Well, since my column doesn’t appear until Wednesday, the following points about Sunday’s not-so-Super Bowl have likely already been established.

Rex Grossman looked nervous, especially in clutch situations. He fumbled more snaps than most professional quarterbacks would have put on the turf in the middle of a Crisco downpour. He also threw two hideous passes that had no chance to be caught by Bears receivers, proving that he truly is a mirror image of Michael Vick, minus the blazing speed and turbo-launcher arm of course. Finally, we all saw how utterly confused the Bears defense looked all game, getting to Manning fewer times than the Colts kicked the ball to Hester. Sadly enough, as a Bears fan, I still have enough left to write a 900 word column about the disappointment formerly known as Super Bowl XLI.

There is one thing that really got to me about the way the Bears played on Sunday that hasn’t been mentioned yet: their complete lack of sticking to a game plan on offense. After watching the game, I really wonder how Ron Turner is going to sleep at night until the start of next season. If we say that Grossman might have been the worst starting quarterback in a Super Bowl, then we need to acknowledge that Ron Turner was the worst offensive coordinator to ever call plays in a Super Bowl.

Our boy Rex Grossman had a 120 quarterback rating at one point in this game. He finished 20-28 passing for 165 yards and a touchdown. If you take away the two interceptions he shouldn’t have had to throw anyway, he didn’t have a bad game. So what am I trying to get at here? It wasn’t only Grossman’s inability to play quarterback that cost us this game; it was also our lack of sticking to a game plan.

We have seen time and time again that in games where the Bears come out and rely on the pass, they are a much more ineffective team. Look at the Arizona game, the Green Bay game and the Seattle game in the first round of the playoffs. In all of these games, the Bears failed to stick to their game plan and either lost or almost lost a game that shouldn’t have even been close.

This is a run-first team. Grossman doesn’t have a lot of big game experience and he isn’t a great downfield passer. Why are we running the ball nine times less than we are passing it? With the 19 total carries, the Bears ran for 111 yards. That’s 5.8 yards per carry. It’s not like we weren’t moving the football on the ground.

Ron Turner, you failed to do your job on Sunday. The Bears made it to their own 45-yard line or beyond four times in the second half. That’s four times in six possessions. Out of those drives, they scored only three points.

Each time they got that far down field, they did it by running the football and taking what the Colts gave them in the passing game.

Grossman did a great job hitting check down receivers and short routes, that’s why his completion percentage was so good. None of it mattered though because Turner couldn’t put away his deep passing plays, and Grossman couldn’t complete them.

On one series, with the Bears down just 19-14 shortly after halftime, Chicago had a second-and-one from Indy’s 45-yard line. Let’s review the correct coaching call to make here. You’re a running team, you have two chances to get one yard, then one more first down to put yourself in field goal range. Hit the field goal and its back to a two-point game. Remember Turner, we have a Pro-Bowl kicker and we’re a running team. So what happens? Turner calls a pass play, Anthony McFarland comes up the middle unblocked and sacks Grossman for an 11-yard loss.

The lack of recognition for what was working on offense in this game is unexplainable and inexcusable in my eyes. I’m not even going to mention what happened on the other drives because it makes me sick to think about it. The Bears had a great game plan and it was working, even with an early injury to Benson. The Bears really didn’t get outplayed as badly as it seemed. They got out-coached.

I really believe the Bears could have won this football game if Ron Turner would have helped out his young quarterback by calling some plays to take the pressure off of him. Grossman threw the picks, Grossman fumbled the snaps, but I think if the Bears would have stuck to their game plan, that stuff wouldn’t have been necessary. For most of the second half all the Bears needed were two field goals to win this game, yet they called plays like they were down two touchdowns.

I have just one final note to summarize my dismay with Ron Turner. Why in the world did the offense lay down at the end of the fourth quarter with 1:42 seconds left on the game clock, down only two scores? I’m not saying it was going to happen, but if we’re willing to start heaving the ball downfield with 12:00 left in a six-point game, why not take a shot when we’re down 12 points late in the game?

It’s wet, anything could have happened. All it takes is for a corner to slip on a fly route. The next thing you know, the Bears are in the end zone. Then recover the on-side kick. If the Bears could have pulled that off, which is unlikely but not unreasonable, they would have had at least a shot at the end zone from midfield to win the game.

It’s the Super Bowl, Turner. You could have at least tried to win.

Frank Vanderwall is a senior in Communications. He can be reached at [email protected].