As far as history, it was a textbook case
Boston Globe
January 22, 2007
CHICAGO -- A man named "Lovie" from a place called Big Sandy, Texas, is going to the Super Bowl. I don't exactly know where I'm going with that, but you've got to admit it looks good in print.
Lovie Smith is the man in question and his Bears will not be heading to Miami on any questionable or fraudulent terms. They kept taking the football away from the Saints, they shrugged off one electrifying Reggie Bush play, they ran the ball the way a would-be championship team should, they got just enough big plays from their quarterback, and they didn't even come up with a penalty until the game was more than 35 minutes old.
Oh, and they scored 23 unanswered points when they were being threatened to turn a shaky 16-14 advantage into a 39-14 conclusion and thus set up the circumstances for Coach Smith to receive a proper NFC Championship game Gatorade bath. With the snow falling. I mean, c'mon . . .
"It doesn't get any better than that," beamed Smith.
Not in Chicago, it doesn't. People like their football here straight, no chaser. Sure, they'll take an acrobatic backward TD catch such as Bernard Berrian provided them every now and then, but what they really like is a football team of Big Shoulders and Mean Intentions that runs the ball down your throat and knocks the snot out of you on defense. Hence, 196 yards rushing and four turnovers, three coming off forced -- and I do mean forced -- fumbles. That kind of stuff plays very well in front of a Soldier Field crowd.
As a bonus, the marauding Bears defense harassed Drew Brees into a safety on a rare end zone intentional grounding that might only have been the biggest play of the game.
Once trailing, 16-0, the Saints had scored twice and had missed a 47-yard field goal on their three previous possessions when Brees, on second and 10 from his 5, found himself with the miserable choice of taking a sack or throwing the ball away and hoping none of the seven zebras would notice the absence of white jerseys in the vicinity. He chose the latter option, and darned if one of the zebras (actually all seven) did take note.
"It was a big play," said renowned Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher. "We got pressure on the first play and he got rid of it in time. The second time, he threw to nobody."
That made it 18-14, and if any Bear says he knew it was over, he'd be a colossal liar, but it really was. Mr. Mo had been on the side of the Saints for nine minutes, and now he had casually switched sides and he wasn't going back. From the safety on, this was nothing less than a celebration of Bears football, past and present. And it was absolutely, positively over when the snow began to fall late in the third quarter. That, of course, was the Pigskin God's polite way of telling the Saints that their feel-good story had run its course, that the team going to Miami as the NFC's representative would be the better football team on this day, not the squad with the extra burden of propping up the spirits of a hurricane-battered populace.
"Defensively, we talked a lot about getting back to what we do," explained Smith, "and that's takeaways." The Bears got two in successive first-half possessions, and, while each resulted in a field goal rather than a touchdown, they still sent a message.
"It was frustrating [not to get touchdowns]," said Bears quarterback Rex Grossman, "but that's really when our defense stepped up and didn't allow them to get a touchdown. We missed a few plays and wished we had touchdowns. Any time you get on the board first, it's huge for momentum, and our defense did a great job of getting us short fields to work with."
Grossman dodged the requisite inquiry about this victory being a "redemption" of sorts following the season-long criticism of his work. "Redemption and all that," he said, "that's for you guys to write about."
"Redemption" wasn't the right word, anyway. Redemption from what? This is his exposure to the playoff heat. He's just trying to make a name for himself. It's his first year as a healthy starter. No, "vindication" is what's at stake here, both for Grossman and the coach who has so staunchly supported him.
His numbers? Not so wonderful: 11 for 26, 144 yards, one TD, and no picks. But he was markedly better in the second half, going 4 for 4 on an 85-yard drive with the aforementioned 33-yard pass to Berrian for the score that made it 25-14. It was a statement drive.
"It's not about 'vindication'," insisted Urlacher, "but we know what he's capable of. We ran the ball really well today, but when he has to throw it, he does."
Speaking of that 85-yard drive, Smith said, "That's what you're supposed to be able to do, to take you out of the hole like that. He stepped up."
That was really the last time he was called upon to make plays. From then on the Bears lined up and knocked the Saints off the ball. And that made the Bears feel all warm and fuzzy because, since the time of Papa Bear George Halas himself, the Bears have been all about power football, leaving all that trickeration stuff to someone else.
Running back Thomas Jones was down with the philosophy, gaining 123 yards on 19 carries. He was even given a chance to be a one-man touchdown express by receiving the ball on five consecutive plays from the Saints' 20 on one possession. It was pretty clear that if the Bears had needed him to run eight, 10, or 15 times in a row, he was ready.
"Coach [Ron] Turner kind of felt we had a nice chemistry going and he kept calling the same play," Jones said of his offensive coordinator.
The play was called "42 Mike" for those of you scoring at home.
Jones eloquently summed up this glorious afternoon of pigskin activity.
"It couldn't have been a more perfect situation than this for Chicago Bears football," he said. "It's snowing, we're running the football, our defense is playing hard, getting turnovers, making some big hits. The fans are out there going crazy. I mean, this is just such a perfect situation for us to win the NFC Championship at home with the weather and the way we played."
Yup, sure was.
Bob Ryan is a Globe columnist. His e-mail address is ryan@globe.com.
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