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Saturday, February 3, 2007
Manning will deliver for Dungy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
Miami — As is the case for all Super Bowls, this one is about a lot of things, but it’s mostly about two coaches and a quarterback.
It’s about their journeys.
Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith are the coaches. Peyton Manning is the quarterback. The coaches’ journeys have entailed surviving all of those persons, places and things seeking to keep them from getting this far courtesy of their dark skin and mild personalities. The quarterback’s journey has entailed proving to others — but mostly to himself — that he can evolve into substance instead of style when championships are near.
Ultimately, it’s about how each of their journeys will conclude today inside Dolphin Stadium after the Chicago Bears face the Indianapolis Colts for the opening kickoff, after the Clear Rain of South Florida threatens to combine with the Purple Rain of Prince, after the avalanche of commercials across your television screen, after somebody finally hoists a $25,000 trophy that is worth significantly more than that to most in the NFL.
Expect Dungy and Manning to do the hoisting for the Colts. Then expect Dungy and Manning to fib about the meaning of it all. “I’m excited for our team that we have this opportunity, and this is not a personal mission or a personal goal for any of these players,” said Manning, trying to sound convincing. The truth is, he couldn’t slay Gators at Tennessee, and he only recently discovered a way to conquer Patriots despite an otherwise flawless résumé. Added Manning, “It’s a team goal [to win the Super Bowl]. The way you do it is together as a team. That’s really been our concept all year, [and that is] to win as a team.”
No question, Manning’s “team” also is on a journey. This is a group so united spiritually that nearly half of its roster joins the coach in studying different Bible passages each day.
Then you have the football part of the Colts’ journey. They’ve won 12 or more games for four consecutive seasons, but this is their only Super Bowl trip. That’s why the Colts have to win now, and so does their coach. “[Dungy] is such a great person that he’s almost like a father that you don’t want to let down,” Colts linebacker Cato June said of the mellow guy who couldn’t win a world championship in Tampa, but who watched somebody else do so just a season after he was fired.
Now Dungy is four quarters away from completing this portion of his overall journey. It began in sports as a hotheaded star athlete from Jackson, Mich. It continued during his prolific quarterback days at the University of Minnesota before he was forced to become a defensive back with the Pittsburgh Steelers. It stalled during the 15 years when he nearly became an NFL assistant coach for life after he was king of the token interview for head coach jobs.
“I think about it all the time,” Dungy said of his journey. “For the last week and a half I’ve reflected. [Colts wide receiver coach] Clyde Christensen and I were out walking one day [this week]. My wife and I were out walking a little earlier than that, and you do think about everything. Assistant coaching jobs. And how you got the next job. And what if [former Minnesota Vikings coach] Denny Green hadn’t called me? What would I be doing? And what if Coach Noll hadn’t called me in 1981? What would I be doing now? So you reflect, and I think a lot of that is the Lord’s track for you.”
Just ask Bears coach Smith, Dungy’s former aide in Tampa and strong Christian pal.
Smith’s journey in sports began as a prep all-state defensive player in the middle of nowhere called Big Sandy, Texas. He later coached his high school team and one in Tulsa. He was a college assistant coach for 13 years before Dungy called the next year to bring Smith to the Buccaneers, and now pupil goes against mentor.
“It’s been a long road, but we had a plan to go into the coaching profession and do well,” Smith said. “Having a chance to be at Big Sandy, where you win three state championships and all those games, winning becomes a part of you. So whatever profession you go into, you assume you are going to have success in it.”
You can’t just “assume” when the journey leads you to the Super Bowl. You have to win it, which is what that other coach and his quarterback will do.
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The best and the worst Super Bowls
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
(Editor’s note: Journal-Constitution columnist Furman Bisher has covered every Super Bowl but the first one in 1967. So who else is more qualified to select the best and worst games in Super Bowl history? He chose to end his streak this year, passing on a trip to Miami.)
By this time, as Super Bowl XLI is upon us, this sporting classic has become a bloated circus in which the game itself seems an intrusion.
In pursuit of the “Bests” and “Worsts” of this American exercise in excess, one finds candidates for the “Worsts” considerably more abundant than the “Bests.” In fact, it seemed years passed before one real nail-biter broke the boring stretch, and you realize that included the third game, in which Joe Namath guaranteed that the Jets would beat the hallowed Colts, and did, but there was little classic about it, except the classic flop of the Colts.
Who can forget the scene of Jimmy Orr waving futilely from the end zone while Earl Morrall looked futilely elsewhere? Morrall, the NFL’s Most Valuable Player during the season, had such a terrible game that the gimpy Johnny Unitas had to be called off the bench. While Namath had only three winning seasons in his career, you’ll find him in the Hall of Fame, but no Morrall, who was, after all, a backup playing out the season that Unitas lost to injury.
There was one stretch in which blowout followed blowout and the press box was awash in cynicism. There was little “super” to cheer about. There is this to be said about where the game is played:
Best site: New Orleans, for sheer convenience. Worst site: Miami, where events are spread from here to there, a logistical nightmare. For backups, you may throw Atlanta in as a best, Jacksonville as a worst. (That excuses Pontiac, Mich., and Minneapolis, both beset by snowstorms.)
THE BEST
Super Bowl X, Steelers 21, Cowboys 17: This was a thriller that ran down to the wire, decided only when Glen Edwards intercepted Roger Staubach’s last pass in the end zone. This is the game in which Lynn Swann played himself into the Hall of Fame, with four catches for 161 yards, the last for 64 yards and the winning touchdown. Terry Bradshaw connected with Swann for what turned out to be the winning score in the closing minutes. This was the thriller of all thrillers up to that time.
