Bears did their best

Bears did their best

The New Orleans Saints were a better story, but the Chicago Bears were a better team. They won 39-14 and earning a spot in Super Bowl XLI.

The Bears made a statement about what kind of team this is. It forces the opponents into mistakes: Safety Chris Harris and defensive ends Mark Anderson and Adewale Ogunleye all forced fumbles. It delivers punishing hits: Linebacker Brian Urlacher drilled the Saints' receivers when they ran in the middle of the field, taking away a big part of quarterback Drew Brees' game. And it wins with the kicking game: Robbie Gould made all three of his field goal attempts, punter Brad Maynard averaged 47.4 yards and coverage gunner Adrian Peterson had four tackles and forced a fumble on a kickoff return.

Chicago is also a team whose quarterback, Rex Grossman, is more a liability than an asset. As the Bears prepare for the Super Bowl.

But yesterday was about the Bears' defense that Chicago coach Lovie Smith has created. Smith has a genius for developing game plans that take advantage of his athletic players who keep going at full-speed until the whistle blows. As great a story as the Saints in the Super Bowl would have been, this great Bears defense meeting one of the league's top quarterbacks means no one should be disappointed by Super Bowl XLI.