10 minutes to kick-off... Star Spangled Banner is off... go Saints :D

I wonder why the officials are wearing black ‘trousers’? Looks very odd, and somewhat clashes with The Saints uniform.

Must be their new cold weather wear or something.

Damn Reggie is quick

Yep, that's the cold weather gear.

Great move by Reggie Bush to fool the safety for the 88 yard touchdown.

If Cundiff's kick had had a bit more length I reckon New Orleans would have won this.

Ah well, I like the Bears too. Rex Grossman in the Superbowl will be very interesting.

Grossman got lucky tonight

Shame. :(

Nothing lucky about the D though

Bears D was awesome tonight. I'm expecting to have some Chocky-styled posts to clean up from jl at some point tomorrow.

Woooooo!!!!!

Go the Sat!!!

Jeff scores a TD!!!! I shall remember this day for ever!

Great game.

Colts/Pats that is.

ah well. congrats to the colts--the Pats put up a great fight, but i think we saw the passing of the torch tonight

Well done to the Bears and the Colts. C'mon Rex, show 'em up! :p

Well, after whinging about the boring Pats last week that was one hell of an exciting game. :o

I thought they had it wrapped up at 21-3 but credit to Dungy, Manning and the Colts for coming back time and again. And good to see two black coaches at the Superbowl for the first time. In a sport where colour has always been an issue when it's come to the top jobs it should open doors for other top African-American coaches.

No chance, the Pats were just beaten in a shoot-out which we know is not Brady's game.

The Pats D laid down in the second half and the Colts just kept working them.

Even at the end, Manning nearly blew the final drive by his constant want for a long completion rather than just the 8-10 yard plays which are just as effective, even with little over 2 minutes left.

Was anyone else surprised though, with 2.40 left that the Pats with a first down near half way went for THREE passing plays and only used about 10 seconds off the clock when they could've left the Colts with about a minute? They should have ploughed Dillon, Maroney, Faulk or Pass through the middle a couple of times and then punted towards the sideline to avoid the touchback. Maybe I'm being over-critical and a little simplistic...

Firstly, I think Dungy said it best when he said the Colts victory has nothing to do with skin colour and whilst he was proud to be one of the first African-Americans at the Superbowl, the occasion is about the Bears, the Colts and the cities of Chicago and Indianapolis.

The constant harping on last night was really p*ssing me off. Dan Marino and Boomer Esiason congratuled Smith and Dungy while the A-A guy in the studio (whose name escapes me) was ranting on and on about it.

Let's get serious - There are plenty of A-A coaches at all levels now in the NFL that why should this be such a big deal. Also, I gather that an NFL team HAS to interview a "person of colour" if a vacancy arises. Funny, I always thought you should get the best man for the job, not the person of the right colour.

Even the Colts CEO said that when they hired Dungy they were conciously looking for a "person of colour" for the job - isn't THAT racist against whites?

This is almost as bad as the South African cricket team announcing they will make up 50% of their World Cup squad from black players.

What is the world coming to that we can't JUST pick the best person for the job without pandering to the needs of the PC brigade?

BEAR DOWN, CHICAGO BEARS, AND LET THEM KNOW WHY YOUR WEARING THE CROWN!!! YOU'RE THE PRIDE AND JOY, OF ILLINOIS, CHICAGO BEARS, BEAR DOWN!!!

Yes, I was yelling.

Fom Indiana and a Bears fan.

Bears, Ditka, Polish Sausage

What kept you Jason? :D

I was yelling that song at all these losers in Ohio. Surely the Browns can't be considered a real football team? :)

I'm not sure I agree with this. Brady hjas been involved in plenty of shoot-outs--he tends to go for shortish yardage, but the Pats have often completely abandoned the run in the past few years (as they did in the second half against SD)

You've got to give credit to Manning--he's the best QB in the NFL, and he proved it last night.

I don't think the Pats D laid down at all--they were exhausted. All those injuried to the secondary had to catch up with them at one point--and that's an aging group of linebackers, to say the least.

