Quote:There are several documentaries about that '85 Bears team.

 

ESPN has a 30 for 30 on them, and I think there is one on Netflix as well.

 

It's not like watching them live, but if you get a chance, give them a look.  If you value defensive football, you would have loved watching those teams play.

As for that Steel curtain team of the 1970s...man!  They had nine (9) pro bowlers on that defense, and five (5) Hall of Famers:  "Mean" Joe Greene, L.C. Greenwood, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, and Mel Blount.  There should be a 6th guy in Canton-Donnie Shell.  You are familiar with the "one chuck rule" you see now where a defender can chuck a receiver once within five yards of the line of scrimmage.  That rule was instituted in large part due to Mel Blount.  Before that rule was passed in 1978, DBs could bump receivers throughout their route, no matter what part of the field.  Blount was so big, his arms so long and he was so strong, that many receivers didn't stand much chance of getting open.  That defense's best year may have been a year they DIDN'T reach the Super Bowl-1976.  They managed three straight shutouts that year, five overall.  There was a stretch where they allowed NINE (9) points over 5 weeks, and 28 points over the last nine weeks of that season.

 

  That 1976 Steelers Defense was truly amazing.   That's the season when they lost Terry Bradshaw in game # 5 at Cleveland to a season ending shoulder injury when DE Joe ' Turkey'  Jones grabbed Bradshaw when the play was essentially over and swung him to the ground in mid air.   That didn't stop the Steelers Defense from leading the team to 9 straight wins to close out the regular season when the Steelers had no margin of error.   Back then,  there was only 1 wildcard team per conference.   The Steelers did win the AFC Central Title though.   The Steelers then beat the Colts on the road in the playoffs,  before finally losing in the AFC Championship game to the Raiders.    If not for the injuries to RBs Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier,   I think the Steelers would have won in Oakland,  and ultimately have won the Super Bowl against the Vikings.   

 

  The two best Defensive teams I've ever seen were the 1985 Bears and the 1976 Steelers.    None were more dominant.  

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