Having played in a Super Bowl early in my career with the Raiders I know a lot of what the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears players are feeling right now as they prepare for the biggest game of their life. People fail to realize that every player from the Bears and the Colts will be under enormous pressure and scrutiny for the next two weeks as the world prepares for this global sporting event. Players who never received a lot of media attention during the regular season will now find themselves with 20 or 30 microphones and cameras in their face everywhere they go. People who you haven?t seen in 20 years will pop up out of the blue to call and congratulate you, and of course ask for tickets. To me, these are all distractions that both players and coaches will have to deal with over the next two weeks. As I prepared for our Super Bowl against the Redskins, I can remember thinking to myself that what I was about to experience would stay with me for the rest of my life. This could turn out good or bad, depending on my performance. There have been plenty of NFL players and coaches who have played their entire careers and never made it to the big game, so I felt extremely lucky to have had an opportunity to play in football biggest game, and more importantly to win that game. I can tell you from personal experience that the team that prepares the best over these next two weeks will have the advantage in the first and second quarters of the game. It is important that both Dungy and Smith prepare for this game like they have for all their games during the regular season. Doing this will take some of the pressure off the players and help them relax as the game grows near. What the players from these two teams must do is almost calm themselves down prior to kickoff, so they can concentrate. Players from both teams who have Super Bowl experience will be able to not only share their experiences with their teammates but also help calm them down and focus on what their responsibility is for that game. Players who participate in Super Bowl?s sometimes get themselves in trouble by trying to do too much. Everyone wants to shout the phrase ?I?m going to Disney World? after the game, but not all are in a position to do so based on their role on the team, and how that role has factored into them reaching the Super Bowl. On paper, Peyton Manning and the Colts have the biggest advantage. There is nothing the Bears can throw at Manning that he hasn?t seen, and his performance against the Patriots once again proved that once he and his trio of targets figure out what your defense is trying to do to them, they will attack you relentlessly. In past years Manning would show his frustrations to his teammates, which I felt caused some of them to tighten up when things were not going well. But watching Manning interact with his teammates right after he had his sideline pass picked off by Asanti Samuel and returned 39 yards for a touchdown and a 21-3 lead for the Patriots, shows just how far Manning has come during his career. In past years, Manning would have tried to force things by trying to get 18 points back in one throw. Instead he took his time and built his offensive momentum and at the right time, kicked it into over-drive. I don?t see the Chicago Bears having an answer for Manning in the Super Bowl. If the Colts offense is a foreign a sports-car moving down the field a record speed without making sound, the Bears defense can be a Monster truck rolling over everything in its path. The New Orleans Saints were run over by the Bears defense on Sunday, and were the main reason the Bears are playing for their first Super Bowl championship since the days of Walter Payton and Refrigerator Perry. While the Colts-Patriots game was played indoors, the Bears and Saints tangled on a field that you could see breaking up with every break and cut players were making. Watching the Colts receiver get in and out of their breaks on routs and Manning deliver the ball as soon as their head turns is a far cry from what took place in Chicago. Playing at home on a field that suited their style of play the Bears dismantled the New Orleans Saints 38-14. The Bears not only earned their Super Bowl ticket last week, they also faced the best possible sparring partner to prepare them for the slick Colts offense. If there is anything that should be learned from the Bears win over the Saints, its got to be the way the Bears defense controlled Drew Brees, and the Saints playmakers. The Saints had the NFL?s number 1 offense this season, and their head coach Sean Payton was coach of the year. They possessed weapons at all the skilled positions and a quarterback that finished second in the NFL?s offensive MVP voting behind the Chargers LaDainian Tomlinson. For the most part the Bears defense, who were criticized for the way they played toward the end of the regular season, and in their one playoff game against the Seahawks, finally returned to the form that made them one of the NFL?s most feared defenses the first five weeks of the season. While their production declined, a lot could be contributed to the adjustment period they had to make after losing safety Mike Brown and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Tommie Harris. Both Harris and Brown, were keys to their defensive scheme, and with both of them being lost to season ending injuries the Bears were unable to play the way they played with both healthy, and on the field. Watching Mark Anderson and Tank Johnson disrupt the timing of Saints QB Drew Brees makes me think that the Bears may be able to get to Mr. Manning. If the Colts are unable to slow down the Bear pass rush by establishing their running game, it will be a long day for Manning. Both of these teams feature a set of solid running backs that all have different strengths and weaknesses. Depending on the flow of the game, there is no telling which guy is going to get the bulk of the carriers prior to the game. It keeps defenses from focusing on one style; instead you have to prepare for two, which is tough to do. Besides being the first black head coaches to ever coach in the Super Bowl, the Bears Lovie Smith and the Colts Tony Dungy have not only opened up a lot of doors for African-American coaches, they have also set a trend in the NFL of splitting their ground attacks with a pair of running backs that have contrasting styles. The Colts? Joseph Addai and the Bears? Cedric Benson are two battering rams that will run over you first and around you second. Meanwhile Thomas Jones of the Bears and Dominic Rhodes of the Colts will shake you out your shoes first and try to run thru you second. This forces both defenses to be aware of who is in the game. Heading into their game last week against the Saints everyone was talking about the Saints tandem of Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush, as one of the NFL?s most dangerous duo?s, but it was Jones and Benson who dominated the post game talk. With Jones skipping and dipping by defenders for 123 yards and 2 touchdowns, Benson plowed his way for 60 on 24 carriers using his 235-pound body as a human pinball. To me Benson changed the entire pace of the game, and if the Bears win the Super Bowl, he will play a key part. Prediction: Colts 38-31