Dennis Green still isn’t ready to crown the Bears.
But the former Arizona Cardinals coach who famously melted down after losing to the Bears on Oct. 16 will be the first one to throw credit their way if they win what Green expects to be an entertaining Super Bowl.
“I love this matchup,” Green said by phone. “The best player on the Colts is the quarterback, Peyton Manning. The best player on the Bears is the linebacker, Brian Urlacher.
“When was the last time you have seen that in a big game like this? For each team to win, they have to come through their [opponents’] best players. It makes for a great chess game between Tony [Dungy] and Lovie [Smith].”
Enough time has passed for Green to chuckle about his postgame outburst, which became legend thanks to constant replays on TV, radio and the Internet. In response to a question asking his opinion of the Bears after they rallied from a 20-point deficit without scoring an offensive touchdown, Green said, “The Bears are who we thought they were. That’s why we took the damn field. If you want to crown ’em, then crown their ass.”
“My point was we were just not ready to crown them; it was too early,” Green said. “Before that game everybody was talking about the Bears going 15-1 like the ’85 Bears and winning it all. I thought it was premature. And they didn’t do anything to us to change my mind. Their offense did not do anything to our defense.
“I blew off some steam. I was very frustrated after losing three straight close games, and this was a fourth. I was frustrated. At some point everybody has to blow off some steam. It’s not something I normally do, but I did it.”