Yes the Pats perhaps should have won. But if we had to lose, then last night was okay. We have caproom next year, plus Seattle's pick. On the downside Samuel is gone. But we'll be there or thereabouts I imagine.

I'm not altogether sure how the franchise tag works - is there any way the Patriots could slap that on Samuel?

Happy Birthday Jason....

Thanks Steve. :)
I'm gonna get rocked tomorrow night :D (since you're 5 hours ahead)

At this point I have to say fair play to the Bears, particularly after my earlier criticism.

I also found out today that I put money on the bears to win the whole lot at the beginning of the season. Not too much and only with a friend, but it'll make it interesting. I still want Indy to win. I've watched so many of their games this season that I now feel connected to all their team (except Cado June) and Jeff Saturday = God.

BTW I think as a matchup with an AFC team goes, Chicago will be happy to get Indy. Indy's weakness was defending the run, the Bears have Jones and Benson. Indy's strength is it's passing game, and judging by the Saints game the Bears defence can both rush the passer and cover guys downfield.

I think if you're Indy they'll put eight guys in the box and try to make Grossman be the one to win the game if he can.

Essentially, if a player is "franchised" by their team they are protecting their asset from just walking as a FA to another team. Say the Pats franchise Samuel, if another team then makes an offer to him then the Pats have the right to match the offer from the other team.

Should Samuel choose to go and the Pats have matched the offer (I think) the Pats have to be given a 1st round pick from the following years draft, plus I think either a 2nd or 3rd round pick too from the team in question in compensation of losing him.

Should Samuel decide to stay then the Pats have to offer him one years salary based upon what the top 5 guys are earning in his position (ie. CB) for that year.

There are a couple of minor details/amendments to this, but that is essentially it. There is also another "tag" (which is less beneficial) but still affords the "selling" team some protection from losing a player. I forget what it is called though.

Hope that helps.

PS. SF are possibly in the frame for Samuel (but I'd rather us get Clements).

Is that restricted free agency?

I think there are two types of Franchise tags - restricted and unrestricted.

Dunno what the difference is!

Had to research that one, no it is a "transition".

Here it is in all it's glory............ by the way Samuels agent has said that if the Pats franchise him there will be some acrimony! Hmmm.


2006 free-agency period; 470 free agents
NEW YORK (March 11, 2006) -- The National Football League today announced that 470 players are free agents who now can negotiate with all 32 clubs.

The free agents include three players who this year were designated by their clubs as "franchise" players, and one who was named a "transition" player. Franchise and transition players are special categories for restricted and unrestricted free agents. The deadline for making these designations for 2006 was February 23.


Franchise Players Transition Players
John Abraham, DE, New York Jets Steve Hutchinson, G, Seattle
Jeff Backus, T, Detroit
Nate Clements, CB, Buffalo


In 2005, 11 players were designated as franchise players and one as a transition player.
There are two types of franchise players. Clubs retain exclusive negotiating rights to an "exclusive" franchise player by committing to a minimum offer of the average of the top five salaries at the player's position as of the end of the restricted free agent signing period on April 21, or a 20 percent increase over his 2005 salary, or the average of the top five salaries at his position as of the end of last season -- whichever of the three is greater. Other clubs cannot negotiate with exclusive franchise players. No exclusive franchise players were named this year.

The second type of franchise player is offered a minimum of the average of the top five salaries at his position in the 2005 season, or a 20 percent salary increase, whichever is greater. This type of franchise player may negotiate with other clubs. His original club may match the offer and retain the player, or receive two first-round draft choices as compensation if the original club elects not to match.

Each club is permitted one franchise designation in any year of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. If a franchise player signs a multiyear contract with his current club between February 23 and July 15, the club retains its franchise player designation for the following league year. After July 15, any contract signed by a franchise player can only be for one year.

