in trouble on Sunday. The Colts must continue to run the football even if they aren’t getting a lot of yards so that Peyton Manning can use his play action passing attack. The Bears do have young safeties in Daniel Manning and Chris Harris so the Colts might take shots deep to Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison to challenge them. Peyton Manning must be careful with the Bears corners as both Nathan Vasher and Charles Tillman are playmakers. The Bears are planning on having Brian Urlacher covering Dallas Clark in the passing game and keeping the safeties back to help Vasher and Tillman with Harrison and Wayne. Clark vs. Urlacher will be the key battle in this football game as Clark has been Peyton Manning’s go to man in the post season.
When the Chicago Bears have the football look for them to be very basic and run the football a lot. The Bears have a huge football team as their offensive line averages 304.6 pounds per man while the undersized Colts defensive line averages only 271.8 pounds and relies on speed. The Bears also have a big TE Desmond Clark (249 pounds), a great run blocking receiver in Mushin Muhammad (215 pounds) and a good blocking fullback in Jason McKie (243 pounds) and those guys will likely be dealing with the undersized Colts linebackers that average 235 pounds per man. Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson will both have huge games this Sunday and will be one of the big reasons that the Bears win this football game. Rex Grossman is not a great QB by any means, but when the safeties creep up to stop the Bears running game…and they will…..look for Rex Grossman to go up top to Bernard Berrian as the Colts corners are not that fast.
On special teams the Colts have Mr. Money Adam Vinatieri but a closer look at his numbers tell you that he has only hit 73.3% of his FGs in the post season on grass. P Hunter Smith hasn’t had a very good season and that could be a huge problem for the Colts against the Bears and Devin Hester. The Colts coverage teams have had problems all season long in covering kicks and that’s a big mis-match in the Bears favor.
The Bears have a better special teams unit then the Colts do and it’s not even that close. Devin Hester will be running all over the field against the Colts and according to Tony Dungy they actually plan on kicking it to him…and that is an example of bad coaching if he follows through on that promise. Kicker Robbie Gould has been great this season for the Bears and he has a big leg to kick the long field goals. Punter Brad Maynard also had a good season and has a big leg and good directional kicking skills which give the Bears another edge.
The Colts have lost their last three football games played outside on grass and the weather could be bad which will not help the Colts on Sunday. The Bears special teams and defense have scored 58 points this season and they should add to that on Sunday as they will be crowned Super Bowl Champions by 10 o’clock on Sunday Night. I like the Bears 27-17 in the Super Bowl.