This afternoon I watched the 1985 matchup between the legendary 85 Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers. For those of you who remember those days, this is the Bears team that nearly went undefeated. This was the team with McMahon, The Fridge and the Super Bowl Shuffle.
The thing I found interesting was the intensity and the management of this game. Now, keep in mind that these replays on NFL network are shortened, so it’s difficult to really get a feel for the actual pace and feel of the game, but the final score on this game was 16-10. Last year when the Patriots had their amazing season, I’m not sure there was any game that came where the pats only scored 16 points. In fact, I don’t remember the last time I watched a 16-10 game. Maybe things are different, maybe the game favors touchdowns more than it used to, but winning teams normally score more than that. Also, if it’s a single score game, that thing is played down to the very last second.
The speed and intensity of the modern NFL just seems so much greater than it was 20 years ago. I was really amazed.