Also, a club may designate a transition player in lieu of a franchise player in any year when the franchise designation is available. A transition player designation gives the club a first-refusal right to match an offer sheet given to the player by another club. To designate a transition player, the club must offer a minimum of the average of the top 10 salaries of 2005 at the player's position, or a 20 percent salary increase, whichever is greater.

In the event a player retires, suffers a career-ending injury or is otherwise unavailable due to non-football circumstances, a club has the right to designate another franchise or transition player.

A club may withdraw a franchise or transition designation at any time. The player becomes an unrestricted free agent when that withdrawal occurs, and the team can use one of the designations on another player at the appropriate time.

Unrestricted veteran free agents are players who have completed four or more accrued seasons of service and whose contracts have expired. They are free to sign with any club through July 22 (or the first scheduled day of the first NFL training camp, whichever is later). On July 23, their exclusive rights will revert to their original club if that club made a June 1 tender to these players. Teams will have until the Tuesday after the 10th week of the season (November 14) to sign their unrestricted veteran free agents to whom a tender was made on June 1. If the player does not sign by November 14, he must continue to sit out the remainder of the season. If a June 1 tender is not made to an unrestricted free agent, he continues to be free to sign with any club.

Restricted free agents are players who have completed three accrued seasons of service and whose contracts have expired. They have received qualifying offers from their old clubs and are free to negotiate with any club until April 21, at which time their rights revert to their original club. If a player accepts an offer from a new club, the old club will have the right to match the offer and retain the player. If the old club elects not to match the offer, it may receive draft-choice compensation depending on the level of the qualifying offer made to the player.

The signing period for unrestricted free agents begins March 11 and concludes on July 22 (or the first scheduled day of the first NFL training camp, whichever is later). The signing period for restricted free agents also begins March 11 but concludes on April 21.

Anyone else going to Superbash IV? I just won a pair of tickets :lux: :lux: :lux: :lux:

What is Superbash? ;)

My friend won us tickets (through being awesome at madden).

I'm playing Hallam on superbowl day, and to be honest, our party is better.

Not strictly related, but are any of you American folk (or naughty English people too), watching Friday Night Lights?

Mmmmm... Lyla

Dear Mr Goodell,
Thank you for bringing a regular season game to London. Thank you that it seems almost certain to include the Dolphins.

Now please hurry up and announce the date - some of us have work to do!

Yours sincerely,
SE

(Press conference at 4.15pm apparently)

Well, what happened?

October 28th apparently. :lux:

I suppose you're going to make me look up who's playing? :hmph:

:afro:

The Miami Dolphins will host the New York Giants at London’s Wembley Stadium in the first NFL regular-season game to be played outside of North America, National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell announced today.


Speaking in Miami two days before Super Bowl XLI, Commissioner Goodell said the game will be played on Sunday, October 28 – in Week 8 of the 2007 season – and will kick off at 6:00 PM local time.


Fans can register their interest in tickets for the game by visiting http://www.nfllondon2007.com

Would have nice to have seen Tiki playing though :(

You think it will be a packed house?

Yes, very much so, could probably sell out Wembley, which will be 90,00 capacity, 5 times over.

How can they announce who the opponents are going to be when the schedules aren't released for another 2 months?

Or have they just inked this one in and will do the rest around it?

Either way, it's useless for me as I'll have just returned here from 3 weeks in France and another trip to London will be out of the question!

My goal for 2007 is to visit 3 more NFL stadiums. Haven't told the other half that but she'll no doubt understand.

That sounds like what they've done. They've also confirmed both the Fins and Giants will be having a bye the following week.

Dolphins and Giants confirmed for Wembley
 

The Miami Dolphins will host the New York Giants at London’s Wembley Stadium in the first NFL regular-season game to be played outside of North America, National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell announced today.

Speaking in Miami two days before Super Bowl XLI, Commissioner Goodell said the game will be played on Sunday, October 28 – in Week 8 of the 2007 season – and will kick off at 6:00 PM local time.

NFL owners voted in October to play up to two games outside of the United States every year for the next five years with a single game in 2007. London was named last month as the site of that game, with the new Wembley – due to open later this year – now confirmed as the venue.

