Here's the comparison...we'll get it out of the way:
1985 Bears
38-28 over Tampa Bay at home
20-7 over New England at home
33-24 over Minnesota on the road
45-10 over Washington at home
2006 Bears
26-0 over Green Bay on the road
34-7 over Detroit at home
19-16 over Minnesota on the road
37-6 over Seattle at home
But that 85 team was not defined by its four-game start. It's defined by it's three-game ending.
Divisional Playoffs
Bears 21
Giants 0
Conference Championship
Bears 24
Rams 0
Super Bowl XX
Bears 46
Patriots 10
So let's maintain our excitement but keep our heads. This is a quarter of the season and ultimately the least important quarter of the season. The next four games are four games this team will win if they are as good as we think they are.
This may be the greatest four game start in the storied history of the Chicago Bears and it continues Sunday. It continues at Soldier Field against the Buffalo Bills. It continues in front of the thousands of fans who've waited twenty-one years to believe again.
I believe. But for anyone who bleeds navy and orange to compare this team to the 85 team seems ridiculous to me. They are the icons. They are the perfect team. It is the 85 Bears and everyone else.
I believe that can change. But that faith and a buck fifty will get me a ride on the PATH train to Jersey.
#2 jeff said . . .Agreed. There should be a ban on that kind of talk at this site. You know we'll hear it everywhere else we turn (I'm looking at you "Worldwide Leader in Sports").
Oh, and by the way, WHO THE FUCK CARES? To win it all, it may take a better team than 85, or it might not. Personally, I will lose no enjoyment if the Bears get to the superbowl with a team that is decidedly worse than the 85 squad- hell, I was ready for them to try it with KO last year.
If you have to talk about 85, do so in January. This week, the question we should be asking is, "Is this team better than the 2006 Bills?"
October 3, 2006
#3 Fred said . . .well said, pat. this is a darn good football team right now and that's what they are. but let's win this sunday.
October 3, 2006
#4 Noah said . . .Yeah, two shut outs in the playoffs says it all. That was a long time ago.
Pat is right, the 85 Bears will not beat Dicky Juron's Bills. This team has to. You can't strive to be better than another era you need to want to beat the next team on the schedule, that is all.
We are all proud of that team but let's concentrate on this team sunday.
Bring 'em on!
SHUTOUT!October 3, 2006
#5 jeff said . . .I'm with you Pat, all this talk about a great team goes down the drain if McGahee & Co. beat us this week.
With that said, I would really like to see Tommie Harris murder JP Losman.
October 3, 2006
#6 Criminal Appeal said . . .by the way, a case in point why these analysts know dick: i've been writing about mark anderson every week and now he gets a couple sacks and he's on every major website....these guys don't watch the games, they read the box scores
October 3, 2006
#7 District Selectman said . . .The key to the great start has been great starts. The Bears are outscoring opponents 27-6 in the 1st quarter, and it's enabling them to dictate pace and style.
October 4, 2006
#8 Shamen said . . .My two cents: Thomas Jones needs to have a big game Sunday, and he needs to get started early. Buffalo has given up more yards on the ground, and fewer yards through the air, than any defense the Bears have faced so far. Of the top 30 rushers in the league, only Edgerrin James has a lower average than TJ. And while I pulled that out of a stat sheet, I have not yet been blown away by what I have seen from the Bears running game this season. This is the game.
On the other side of the ball, McGahee leads the league in rushing yards, but he has just one TD, while Losman has thrown only 3 TDs. In general, the Bills seem to move the ball well, but they don't score a hell of a lot -- which plays right into the hands of this Bears defense. The Bills couldn't come back against the Jets when they got down by 11, at which point they all but abandoned the run. In their other three games, they've never been behind by more than a field goal.
As I said, I think the key is getting TJ loose early. Get the Bills stacking against the run to open things up for Rex. Get them playing from behind and throwing the ball so the D-line can pin their ears back and make Losman taste his own kidneys. The Bills are not a bad team, but the Bears ought to clobber them.
