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Super Bowl: Bears-Colts

Stop Colts' DB Bob Sanders!

That should be the shout from the Bears' side of the field. Sanders is only 5' 8" and 206 pounds but he's quick as a spark. Built like a bowling ball it is likely his collar size fits his thigh.

The stat graphic below pictures the Colts' rush defense during the season (without Sanders in the lineup). Ranked last in the league the Colts' rush D needed help all year. Also it should be seen that while the Colts lost 7.8 points per game in their scoring differential the loss of DB Sanders cost them 9+ points (red graphic) more than accounting for the W/M decline.


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But DB Sanders was out for most of the season. In the 4 games he played the Colts' rush D came alive. The impact of Sanders' return is seen in the graphic below:


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The Colts defense against the rush looked puny until season's end with 15 games at or weaker than average. DB Sanders' return made him the man.

Quick reverse when Sanders returned from IR. Against heavy run offense by Kansas City, Baltimore and New England they suddenly looked like a granite wall. And their 2 loses vs Tennessee and Jacksonville were the weakest and almost second weakest games.

Now how about the Bears' run offense? The stat graphic below pictures their stronger than average rushing game. And the dark blue trend line shows they were improving all season. When the Bears were stronger than league average, they won 11 of 12 contests.


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If the two teams play to statistical form, the electronic hardware suggests the match up on this one stat between the Colts' rush D and the Bears' rush offense gives the Bears a 5.8-point edge.

Bud Goode

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