Andy Lyons / Getty Images file

With Peyton Manning, right, leading the way, the Colts have built an offense built around speed for their indoor home field, writes MSNBC.com's Don Pierson.

Q: In the wake of the Colts/Pats championship game, there’s a lot of debate concerning the pass interference call that allowed the Colts to come back. While there is no current face-guarding rule in the NFL, I was under the impression that face-guarding is considered pass interference as it is an act which significantly hinders the receiver’s ability to catch the ball. While a defender has the same right to the ball path as a receiver, they [the defender] must demonstrate some awareness of the ball path by looking back for the pass. So my question is: Is face-guarding considered pass interference or did the referees blow this call? Many people argue that there must be contact for pass interference, a viewpoint that seems to be supported in past interviews with NFL’s director of officiating Mike Pereira who has stated, “no contact — no foul” in regards to pass interference.
— Jeff, Bassbarn, N.J.

A: Excellent question, and it appeared to me the call was blown. According to former referee Jerry Markbreit, a defensive player who makes no contact with an intended receiver, even though he is not looking at the ball, commits no foul, even if the ball hits the defender before it can be caught by the offensive player. If the defender contacts the offensive receiver without looking at the football, it is defensive pass interference. According to Markbreit, the interference must have been caused by the defender bumping into the intended receiver. From the replays I saw, that did not appear to be the case.

Q: Do you think Rex Grossman should win the “comeback player” of the year award for doing it in the same season?
— Rob Wall, Lafayette, Calif.

A: Chicagoans think he should win about four such awards for doing it more than once during the same season. He’s thinking of changing his name to yo-yo. One week it’s Rex, the next it’s Wrecks.

What some people forget is that this was virtually Grossman’s rookie season. Although this was year four, it was the first time he had started more than three games without getting injured. So he was a victim of the usual rookie ups and downs, many of them mental as well as physical. He admitted his mind wandered, and not just on New Year’s Eve in a meaningless game against the Packers. He is a diligent worker who has admitted this is a learning situation.

The Bears, of course, need him to be more consistent and hope he will develop with experience. He simply cannot overthrow a relatively easy, short touchdown pass like the one he missed to a wide open tight end Desmond Clark in the end zone against New Orleans early in the NFC title game. There hasn’t been such a Super Bowl disparity between quarterbacks as there is between Peyton Manning and Grossman in some time. For Chicago’s sake, he needs to be Rex until at least Feb. 5.

Q: Of the new coaches hired this year, who has the toughest job? It has to be Lane Kiffin, right? Who would coach the Raiders?
— Denise, Oakland, Calif.

A: Maybe Lance Kiffin, as owner Al Davis called him before catching himself at his introductory press conference. For Lane’s sake and for Al’s, I hope this turns out to be a stroke of genius because the Raiders need one badly. I like how Davis pointed out a person doesn’t have to be old to be great. Maybe Kiffin can draw inspiration from Mozart, who accomplished quite a bit before his death at 35. But before handing Kiffin the tough job trophy, let’s wait to see who draws the Terrell Owens straw in Dallas.

Q: Hi Don, I know this question is radically different from most of the questions you get, but I’ll give it a shot anyway. Outside of one point, which is obviously an impossibility, the most improbable number of points for a team to score in a football game is four. This would require a team to record two safeties and no other points. Has any NFL team ever scored a total of four points in a game? (Sadly, these are the things I think about.)
— Ed Greenberger, Washington D.C.

A: I covered a 2-0 game between Green Bay and Chicago once in a preseason and know the Dallas Cowboys beat the Detroit Lions 5-0 in a 1970 playoff, but I have never heard of a team scoring 4 points. I will further research this during the Super Bowl and get back to you.