October 4, 2006
#9 District Selectman said . . .Thank you for the words of sanity, Jeff. I'm from WI (but a lifelong Bears fan) and the Packer fans here are grudingly saying to me "This just might be the Bears year". Shut up! It's too early! If the Super Bowl were next week, I would pick the Bears over anybody in the AFC (that means you, Ray Lewis, you accessory-to-murder SOB), but it's not next week. I hope the Bears stay sharp and dominate all year, but so much can happen over the course of a season.
October 4, 2006
#10 Justin said . . .Great article in the Southtown about the running game: http://www.dailysouthtown.com/sports/82830,1SD4-04.article
October 4, 2006
#11 jeff said . . .This team is better than the 85 bears especially on offense (Rex already has almost half the yardage of what McMahon put up)...We're going 16-0 for sure..no doubts..I actually called the Seatlle game a week in advance ..I told some dumbass seahawks fan on a message board...this team has talent..who will stop us?? No one on our schedule frightens me..not a single team..maybe NE in NE but thats it
October 4, 2006
#12 Brian said . . .the 85 offense had the greatest running back of all time and brilliant offensive line. they ran for over 2000 yards, when you combine the over 1500 from walter with suhey and company. this offense is terrific...but that offense was damn good, one of the best in the league
October 4, 2006
#13 JHOV said . . .The comparisions to the 1985 Chicago Bears are expected...hell, we got thos comparisions last year and we were not 1/2 the team that the 1985 Bears were. The fact is that there were a lot of external factors that made the 1895 Bears team the legacy that it is. The "punky QB," "Sweetness," "The 46." "The fridge," "The superbowl shuffle," in addition to the fact that the Bears got national attention on a weekly basis before Direct TV allowed us to see any game we want! Regardless of record, the 2006 Bears will never be the 1985 Bears. That brings me to my point....this team needs to create their own identity, always comparing this team to the '85 team is unfair. I like this team...I REALLY like this team and it has an opportunity to create something that will make people laugh at the 2001 Ravens or the average 2005 Steelers...we just need to give them a chance to make their mark without comparing everything to 1985. I was 8 years old when the Bears won it all and it has shaped me as a football fan for my whole life...that can never be replaced. I am not sure where I am going with this whole thing, but I do know that this team is special and I wish the media would stop comparing this team to a team they can never compare too....it is unfair to the team and unfair to the fans of the greatest team of all time.
October 5, 2006
#14 Still said . . .Could Brian be more correct? Let's all agree that the '85 Bears are the BEST TEAM OF ALL TIME. Yes.
Please someone take a shot at defining the difference between Ditka and his relations to his '85 Bears and Lovie and his control of his '06 dominating---at this point, most complete---and well coached Bears. How are the coaches and systems different----or the similar?
October 5, 2006
#15 Dave said . . .The biggest thing that will keep this team from being the next 85 Bears is to think that they ARE the next 85 Bears.
The other night Richard Dent said something to the effect that the Bears had a bye week this week since they are playing the Bills. THAT is exactly the mindset that will kill them. Come to think of it, maybe that's why Dent never had another shot at it if that how he was thinking back then.
Cliche: Take them one at a time and stay hungry.
October 5, 2006
Your defense should be better then the 85 bears. Hell, out of 32 teams in the league, you guys play the weakest schedule of all. A combined winning percentage of .445.
San Diego on the other hand has a tougher schedule and is ranked the #1 defense in the league. They're better against the run, pass, TOP, and they've sacked the QB 21 times so far.
Plus, I beleive they have the best defensive player in the league in Merriman. Hands down the best, and this in only his second year. Not even your Her-Slacker is as dominating as Merriman.
So before you wanna-be dreamers start hoisting the Lombardie Trophy, you must play da game this year and stop talking about yesteryear.
October 16, 2006
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