CHICAGO – 1985: (L-R) Defensive lineman Dan Hampton #99, William Perry #72, Richard Dent #95, linebacker Wilber Marshall #58 and left tackle Steve McMichael #76 of the Chicago Bears wait to line up at the line of scrimmage prior to a play during a game in the 1985 season at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Former NFL quarterback Eric Hipple still can’t believe how much the 1985 Chicago Bears defense changed NFL offenses.
As the Super Bowl approaches to close out the NFL’s 100th anniversary, it’s a perfect time to reflect on how some of the most legendary teams changed the course of the game. Historically, alterations to the game have come in the form of the forward pass, new schemes, and innovations by head coaches that have gradually sped up the game to what it is today.
But the 1985 Chicago Bears, widely regarded as the greatest defense of all-time, changed the game less with nuance and more with a swift swing of a sledgehammer.
Eric Hipple played quarterback for the Detroit Lions in 1985, and still believes that NFL offenses operate the way they do today because of how the Bears destroyed everything in their path.
“It changed the course of football,” Hipple told FanSided’s Mark Carman. “Everybody started adopting that defense, so that meant every offense had to start making adjustments against them.”
While the spread offense wasn’t invented specifically to beat the Bears style of defense, it was quickly and widely adopted by most offenses. Spreading receivers on first down and trying to find ways to alleviate the pressure of Chicago’s blitz was less about innovating the game and more about simply surviving.
“It was the only way you could reduce what they were doing. Otherwise, the blitz would just run you over.”
It could be argued that the NFL would have eventually adopted the spread and evolved to where it is now. But there’s no doubting the brooding Bears defense sped that change up.
Hipple on behalf of After Impact, an organization that works to facilitate comprehensive treatment and provide a support network for military veterans, professional athletes, and their families.