Rex a Tyranosaurus of Failure

Super Bowl XLI will always be remembered for a stirring, inspiring performance amid a torrential downpour. And in addition to Prince’s halftime show, the Colts won a football game.

Kelvin Hayden’s interception for the Colts closed out a soggy day for the Bears. On the ensuing challenge replays it could be seen that his foot touched down within a single blade of grass of the sideline before he took off on his 56-yard touchdown run, the only score of the fourth quarter, the one that iced it. Rex Grossman’s pass was a lazy looper, floated into coverage.

When Rex was intercepted by Bob Sanders two passes later, it was clear the much anticipated scenario of Grossman costing his team the game would be the story of the day, ahead of the monsoon (first inclement weather in Super Bowl history) and the sizzling opening with Devin Hester scoring while Billy Joel was still performing the national anthem. With Rex unable to sustain a drive (nothing longer than 2:22), the D was left out in the rain for days. Grossman allowed the Colts to control the clock with his inability to get first downs, then allowed them to win the game on his poor judgment on the two interceptions, thrown sloppily and deep downfield.

Peyton’s primary contribution was to facilitate the fine running of Rhodes and Addai by not dropping the ball. The two Colt runners deserved to be co-MVP’s in place of the suddenly monkey-free QB. The Hester return and five first quarter turnovers gave the game a wide open feel early, but Peyton’s conservative ball control march to victory made the second half considerably less entertaining.

Clearly, Peyton’s hours of experience at getting pelted by rain while filming Gatorade commercials proved very useful Sunday. Rex on the other hand could have been benched for his poor decisions and lackluster execution. If some purple shoulder pads could have been found for Prince perhaps the result would have been different.