TheLounge
02-06-2007, 02:32 PM
San Jose Mercury News columnist Mark Purdy said it best on KNBR 680 Monday afternoon: Sunday’s Super Bowl wasn’t a great game, but it was interesting. The constant rain, myriad turnovers and another debacle by Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman (who put the “gross” in his last name with a putrid performance) was like a car wreck — you don’t want to look but you just can’t help yourself.
Here are my musings on NFL’s season finale (and no, the Pro Bowl does not count):
• As long as the Colts won, was there any way Peyton Manning was not going to earn Most Valuable Player honors? Out of everything that happened Sunday, that was, by far, the biggest travesty. Manning had decent numbers, nothing spectacular and basically didn’t lose the game for Indianapolis.
But MVP? If there ever was a case for another co-MVP award — Dallas’ Randy White and Harvey Martin were co-MVPs for Super Bowl XII in 1978 — it was this game. Colts’ running backs Dominick Rhodes and Joseph Addai had their way with the vaunted Chicago defense. The two combined for 256 yards of total offense — nine yards more than Manning threw for. Addai led all receivers with 10 catches for 66 yards and added another 77 yards rushing. Rhodes gashed Chicago for a game-high 113 yards and a score, most of which came in the second half.
Unfortunately for them, they are not the poster boy for the Colts or the NFL.
• I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a closer game in which one team dominated the stats. Indy had more than twice as many first downs, ran nearly twice as many plays, out-gained the Bears by almost 200 yards and held the ball for nearly 16 minutes more than Chicago. The fact the Bears even kept it close is amazing.
• Is there a worse Super Bowl quarterback than Grossman? He had a Jekyll-and-Hyde regular season and followed that with two decent playoff games before suffering a meltdown in the biggest game of his life. His numbers were decent — 20 for 28 for 165 yards and a touchdown, but he threw two interceptions — one that was returned for a touchdown that gave the Colts some breathing room.
Of the Bears’ 14 possessions, four times they went 3-and-out and five more ended in turnovers. I used to think Trent Dilfer was the worst Super Bowl quarterback, but at least his Baltimore Ravens won the game in 2001.
• Not a banner year for Super Bowl commercials. None really stood out. My favorites were the Bud Light spot where the couple picks up the hitchhikers carrying 12-packs of beer — plus a huge ax and a chain saw. The other was the Blockbuster commercial where the bunny and guinea pig tried to use a real mouse to go online.
The most disturbing: The Snickers kiss and the suicidal robot.
• Was there a more boring National Anthem than Billy Joel’s? The powers-that-be should have used Prince for the anthem as well as the halftime show.
Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 117.
Here are my musings on NFL’s season finale (and no, the Pro Bowl does not count):
• As long as the Colts won, was there any way Peyton Manning was not going to earn Most Valuable Player honors? Out of everything that happened Sunday, that was, by far, the biggest travesty. Manning had decent numbers, nothing spectacular and basically didn’t lose the game for Indianapolis.
But MVP? If there ever was a case for another co-MVP award — Dallas’ Randy White and Harvey Martin were co-MVPs for Super Bowl XII in 1978 — it was this game. Colts’ running backs Dominick Rhodes and Joseph Addai had their way with the vaunted Chicago defense. The two combined for 256 yards of total offense — nine yards more than Manning threw for. Addai led all receivers with 10 catches for 66 yards and added another 77 yards rushing. Rhodes gashed Chicago for a game-high 113 yards and a score, most of which came in the second half.
Unfortunately for them, they are not the poster boy for the Colts or the NFL.
• I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a closer game in which one team dominated the stats. Indy had more than twice as many first downs, ran nearly twice as many plays, out-gained the Bears by almost 200 yards and held the ball for nearly 16 minutes more than Chicago. The fact the Bears even kept it close is amazing.
• Is there a worse Super Bowl quarterback than Grossman? He had a Jekyll-and-Hyde regular season and followed that with two decent playoff games before suffering a meltdown in the biggest game of his life. His numbers were decent — 20 for 28 for 165 yards and a touchdown, but he threw two interceptions — one that was returned for a touchdown that gave the Colts some breathing room.
Of the Bears’ 14 possessions, four times they went 3-and-out and five more ended in turnovers. I used to think Trent Dilfer was the worst Super Bowl quarterback, but at least his Baltimore Ravens won the game in 2001.
• Not a banner year for Super Bowl commercials. None really stood out. My favorites were the Bud Light spot where the couple picks up the hitchhikers carrying 12-packs of beer — plus a huge ax and a chain saw. The other was the Blockbuster commercial where the bunny and guinea pig tried to use a real mouse to go online.
The most disturbing: The Snickers kiss and the suicidal robot.
• Was there a more boring National Anthem than Billy Joel’s? The powers-that-be should have used Prince for the anthem as well as the halftime show.
Nathan Mollat can be reached by e-mail: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 117.