January 18, 2016: The Whiff

The 15-1 Bears are about to begin their playoff season. It’s the Giants not the Niners who win the NFC wild card game.  They roll into Soldier Field as 9 point underdogs.  It’s a very good team. With Phil Simms at the helm, Bill Parcells on the sideline, LT leading an impressive defense, and the NFL rushing TD leader in Joe Morris, this team could contend for the Super Bowl…and they will, but not this year.  It’s January 5, 1986.

I’m sure the Chicago streets were empty as the 85 Bears playoff run began. There would be no shopping trips to compete with these Bears games.  Chicago was crazy for their team who took the entire NFL and country by storm.  They were about to take the field.

It was a brisk winter day. 18 degrees with the wind gusting at 16 mph. The Windy City was living up to its name, and would share in this day’s triumph with one of the most memorable gusts of all time.

If my memory serves me correctly, the Giants actually did move the ball on the first drive. They got to midfield with a Phil Simms pass. Couple things here:  no, I didn’t watch the dvd of this game, although I still may, and yes, Phil Simms has turned into one horrible fricking announcer.   For the Giants to get a first down was worry some enough for this 9 year old. To get to midfield, what the heck is going on?  Well, they only got 9 more first downs the entire game and didn’t sniff the end zone. As the scoreless first quarter went on, the Giants found themselves backed up at their own 12;  it was 4th down and out trotted Sean Landeta.  I just thought of another feature…the top 10 non-Chicago team athletes of all time….the ones that played a big part in our success.  The ones we’ll never forget.  Mr Landeta has his place reserved.
sildenafil in usa This medicine increases circulation of blood in the penis, thus help in attaining a prolonged erection. It can occur due to an underlying health issue, such as diabetes or a heart problem that can happen after gallbladder removal is dysbiosis (Candida-yeast overgrowth, Small Intestine viagra generic cheap Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO). However, one should always consume buying viagra canada important source only under a certified doctor’s recommendation as it is important to have idea about the health factors it can affect as well as pain while urinating, prolonged erections, vision changes or difficulty breathing. It also consists of Vitamin viagra no prescription B and bromelain.
The snap was good, but as he dropped the ball to his foot, that historic gust I was talking about pushed the ball a couple inches; he barely touched it. And as we started to go nuts, Shaun Gayle picked up the ball and trotted into the end zone.  Game. Set. Match. It would be one of the signature moments of this signature year.  The crowd went wild!!!

From there, it was more of the same from our guys; suffocating D and offense that scored enough. Poor Joe Morris, this great RB, only managed 32 yards on his 12 carries this day…and one of them was for 14 yards. Simms was tossed around like a rag doll.  6 sacks, and numerous QB hurries. If that was a stat back then, I’m sure the Bears would own the record. It was Dent who had 3.5 who would live in Phil’s dreams that night. Payton would have close to 100 on the ground, while McMahon found McKinnon twice to put up more than enough offense on this day.

21-0 was the final. If anybody was worried, and I’m sure there were, although looking back you would think not, the first W was in the books. Now setup was a return to the NFC championship game for a 2nd straight year. This time it would be another team from California. The Rams shutout the Cowboys 20-0 on their side of the bracket. They would have to travel to Chicago this January, a trip most Californians avoid. One win remained to advance to the first Super Bowl in Bears history. Was this the team to get there finally?  It’s great to already know the answer to that question. Sit back and relax and enjoy, the NFC Championship game is next.