All the glare from the spotlights is on Peyton Manning, but the Indianapolis Colts are in the Super Bowl because of far more than what happens when their quarterback drops back to pass.
Indeed, credit Manning and the Colts with learning the lesson that turned John Elway and Brett Favre into Super Bowl champions but forever eluded Dan Marino.
Indianapolis invested the fourth pick of the 1999 draft in running back Edgerrin James, an immediate Pro Bowler whose arrival was pivotal in turning Manning from a 3-13 rookie into a 12-4 playoff quarterback.
Favre went to Super Bowls when he could hand the ball to Dorsey Levens, and Elway started winning Super Bowls when he gave the ball to Terrell Davis.
The Colts, who finally managed to construct a defense that could survive the postseason, decided they could not afford James, who left last year for the Arizona Cardinals and $30 million. But Indianapolis kept its commitment to giving Manning running help, investing its 2006 first-round draft choice in Joseph Addai, a 214-pound tailback out of LSU.
Manning has not passed particularly well in the playoffs. But the Colts have run the ball an average of 35 times a game–and won three times.
COLTS
THE PRINCIPALS
RB Joseph Addai
RB Dominic Rhodes
C Jeff Saturday
LT Tarik Glenn
Addai averaged 4.8 yards per carry and scored seven touchdowns, winning the starting job from Rhodes but forming a tandem that scored 12 touchdowns, equal to the output of Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson. The pair also combined to catch 76 passes, and Addai averaged 6.0 yards per run against NFC opponents.
The Colts also scheme to make Addai even more effective. Addai averaged 3.8 yards in formations with two or fewer receivers but gained 5.3 per rush when the Colts went with three wideouts, 4.9 with four and 5.5 when Manning went shotgun. When the Bears edged Seattle in the NFC semifinals, the Seahawks spread the field with nickel packages and ran Shaun Alexander effectively. The Colts have shown they also will run from apparent passing personnel groups.
Saturday and Glenn, both Pro Bowl linemen, are the keys for Addai, who gained 3.5 yards on tries to the right side but 5.3 through the middle and 5.7 behind Glenn on the left. The Colts are big outside, with the 332-pound Glenn and 320-pound right tackle Ryan Diem from Northern Illinois. But they will not overpower the Bears, with interior blockers averaging 293 pounds.
Addai averages 4.9 yards on first down, a significant part of why the Colts rank No. 2 in the NFL at 6.1 yards on first down (the Bears are 25th at 4.7). If Addai approaches that figure Sunday, the options for Manning increase dramatically–and dangerously for the Bears.
BEARS
THE PRINCIPALS
DT Ian Scott
SS Chris Harris
DE Alex Brown
OLB Lance Briggs
The Bears’ run defense was rocked by the losses of safety Mike Brown and defensive tackle Tommie Harris. Or was it? In the six games since losing Harris, the Bears have allowed an average of 83 yards rushing, and two of those games were without Tank Johnson.
The biggest reason has been the play of Scott, an unsung power tackle who stepped back into the starting job he’d lost to Johnson and played as well as any tackle in the NFC. Seattle had success running out of nickel packages in part because those take Scott and linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer off the field.
Chris Harris has suffered breakdowns but has rallied to regain his starting job. He is second to Briggs in playoff tackles, leads the team in solo stops and is critical to the Bears’ ability to contain plays with quick run support from the secondary.
Alex Brown has been overshadowed by the pass rushing of rookie Mark Anderson. But he is a second alternate to the Pro Bowl and is one of the underappreciated ends against the run, and he and Israel Idonije have the ability to play inside in those spread-field situations when matchups take out Bears run stoppers.
Briggs is perhaps the most important figure on defense because he, like Brian Urlacher, never leaves the field regardless of the situation. He is fast enough to handle coverage, but Briggs’ run stops fortified the Bears against Seattle.
THE ANALYSIS
Indianapolis has learned that it will win if it does not put playoff pressure solely on the arm of Manning. Tony Dungy, like Lovie Smith, is a defense-based coach who leans heavily on the running game. The Bears’ run defense ranked sixth in the NFL in yardage (allowing 99.4 yards per game) and allowed only seven rushing touchdowns. Only Baltimore gave up fewer, with five. Significantly, the Bears have had trouble with opponents willing to commit to the run for at least 30 carries a game.
