NFC Championship Preview

By Chris Cluff
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

Saints (11-6) at Bears (14-3), 3 p.m. ET Sunday (Fox)

WagerWeb.com line: Bears -2.5 (43)

The NFC is about to have a different Super Bowl representative for the seventh straight year.

Thanks to the Bears’ overtime win over the Seattle Seahawks last Sunday and the Saints’ well-grounded win over the Philadelphia Eagles, the NFC held to regular-season form, and the top two seeds will play for the right to represent the conference in the Super Bowl in Miami on Feb. 4. The Bears will be trying to get back for the first time since winning the title in January 1986, while the Saints are seeking their first trip to the championship game.

One of those teams will become the latest champ in a revolving-door NFC that has seen six different teams go to the Super Bowl in the past six seasons: Seattle, Philadelphia, Carolina, Tampa Bay, St. Louis and the New York Giants.

This NFC title game pits two rising powers — Lovie Smith’s defense-driven Bears, who are 24-8 in Smith’s two seasons, and first-year coach Sean Payton’s upstart Saints, who have made it this far for the first time in the team’s 40 seasons of existence.

The Saints have become the feel-good fairy tale of the 2006 season, representing the rebirth of New Orleans a year after the city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Led by Drew Brees, Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush, Payton’s team won 10 games and then beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27-24 last weekend, making New Orleans the first team in NFL history to reach a conference championship game after losing 13 games the previous season.

The Saints had the league’s No. 1 offense this season, and McAllister showed against the Eagles that he is completely back from a torn ACL that cost him 10 games last season. He ran all over the Eagles, gaining 143 yards and scoring two touchdowns.

“Our No. 1 concern is stopping Deuce McAllister,” Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher said. “We want to stop the run every week. So he is our main concern right now, especially after what he did last week. When they throw the ball, we’ll rally to it and hopefully make the tackles. We have got to stop the run. Reggie is an explosive guy. He catches the ball well, and he’s pretty good in the open field. So we’ve just got to try and get 11 guys to the football and make some plays.

“It’s a big challenge for us, the things they do on offense,” Urlacher said. “They move the ball around a lot. They have a great quarterback, pretty good running backs, good receivers and a good offensive line. It’s a huge challenge for us.”

The Bears survived their first challenge against the Seahawks, escaping with a 27-24 win when Robbie Gould nailed a 49-yard field goal in overtime. The win was Chicago’s first in its past three home playoff games, including a 29-21 loss to Carolina last postseason.

Embattled quarterback Rex Grossman played well enough against Seattle, hitting Bernard Berrian with a 68-yard touchdown pass and throwing for 282 yards on 21-of-38 passing.

Many Chicago fans had been concerned about his uneven performance during the season and were worried he might hurt the Bears in the postseason. He did turn the ball over twice against Seattle, throwing an interception and fumbling, but he made big throws when he had to, like the third-down, 31-yard strike to Rashied Davis in overtime that set up Gould’s field goal.

Smith has defended Grossman and stuck by him all season, and Urlacher did the same this week.

“Rex was 14-3 at the start of this year. I don’t know how many guys in the NFL can say that this season,” the All-Pro linebacker said. “I don’t care what his numbers are, what people write about him. He’s 14-3. That’s enough said for me. I’m just tired of people talking about him, especially our media around here. The dude has won 14 games at the start of this year. That’s pretty good if you ask me.”

So is Grossman’s supporting cast, which includes a strong running game. Thomas Jones ran for two touchdowns against the Seahawks, and he and Cedric Benson will need to play well against the Saints to take pressure off Grossman.

The Saints have played well on the road, going 6-2, but their defense has been prone to surrendering big plays; the Eagles struck with a 75-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Garcia to Donte’ Stallworth and a 62-yard scoring run by Brian Westbrook. With that in mind, this shapes up as a similarly offensive game.

“This is the matchup we wanted,” Chicago cornerback Nathan Vasher said. “It’s great for us, great for TV, everything. We wanted to see the highest-seeded team and beat the best.”

SAINTS AT A GLANCE
Offense: 391.5 yards per game (first in NFL). Passing: 281.4 (first). Rushing: 110.1 (19th).
Defense: 307.3 (11th). Passing: 178.4 (third). Rushing: 128.9 (23rd).
Individual leaders
QB Drew Brees: 64.3 percent, 4,418 yards, 26 touchdowns, 11 interceptions.
RB Deuce McAllister: 1,057 yards, 4.3 average, 10 touchdowns.
RB Reggie Bush: 565 yards, 3.6 average, six TDs; 88 receptions, 742 yards, two TDs.
WR Marques Colston: 70 receptions, 1,038 yards, eight TDs.
WR Devery Henderson: 32 receptions, 745 yards, five TDs.
K John Carney: 115 points, 23 of 25 field goals.
KR Michael Lewis: 24.7 average.
PR Reggie Bush: 7.7 average, one touchdown.
LB Scott Shanle: 98 tackles, four sacks.
LB Scott Fujita: 96 tackles, 3.5 sacks, two interceptions, seven passes defensed.
DE Will Smith: 10.5 sacks.
DE Charles Grant: Six sacks.
CB Mike McKenzie: Two interceptions, 10 passes defensed.
Injury report: TE Mark Campbell (knee), WR Joe Horn (groin) and SS Omar Stoutmire (hip) are questionable.

BEARS AT A GLANCE
Offense: 325.0 (15th). Passing: 205.1 (14th). Rushing: 119.1 (15th).
Defense: 294.1 (fifth). Passing: 194.8 (11th). Rushing: 99.4 (sixth).
Individual leaders
QB Rex Grossman: 54.6 percent, 3,193 yards, 23 touchdowns, 20 interceptions.
RB Thomas Jones: 1,210 yards, 4.1 average, six TDs.
RB Cedric Benson: 647 yards, 4.1 average, six TDs.
WR Muhsin Muhammad: 60 receptions, 863 yards, five TDs.
WR Bernard Berrian: 51 receptions, 775 yards, six TDs.
TE Desmond Clark: 45 receptions, 626 yards, six TDs.
K Robbie Gould: 143 points, 32 of 36 field goals.
RS Devin Hester: 26.4 on kickoffs with two TDs, 12.8 on punts with three TDs.
LB Brian Urlacher: 142 tackles, three interceptions.
LB Lance Briggs: 134 tackles, four forced fumbles, two interceptions.
CB Charles Tillman: 81 tackles, five interceptions, 14 passes defensed.
CB Ricky Manning Jr.: 53 tackles, two sacks, five interceptions, 10 passes defensed.
DE Alex Brown: Seven sacks, two interceptions.
DE Mark Anderson: 12 sacks.
Injury report: WR Mark Bradley (ankle) is questionable and DE Adewale Ogunleye (quadricep) is probable.

Best bet: The Seahawks gashed the Bears on the ground, and the Saints will follow suit while also forcing Grossman into key errors. New Orleans, 31-24.