I'm aware that MANY of you over 50 folks love him and are satisfied with winning 1 Super Bowl with 30 HoF players.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

It’d be nice if the Bears could find themselves a Tisch to un-McCaskey the organization.

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I don't need to rehash the numbers for everyone but here is some of what he accomplished:

106-62 record
6 division titles in 11 years
7 playoff appearances in 11 years
1985!

you may think he didn't maximize his potential but he certainly is not overrated.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

It looks really pretty on paper. That's not enough though when you have one of the greatest teams in NFL history. Is there any other team that had as many great players and only managed to win once?

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

2016 Cubs?

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I figured that would be mentioned. I'm not sure that team will have any HoF players that go in wearing a Cubs hat.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

He didn’t have a Hall of Fame guy at quarterback. And that was the difference. Tough to beat Joe Montana with Mike Tomczak.

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Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

So Da Coach would have won if he had 31 HoF players? I don't buy that. IMO, Ditka was a GREAT talent that allowed his ego and celebrity to get in the way of his coaching. The team couldn't overcome that when it mattered most.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Nas, you know if Mac wasn’t a constant injury Ditka wins more.

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Elections have consequences.

Yes, I am aware that the Ditka excuses are a mile high. If only everything was perfect, Ditka would have beaten Jay Schroeder and other quarterbacks not named Joe Montana in the playoffs.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Mike Ditka is probably the only coach from that era that only wins 1 super bowl with that roster.
Nas is correct....overrated.

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Post Super Bowl, Ditka went 2-5 in the playoffs and one of those wins was the Fog Bowl.

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no way anyone can say that with any confidence, especially with the QB issues.

the numbers dolphin shared are pretty clear.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

The position that matters most has more of an outcome than Hall of Fame linebackers or offensive guards.

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Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

"He only won a single Super Bowl" is kind of like saying "He only has a billion dollars". Of course he could have more but he's still far ahead of just about everyone else.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Right. But there are other billionaires who have more.

Ditka under achieved the same way Aaron Rodgers* has. Like Rodgers*, it's hard to believe those 80s Bears only played in one Super Bowl.

*So far

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Bear weather was the problem.

Agree 100%. He was sitting on the biggest crop of talent ever assembled and they underachieved, largely because of him. He made a lot of bad decisions- Flutie, embracing the scab players, Bigsby & Kruthers, that terrible perm.

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General Jim wears Fort Bragg down... to get it!

Spot on, he was a cartoon after they won it.

If you go back and actually watch the games from that era, not just highlights, you see that McMahon was at best an average QB. The team completely relied on running the ball and why not they had one of the best backs in NFL history running behind a quality offensive line with a QB who self admittedly never committed to getting into shape which contributed to injury after injury.

Ditka was of course nowhere near the level of many of the other head coaches of the era, the team won almost entirely due to Ryan's defense completely dominating the line of scrimmage, Ditka's dumbed down offense just took advantage of good field position and tried not to turn the ball over.

They would have won the SB in 87-88 if it wasn't for lew barnes who fumbled 2 punts and lost the game for the bears. They would have beat the Vikings and Bronco's to claim the title.

Mac was the leader of the team in so many ways. I remember in 85, he came into that game in Minn, led the comeback, and even the defense got energized by his presence. QB skills wise he was probably average but you needed to just not make any big mistakes w/ that defense.

And that's what Mac was able to do whereas guys like Flute and Tomzack tried to do too much and would throw a costly pick in the playoffs. The only other QB on the team that knew that was Steve Fuller but they got rid of him after 86 or he decided to retire - I dont remember now.

Losing to Washington at home post Super Bowl twice. There was no Joe Montana on that field.

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Without Buddy Ryan maybe Ditka doesn't even have that one super bowl.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Yes.

I remember back then Ditka was made fun of by the National Media saying he was a hot head and not a good X's and O's coach. Part of that may have been jealousy and being rubbed the wrong way by a late 80s Ditka that owned the world with his fame.

I get that you younger guys don’t understand us older guys love of Ditka. We get that he wasn’t a great strategist and should have won more than one SB.

But, as a 19 year old in 1985 I had never seen Chicago win ANYTHING. No Bears, Cubs, Sox, Bulls, Hawks.

So Ditka brought a “kick-ass” attitude, and the video clip shows McMahon acknowledging it—he came in and cut a bunch of guys that were “collecting paychecks.”

This was new to Chicago sports, and was the first championship those in my age bracket saw. You younger guys have seen the Bulls, Sox, Hawks and even the Cubs all win championships.

We were like Cleveland in my youth before Iron Mike brought some fire and passion to this city. I believe he raised the bar for sports expectations here.

Yes this 100 percent. They use to keep showing us Butkus, Ernie Banks, and countless others who never won a championship in Chicago. Ditka and the Bears finally broke that 'curse'.

btw- Der Sting won the Soccer Bowl championship in 81 but I guess that doesn't count.

Who was on those Redskins teams that were so great? That team makes no sense to me; it's like they just filled in the blanks where the Giants and Niners didn't win.

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Hall of Famers
Darrell Green
Russ Grimm
Joe Gibbs
Art Monk

Pro Bowlers
Gary Clark
Dexter Manley
Charles Mann

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Sherman remarked, "Well, Grant, we've had the devil's own day, haven't we?" Grant looked up. "Yes," he replied, followed by a puff. "Yes. Lick 'em tomorrow, though."

If you remember that playoff game where Lew Barnes blew the game single-handedly , the week prior was complete genius pysche job by Joe Gibbs.

The Bears and Ditka were so overconfident coming into that game, Gibbs played this to a tee in the media saying things like 'oh gee, how are we going to beat this great team'. Or 'I dont know how we can win this game, they're so great'.

And the fucking Bears/Ditka took the bait and walked right into the trap.

Art Monk, duh. Forgot all about him. I just associate those teams with the offensive line and Joe Gibbs more than star players.

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