Bears 39, Saints 14

Monday, January 22nd 2007, 6:51 am

By: News On 6

CHICAGO (AP) _ The defense, the running game, the sleet and snow at Soldier Field. It was the perfect scenario for the storied Chicago Bears to secure a long-awaited return to the Super Bowl.

This picture has an historic element, too: Da Coach this time is Lovie Smith. His opponent is his mentor, the Indianapolis Colts' Tony Dungy. They are the first black head coaches to reach the big game in its 41 years.

``Being the first black coach to lead this team, of course our players knew about it and they wanted to help us make history,'' Smith said after a 39-14 rout of the New Orleans Saints for the NFC championship Sunday. ``So I feel blessed to be in that position.

``I'll feel even better to be the first black coach to hold up the world championship trophy.''

To do that, the Bears will have to beat the Colts in two weeks in Miami. Indianapolis rallied to defeat New England 38-34 for the AFC crown.

``It means a lot,'' Dungy said of his part in creating history. ``I'm very proud to represent African-American coaches, but more than that it's about the Indianapolis Colts.''

Smith's team erased so many questions about its true strength. That might seem odd for a team that is 15-3, but Chicago's inconsistencies meant no comparisons were made to the 1985 squad that shuffled through the NFL for the Bears' only Super Bowl crown.

That doesn't mean the Ditka-McMahon-Payton-Fridge wild bunch isn't on the minds of these Bears.

``For our franchise, this is big,'' All-Pro middle linebacker Brian Urlacher said. ``They are a big part of this city, and what they did in '85 is huge. We have an opportunity to do that right now. We're excited to have the opportunity to kind of put the ('85) guys in the background for a little while.''

The only way to really do that would be by beating Peyton Manning and the Colts, who oddsmakers have made a 7-point favorite. If the Bears can force turnovers _ they had four against the Saints _ get sacks (three) and stop the running game (56 yards) the way they did Sunday, their 10th NFL title could come with it.

For now, they can celebrate owning the George Halas trophy that goes to NFC champion, an award named after their founder. It was presented to Halas' daughter, Virginia McCaskey, after the game as the Soldier Field fans chanted ``Super Bowl, Super Bowl.''

``You could see it in her face how excited she was,'' said Smith, hired three years ago. ``This was a dream for her for a long time.''

The Saints (11-7) didn't have nearly such a happy ending to their feel-good saga. They fell behind 16-0, got within 16-14, then made far too many errors in the first title game of their 40-year existence.

But the turnaround they achieved after a nomadic 3-13 season in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina's destruction was remarkable. As their city rebuilds, the team has provided an uplifting respite in the story.

``Obviously, this has been a special season just to reach this point,'' said running back Deuce McAllister, a Gulf Coast region native. ``Right now, it stings. It hurts because you lost a game. I guess after a couple of weeks, you'll go back and look at it and see the enthusaism that our fans showed. ...

``You know, we're a young team, we're going to continue to grow.''

Meanwhile, the Bears hope to grow into something resembling their forerunner of two decades ago.

``I am really into the great tradition we have with the Chicago Bears,'' Smith said. ``I am just trying to get our football team up to that same standard Mike had his team at, especially that '85 team.''

For all the worries about how genuine the Bears' outstanding season was, their performance Sunday should place a stamp of approval on their legitimacy. Thank running back Thomas Jones (123 yards rushing, two touchdowns), All-Pro kicker Robbie Gould (three field goals), and a defense that, while not dominant, made enough decisive plays.

Most notably the three fumble recoveries, one interception and a safety by a team that led the NFL with 44 takeaways.

``We told ourselves to just keep playing hard every time we went out there, and we did it,'' Urlacher said. ``We got 11 guys to the football. We got takeaways just like we did all year long, and came out on top.''

For a while in the third quarter, though, they seemed to be in trouble.

Reggie Bush's electrifying 88-yard touchdown catch and dash to the end zone pulled the Saints to 16-14. But from then on, Urlacher and the Bears' defense took over.

Drew Brees, the NFC's top passer, made a huge mistake in his end zone, being called for grounding and a safety. New Orleans never threatened after that and Bernard Berrian's diving 33-yard TD catch clinched it.

Cedric Benson on a 12-yard run and Jones with a 15-yarder ended the scoring.

``This is the blueprint of the Chicago Bears,'' said Grossman, who was 11-for-26 for 144 yards, but made no mistakes. ``Great defense, run the ball well, and then today we made a few plays in the passing game that set us apart at the end.

``But this was typical, traditional Chicago Bears football.''

Not entirely, but certainly when it had to be.

Down 16-0 and throttled for 28 minutes, the Saints awakened late in the first half on a 29-yard third-down completion to Marques Colston, who previously had several drops and several more slips. Brees threw a pair of sideline darts and Colston beat Charles Tillman for a 13-yard TD that temporarily changed the flow with 46 seconds remaining in the half.

It took New Orleans only 2:40 into the third quarter to make it 16-14 on Bush's spectacular 88-yard touchdown that ended with a couple of bush moves. The rookie beat Chris Harris off the line, ignored the sleet and extended for Brees' looping pass. Then he sped down the left sideline and, at midfield, used one of those Heisman jukes past Danieal Manning.

As Bush neared the end zone, he turned and pointed tauntingly at the hopelessly trailing Urlacher before somersaulting into the end zone.

``I got caught up in the emotion of the game. I was excited. It was a big play,'' Bush said. ``I apologized to (coach Sean Payton) about that. Obviously, I know I made a mistake, but I'm not going to kill myself over it. ... You move on.''

It's the Bears who move on, presumably without all those doubters.

``We won 14 games and we didn't convince you,'' Smith told the media. ``Once you win it all, you don't get any respect until you do that. We get our respect once we're able to hold up that ultimate trophy.''