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But was it the right call? According to the rules, yes. But that doesn't make it any easier to digest. I think the rules should be amended to give more discretion to the officials. I would agree-make it like the face mask penalty, where there are 5 yard and 15 yard versions, and then it would work better IMO.

I bet coaches have watched tape, but the players haven't. Of course, unless you're somebody like Peyton Manning. Most people watch one recent game of an opponent to get game film. I know a couple years before a playoff game, Peyton stepped that up a little bit and watched every game his opponent had played the entire season. I'm sure he will do that this time with 2 weeks to prepare for the Bears. I bet both teams will watch the film from Sunday tomorrow, and then practice will start the next day.

It was still a ticky-tack penalty. Ticky-tack suggest a subjective call though-like pass interference where the guy barely touches the player, and so it can technically be called that but it really shouldn't. The rules on a blow to the head have it as an objective call-if any contact is made to the head, no matter how small, the referees have to call it. If the referees see it, they simply do not have the discretion to not make that call, no matter if the rule is ridiculous or not.

It seems pretty likely that Cedeno will not make the final roster at this point unless something changes during the spring.

Over the course of the season, including the playoffs, youd o not believe that the Bears have proven themselves to be a better team than the Colts? I do. Not that that brings in match ups or anything. May I ask how the Bears have proved to be a better team? Record against Common Opponents-Colts-6-0, Bears-3-2 That's just one statistic. Now, I am not one of these Colts fans who believe that the Colts are better than the Bears-they are not. This is going to be a very even game, although I do think there are some matchups the Colts can exploit. I certainly do not think though that the Bears have proven that they are better than the Colts, and am wondering what your evidence is for that.

PS2, PS3, XBox, XBox 360, PSP, GBA, Nintendo DS No Wii? get used to it Why on DS but not Wii? The motion control-my guess is that the studio waited to see if Wii would take off before putting the time in to developing a game just for that system and now don't have enough time before launch to do the development-I'm almost certain in 08 Wii will be on the list.

Most of the Colts fans are actually begging to be the underdog in this game, but it doesn't look like that will be possible. I think both teams will come in very focused though-they know that the job is not complete yet.

I actually think the Falcons are giving up too much in that scenario. Porter has very little trade value at this point even though he's talented. There are only certain teams that are willing to take on Moss. Atlanta also has to give up the number 10 pick Basically it's Vick and moving up 9 spots for Atlanta and getting Moss and Porter in return-that doesn't help Atlanta that much at all. I just don't see that particular deal working out.

That's a very valid point there, and I agree with it. The comment that Peyton is also very good at this is true-if the opponent doesn't adjust, the Colts will try to exploit what they feel is the weak link over and over and over again.

And I hope Hendry is right about Izturis. But, I'm very, very skeptical that Izturis will be any better with a bat than the worst SS's in the league. if he stays healthy & plays great defense, does it really matter what he hits? the sox & cards won the WS with guys who had .713 & .694 ops's respectively. Of course it matters. That black hole in the lineup has more of an impact than anything he does on defense, no matter how good his glove is. Those teams may have won with those shortstops, but it wasn't because of them. how many teams have won anything on the offense of their 8th place hitter? The Red Sox won in 2004 with a combined .833 OPS from the eighth spot in the order. I'd be much happier with that than a .700 OPS. That is true-of course part of that was due to a strange batting order. Their 2 spot had a 765 OPS, and their 7 spot had a 749 OPS. Still better than anything the Cubs will throw out this year, but their order all the way down was not as stacked as an 833 in the 8 spot would have one believe.

The difference between Rex and a typical game manager is that Rex completed multiple big time passes. A game manager is just supposed to complete short passes and not screw up. Rex provides an opportunity for big plays. True he does have that ability to go long but they ran the ball enough to keep the game out of his hands. That pass that the Bear WR made a wonderful play for a TD on should have been an interception. Somebody else wrote something very wise about the "should have been an interception" theory. It just doesn't hold true. The only time you can say that is when a guy is standing still and it hits him in the chest. DBacks are not receivers. QBs can take risks because they know their WR are the better receivers back there, and the vast majority of the time, the pass will end up complete or incomplete. There's no reason why that "should have been an int". It wasn't, and the only way it could have been is if the DB made an amazing play. I don't think you can assum players should be able to make amazing plays. IMO, any average corner knocks that ball down. Any good corner picks that ball off. It would not have required an "amazing" play to be an INT. At the same time, Grossman was going for the jugular on that play, and if it hadn't worked out the Saints would have had the ball deep in their own territory, and that probably wouldn't have worked out for them either. Grossman was not good yesterday, but he wasn't awful either.

Other then of course that originally Soriano insisted on not being moved from position to position as a condition of his signing? It's the same thing as the leadoff spot-it may be an evil (although the leadoff spot thing is still debated on if it's an evil or not) but it's an ok concession to make. Now that Soriano says that he is willing to play CF, it makes it even better.

