Individual Match Up - Briggs vs. Clark
One of the individual match ups to watch on Sunday will be Bears’ LB Lance Briggs and his coverage responsibilities for Colts TE Dallas Clark. Clark dominated the Patriots in the AFC Title game, and he’s a force to be reckoned with, as he’s big and strong, but he can also run down the seam and grab Petyon Manning’s passes with his sure hands.
Briggs can run as well, and he’s almost as big as Clark, so he shouldn’t have a problem being muscled off the ball. However, he needs to make sure that he helps take the middle of the field away from Manning, otherwise Manning will look like a surgeon on Sunday.
If you’d like to see how all of this plays out, go to StubHub.com and grab your choice of Super Bowl tickets.
Ogunleye Steps Up His Game
Adewale Ogunleye was one of the few big-time acquisitions the Bears have made outside of the draft in recent seasons. He was acquired via trade from Miami and given a $33 million contract. He recorded 10 sacks in 2005, but his statistical production slipped to 6 sacks this season. He was solid if unspectacular, and he knew that level of play wasn’t going to cut it as the games began to really count.
However, all of Ogunleye’s coaches and he himself had a “pep” talk as he approached the playoffs, and he’s responded with 2 sacks, a forced fumble and a recovered fumble in the playoffs so far. Ogunleye will look to continue that trend this weekend as he hunts for QB Peyton Manning, one of the hardest QB’s in the NFL to sack.
Whether or not he can successfully do so will go a long way towards determining whether or not the Bears return home with the Lombardi Trophy. If you’d like to see the game for yourself, go to StubHub.com and grab some Super Bowl tickets.
Bears Could Exploit Injury to Harper
Colts CB Nick Harper suffered a high ankle sprain during the AFC Championship game against the Patriots, and that leaves the team vulnerable to the big play, which has become a bit of a staple for the Bears’ offense. If Harper does play, he won’t be at full speed, which means that WR Mushin Mohammed will be able to overpower him and Bernard Berrian will be able to run by him deep.
If Harper doesn’t play, and a high ankle sprain usually takes six weeks to overcome, the Colts will be forced to go to their depth, and that doesn’t bode well, as Harper is the best cover corner on the team. Not to mention, the Bears had a lot of success against New Orleans by going after CB Fred Thomas, and they could find themselves in that situation again come Sunday.
If you want to see how all of this plays out, get your Super Bowl tickets at StubHub.com.
Bears WR Bradley Expected to Play Sunday
The Bears have had to make due without the services of WR Mark Bradley for the last couple of games, as he has been sidelined with a sprained ankle. However, Bradley was in pads for the Bears’ workout yesterday, and according to Coach Lovie Smith, he’s ready to go full-speed on Sunday.
That’s important for the Bears, as they need three WR’s to be able to diversify their offensive looks, and Bradley has had a few big games this season. If you’d like to see how he does from the stands, StubHub.com has your Super Bowl tickets ready.
Bears’ Defense Looking to Make Final Shift
Much has been made of Peyton Manning’s famous last-second adjustments, or “fake” adjustments that are designed to throw off a defense and put it on its heels. Manning is as smart as they come, and basically, no one is going to fool him with an exotic blitz package or a wrinkle that he won’t recognize.
However, one of the keys that Bears coaches have discovered is that if they wait until the last 10 seconds of the play clock to make their final adjustments, Manning won’t have time to react to it. The Dallas Cowboys used that approach earlier this season, and the strategy paid off with a win.
If you’d like to see whether or not this strategy works, you need to get to StubHub.com and grab some Super Bowl tickets.
Jones Not Worried About Anything Beyond Sunday
Bears RB Thomas Jones has been the subject of many rumors, stories and controversies throughout the 2006 season, and it has been a struggle for him at times. In fact, one of the offseason rumors regarding Jones had him being traded to the Colts, but now here he is facing them in the Super Bowl.
It appears that the “non-move” worked out well for both sides. The Colts decided to find their RB in the draft, and Joseph Addai has played very well. Jones, meanwhile, fought through a contract issue, the prospect of being replaced by Cedric Benson and a nagging hamstring injury. All he did against New Orleans was run for 123 yards and two touchdowns to help the Bears get to the Super Bowl.
As for after the season, Jones isn’t worrying about that right now. His contract has only a year remaining on it, and eventually, Jones will become the featured RB. If you’d like to see how Jones performs Sunday, StubHub.com has Super Bowl tickets available.
Pivotal Super Bowl Match Up - John Tait vs. Dwight Freeney
As we near the “big game,” nearly every individual match up on the field will be examined closely by “experts” from all walks of life. The Chicago Sun-Times ran a piece recently regarding the battle that will occur between Bears’ OT John Tait and Colts’ DE Dwight Freeney. It says here that the analysis was spot-on.
Although Tait is big and strong, which will give him a big edge in the running game, his weakness is speed rushers, and that’s exactly what Freeney does best. Tait has also suffered from a sprained ankle recently, further limiting his mobility, which could be a big problem. Therefore, fans should look for the Bears to “chip” Freeney in pass protection and run right at him when they choose to grind it out.
If you want to watch this match up in-person, head on over to StubHub.com and choose from available Super Bowl tickets.
Coach Smith Remembers His Roots
Until recently, very few people had ever heard of Big Sandy, Texas. It’s a small town that had about 1,000 residents in 1958 when Smith was born. A writer from the Chicago Sun-Times took a close look at Big Sandy recently, now that one of their own has officially made the “big-time” and will be coaching in the Super Bowl.
The town has come together in recent days to honor Smith with signs, Bear jerseys and proposed permanent road signs, although many would like to see how the game turns out before printing the messages. If you’d like to see how the game turns out, you can do so in-person by logging onto StubHub.com and choosing from available Super Bowl tickets.
DE Brown Hopes History Repeats Itself
Bears DE Alex Brown never actually got to play against Peyton Manning when he was at Florida and Manning was playing for Tennessee. Brown redshirted his freshman year in Gainesville because of a broken foot, and that was Manning’s senior season. Brown doesn’t remember much in regards to Manning, other than he was “huge.”
Brown also remembered, though, that Manning was 0-3 against Florida while he was at Tennessee, and Brown’s obviously hoping for the same result on Sunday. Brown will be an integral piece of the Bears’ plans, as he and his mates on the defensive line simply must generate a pass rush if they hope to pull the upset.
If you’d like to see whether or not this happens, all you need to do is visit StubHub.com and choose your set of Super Bowl tickets.
TV Ratings Quash Soldier Field Party
Very few Bears fans, relative to their overall following, actually heading to the Super Bowl on Sunday, the Chicago Park District made plans to show the game on the enormous video screens at Soldier Field. It would’ve been a festive gathering, almost like a home-away-from-home game for Bears’ fans.
However, the NFL nixed that idea, and their stated reason was that having so many thousands of fans watching the game on one television could harm overall television ratings. On its face, that reasoning is somewhat ridiculous. Hundreds of millions of fans all over the world will watch the game, so whether or not 50,000 people in Chicago all watch it in one place should not affect the ratings and resulting advertising rates. Regardless, the NFL has spoken, so Bears fans will have to find some other way to watch the game together.
One of those ways would be to see the game in-person simply by logging onto StubHub.com and choosing any of their Super Bowl tickets.