Can Chicago Get the Perfect Season?

17/10/2006 | By Dennis Altenburg

The question gets asked every year at this time when a good team with a favorable schedule sports an undefeated record.

A perfect season to match the ’72 Miami Dolphins’ is something every NFL team strives for.  But the list of teams remaining undefeated shortens quickly. There are only two teams left with a 0 in the loss column – Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts.  The Colts defense is suspect and just isn’t good enough.  That leaves Da Bears.

But strange things happen on Sundays … and sometimes Mondays.  Sunday had its share of NFL upsets but the Bears at Cardinals on Monday night ranks as one of the biggest upset games ever played (almost).

The most meaningful statistic in football is turnover ratio.  A team can win on guts, offense, superstars, defense, coaching, or any other intangibles. However, the easiest way to lose a game is by giving the ball away and turnovers.  That’s what happened to Chicago Monday night in Phoenix (almost).

Chicago came in as a 10 ½ point favorite and got to 11 by game time. After the kickoff, the Bears first play was a bomb downfield that just missed.  If Rex Grossman connects, the game is over, Arizona’s spirit is broken and they accept their fate.  Instead, a comedy of errors by Chicago produced a 20 to 0 halftime lead for the Cards.

Rex Grossman showed his inexperience and got flustered early.  Matt Leinart was spectacular and fed off the appreciative fans at University of Phoenix Stadium.

But Chicago was 5 and 0 going into the game for a good reason – they never quit.

The mark of a champion team is measured by its heart and Chicago has plenty of it.  In the first half of the game, the Cardinals came out like David against Goliath. The second half of the game, Murphy’s Law kicked in and the universe unfolded as it should.

So will the Bears go 16 and 0?  Their schedule isn’t that tough, so they’ve got a good shot.  After a bye this week, they get the 49ers (ho hum) in Week 8 and Miami in Week 9 before hitting a stretch of 4 out of 5 road games against some fairly good teams ( Giants, Jets, Pats, Vikings and Rams).  After their first half meltdown against the Cardinals, Chicago learned some valuable lessons and did what they had to do -- win the game. 

More over, ’72 Dolphins the Bears are coming to town.