Documentary Movie Reviews

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The '85 Bears (2016)

Rate: 7
Viewed: 9/25

85Bears
9/25: Almost every football city wishes to have an '85 Bears of its own, so Chicago is really lucky.

That was the best team ever in NFL history. Think of the 50's Cleveland Browns, the 60's Green Bay Packers, the 70's Pittsburgh Steelers, the 1972 undefeated Miami Dolphins, the 80's San Francisco 49ers, the 90's Dallas Cowboys, and Tom Brady's New England Patriots. The '85 Bears would've beaten them all if given the chance.

Why? It begins with the 46 defense that was created by Buddy Ryan. As a result, the Bears allowed 12.4 points and 258 yards per game with 54 takeaways total. Six defensive players made All-Pro. During the playoffs, they had two shutouts in three games and outscored its opponents 91 to 10. Remarkably, for the whole season, the Bears were missing two top defensive players, Al Harris and Todd Bell, due to contract disputes.

The '85 Bears ranges from okay to decent, but it doesn't answer the basic question: what made the team so great? Instead, the whole thing feels like ESPN wanting to cash in its immortality. Therefore, there has to be a better documentary than this. Plenty of stuff are missing such as the Super Bowl Shuffle, the "Bill Swerski's Superfans" skit on Saturday Night Live, and the constant two words to summarize the entire 1985 season: Da Bears.

Here's a good question: was the 46 defense the best ever? That's hard to say. I always point out to the Philadelphia Eagles defense of 1991 that was also built by Buddy Ryan although he was fired the year before. The season went in the toilet once Randall Cunningham suffered torn ACL during the first week. Afterwards, they had no offense at all, so the defense picked up the slack by allowing 15.3 points and 222 yards per game with 48 takeaways total. Almost half of the starting defense made All-Pro.

Remember the "guarantee" that Joe Namath made prior to Super Bowl III and the New York Jets shocked the Baltimore Colts? He gets some of the credit, but most is due to Buddy Ryan for his 4-3 defense. Preston Pearson admitted the Colts took the Jets lightly because the AFL was a Mickey Mouse league, but they were totally unprepared for the defense. How about the Purple People Eaters? That's Buddy Ryan's work. Therefore, why isn't he in the Hall of Fame?

All in all, real football fans know there's more to the 1985 Chicago Bears than what's shown in The '85 Bears.