Super Bowl XIII, Steelers 35, Cowboys 31: Again. It took all of Bradshaw’s skills to offset Staubach’s. The Steelers quarterback passed for 318 yards and four touchdowns, and John Stallworth, his favorite target, caught scoring passes of 28 and 75 yards in the first half, and in truth, registered himself for the Hall of Fame — but, for some warped reason, had to wait until Swann got there first. Staubach, by the way, was taking no prisoners that day himself and threw for three touchdowns. You could pick the 10th or the 13th as the biggest thriller of them all and not be wrong.
Super Bowl IV, Chiefs 23, Vikings 7: This was played in the penetrating chill of old Tulane Stadium, in the last game before the NFL-AFL merger. Kansas City did far more to establish the AFL’s presence than had the Jets the year before. The Vikings were two-touchdown favorites over the Chiefs, who had been shaken by gambling rumors concerning Len Dawson during the week. But Dawson was not shaken, passing for 142 yards and a touchdown to go with Jan Stenerud’s three field goals. Joe Kapp was stifled and the Vikings were able to gain only 67 rushing yards. This was the highlight of Hank Stram’s career.
Super Bowl XXXIV, Rams 23, Titans 16: This took place here in the Georgia Dome, on the day of the infamous ice storm, and you never heard such fussing by out-of-towners who thought Atlanta should have a law against such flagrant weather. The game earned its place in this rating system because Kevin Dyson lay with the ball in his outstretched arm 1 yard from the goal line as time ran out. Mike Jones’ desperation tackle brought down Dyson after he caught Steve McNair’s pass. Great stuff, just like in the movies.
Super Bowl XXIII, 49ers 20, Bengals 16: Jerry Rice caught 11 of Joe Montana’s passes for 215 yards and a touchdown, but in the end it was John Taylor, a lesser-known receiver out of Delaware State, who caught Montana’s 10-yard pass for the winning touchdown with 34 seconds on the clock. The Bengals had taken the lead on Jim Breech’s 40-yard field goal with time running low. The Bengals had rebounded from one of those off-field incidents in which fullback Stanley Wilson had been found in his room drugged out of his mind the night before. But they gave the favored 49ers all they could handle.
THE WORST
Super Bowl XXII, Redskins 42, Broncos 10: You could have your pick of several wipeouts, but this one came apart in a series of 18 plays in the second quarter. Denver had a 10-point lead when Washington let loose an offensive flash flood, scoring five touchdowns in those 18 plays. Doug Williams threw for 340 yards and the Redskins scored like men against boys. A record was set by a player who soon disappeared from view. Timmy Smith, a rookie out of Texas Tech, ran for 204 yards and scored two touchdowns, but later tripped over drugs. Curiously enough, he showed up with the Falcons a few years later but lasted only four games.
Super Bowl XX, Bears 46, Patriots 10: There have been higher scores and wider margins but no game in which the loser has been so dreadfully whipped. Hard to believe that the Patriots once had the lead, 3-0, which was meaningless. Their quarterback, Tony Eason, is the only Super Bowl starter who never completed a pass. After 0-for-6, Steve Grogan came on, but neither had a chance against Buddy Ryan’s defense. That gang embarrassed the Patriots, but at the end of the game, it was Mike Ditka to whom the Bears gave a victory ride.
Super Bowl XXVII, Cowboys 52, Bills 17: You could have your pick of several cases of slaughter about this time. The Bills were taking care of business in their conference, but once on center stage, they were humbled. That is, except for the game in which Scott Norwood missed the field goal that would have beaten the Giants. This one was another one of those routs. Troy Aikman passed for four touchdowns, the Cowboys forced nine turnovers and one of the Cowboys’ linebackers even scored. It was another case of total humiliation.
Super Bowl XXIV, 49ers 55, Broncos 10: That was a scoring record for the 49ers, another one of those games that should have been stopped and the 49ers awarded a TKO. Funny thing, I remember very little about it in the Superdome because, I suppose, it was over almost at kickoff. The 49ers hogged the ball, almost 40 minutes to the Broncos’ 20. Joe Montana completed a lot of passes, Jerry Rice made a lot of catches and I can’t remember the name of a single Denver player, but I’m certain John Elway was somewhere in the house. It was awful.
Super Bowl XXXV, Ravens 34, Giants 7: This is another one of those mismatches that never should have been. The Ravens lived by the muscle, and though they scored 34 points, Trent Dilfer, the quarterback, never got a whiff of the MVP award, and oddly enough, was soon gone. That award went to linebacker Ray Lewis, who was famous in Atlanta only because of an escapade in Buckhead that left behind two unsolved murders. Fortunately, no lives were lost in Tampa, but the Giants barely knew what town they were in. Just another of so many Super Bowls that were less than super.
ABOUT SUPER BOWL I
If I may add a personal reflection, after seeing them all but the first, I find myself congratulating myself for not being there after all these years. The game is a sideshow that every actor, every agent, every guy with a gimmick and every advertiser with a few million to squander gets in a lick or two. Goofy thing, half the television watchers turn on the game to see who’s winning the commercial bout. It’s a farce.
I happened to miss the first, which didn’t have an official name yet, because our publisher brushed it off. “Just another championship game,” he said. “They’ve been playing them for years; what’s so big about this one?”
And besides, a flight to Los Angeles and the hotel bill and all the bar bills I’d run up, well, that would have been too much. It would have been a widow’s mite compared to a trip to Super Bowl XXL, or is it XXLI? I’ve lost count.
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