Keys to Victory for Super Bowl XLI

Indianapolis Colts

1. Jump out to a quick lead-If the Colts can get off to a quick start and take an early double digit lead, then Indianapolis can unleash Dwight Freeney and company to harass Rex Grossman.  Bottom line, the Colts are built to rely on big leads, and the Bears are not built to rally back from huge deficits.

2. Kick the ball away from Devin Hester-Hester is a touchdown waiting to happen every time he touches the ball.  Therefore, the more often you can kick away from him the better off your team will be. 

3. Take the Monkey off his back once and for all-If Peyton Manning can play like he does in the regular season in this Super Bowl, then the Colts should win.  If Manning can spread ball all over the field and avoid throwing interceptions, he will finally silence his critics.

4. Run the ball well and stop the run-When Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes are running well, then the Colts are nearly impossible to defend.  Even the stingy Bears defense will end up looking average if Indy is able to run the ball. The Colts will also need Bob Sanders and company to shut down the Bears running game. If the Bears are unable to run the ball, and become one dimensional, Indianapolis will run away with the game.

Chicago Bears

1. Don’t let the Colts get off to a quick start-If the Bears can keep the Colts from running up the score and getting ahead of them early, they will better their chances to win the game.

2. Pressure Peyton Manning-It is easier said than done, but if you can pressure Manning, then you can cause him to throw some interceptions.  The Bears have a very opportunistic defense, and with a couple key turnovers, Chicago could really control this game.

3. Hold the Colts to field goals-It is nearly impossible to stop the Colts from driving down the field.  There can be possessions where you stop them, but more often than not they put themselves in a scoring situation.  If Chicago can make them settle for field goals, they can avoid being in a shootout with the high-powered Colts. If the final score is kept fairly low, that should favor "Da Bears".

4. Run the ball, run the ball, and then run the ball some more-The Bears need to make this a smash-mouth game and hand the Colts a heavy dose of Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson.  The longer Chicago can stay on the field, the longer the Colts defense has to remain on the sidelines.  If they succeed in running the ball, it will open up the play action fake where Rex Grossman could take some shots deep.   

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