NFC Championship: Saints at Bears(-2.5)

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

BEARS 39 SAINTS 14
Big, bad Bears put a whipping on Saints
Chicago relies on defense, running game in laugher
Monday, January 22, 2007
FROM WIRE REPORTS

Muhsin Muhammad congratulates Bears running back Cedric Benson after Benson?s 12-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
CHICAGO ? Papa Bear, George Halas, would have worn a huge smile under his fedora. So would Walter Payton and all the other luminaries who made the Chicago Bears the archetype of all things big and tough in the NFL.

 

[BB73]

Everybody thinks the Bears suck. They had zero turnovers and a single 5-yard penalty in the snow. That doesn't exactly suck.

And by the way, the Bears have scored more points per game than the Colts this year. They run the ball well, and stopping the run has been the Colts' biggest problem most of the year (they've improved recently).

One thing bothered me about the game yesterday. On the Grossman TD pass, Sean Payton wanted to challenge the call, thinking that Berrian may have been down by contact before he scored. He ran down inside the 10-yard line, with a hand on his red flag, so he could toss it at a ref's feet before the extra point. No replay was shown until after the extra point was kicked. It turned out that he did score, but the network has to show a replay when there's any doubt at all about a TD.

 

[OCBucksFan]

Anyone who thinks they suck needs to define what that is. They have the second best record in the NFL, and they were the #1 seed in the NFC. Remember though, everyone says the Colts suck too, they have no defense and will fold when playoffs come, guess what? they are in the SB.