PRO FOOTBALL
Page C4 • Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Northwest Herald / NWHerald.com
BEARS
Super Bowl blueprint would be hard to replicate NFL’s best QB, defense lead teams to N.Y. By MARK POTASH mpotash@suntimes.com The NFL is known as a copycat league, but emulating the teams that reached the Super Bowl – or came close – will prove problematic for the Bears or any other NFL team that thinks it’s close to getting there. The Denver Broncos are in Super Bowl XLVIII for one reason and one reason only: They have the most prolific and, arguably, the best quar-
terback of our time in Peyton Manning. Only the Indianapolis Colts, with Andrew Luck in his second season, have real hope of duplicating that difference-making factor. And, closer to home, the NFC Championship Game between the Seattle Seahawks and San Fransico 49ers provided a template that might be just as difficult to follow. Two of the top three defensive teams in the NFL slugged it out, with the better defensive team – the Seahawks – winning by making three big defensive plays in the fourth quarter. Just the Bears’ luck that as they finally looked like they were joining the 21st-century NFL with an explosive offense, their road to the Super Bowl
appears blocked by two great defensive teams that aren’t likely to go away. As much as genearl manager Phil Emery likes to play it close to the vest, his game plan for the offseason is so obvious even he can’t hide it. Rebuilding their defense will be a top priority for the Bears in free agency and the draft. But their chore is much bigger than getting a pass rusher such as Aldon Smith, linebackers such as NaVorro Bowman and Patrick Willis or defensive backs such as Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor. It’s going to take more than just acquiring 6-foot-3 and 6-4 cornerbacks such as Sherman and Brandon Browner. The biggest obstacle facing
the Bears and everybody else in the NFC is that the Seahawks and 49ers are coached by over-the-top guys who condition their players to compete at a level well above anybody else in the league. The NFC Championship Game was as fiercely competitive as a football game can be in this era. And the Seahawks and 49ers play at that level without losing their fundamentals. According to Pro Football Focus, the Seahawks had the second-fewest missed tackles in the NFL this season (78); the 49ers had the fourth-fewest (92). For the record, the Bears were 28th (137). The Seahawks and 49ers have great defensive talent and play at a level that is – or
should be – almost impossible to attain with the NFL rules. But they do it because coaches Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh push the envelope and challenge the rules. Instead of trying to stay away from the line, their players seem to cross it as much as they can and force the officials to do something about it. It’s almost as though their aggressiveness has redefined what a foul is in the minds of the officials. And it’s all generally within the bounds of fair play. The teams aren’t dirty. They don’t cheat. Carroll, in particular, uses the rules as a guide, not a wall. The USC football program was sanctioned heavily by the NCAA for violations that occurred under Carroll’s watch,
with Reggie Bush having to return his Heisman Trophy. In the 2012 offseason, the Seahawks were forced to forfeit two offseason practices after Carroll admitted holding impermissable live-contact practices. Carroll also violated the rules when Terrell Owens practiced in pads before he was allowed after signing with the Seahawks in training camp in 2012. Those aren’t major infractions, but they’re an indication of how far Carroll is willing to go to build a winning team. He and Harbaugh push their teams to the limit and then some. It commands respect and sets the bar for challengers such as the Bears, Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers a lot higher than they might think.
BEARS
Jennings going to Pro Bowl By TOM MUSICK tmusick@shawmedia.com
AP photo
Seattle Seahawks defensive back Richard Sherman celebrates with fans after after the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night in Seattle. The Seahawks won, 23-17, to advance to Super Bowl XLVIII.
SUPER BOWL XLVIII
Tim Jennings’ good news was worth the wait. On Monday, Jennings learned that he would be heading to the Pro Bowl to replace Super Bowlbound cornerback Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks. Jennings will join Tim Jennings fellow Bears players Matt Forte, Brandon Marshall, Kyle Long and Alshon Jeffery in the game, which is next Sunday at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. Jennings, 30, finished this season with four interceptions, three forced fumbles and two defensive touchdowns. He stepped up in the absence of injured teammate Charles Tillman and was rewarded after the season with
Long added to Pro Bowl roster The Bears said they were notified Monday that guard Kyle Long will replace San Francisco’s Mike Iupati on the Pro Bowl roster because of an injury. A first-round draft pick, Long started all 16 games at right guard in his first season under Bears coach Marc Trestman. Long is the first Bears offensive lineman to reach the Pro Bowl since guard Ruben Brown and
center Olin Kreutz both were selected after the 2006 season. Long is the first Bears rookie to make the squad since Johnny Knox was selected as a kick returner after the 2009 season, the team said. Long will join several teammates at the 2014 Pro Bowl: running back Matt Forte, receiver Alshon Jeffery, cornerback Tim Jennings and receiver Brandon Marshall. – Wire report
a four-year contract. The decision to re-sign with the Bears was an easy one for Jennings. “Chicago gave me an opportunity that teams wouldn’t when I was a free agent deciding to come here,” Jennings said. “And just to see what they’re building around the defense – meaning to say, the offense, the special teams – I think we’ve got a good chance here. “I think it was a no-brainer
just to know what they’re capable of doing on the offensive side of the ball. Now, we’ve got to do some things on the defensive side. So, I wanted to be a part of that and be excited about what’s to come here.” This marks Jennings’ second straight Pro Bowl selection. He led the NFL in 2012 with nine interceptions to go along with one defensive touchdown in 14 games.