“The international popularity of the NFL grows every year,” said Goodell in announcing the teams and stadium for the game. “That interest will be seen as the far corners of the world watch Super Bowl this Sunday. That is a fascination we will build upon. London and its international stature adds to the impact of the game.”

The Giants-Dolphins game will be shown live in the United States on FOX-TV. Both teams will have a bye scheduled for the following week.

The Dolphins and Giants are two of the most recognizable teams in the NFL, with four Super Bowl wins between them. In 1972, Miami became the only team in history to post an undefeated season on its way to winning Super Bowl VII with an overall 17-0 record. The Dolphins successfully defended their title the next year. The Giants have been NFL champions on six occasions, including victories in Super Bowls XXI and XV following the 1986 and 1990 seasons.

“The Dolphins are proud to be a part of such a historic occasion,” said Miami owner H. Wayne Huizenga. “We were one of the first NFL teams to play in the United Kingdom with our American Bowl appearance in London in 1988. Dolphins games always have been among the most popular NFL telecasts in England. We have a great following there, including fan clubs throughout the country. We look forward to playing in front of our overseas fans, as well as our U.S. supporters who will make the trip overseas.”

The Giants owners were similarly enthused about the historic game.

“We are looking forward to bringing our team to London, which has long been a center of attention and enthusiasm for the NFL overseas dating back to the league’s first game there in 1983,” said John Mara, president and chief executive officer of the Giants. “Playing in London in late October means our fans there will see a midseason contest. It will signal the beginning of the second half of the season when teams begin their playoff run.”

Giants Chairman and Executive Vice President Steve Tisch cited the game as one more step in the growth of the NFL internationally. “The NFL over the past 25 years has become a fixture for sports fans globally,” said Tisch. “First under Pete Rozelle, then with the direction of Paul Tagliabue, and now under Commissioner Goodell, our league has taken advantage of the popularity of the NFL on a worldwide basis to reach fans beyond our borders. There can be no greater commitment by our league than to play a regular-season game internationally.”Mayor Ken Livingstone meets Dolphins players and cheerleaders.

The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said the city is excited to be hosting the game. “We are very pleased about having teams of the caliber of the Dolphins and Giants coming to London,” said Livingstone. “We are looking forward to giving them a memorable experience. We are expecting nearly 10,000 American fans to travel to London to watch the game as well as people from Europe. There will be many millions of TV viewers in the United States alone, so it will be a great opportunity to showcase London to new visitors and for people to see the way we uniquely enjoy our sport.

“After London’s success in winning the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, our aim has been to bring to Londoners the best of all sports. The Tour de France, which will start in London later this year, and now the NFL is a great step towards this.”

Wembley Stadium will open later this year, resuming its position as the home of English soccer, as well as the site of other major sporting events and music concerts. The old Wembley, closed in 2000, hosted its first NFL preseason game in 1983 and eight NFL American Bowl games from 1986-93.

“It is an honour to have been chosen as the host venue for the first regular-season NFL game outside of North America,” said Wembley Stadium Managing Director Alex Horne. “Wembley Stadium is known around the world for having staged some of the biggest and most important events in sport and entertainment history and it is great to see American football return here. We hope that this fantastic event will help to bring the drama of the sport to a much wider audience and showcase London and the magic of Wembley Stadium to the US and the rest of the world.”

The NFL achieved a record average attendance of 67,738 during the 2006 regular season, with more than 97 per cent of games sold out.

Super Bowl XLI takes place in Dolphin Stadium, Miami, on Sunday, with the Chicago Bears taking on the Indianapolis Colts. The 2007 NFL regular season will kick off early in September.

Re: Dolphins and Giants confirmed for Wembley
 

I quite fancy attending that, I imagine it's going to be a bit easier to get tickets for than the football.

I'll go

I thought this was a thread about sea scum like flipper :confused:

Re: Re: Dolphins and Giants confirmed for Wembley
 

Yep waiting for tickets to go on sale too.

