The bears only looked dominant in 1985 because of how teams attacked them. In 1985, when teams would throw quick short passes, pass to the tight end, etc., those plays worked. The first two plays in the Super Bowl were these plays–a wide-open TE Lin Dawson dropped the first pass because his knee buckled (needed surgery) and Stanley Morgan dropped a TD pass on a slant over the middle on the second play. Don’t forget Tampa Bay led the opener 28-17 in Chicago, and then didn’t come out for the second half. Minnesota beats them in the night game if they don’t blitz (opening themselves to big plays against a veteran QB) when they had the game under control. The Packers did beat them, and I have the tapes to show this. The Giants could have won if not for the 2 plays above, no one would have lost to Dieter Brock, and Miami and Oakland would have beaten them in the Super Bowl. Funny how the next year, the bears lose 2 games, but then lose their first playoff game at home when Jay Schroeder throws quick passes. Everyone now understands how easy it is to beat the 46 by doing what I said should be done since about 1983, but no one yet understands that if you don’t attack it that way, you make the other team look dominant. So, it’s not just a losing strategy to run against it or sit in the pocket, it’s a strategy to get destroyed.
Here’s an analogy. A basketball team has 5 guys who are 7′ 4″, and they put them all under the basket on defense. If the offensive team’s gameplan is to drive, they will get killed–not just lose. However, if the other team’s gameplan is to take short, wide-open shots, they have a good chance to win. This is what happens when you put 8 guys on the line of scrimmage (all good athletes on the bear 85 defense), and teams try to run against it or sit in the pocket. It is incredible to me that coaches could never figure this out, especially since these running plays and pocket plays failed EVERY time.
Let’s also talk about luck when the bears played the Eagles in the playoffs. Buddy Ryan understood, so he had Randall Cunningham pass on every play. The Eagles had a ton of first downs, rarely punted, and moved the ball at will. It’s only because Keith Jackson continued to drop easy TD passes that the bears won. The Eagles dominated, and if they had come out running, the bears would have dominated.