[bedada]

Out of the thirty super bowls I've watched usually the better team wins, but in this salary cap era it seems that the team that wins is the one that does not have the most injuries. Last year Seattle's defense was dominating for 19 minutes until Manuel was hurt, which forced them to play their fourth string safety. All three touchdowns were caused by him being out of position. This year the Bears losing Harris and Brown killed them. This defense was in the league with the Ravens before they were hurt. When healthy they have seven pro bowlers on defense and five on offense.

I matched these teams up from scouting reports and from watching most of their games this year. I looked at five to ten reports on every player including J.Scott, Hayden, Miller, Snow, Hillenmeyer. Also I have watched about every episode of matchup and the nfl network. Not to mention thousands of hours of research over the last thirty years (I'm addicted to the NFL). The Bears at full strength with Griese starting have an edge over the Colts. I have watched every single game Griese has started and he is the real deal. The main reason he was booted from Denver was because of his personality. He had a 102.9 rating with them one year. He had a 97 rating with a horrible Bucs offense in 04'. The same Bucs offense that Johnson failed with that year. He is not a mobile Qb, but he is better than average. The Bears just needed an average Qb to beat the Colts. If Harris was in, there is no way Manning would have had so much time to pass. Harris is to the Bears pass rush as Hampton is to the Steelers run defense. Brown is so vital in the cover 2 defense. The Colts were horrible on defense until they got their pro bowl safety back (Sanders).

Most people think the Colts were dominate because they play in the Afc, but that was not the case. Afc has nothing to do with two teams. The Nfc winning 13 in a row caused the Packers to be 12.5 favorites over Denver who was a better team on paper. The Colts won because they did not have crucial injuries and because Lovie Smith is as bright as Mike Martz for starting a Qb who has poor mechanics and has had them since he played for Florida.

The Pats had such a good coaching staff that they overcame their injuries to win the big game a few years ago, but most teams are not that lucky and dont' have a coach as great as they do.

[Jay Edgar]

A cynic would say that there are a couple of typos messing up the true title of your post:

"This Bettor's Team Lost Again."

Kidding.

Seriously, the AFC was 40-24 this year against the NFC, the Colts played equal or better competition through the year, and there are as many or more coulda-shoulda-wouldas as to why the Colts did not win yesterday by 30.

[jjgold]

Indy was superior to Chicago

Best team in the league was SD by far

[Mudcat]

A cynic would say that there are a couple of typos messing up the true title of your post:

"This Bettor's Team Lost Again."

I wish I had said that.

The truth is Indy's superiority over Chicago is even greater than yesterday's score would indicate. The weather conditions slowed everything down and kept the game closer than it should have been.

[Wheell]

Amazingly Chicago almost certainly covers and possibly wins if they stick on the ground down 22-17 with 12 minutes to go and first down on their 39. Wierd game.

[VegasDave]

Chargers = Ravens > Colts = Patriots > Bears, in my opinion.

[Razz]

Chargers = Ravens > Colts = Patriots > Bears, in my opinion.

That's about right.

[goldengoat]

That's about right.

in your opinion

[dave11486]

Indy should just get their due respect.

[Razz]

in your opinion

Not really. I don't think anyone could objectively make an argument that the Bears are better than any of the 1-4 seeds in the AFC.

[Mudcat]

Indy should just get their due respect.

I give them respect. I don't know how they did that turnaround with their defense between the regular season and the playoffs but they did it and as of right now I say:

COLTS > everyone

[goldengoat]

Not really. I don't think anyone could objectively make an argument that the Bears are better than any of the 1-4 seeds in the AFC.

yes really

i am a bears fan but the colts are the best in the nfl

the bolts may have been the best in the regular season and were a bad matchup for the colts but the bottom line is the colts got it done when it matter 10 times more

any list that has the colts below 2 teams this year is very questionable

same thing applies with the steelers and colts last year

[imgv94]

Colts peaked at the right time..

[bedada]

The Bears at full strength are slightly better than the Colts. Let me clarify. If they started Griese instead of Grossman and have Harris and Brown playing. I wonder how well the Colts would have done without Sanders and Booger (Booger is solid, but no Harris). We saw how they sucked on defense all year. Well that was because they were missing Sanders. Harris is their best defensive player and the best defensive tackle in the league. His backup is nothing more than a rotation tackle. Brown is every bit as good as Sanders and his losing him killed the secondary as we saw with Wayne getting wide open. I have been breaking down these games for years so I have seen what injuries can do to a team. For example in 94' game with the Eagles and niners, the niners were missing four starters on offensive line. The Eagles went on to beat the future champs 40-8.

Dungy is a better coach than Lovie, but who isn't? Everyone saw what a bad player Grossman was after the defense starting to go downhill (they lost Brown, then Harris). Smith decided to stay with his gunslinger when he had one of the most accurate passers in history on the bench. Maybe Griese's mcl and acl were still not 100%. His lack of mobility was always a concern.

The Colts deserve credit for beating the Ravens and Pats. The Raven game really surprised me. Their defense was great this year, but they had old Steve at Qb who proved that retirement would have been a good option instead of throwing ints in the end zone. Dungy deserves a lot of credit for getting the most out of his medicore defense.

[MBENZ]

Colts peaked at the right time..

You are exactly right in that statement IMGV,seems oddly reminisent of the steelers last year.Wished I'd listened to you earlier,I had to nurse that bears/over hangover all freakin day yesterday.

[The Genius]

Surely they were better than everyone!

Indy were outstanding in the playoffs, don't let your wallet jade ur thinking.

Bears are terrible with Grossman - But they will be back again next year.

Chargers v Bears 4 me next season