Ken expects 10,000 to travel from america specifically to see the game??

Why, its only a regular season game and I believe NFL fans dont do a great deal of away support, though I stand to be corrected of course

Will we be able to get beer to drink in sight of the pitch?

Where will the tickets go on sale? My Dad use to follow the Dolphins when he was younger so might see if i can get him to go

If you go to http://www.nfllondon2007.com/tickets/ you can get them before they go on general sale.

Re: Re: Dolphins and Giants confirmed for Wembley
 

I doubt it, im not being funny, but I hope tickets go to those who like NFL and follow it.

Btw see NFL thread where its been discussed for weeks.

As above.

Seems some Dolphins fans aren't happy though at missing out on one of their few home games and a reasonably big one for them too.

When you only get 8 home games, losing one is a big deal.

Wonder if they'll get a discount on their season tickets?

Agree wih Steve- let's hope genuine fans really do manage to get tickets rather than corporate hangers-on and bandwagon jumpers. This well sell out in minutes; indeed, I wonder if the tickets will even make public sale.

Not being funny, but isn't that impossible? The genuine fans will be 4,000 miles away. Although I love the NFL and, obviously, we can all bask in the sheer excitement of having a regular season game in the UK, putting selfishness aside I actually think what they're doing here is completely wrong. You can't simply take a game away from the fans and use it as a global marketing tool, especially in a sport where fans only get to see their team 8 times a year (at home.) If the NFL really wanted to do this (market abroad,) it should have added a 17th week to the regular season and played a full round of games around the world so that real supporters weren't robbed and the balanced schedule remained intact.

You raise a fair point, but it really depends how into the sport you are. It's possible to be a genuine fan from 4,000 miles away - ask the many Palace supporters on these boards who live in North America.

I don't disagree that it's a little unfair on Miami season ticket holders that they lose a game; but as a Dolphins fan myself I certainly don't plan to boycott it because of that, however selfish that may sound. My point was that now it has (rightly or wrongly) been announced, let's hope tickets go to those who love the sport and watch it week in, week out (even if it's only on TV) rather than those who think it might be an interesting spectacle but know naff all about the game.

Ben, me and Ricardo and a couple of people at work will be trying to sort tix, if you want to join us

Also, as the Dolphins are playing the Giants, I imagine they'll also be clashing with NY's divisional rivals, the Redskins. We'll have to meet up if it's on Sky :)

hmmm was quite fancying this until I saw it was on a sunday! For some reason I think I'd probably rather goto a NFL game at Wembley once a season and miss a Palace game... is that wrong of me?! Ah well looks I'll be sticking to TV watching

I'm quite glad it is this game getting moved, otherwise Dolphin Stadium would be half-fun of New Yorkers who have retired to South Florida.

And I'm one of the many who have pre-registered interest. BTW some Fin fans have said about travelling over from Florida for the game, I'd guess some New Yorkers will as well. Couldn't give you an estimate on numbers though.

If you follow the Dolphins and live in the UK, I agree, you've gotta go. I'm a bit spoiled, really, as I work for a US company and am in the States about a week a month so I get to see an unreasonable number of games and my own team (Chicago) at least two or three times a season live. As a result, I probably won't go to Wembley on the basis that it'd be like watching a football game not involving Palace (which I wouldn't do either.) Too bad it's going to be ten months Post-Tiki, though.

My friend on the island is a Giant's season ticket holder and he is going to go. Says it will give him an opportunity to see the Giants and visit London.

He's happy, anyway!

I have just reserved a couple of tickets.

Looking forward to later..... hoping The Colts do it at last.

Shame, shame. Go Bears. This is going to be a chess match, I suspect, unless Manning simply blows the game wide open early which is possible, but unlikely. But my guess is that both sides may go some way to cancelling each other out and things may end up very tight. I think it'll be a throwback Super Bowl -- real old school, grinding stuff -- which is no surprise given that both teams use a 25 year old defensive system and neither are likely to veer from what's got them this far in a couple of hours time as a result of which they will be, if nothing else, prepared for each other.

