Information AboutSuper Bowl Xli |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT SUPER BOWL XLI | |
| 2006 national football league season | |
| 2007 in american football | |
| 2007 in the united states | |
| chicago bears | |
| indianapolis colts | |
| sports in miami | |
| super bowl | |
| super bowl 041 | |
Super Bowl XLI was the 41st championship game of the modern . The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Indianapolis Colts (16-4) defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Chicago Bears (15-4), 29-17. Colts quarterback , 2007 . This game featured two teams ending long Super Bowl appearance droughts. The Colts made their first appearance in a Super Bowl game since winning Super Bowl V in the 1970 Season during the team's tenure in Baltimore ; they moved to Indianapolis in 1984 . Meanwhile, the Bears made their first appearance since winning Super Bowl XX in the 1985 Season . The game is also notable for featuring the first Super Bowl teams led by African-American coaches. BACKGROUND Host selection process Dolphin Stadium won the bid to host Super Bowl XLI on September 17 2003 after a campaign against Arizona , Tampa Bay , New York City , and Washington D.C. With this game, the Miami Metropolitan Area tied New Orleans, Louisiana as the city to host the most Super Bowls (9).8 This was the fourth Super Bowl at Dolphin Stadium, which has also been known as "Joe Robbie Stadium" and "Pro Player Stadium". The venue previously hosted Super Bowls XXIII (broadcast on NBC ), XXIX (on ABC ), and XXXIII (on FOX ). Super Bowls II , III , V , X , and XIII were also in Miami, but held at the Miami Orange Bowl . In February 2006, the NFL and the South Florida Super Bowl XLI Host Committee unveiled the slogan "one game, one dream" for the game, referring to the entire South Florida region working together to present the event.9 The Super Bowl XLI logo was also unveiled, featuring the colors orange (to represent the sun) and blue (for the ocean). The "I" in the Roman Numeral "XLI" was drawn to resemble a pylon placed at each corner of an End Zone because "the goal is to get to the game." This year's logo has the same shade of orange as the logo of the host city's home team, the Miami Dolphins . The "XL" part is similar to that of Super Bowl XL 's logo. Teams Chicago Bears See Also: 2006 Chicago Bears season Chicago finished the season with an NFC best 13-3 record and advanced to the second Super Bowl in franchise history. The team excelled at defense, ranking third in fewest points allowed (255) and second in fewest points allowed per drive. NFL regular season drive statistics from Football Outsiders They also ranked second in scoring (427 points), although only tenth in points per offensive drive thanks to a league leading 65 points scored on defensive or special teams plays. The Bears offense was led by quarterback Rex Grossman , the team's first round draft pick in 2003. Over the previous three seasons, Grossman had played in just 8 regular season games due to injuries, but he recovered to start in all 16 games in 2006. By the end of the season, he finished with 3,193 yards and 23 touchdowns, the most by a Bears quarterback since 1995. Grossman had difficulty avoiding turnovers, however, and threw 20 interceptions and lost five fumbles during the year. In the last seven games of the season, he turned the ball over 18 times. Many fans and sports writers expected head coach Lovie Smith to bench him at some point, but Smith insisted that Grossman would be the starter throughout the entire season. Receivers Muhsin Muhammad (60 receptions, 863 yards, 5 touchdowns) and Bernard Berrian (51 receptions, 775 yards, 7 touchdowns) provided the main deep threat on the team, along with tight end Desmond Clark , who caught 45 passes for 626 yards and 6 touchdowns. Chicago's running game was led by running backs Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson . Jones rushed for 1,210 yards and caught 36 passes, while Benson rushed for 647 yards and scored 6 touchdowns. Chicago's defense allowed the 5th least total yardage, allowed less than 100 yards per game on the ground {Link without Title} , and allowed the fewest yards per drive of any NFL team. The line was anchored by Adewale Ogunleye , who had 6.5 sacks, and Pro Bowler Tommie Harris , who recorded 5, along with rookie Mark Anderson , who led the team with 12 sacks. Behind them, two of the three Bears starting linebackers, Lance Briggs , and Brian Urlacher , were selected to the 2007 Pro Bowl . In the secondary, cornerbacks Ricky Manning Jr. and Charles Tillman each recorded five interceptions. The loss of Harris to injury after the twelfth game of the season coincided with a decline in defensive performance. Before his loss, the Bears allowed only two opponents to score more than twenty points (23 points to the Arizona Cardinals in week six and 31 to the Miami Dolphins in week 9). After his injury, Chicago opponents scored more than 20 points in six of the seven remaining games, including two of three playoff games. Only the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship Game were held below 21 points.