I’m going to be doing a series this week that will compare the opposing sides of the ball in this weekend’s Super Bowl XLI in Miami.

Let’s start with what most people would see as the unimportant or boring matchup of this Super Bowl. The special teams.

Indianapolis Colts

Key Players: Adam Vinatieri. He has a ton of big game experience. His foot has won 2 Super Bowls. He’s also been on the losing side of a Super Bowl. This game is precisely why the Colts got Vinatieri from the Patriots. They want his leg to be counted on at the end of the game.

The kick-off coverage team. This team had trouble stopping Ellis Hobbs of New England. Just imagine what Devin Hester, special teams Pro-Bowler, will do to them. They have to limit Hester to a kick-off return average of less than 25 yards to give the Colts any chance of winning the field position battle.

Chicago Bears

Key Players: Devin Hester. It has to be Hester. He’s explosive when he catches the ball. And that’s the key. He has had some trouble this year with handling kicks. Everyone knows he can take it to the house every time he returns a kick. But Chicago fans also know that every time the ball is kicked to him, it’s a Maalox moment. The Chicago coaching staff needs to make sure this young man’s head is in the game. He went to “the U” so he’s a hometown guy, and a rookie. Could be a disaster waiting to happen. He’s kept his feet on the ground and his ego in check pretty much all year. We’ll see if he can concentrate for this game.

Adrian Peterson. He’s the third string running back, but he’s also a monster on special teams. This guy knows that for his team to win he needs to contribute. Whether it’s spelling Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson, or making key tackles on special teams, he gets it done.

Robbie Gould. Pro Bowl kicker who has been money all year. Only question, and it’s a big one, is can he do it at the Super Bowl?

Who do you think will be the Key Players on special teams on Sunday at Super Bowl XLI?

Next we’ll look at the Bears offense vs. the Colts defense.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 30th, 2007 at 3:36 am and is filed under Chicago Bears, Football, NFL. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.