When playing man to man I want Vasher on Harrison the entire game and Peanut on Wayne.

Vasher can't tackle as well as Peanut. That's fine because it doesn't take much to bring down Harrison and he won't fight anyway.

I know sometimes the Bears philosophy has been - our corners play a side not a player. That defidently was the case last year. But not so much this year. Remember the Giants game where Tillman followed Plexico around. I hope they designate my match ups for the Super Bowl.

Unlike the Saints, I don't like the Bear CB v Colt WR matchup very much. Their speed will cause the Bear CB to play soft. That is okay with a less accurate passer but I think Manning will take 5-10 yards while completing passes.

On the good side, I love our linebackers covering Dallas...and he has been their top receiver in the playoffs.

I almost think that Peanut would be a better fit for Harrison. He's a lot more physical than Vasher, and when Harrison struggles (which is hardly ever), it's against a physical corner that will throw his timing off. I think he shoud hit him at the line and roll a safety over to his side to take away the deep stuff.

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"Tubby? Oh yes, Tubby."

Colts are gonna get their passing yards regardless. I mean, we could have them covered as good as can be and Mannings gonna put it in the perfect spot. I just think that's our best shot. We gotta puch it out of their hands before they hit the end zone or hold them to as many field goals as possible.

There are advantages and disadvantages to going either way. I guess if they put Peanut on Wayne, there might be a better shot at creating a turnover. It's been well documented that Peanut is good at forcing fumbles, and Wayne carries the ball around like a loaf of bread.

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"Tubby? Oh yes, Tubby."

Been reading my analysis good, dolphin?

Scott, I know what you are saying about Peanut being more physical than Vasher, but he still isn't that physical compared the rest of the physical CB's of the NFL. He physicallity won't make a difference. I think putting Vasher on Harrison is a much better idea and Beardown nailed the reason why...



The Colts philosophy is don't fight hard for the extrad yardage once you have a first down because bad thigns could happen. Why chance it when you have the best offense in the NFL of the past 5 years? They believe Manning will put up points, so put your less physical WR on Harrison. Wayne sometimes fights for a bit more.

Overall, I love these matchups as a Colts fan, but go back to good dolphin's point and something I've mentioned a few times. The Colts have great catching TE's in Dallas Clark, Ben Utecht, and hell even Bryan Fletcher this year. The Bears linebackers are so fast that the Bears will most likely shut down this part of the game and thats going to aggravate Manning a lot. I think this could be a huge game for Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne. The d-line is really going to have to do their best to create pressure on their own for Manning to struggle throwing against those corners.

Not a word of it.

You did not address the run though. The Colt run game is a speed based. That plays directly into the Bears hands. Even on a fast surface I think the Bears will shut down the run game. This further weakens passes to the TE as play action becomes non existent. I think the Bears will make the Colts one dimensional. Unfortunately, that one dimension should be very available to them.

On the other side of the ball, I am not one of those who believes the Colts have miraculously improved against the run. They did shut down LJ, no doubt about it. However the Ravens had a good YPA. The Pats had the running game going well before the abandoned it. The only thing that will stop the Bears from moving the ball on the ground is the Bears. Even if they get down by as much as 14 they must continue to run the ball.

I think the first two series are going to be huge in this game. If the Bears can shut down the Colts in their first series, they will feel comfortable with sticking to the run for most of the first half. If not, I fear we are going to get one of those series where Turner calls for a bomb on 1st down, a short run on second and an incompletion on third and long...which will lead to the Colts getting the ball again quickly.

I completely agree. They'll give a 10 yard buffer to those receivers and Manning will sit back and complete 9 yard passes all day long.

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gd, I did address the run when I talked about reasons why the Bears can/will beat the Colts. This was just CB vs. WR ao I didn't bother bringing it up... but here is what I said in my first post about matchups in SB41.



So pretty much we have the same thoughts here..

Dead on Coach. This is where the game will be won or lost on this side of the ball. Not only do they love using the run more than what people think, but Manning loves throwing to his TE's and his RB's. Those are the passes that keep his drives alive and set up his big Wayne/Harrison gains. With you guys havin Urlacher and Briggs, now you can see why I am concerned.

Ok. Good. Peanut had a press confrence in Miami today and said it would be a good match up with "me against Wayne and Vasher against Marvin." It was obvious to me I'm just glad Rivera and Lovie agree.

Peter King made reference to this in his column today. He said he did a feature with Bill Cowher on Inside the NFL that airs on Wednesday night where he breaks this battle down. I'm kinda anxious to check that out.

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"Tubby? Oh yes, Tubby."