[http://www.nfl.com/teams/schedule/CHI/2006 The Bears special teams unit was considered by many to be the best in the league. This unit sent 3 players to the Pro Bowl, special teams ace Brendon Ayanbadejo , kicker Robbie Gould (who led all NFL kickers with 143 points), and rookie return man Devin Hester , who gained 600 punt return yards with a 12.8 yards per return average, the second highest in the NFL. He also set a league record with 6 touchdowns on special teams. Indianapolis Colts See Also: 2006 Indianapolis Colts season The Colts's first trip to the Super Bowl in 36 years was the culmination of a 9 year long building process. In 1998, they drafted quarterback Peyton Manning to lead the team. Over the next four seasons, Manning, along with other stars such as receiver Marvin Harrison and running back Edgerrin James , turned the Colts into one of the best offensive teams in the NFL, but the team struggled to find consistency on defense and always ended up with either a losing season or elimination from the playoffs in the first round. In 2002, Indianapolis fired head coach Jim Mora and replaced him with Tony Dungy . Dungy had developed one of the best defenses in the NFL while coaching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , and it was hoped he could solve the Colts' defensive problems as well. Over the next four seasons, the Colts won 48 of 64 games, but still could not find much success in the postseason. In 2002, they were blown out 41-0 in the wildcard round by the New York Jets . In 2003, they won their first two playoff games behind impressive offensive performances, and reached the AFC title game. There they lost to the eventual champion New England Patriots 24-14, with Manning throwing four interceptions. In 2004, the Colts had one of the most spectacular offensive seasons in NFL history, scoring 522 points and gaining 6,582 yards, while Manning set NFL records for most touchdown passes and highest passer rating. But again the Patriots defense (and snowy conditions) proved too formidable, as they lost 20-3 in the divisional round of the playoffs. In 2005, the Colts defense improved, making the team the clear favorites in the NFL. They won the first 13 games of the season and finished with a 14-2 record, while ranking second in the NFL in both points scored and fewest points allowed. But once again they lost in the divisional round of the playoffs, this time to the #6 seeded Pittsburgh Steelers , 21-18. After another disappointing loss, Manning had developed a reputation of being unable to make it to a championship, a reputation that followed him from college after he was unable to win an NCAA title with the Tennessee Volunteers (who won a title the year after he graduated). The Colts lost some key players after the 2005 season, including James, who departed the Colts for the Arizona Cardinals, and kicker Mike Vanderjagt , the NFL's all-time leader in field goal percentage, who left for the Dallas Cowboys. Still, the Colts remained one of the AFC's top teams in the 2006 NFL Season . Manning made the Pro Bowl for the 7th time in his career, completing 362 of 555 passes for 4,397 yards and an NFL best 31 touchdowns, with an additional 4 rushing touchdowns and with only 9 interceptions and 15 sacks. His favorite target was Harrison, who caught 95 passes for 1,366 yards and 12 touchdowns. Receiver Reggie Wayne was also a major deep threat with 86 receptions for 1,310 yards and 9 touchdowns. Tight ends Ben Utecht and Dallas Clark were also reliable targets, each recording over 30 receptions for over 300 yards. On the ground, rookie running back Joseph Addai led the team with 1,081 yards and 4.8 yards per carry average. He also caught 40 receptions for 325 yards and scored 8 touchdowns. Running back Dominic Rhodes was also a major contributor, rushing for 641 yards and catching 36 passes for 251 yards. The offensive line was led by Pro Bowlers Jeff Saturday and Tarik Glenn . On special teams, the Colts signed kicker Adam Vinatieri to replace Vanderjagt. While Vinatieri's career field goal percentage was lower, the Colts considered him to be an improvement because of his reputation for making " Clutch " kicks, a reputation aided by his game winning field goals in Super Bowl XXXVI and Super Bowl XXXVIII . Indianapolis' defense ranked second in the NFL in fewest passing yards allowed. Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis (who recorded 9.5 sacks and forced 4 fumbles) were widely considered to be among the best pass-rushing Defensive End s in the NFL. Behind them, linebacker Cato June led the team in tackles (92) and interceptions (3). The Colts run defense, however, was a major problem, giving up 2,768 yards on the ground, an average of 173 per game and last in the NFL. Another major issue for the Colts was their coverage teams, as they ranked #30 out of 32 teams in average kickoff return yardage allowed and #31 in average punt return yardage allowed. Indianapolis started out the season winning their first 9 games, but ended up losing four of their next seven and finished with a 12-4 record, giving them the #3 playoff seed. Thus, they would have to win three games to make it to the Super Bowl. Playoffs See Also: National Football League playoffs, 2006-07 Although the Colts' rushing defense looked extremely weak during the season, it ended up being a key factor on their road to the Super Bowl. First, Indianapolis defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 23-8, holding Chiefs running back Larry Johnson (who rushed for 1,789 yards during the season) to just 32 yards on 13 carries. Then, they defeated the Baltimore Ravens 15-6, winning on a playoff record-tying five field goals by Vinatieri and holding running back Jamal Lewis (who rushed for 1,132 yards during the season) to just 53 yards. Then the Colts faced their arch-rival ended the drive with an interception to give Indianapolis the win. This happened to be the biggest comeback in AFC-NFC Conference Chamiponship history. Meanwhile, the Bears started out their post-season with a 27-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks with Robbie Gould 's 49-yard field goal in overtime. One week later, they defeated the New Orleans Saints 39-14. Chicago dominated most of the game, jumping to a 16-0 early lead. Two touchdown passes from Saints quarterback Drew Brees , cut the score to 16-14, but the Bears responded with 23 unanswered points to propel them to their first Super Bowl since 1985. Thomas Jones finished the game with a franchise postseason record 123 rushing yards and two touchdowns. It was the first time since the 1996 postseason that the home team won both of the conference championship games. The Colts were the first dome team to win the Super Bowl in an outdoor game. (The St. Louis Rams were the first dome team to win a Super Bowl ( XXXIV ). The 2006 Indianapolis Colts were the first division champion to win a Super Bowl with four postseason wins and the second division champion ( 2003 Carolina Panthers ) to win a conference title with three postseason wins. Super Bowl pre-game practices and notes The Indianapolis Colts held pre-game practices for Super Bowl XLI at the Miami Dolphins Training Facility on the campus of Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida . The Colts' "Team and Family" hotel was the Marriott Harbor Beach. 10 At the 2007 Indianapolis 500 pre-race ceremonies on May 27 , 2007 , eventual Super Bowl XLI MVP Peyton Manning stated to ABC Sports commentator Brent Musberger that the day before the game that two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves gave a pep talk to the Colts team. The Chicago Bears held pre-game practices for Super Bowl XLI at the Miami Hurricanes Football Facility , on the campus of the University Of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida . Chicago defensive tackle Tank Johnson was required to request a judge's order to leave the state of Illinois due to an arrest for unlicensed ownership of six firearms and two assault rifles. On January 23 2007 , the judge granted him permission to travel out of state to play in the Super Bowl.11 Chicago and Indianapolis are the two closest cities, geographically, to ever play in a Super Bowl (at 182 miles, they are slightly closer than New York and Baltimore, whose teams played each other at III and XXXV ). This prompted Colts coach Tony Dungy to joke to Jim Nantz, at the end of the AFC Championship game, that the two teams should split the difference and play the game in Fort Wayne . BROADCASTING United States The game was televised in the United States by CBS in High-definition with Play-by-play Announcer Jim Nantz and Color Commentator Phil Simms . This was the first Super Bowl announced by Nantz.12 Additionally, the game had Steve Tasker and Solomon Wilcots reporting on the sidelines and Lesley Visser and Sam Ryan in the stands. |
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