But since 1957, the year of the Lions' last championship, Da Bears have but two championships, and none since 1985. They have been largely mediocre in many of the past 50 years, too.
One reason has been the man lining up under center.
We may hoot and holler over the "controversies" between Milt Plum and Karl Sweetan, or Gary Danielson and Eric Hipple, or Erik Kramer and Rodney Peete, etc., but who have the Bears employed at quarterback?
Kent Nix. Gary Huff. Jack Concannon. Bob Avellini. Bobby Douglass. Steve Fuller. Mike Tomczak. Even Kramer himself, who played more like "Kramer" of Seinfeld fame as a Bear.
Not exactly a list of Pro Bowlers. Even McMahon wasn't all that great of a QB, truthfully. And Rex Grossman, their other Super Bowl quarterback, is a card-carrying member of Trent Dilfers Anonymous.
The Bears quarterback in 1963, the only other title year they've had since their glory years of the 1940s, was a guy named Billy Wade. He was a tough-minded, ugly-type passer, but he came from the pass-happy Los Angeles Rams, and he could chuck it well enough to lead a Bears team driven by its defense.
Ahh, defense. Both the Lions and the Bears, even in so-so years, could boast a better-than-average defense. This is where the names get a lot more impressive, for both teams.
The Lions had Joe Schmidt, the Bears had Dick Butkus. The Lions had their Fearsome Foursome of the early-1960s. The Bears were the Monsters of the Midway around the same time. The Lions had Lem Barney, Night Train Lane, and Alex Karras. The Bears had Singletary, Gary Fencik, and Dan Hampton.
Oh, there's more. Doug Buffone. Mike Lucci. Doug Adkins. Wayne Walker. Doug Plank. Dick LeBeau. Ed O'Bradovich. Doug English.
Lots of Dougs there, huh?
Anyhow, the Bears have used tough, opportunistic defenses and marginal offensive talent to contend, in seasons in which they did so. Besides Payton, the Bears have not truly had a superstar offensive player other than Gale Sayers in the mid-to-late 1960s.
Billy Wade: Gunslinging QB for the '63 champion Bears
Kind of like the Lions in that regard, wouldn't you say? The Detroit teams of the early-1980s, who were playoff contenders annually (1980-83), had what they called "The Silver Rush," a nickname originally given to the talented, sack-happy defensive line, but that was eventually extended to the entire defense. They even wore towels with the words, stuck down their football pants.
The '85 Bears might have been the best defensive team in Super Bowl history. McMahon led the offense, but more with attitude and color than any pure quarterbacking skills. Certainly he wasn't a marksman when it came to throwing the football. But he had Payton to hand the ball to -- and even William "Refrigerator" Perry, at times. His receivers were adequate, nothing more.
Another #9, McMahon, was colorful, but not a great QB by any means
Today, the Bears hope to return to the Super Bowl with something, anything, to mask their offensive -- and I do mean offensive -- deficiencies when they hold the football. An Urlacher-led defense, which still creates turnovers and scores the occasional touchdown. A special teams unit, led by return man Hester. A modified, keep-it-simple game plan to help Grossman. Or, in this case, Brian Griese -- who'll start Sunday against the Lions.
The Bears won't score 56 points against the Lions at Ford Field Sunday. That's not their game. They probably couldn't do it, even if you placed them on the field without the annoyance of an opponent. But that's not how they win. They win -- or at least try to -- with everything else. This time they'll trot Griese out there -- and Griese's biggest asset, perhaps, is something he shares with 90+ other QBs in the NFL: he is not Rex Grossman.
Ironically, the decision to bench Grossman, again turnover-prone thru the team's 1-2 start, comes during Lions week. Grossman was stellar against Detroit in '06 -- tossing five TD passes and throwing zero interceptions. So this would appear to be a long-term fix for coach Smith, not something with which to simply get by the Lions.
Yes, the Bears have those '63 and '85 championships since the Lions' glory year of 1957. And they have the Super Bowl appearance last season. And more playoff games under their belt since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. But they haven't been anything to write home about at the quarterback position, either, in that time frame.
So maybe it's not just that, after all. Do you suppose?
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