Some keys:

Grossman is not nearly as bad as some people would like to believe. But he has to play to his potential.

The Bears will effectively play a 47 defense (they'll rush the front four and the rest will drop back into out and out coverage.) The key will be Ogunleye, Anderson, Tank, etc....they have to generate a pass rush to give the DBs a chance.

Manning will complete passes and make yards whether the Colts win or not. They have to hold on to the ball.

I won't make a prediction, but the main players will be Vasher and Tillman (the corners) for Chicago, and Addai for the Colts.

I hope the Bears blitz, Manning will pick off passes all night long then.

At the end of the day AFC is far better than the NFC, The bears have struggled v AFC opponents this season and will again. Christ, even The Dolphins beat them! :D

The Bears will not Blitz. You can take out a mortgage on that. The Steel Curtain defense (which is what Tampa 2 effectively is) was specifically designed to put the backers into coverage, play the safeties very, very deep and use the corners to rough up the wideouts early, then play man. The Bears personnel is very suited to that, as it happens, which is why they turned around and improved so quickly under Lovie (the players needed for the system were already there when he arrived.) It amuses me, all this talk of comparing the 85 Bear defense with this one because they are polar opposites. The only thing they have in common is that they are both very good. The 46 was a blitzing defense. The 47 is a coverage system. You couldn't find a backer more different than Singletary (or Butkus) than Urlacher if you tried. Ditto, you couldn't find a 55 more different from Otis Wilson than Briggs. This is one reason why some (ignorant) people think Urlacher is over-rated, because they think to be a great backer, you have to be a spectacular, blitzing backer. That, of course, is rubbish. It isn't what Urlacher does. There probably isn't another backer in the game who could play aggressive coverage to that standard.

Sorry, but you should get your facts straight. The Bears have hardly struggled against AFC teams this season. They thrashed the Bills, beat the playoff-bound Jets in the Meadowlands, and lost at Foxboro to New England by the narrowest of margins -- 4 points. Fine, they were drubbed once, by Miami. It happens. Furthermore, they beat both the Chargers and the Browns in pre-season exhibition games for whatever that is worth. So, a 2-2 record or 4-2 if you include all games, and half of those games were against sides who ended up in the playoffs.

My facts are straight :rolleyes:

They have struggled far more against AFC teams than NFC teams, its obvious, jesus. They beat the mighty Browns and Bills! dont make me laugh, please :D and They didnt perform well against the Jets.

My facts were straight :)

You didn't say they had struggled MORE against AFC opponents than NFC. You merely said they had struggled. So I'm afraid you've undermined your own point. Besides -- with the exception of the Dolphins game -- they haven't struggled (unless you think competitive games or anything except an easy win means you're struggling. Sure, the games vs. the AFC were hard, but what did you expect?) And as for the Jets game, when you beat a playoff bound team on the road and hold its offense to next to nothing, well, most teams would love to struggle like that on a weekly basis.

Wow, good job at being picky.

Well for what its worth I think they will struggle again, or I hope they do :)

Im off to settle down in front of the TV.

What time is kick off? I thought it was 11?

11.25

Awesome start for Bears! :D

Touchdown Bears, quickest touchdown ever?

:p

Thats funny, im sure ive heard the commentators call the Bears Blitzing during that 1st Q :)

Odd, just what I was thinking of when the Bears won the toss. Think the quickest prior to that was about 2 mins (SB XXII).

Good start for Vinatieri. Called wrong on the coin toss, kick-off gets returned for six, then can't even attempt a point-after.

Way too many Manning's on the field.

PFiA's been putting himself around too much in the last 30 years!

If memory serves me right didn't Denver get a very quick TD against the Redskins - I'm sure it was their first drive. Redskins won comfortably in the end :o

Its turnover heaven.

Grossman hasnt got anything going yet.

but that was expected ;)

Could it prove to be a costly FG miss on the stroke of half time?

