Lovie Smith went to Indianapolis to attend the first-round playoff game Saturday and to have dinner with old Tampa Bay coaching buddies Tony Dungy of the Colts and Herm Edwards of the Kansas City Chiefs.
As the Bears’ coach sat in the RCA Dome stands and watched the Colts’ 23-8 victory unfold, his confidence in the popular Cover-2 defense favored by the Bears, Colts, Chiefs and others was rewarded.
While the pregame buildup centered around the passing of the Colts’ Peyton Manning and the running of the Chiefs’ Larry Johnson, with visions of a 40-30 shootout in some minds, Smith and his coaching friends all had to suspect that come playoff time, defense often prevails.
In this case, the Colts’ defense outlasted the Chiefs’ defense, holding the Chiefs without a single first down until late in the third quarter. The “world’s worst run defense” of the Colts shut down Johnson to a mere 32 yards on 13 carries.
The Chiefs’ defense started out just as impressively, intercepting Manning three times. But in the end, it got too worn out by the complete failure of the Chiefs’ offense to keep it off the field. The Colts had the ball for more than 39 minutes.
Manning, by most accounts the finest quarterback in the league, was rescued by his defense. Although his 30 of 38 performance for 268 yards and one touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne showed patience as the Chiefs took away deep routes, Manning’s three interceptions–two by nemesis Ty Law–renewed questions about Manning’s subpar postseason record, now 4-6.
Smith had to be encouraged by the sight, not because the Colts won, but because defense did.
If Smith is worried about how his beleaguered quarterback, Rex Grossman, will handle the playoffs, he had to be comforted by seeing both Manning and Chiefs veteran Trent Green stifled by good defense.
Smith and Edwards were on Dungy’s first defensive staff when he became head coach of the Buccaneers in 1996. At dinner in Indianapolis on Friday night, they may have raised a toast to the fact they represent one-fourth of the coaching playoff field.
If Smith needed reinforcement after the failure of his Bears’ defense against Carolina in last year’s NFC conference semifinals, he got it from his friends.
All three first gained notoriety when the Bucs lost to the high-scoring St. Louis Rams in the 1999 NFC championship game by the baseball-like score of 11-6, proving that great defense can stop even the best scoring machines. Smith was coaching Tampa Bay’s linebackers and Edwards was coaching the defensive backs in that Buccaneers loss.
By winning Saturday, the Colts now go to Baltimore to play the Ravens and their No. 1-ranked defense.
The Colts, ridiculed for finishing dead last in the league against the run, were buoyed by the return of safety Bob Sanders as they committed extra bodies to stopping Johnson and daring Green to beat them.
Green and his heralded offensive line, including Pro Bowl guards Will Shields and Brian Waters, failed miserably against the Colts’ quick pass rushers, who sacked Green four times, two by Dwight Freeney. The Chiefs’ starting wide receivers, Samie Parker and Eddie Kennison, were shut out.
The effect of Sanders, who missed most of the season with a knee injury, might have unsettled Smith. Sanders plays the same important run-stopping position for the Colts that Mike Brown once manned for the Bears. When Brown tried to return for last year’s playoffs after an injury, he didn’t last and neither did the Bears. Brown is out again this year and can’t return.
Smith was able to take Saturday off because the Bears won’t know who they face next Sunday until after Sunday’s Giants-Eagles game.
Smith could enjoy the weekend reunion because Dungy and Edwards are AFC coaches. If Smith sees Dungy again this postseason, it will be in the Super Bowl in Miami.
The two wouldn’t mind going to dinner again. They would invite Edwards along to cheer him up.
