1980's Chicago Bears: The Dynasty That Never Happened

1980's CHICAGO BEARS: DYNASTY IN THE MAKING
  The Chicago Bears ended the 1985 NFL season with a 15-1 record en route to a dominating playoff run that included two straight shutouts over the Giants and Rams in the Divisional Playoff and NFC Championship. Of course, Super Bowl XX was a 46-10 demolition of the over-matched New England Patriots. Going into 1986, the Bears had the youngest team in the NFL and perhaps the most talented. So the million dollar question is, "Why did the Bears not become a dynasty?"

1986: THERE WILL BE NO REPEAT
     Where do we start with this question.  There were several reasons the Bears were not able to repeat as champions and win at least two or three Super Bowls in the 1980's. Let's start with the 1986 season. The Bears ended the regular season with an astounding 14-2 record. The Bears accumulated a combined regular season record of 29-3 in 1985 and 1986, which is the greatest in NFL history for two consecutive years. The 1986 Bears defense was even more statistically dominating in 1986 compared to 1985. A injury-plagued Redskins team marched into Soldier Field to take on the Bears in the Divisional Playoff game. So what happened?

     In 1986, the Bears were a less-motivated team than the previous year. They had just won the Super Bowl in dominating fashion, which opened up several off-the-field opportunities to make money through commercials and sponsorships. There is no question the Bears focus was affected going into the 1986 season. Jim McMahon entered training camp 30 lbs overweight as did William "The Refrigerator" Perry. Despite this, the Bears started out 6-0 with several blowout victories and coasted through the regular season. However, the Bears looked very average on the offensive side of the ball due to injuries at the quarterback position.
    
     Jim McMahon was injured early and often in 1986. In fact, his lack of consistent health during his career was a huge part of the Bears inability to win multiple championships. When healthy, McMahon was masterful at reading defenses and possessed important leadership qualities that seemed to ignite the Bears. McMahon had his season ended prematurely in 1986 by Charles Martin, a cheapshot artist on the Green Bay Packers who slammed him to the turf after an interception on perhaps the dirtiest play in NFL history. As a result, the Bears were forced to have to resort to musical chairs at quarterback. They even signed former Heismann winner Doug Flutie late in the 1986 season, a Ditka favorite whom the Bears players did not embrace. Surprisingly, Ditka chose to start Doug Flutie in the 1986 Divisional playoff game against the Redskins over incumbent quarterbacks Mike Tomczak and Steve Fuller. This was a mistake as Flutie's lack of experience showed in Soldier Field that day. The Redskins were huge underdogs and Jay Shroeder was able to make some big plays against the vaunted Bears blitz-happy defense. Vince Tobin took over for Buddy Ryan after the 1985 season and although the defense put up great numbers due to the amount of talent, they seemed to have lost their edge. Tobin's zone-blitz scheme was less-aggressive and more predictable than the famed 46-defense in 1984 and 1985. These factors led a 27-13 upset victory over the Bears at home. A game in which the Bears led 13-7 at halftime. The great Walter Payton had a key fumble in the third quarter deep in Redskin territory that seemed to change momentum. The Bears were shocked but poised to return in 1987.

1987: Strike Season
     The Bears begin the 1987 season with a convincing victory over the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants at Soldier Field. In this game, the defense was dominating, while QB Mike Tomczak performed well. The victory was as solid of an effort they would have all season. Three weeks into the season the NFL went on strike. During this time, Mike Ditka lost the team by supporting the strike players or "Spare Bears". The Bears were never the same again. The chemistry got severely affected by the strike and Ditka lost his players. The season ended on a bad note, including a 41-0 massacre by the 49ers at Candlestick Park. In this game, instability at the quarterback position was at center stage as Mike Tomczak threw four interceptions. The Bears bowed out in the playoffs to the Redskins at home for the second straight year in the Divisional Playoffs. In this game, the Bears led 14-0 early, but were not able to hold on to the lead. McMahon hurt his hamstring and did not look as good in the second half as the first half. This was the great Walter Payton's last game, along with longtime Bears Gary Fencik.

1988: Bears Last Stand

     The Bears started the 1988 season looking great. Jim McMahon was healthy for the first 9 games. In this span, the Bears had impressive victories over the Bills and 49ers, two perennial contenders in years to come. The Bears eventually ended the season with a 12-4 record, clinching home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Bears got a playoff victory in the famed "Fog Bowl" over the Eagles 20-12. They hosted the 49ers in the NFC Championship game at Soldier Field with seemingly everything going their way. The weather was below zero and the Bears had beaten the 49ers in the regular season. However, this game was a blowout by the 49ers by a score of 28-3. Remarkably, the bears had overachieved in 1988. They battled through several injuries to key personnel. In the NFC Championship game, the Bears were missing William Perry, Richard Dent, Otis Wilson, Shawn Gayle, and Jim Covert. Jim McMahon was injured most of the year. Before the 1988 season, RB Walter Payton and DB Gary Fencik had retired. The Bears were without deep threat Willie Gault and ferocious LB Wilber Marshall. The 49ers were on the brink of a dynasty.

BOTTOM LINE

     So what were the main factors for the Bears downfall?
1.) Unstable quarterback position
2.) Bad coaching
3.) The free-agent losses of Wilber Marshall and Willie Gault
4.) Injuries
5.) Ego
6.) Dissension
7.) Bad drafting and personnel moves
8.) Bad ownership: Michael McCaskey
9.) An era with three dynasties (49ers, Redskins, Giants)
10.) Bad breaks