If they cover kicks the way they did yesterday, Hester will have 3 returns for TD. Yeah-the Colts kick return has been spotty all year. They did better the first two weeks by putting starters back on ST, but they were horrible last night. I have to imagine they might do something like the Seahawks and simply give up good field position to not let Hester break one. Punts I'm a little worried about as well-Hunter kicks it about as far as any kicker in the league, but that can cause a long return as well (Hunter had 3 punts of 58, 58, 56 that had 10+ yard returns last night). Hester getting a head of steam behind him is not something I want to see, so I could see them working with Hunter on trying to punt it out of bounds.

I wouldn't say they exactly shut down the Patriots running game. The first running play that I can remember was a 40 yard scamper on a play that the Bears run quit well with both Jones and Benson. They have improved their D tremendously since the end of the regular season, but all it takes is one missed tackle or one well timed block to break a big run. Run the ball early to open up the field for Grossman. And he needs to hit his tight ends often. They also need to throw that slant route over the middle. That is Grossman's best ball. All he said was that they shut down Maroney. Maroney had 8 carries for 13 yards. Dillon got free for 2 or 3 big plays, but the biggest one was the carry on 4th and 1, which is always a risk for a huge play because of everybody at the line (if you break through the line, it's a huge run). The Colts still held the Patriots as a team under 100 yards, which for the Colts is a massive accomplishment (and one that's been done 3 weeks in a row). The Colts won't shut down the Bears running, but the Bears probably won't be able to live off the running game almost exclusively like some teams did to the Colts in the regular season.

I guess I don't understand your question. On the majority of days, the number 1 bat off the bench is Floyd, then number 2 is Ward, then 3 is Theriot (although Theriot could be moved up if they are leading off an inning and need a pinch hitter), number 4 is Pagan, and 5th is Blanco.

Usually right DE opposite the LT. So it will be Mathis vs. Fred Miller? ugggh, that could get ugly for the Bears, and fast. No, that's Tait. No, he was saying that if Freeney goes against the LT (Tait), then that leaves Fred Miller on the other side against Mathis.

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Usually right DE opposite the LT.

Yeah, he probably would have signed by now with somebody else, but Floyd's mission has been to sign with the Cubs all offseason, and he didn't want to sign unless the door to the Cubs was completely shut.

That's one huge key for the Bears also in this game. Their OT's vs the Colts DE's. As you may have noticed several times last night, Freeney and Mathis got in several times, but Brady did a very good job of eluding them, stepping up, and making passes. Grossman has not been nearly as consistent in evading the rush like that (although I was impressed with a couple evades in the last game). Also, when Freeney or Mathis get to a QB, they are the league leaders in forced fumbles. For example, the Bengals game. Freeney had 3 sacks, and on all 3 sacks he also forced a fumble. The Bears OL will have to step up and block these two in order to protect Grossman, especially if the Bears get into some passing downs. As a Colts fan, I will say that I am scared to throw the ball over the middle. I'm sure the team will not be (as they are very precise on their routes over the middle, and usually hang on to the ball) but those linebackers for the Bears are such ballhawks that I am worried about a turnover or two. The Colts D is going to make the Bears beat them with their short to intermediate passing game. The Colts are going to load up against the run, and their defense is designed to not give up the deep ball. There will be some openings underneath (or sometimes down the seam), it will just be up to Grossman to take them. This should be a great ballgame. Both teams still have a lot to prove, and they will be doing it on the biggest stage. Remember the Super Bowl factor also-Super Bowls tend to start a little slower than other games as the two teams feel each other out, neither side wanting to make the huge mistake. My optimism says that should help the Colts, as they have been a 2nd half team all year long, but really, anything could happen and I wouldn't be surprised. Good luck to all the Bears fans, let's keep it civil (before and after the game), most of all, let's enjoy it-it's been quite a while since either of our teams have made it this far, and I am going to enjoy the win yesterday for a few more days :D .

Correct or not, I see the Bears as something like the Ravens. The Colts have to minimize turnovers on offense and try to score a few points (although I think the Bears secondary is a little more vulnerable than the Ravens), and the Colts have to stack up against the run and force Grossman to beat them on defense (where the Bears have better big play capability then the Ravens did). I don't think that the Bears will be able to run the ball consistently down the Colts throats, although they will be successful with the run. Key Matchups: Colts offensive line vs Bears front 7 rushing the passer Bears WR vs Colts DB's The Colts also run a cover 2, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Desmond Clark catch 3 20 yard passes or so also.

I'd diagnose him as questionable to return, but a day to day injury there.

I would agree, but I doubt this one is overturned, and the Colts have to find some way to come back again. I don't think it's greater than 50/50 he would have come down though.

Yeah, but I can't blame Marvin too much. His wrist is messed up-bad. The only reason that he's not on the injury report is that he refuses to let the trainers look at it. Even with a few drops, he still is too much of a threat to bench.

I don't remember the fourth, but three of Manning's incompletions were good throws (the one Addai dropped and then the two good defensive plays on the deep passes to Wayne and Harrison). He's played better today so far. The other one was the tough throw to the sideline that Harrison almost got and Samuel knocked down (an 8-10 yard throw). Agreed that Manning looks very good so far on his decisions and throws.