Bad Rex returns, slick moves, seeing Saban and more

	Colts 29, Bears 17 Not to be denied By Don Banks Peyton Manning and Indy refused to believe they couldn't win the big one. • 2007 lookahead | Snap Judgments Making the grade By Jeffri Chadiha Dungy, Manning and the Colts' RBs get high marks, while Grossman fails. • The 10 reasons why the Colts won A long night By Arash Markazi Despite a shaky performance in the Bears' loss, Grossman continues to take a grin-and-bear-it approach. Huddle Up By Andrew Perloff Why Manning deserved MVP and other notes, observations and analysis from throughout a soggy Super Bowl XLI. Passing grades By Richard Deitsch Grading out CBS Sports' coverage, from Jim Nantz to Prince and more. • WHITAKER: Ranking the best ads Other stories Manning's elusive ring comes with an MVP award Dungy gets the best of his friend, protégé Smith Grossman falters when the Bears need him most Colts fans hit blustery Indy streets to celebrate Rain falls on the Super Bowl for the first time ever Prince pours on the 'Purple Rain' in halftime show More from SI.com HOFSTETTER: Live commentary from my couch PHOTOS: SI's best shots | Celebrities | Headlines Complete Super Bowl play-by-play | Box Score SI's COLTS Championship Package FREE! Complete SI.com Super Bowl Coverage

MIAMI -- Also in this column:

• Rhodes future in Indy
• Super slippery footballs
• Thomas Jones trade rumors

The Bears' Achilles heel finally cost them Sunday night in Super Bowl XLI. Their weak link was exposed and left bare for all to see.

Guess which Rex Grossman showed up for the game? Here's a hint: It wasn't the Good Rex. It was the Rex who wasn't anywhere near good enough to win a game of this magnitude.

I've been hard on Grossman in the past month, mostly because the Bears haven't been winning because of their fourth-year quarterback, they've been winning in spite of him. After a week of defending their quarterback and his inconsistent ways, the Bears organization saw nothing in Grossman's performance to rally around.

Grossman started decently, but he was never sharp. He had 23 yards passing after the first quarter, 32 at the half, and 55 through three quarters. He finished with 165 yards passing, but he had two costly interceptions, two fumbles (one lost), and missed some open receivers on passes that could have really helped an offense that some how remained in the game until early in the fourth quarter.

Grossman didn't lose the game all by himself. Not even close. The Bears defense gave plenty of ground, although it stiffened against Indy in the red zone. But Grossman came up about as small Sunday as all of his critics expected, and he missed an opportunity to strike a blow against those who have questioned his play repeatedly this year.

OK, the ball was wet. But Grossman dropped two snaps that hit him squarely in the hands, and for good measure he tripped over his own feet to take a big sack on the Bears' first possession of the third quarter.

Why is it whenever I watch Grossman play quarterback, I hear the music from The Benny Hill Show in my head?

And one last point: What was with Grossman's rather relaxed level of effort after throwing that crushing interception to Colts cornerback Kelvin Hayden, who returned it 56 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter? With the game in essence on the line, TV cameras showed Grossman basically sauntering after Hayden, with no real urgency to make what could have been a touchdown-saving tackle.

Said it two weeks ago, and I'll repeat it now: Grossman will go down in history alongside Tony Eason and David Woodley as the worst starting quarterbacks in Super Bowl history. He actually had a chance to make a difference for the Bears on Sunday, but he didn't have the game to match the moment.

• The Colts aren't likely to re-sign potential free-agent Dominic Rhodes because they feel the veteran running back can be easily replaced in their offense. But I wouldn't be too cavalier about Rhodes if I were the Colts. I like the way the guy runs in big games, and he's a nice fit as a complementary back to the quicker Joseph Addai.

Rhodes finished with a game-high 113 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, and it was his 1-yard scoring run in the second quarter that gave the Colts the lead for the first time, at 16-14. They never trailed again.

• Sunday's game was the perfect storm in terms of the much-debated football slickness issue. Super Bowl footballs, which are always new with a shiny gold game logo on them, have been far too difficult to grip in recent years, according to numerous Super Bowl quarterbacks. But when you add in a steady South Florida rain, is it any wonder there were a Super Bowl record four turnovers in the first quarter?

Hey, what do you expect in a game where the guy performing the halftime show is known for a song named "Purple Rain?''

Don Banks covers pro football for SI.com.