Shame on Fox for quelling Sherman “Joe, back over to you.” No! In the name of all that is good and right in the world, NOT back over to Joe Buck! This was Sunday night, and Fox sideline reporter Erin Andrews was presented with what might have been the interview of a lifetime or the fiery end of her life as Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman seemed on the verge of self-immolation. The Seahawks had just beaten the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, thanks to Sherman’s end-zone deflection of a pass intended for 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree in the waning moments. The ball ended up in the hands of Seahawks teammate Malcolm Smith. The Seahawks were headed to the Super Bowl. Andrews was “standing by” with Sherman, as they say in broadcasting, and Buck sent the telecast her way. She wanted to talk with Sherman about his game-saving play. Unbeknownst to Andrews, Sherman was out of his mind and had something else in mind. “Well, I’m the best corner in the game!” he screamed. “When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that’s the result you’re going to get! Don’t you ever talk about me!” Andrews, sensing her David Frost-interviewing-Richard Nixon moment, zeroed in: “Who was talking about you?” “Crabtree!” Sherman said. “Don’t you open your mouth about the best, or you know I’m gonna shut it for you real quick!” And all I could think of as I watched at home was: “Keep him talking. Whatever you do, Ms. Andrews, keep him talking.” This was something we
VIEWS Rick Morrissey almost never see: an angry professional athlete in the aftermath of the game of his life, raw and immediate and uncut. Sherman looked dangerous, which is exactly what pro football players are during games. We rarely get to see that up close, the way we did Sunday night. There was no telling what Sherman would have said upon further questioning from Andrews. That Crabtree’s home, family and worldly possessions were in serious danger? That Sherman eats a lion’s heart before every game? That Crabtree is a closet foie gras eater? Andrews seemed game for more, but she had a producer yelling in her earpiece to cut the interview short. “All right, before ...” she began to say to Sherman, before shifting gears with, “ ... and, Joe, back over to you.’’ No! A thousand times no! We were on the verge of TV history. We almost were witnesses to the first televised example of spontaneous combustion. Whoever that producer was, he or she single-handedly lost the big game. I’ll admit to being seriously torn here – torn between the horror of watching a selfish person completely kidnap his team’s celebration and the fascination of watching someone with no filter invade my TV screen. Sherman already had made a choking gesture to 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick after the interception. My immediate Twitter response after Andrews’ interview was, “Richard Sherman, staying classy.”
But here was a competitor and a punk, all rolled up into one, caught in the heat of the moment. Remember Michael Jordan’s Hall of Fame induction speech, where he went through a long list of slights and perceived slights, all of which, he said, fueled him into being the player he was? This was a little like that, only in real time. Sherman later said he was mad at Crabtree for something the receiver had said to him during the offseason. Who knows what Crabtree had said? Who knows if he really had said anything or if it all had been in Sherman’s head? It doesn’t really matter. It was great TV, cut prematurely short. Sherman figures to be the big star during the massive buildup to the Super Bowl on Feb. 2, and you can bet it will lead to discussions of bigger issues, such as race, character and sportsmanship. You also can bet that the talkative Sherman will oblige with interview after interview. In an attempt at explaining himself after the outburst Sunday, he wrote a column for Sports Illustrated’s The MMQB. “It was loud, it was in the moment, and it was just a small part of the person I am,” he wrote. “I don’t want to be a villain because I’m not a villainous person.” Whether you are or aren’t doesn’t much matter anymore, Richard. You opened your mouth on national TV and made the decision for other people easy. You’re lucky a Fox producer rescued you from going up in total flames. Now that would have been must-see TV.
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• Rick Morrissey is a Chicago Sun-Times columnist. Write to him at rmorrissey@suntimes.com.