Steve Walsh is somebody familiar with traditional Bears football. He came over to the team in 1994 after stints in Dallas and New Orleans. He quickly gained the starting job and led them to an improbable playoff berth and an unforgettable upset of the Minnesota Vikings in the wild card round.
How did he pull it off? By playing it the way that had worked for Chicago throughout the 1980s. They ran the ball well, played good defenses, solid special teams while he through quick, efficient passes to keep the chains moving. One would think if anybody is a fan of this offensive style, it would be him. However, Walsh is a pragmatist.
During an interview with Phil Thompson of the Chicago Tribune, Walsh was matter-of-fact about the state of the Bears quarterback position. Not to mention why reverting back to “old school” Chicago football is no longer going to solve their recent losing woes.
“(Brian) Hoyer is a win-with guy. He’s not going to win for you, he’s going to win with you. That means you’ve got to build the team around him. I didn’t watch (Matt) Barkley close enough to make a comment. … The blueprint that worked in ’94 — and you can think back to Trent Dilfer, who went to the Super Bowl with the Ravens — that blueprint doesn’t work as much anymore, the league is so quarterback-driven. … If you want to go deep in the playoffs, you’ve got to have a guy that can make explosive plays.”
It’s certainly hard to argue against that watching these conference championship games being played between four of the best quarterbacks in the league. Chicago has been lagging behind in this department since the 1950s. They’ve never fielded a passer who has eclipsed 4, 000 yards or 30 touchdown passes. Keep in mind both of those feats were first achieved in the early 1960s.
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So for over five decades they have wallowed in quarterback purgatory. Content to field guys who can manage the game, but can rarely win it on their own individual skills. It’s like a an airplane trying to land on a runaway without the engine running. Not impossible but ten times harder than it should be.
The Bears won four championships in six seasons during the 1940s when they had a Hall of Fame quarterback under center, and that was in the middle of a World War. They’ve won just two championships since the end of that decade. In that time they’ve fielded three quarterbacks to make the Pro Bowl. None of them more than once.
Classic Bears football needs to be retired. They can’t do it any better than they’ve done and the rules are no longer in favor of it. If it takes a quarterback to win now, then they need to find one. Yesterday.
