Chicago/New Orleans---The Local Look
Ah, thank you. I was wondering who to root against in two weeks. And here comes Jay Mariotti highlighting how the Bears played the "no respect" card after the game. Problem solved, I will be rooting for the Colts. Writes Ozzie Guillen's favorite columnist ever:
"If the '85 team was an entertainment extravaganza that plundered opponents like few in NFL history, these Bears delight in taking names and making idiots of those who doubt them. I am in that group, of course, having picked the Saints. Such is the modus operandi of Smith, who never loses his cool but does know how to motivate players with negative stimuli. All week, he let them know they were being dissed, which prompted them to watch TV and see it for themselves. It was no coincidence afterward when Adewale Ogunleye mentioned a list of eight ESPN analysts, all of whom had picked against the Bears. In Lovie's world, redemption is a mission.
'We went into the game with the best record in the National Football League, and we didn't really get a lot of respect,' Smith said. 'Not many people gave us a chance to win this game, but our guys didn't buy into that. They bought into each other and had a lot of faith in each other. And, of course, this is where we end up.' An ESPN columnist, Gene Wojciechowski, inquired about the satisfaction of quieting critics. 'You were one of them, Gene,' fired Lovie, flashing a grin that stretched from the podium to Big Sandy, Texas, where the town's lone flashing yellow light could become a red light after the native son made traffic stand still."
Yup, that does it. Go Colts. Hey, Lovie? You know why your team got "no respect"? Even with the best record in the league? Because you fashioned it against one of the softest regular season schedules I have ever laid eyes on. Because the NFC North was a wasteland of horridness. Because you needed an all-time miracle to beat a bad Cardinals team. Because Rex Grossman is your quarterback. Because the best part of your defense is hurt and missing. It's not personal. It's simple observation. But, sure, go ahead and exalt that you won a home conference championship game in the weak sister conference. And play the "no respect" card as much as you want for the next two weeks, but the Colts are simply the better team, and people's takes on the game leading up to it will reflect that.
As for the view from New Orleans, the focus is all over the place, with this take on the lack of a running game worth a moment's glance:
"On the other side, the Saints, who should know a thing or two about the value of balance, and who ran for more than 200 yards against Philadelphia in their divisional playoff win, ran a paltry 12 times for 56 yards. Backs Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush combined for 37 yards on 10 carries, and just 35 on eight carries in the first three quarters, which ended with the Bears nursing an 18-14 lead.
"'Credit Chicago,' Payton said. 'They came in with a lot of eight-man fronts. They definitely wanted to take the run away, which they were able to do. We didn't feel like we wanted to run our heads against the wall against some of the looks we were getting.'"
Chicago did a nice job dictating play, especially given the weather conditions. When one team can run the ball (as Chicago did) and one can't, a sloppy day and field becomes even more problematic.