SB XXII (like I said!) - Ricky Nattiel.

Is Sophie Blake pregnant? Without definite knowledge I can't do my favourite joke with the Mrs.

Just doing some HT research on Google News. Lots of reports saying that Hester was 30-1 to be the first touchdown scorer.

A question for all you real NFL fans, do all the fans on the pitch during the half time show actually pay just to be on the pitch at HT? And am I the only one really not at all bothered by Prince?!

My PC's nowhere near the TV and I was posting during half-time. You're not alone in that. :)

Have no idea about the fans on the pitch. I'd guess they have to pay something, but really I'm not sure.

They're not getting any pressure on Manning. Obviously they're not NEVER going to blitz, but as you can see they're bringing the backers/safeties up to the line, then they're all dropping off (almost every time.) Exactly what I said (which wasn't hard to predict as it's exactly what Lovie said they would do...stick to what got them there in the first place.) And it's not working. That said, the Colts OL is outstanding and I'm not sure if it would have much impact even if they changed to a more aggressive system which they will have to at some point if it stays like this. The Colts may succeed in beating themselves but it is hard to see the Bears beating them on the evidence thus far.

The one pity is that -- either way -- the weather may determine who wins this game. It really has defined things so far.

Certainly a possibility. I was wondering teh same

:)

What's with all the Christian shit!

Makes me lose a lot of respect for these guys when they come out with that crap!

Dungy's been known for that for years. He was the same in the worst of times (his son's suicide), why not let him be the same now?

Don't think Manning should have been the MVP. Should have been Addai or Bob Sanders IMO.

Agree with the MPV... Addai for me too.

As for Dungy... I appreciate what he's been through, and what a great accomplishment the job he has done, both as a player, coach and human being. I also appreciate the significance of the fact that both coaches were African American, but...... If this truly is a "World Championship" and we all know this was being shown all over the World I find it distasteful that someone credits being a Christian for the fact they won (The Colts owner also mentioned it!). This should not have been an issue on a World stage.

I'm sorry... it's a personal pet peeve of mine.

First off...
:sob: :sob: :sob:

Secondly, congrats to Peyton. He deserves it. One of the best ever.
As for MVP, if the Colts won, all he had to do was show up to win it.

I'm going to watch the Super Bowl Shuffle, and cry myself to sleep.

LL Cool Steve: I don't think anyone -- including me -- doubted the AFC was the better league. I merely underlined the point that over the season, the Bears had given the AFC teams they played a run for their money (which they had.) If you want an insightful prediction, though, let me refer to what I wrote above just before the game.

All in all, well done the Colts. They thoroughly deserved to win and when you take out the first 14 seconds of the game, let's face it, the Bears got gubbed. The real MVPs were the Colts offensive line -- absolutely awesome. Anderson and Ogunleye in particuar were totally neutralised, Manning really wasn't pressured all day, and as a result playing well (which he did) wasn't even difficult given how much time he had. Addai also contributed heavily to that by keeping the Bears backers honest. No excuses; this was the Colts time.

The Bears should not be downhearted. This is a very young side that had a very poor record when Lovie arrived two years ago. Since then, they've made the playoffs twice taking significant strides forward and this year, as an obviously unfinished project, they still won the NFC Championship. If they can address some obvious areas of weakness and if Rex either sorts himself out or they find a franchise QB they have the potential to go up another level and be at the top of the game for years to come. Like I said, though, well done Colts. This was their day.

Guys, do you know where I can get my hands on a Panthers Jersey!? I keep trying on the NFL shop but 1 I don't have one of the four credit cards they accept, and 2 when I try to use the paypal option it keeps saying that it's not working and to try again later! :(

Addai should have been MVP

Strath cheers for ya pm by the way! Checked it out. All out of Panthers jerseys in my size! :( I checked a few other teams and they don't have the same probs! Might try the NFL site at home. It might just be the dodgy connection at work.

Grossman should have been the MVP... For the Colts! :eek: