A Difficult Position for the Bears

The ancient rivalry between the Bears and the Green Bay Packers is often called the greatest in the National Football League and sometimes called the greatest in all of sports. The Bears dominated for most of the first seven decades--with the notable exception of the 1960s, during which Green Bay won five world championships.  

     By the end of the 1991 season, the Bears held a comfortable advantage in the series, at 80-57-6. But beginning in 1992, just two quarterbacks--Hall of Famer Brett Favre and future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers--have started 96 percent of the Packers' games between them. Meanwhile, 33 different quarterbacks have started for the Bears, and only Jay Cutler has started as many as 50 games.

     Not coincidentally, the history of the rivalry has tilted dramatically in Green Bay's favor. The Bears' 23-game margin after 1991 has evaporated and then some. The Packers have won 43 of the 58 meetings since 1992, and their convincing victory over the Bears on Sunday night was their 100th of the series. The overall ledger now stands at 100-95-6 in favor of Green Bay. 

 

JAY CUTLER

 

Below is the complete list of Packers quarterbacks who have started a regular-season game since the beginning of the 1992 season, with each player's number of starts in parentheses.

  1. Don Majkowski, 1992 (3)

  2. Brett Favre, 1992 - 2007 (253)

  3. Aaron Rodgers, 2008 - 2020 (185 through November 2020)

  4. Matt Flynn, 2010 - 2013 (6)

  5. Scott Tolzien, 2013 (2)

  6. Seneca Wallace, 2013 (1)

  7. Brett Hundley, 2017 (7)

 

Below is the complete list of Bears quarterbacks who have started a regular-season game since the beginning of the 1992 season, with each player's number of starts in parentheses.

  1. Jim Harbaugh, 1992 - 1993 (28)

  2. Peter Tom Willis, 1992 - 1993 (3)

  3. Will Furrer, 1992 (1)

  4. Steve Walsh, 1994 (11)

  5. Erik Kramer, 1994 - 1998 (46)

  6. Dave Krieg, 1996 (12)

  7. Rick Mirer, 1997 (3)

  8. Steve Stenstrom, 1998 (7)

  9. Moses Moreno, 1998 (1)

10. Shane Matthews, 1999 - 2001 (15)

11. Cade McNown 1999 - 2000 (15)

12. Jim Miller, 1999 - 2002 (26)

13. Chris Chandler, 2002 - 2003 (13)

14. Henry Burris, 2002 (1)

15. Kordell Stewart, 2003 (7)

16. Rex Grossman, 2003 - 2008 (31)

17. Craig Krenzel, 2004 (5)

18. Chad Hutchinson, 2004 (5)

19. Jonathan Quinn, 2004 (3)

20. Kyle Orton, 2005 - 2008 (33)

21. Brian Griese, 2007 (6)

22. Jay Cutler, 2009 - 2016 (102)

23. Todd Collins, 2010 (1)

24. Caleb Hanie, 2011 (4)

25. Josh McCown, 2011 - 2013 (7)

26. Jason Campbell, 2012 (1)

27. Jimmy Clausen, 2014 - 2015 (2)

28. Matt Barkley, 2016 (6)

29. Brian Hoyer, 2016 (5)

30. Mike Glennon, 2017 (4)

31. Mitchell Trubisky, 2017 - 2020 (45 through November 2020)

32. Chase Daniel, 2018 - 2019 (3)

33. Nick Foles, 2020 (7)

Check out our book Heydays: Great Stories in Chicago Sports on Amazon.    

 

Chicago Sports Memories is Back!

THEO EPSTEIN

A lot of water has flowed under the proverbial bridge since you last heard from us at the end of 2011. Here are some highlights of the Chicago sports landscape at that time.

• The Bulls' Derrick Rose was the NBA's reigning MVP (the youngest in league history at age 22), head coach Tom Thibodeau was the incumbent coach of the year, and the Bulls were coming off a season in which they had racked up the best record in the league (62-20) and made it to the Eastern Conference finals. To say the future looked bright for all concerned would be a gross understatement.
• The Blackhawks, a year and a half removed from their first Stanley Cup championship since 1961, were in the midst of a stretch under head coach Joel Quenneville during which they would qualify for the NHL playoffs for nine consecutive seasons and capture the Cup twice more. Their core group of young players (including Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Patrick Sharp, Brent Seabrook, and Corey Crawford) would remain together for years to come.
  
• The Bears had just completed an 8-8 season which ranked as a profound disappointment after a trip to the NFC championship game the year before. Quarterback Jay Cutler remained an enigma; he had not yet attained the superstardom predicted for him, and it was beginning to look as if he never would. Head coach Lovie Smith and future Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher would both be gone a year later.
  
• The White Sox had just parted ways with blustery manager Ozzie Guillen and replaced him with the placid Robin Ventura, who had never publicly expressed interest in managing until the day he was hired. Guillen's tumultuous tenure, of course, had produced (in 2005) the franchise's first world championship since 1917, so his place in Pale Hose history was secure. Lanky lefthander Chris Sale, just twenty-two, was poised to emerge as a major star.
• The Cubs had just endured a 71-91 slog under overmatched manager Mike Quade. Shortstop Starlin Castro, twenty-one, made the All-Star team and led the National League in hits; he appeared to be a perennial star in the making. Most importantly, Theo Epstein had just been hired to lead the Cubs' baseball operations. Just thirty-seven years old, he had already been general manager of the Boston Red Sox for nine years and in 2004 had engineered their first world championship since 1918. He had joined the Cubs to try and end the world-famous drought that stretched all the way back to 1908.
  

2011 Chicago Sports Memories Awards

Play of the Year: Jonathan Toews, Blackhawks, April 27

JONATHAN TOEWS

     After spotting the Vancouver Canucks the first three games of their first-round playoff series, the Hawks roared back to take the next three contests, forcing a Game 7 on April 27.
     In that game, the Hawks trailed 1-0 as the clock wound down to the two-minute mark in the third period. Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews took possession of the puck off an errant Vanvouver pass at center ice, circled, then moved in on the left wing. As he was being dragged down by two Canucks defenders, Toews slid the puck across to Marian Hossa, whose backhanded attempt was stoppped by goalie Roberto Luongo.
     Unfortunately for Luongo, the rebound landed in front of Toews, who poked it into the net as he himself skidded face-first along the ice. There was 1:56 remaining in regulation, and it looked as if the Hawks might pull off a miracle and capture the series after all. They ended up losing in overtime, but they demonstrated the heart and resilience that will contimue to be their trademark for years to come with Toews as their captain and Joel Quenneville as head coach.

JAY CUTLER

Game of the Year: Bears vs. Green Bay Packers, January 23

     For the first 90 years of their existence, the Bears met their ancient rivals from up north only once in posteason play, in 1941 when the two teams tied for the Western Division title and needed a special playoff game to decide which would go to the NFL championship game.
     The Bears and Packers met for the second time in postseason play this past January, again with a trip to the NFL championship game (now known as the Super Bowl) riding on the outcome.
     In the NFC title game at Soldier Field on January 23, a knee injury forced Bears quarterback Jay Cutler out of the game early in the third quarter with the Bears trailing 14-0. Afterwards, Cutler had to endure ridiculous questions about why he hadn't been able to continue with a torn MCL (medial collateral ligament)!
     The Bears got to within 14-7 early in the fourth quarter, but finally went down to defeat 21-14. The biggest Chicago game of the year and of the past several years ended in frustration and recrimination. Meanwhile, the Packers went on to win the Super Bowl.       

DERRICK ROSE

Player of the Year: Derrick Rose, Bulls

     The third-year point guard carried the Bulls to the NBA's best regular-season record at 62-20 and in so doing became the youngest winner of the league's Most Valuable Player award at only 22. The Bulls made the conference finals, and they have justifiably high hopes again as they enter the truncated 2011-12 season.
     Rose's play on the court is truly jaw-dropping, but what makes him so much more impressive is his maturity, dignity, and humility. You might lump it all together under one word: class. Fame and fortune have not changed Rose at all. If anything, they have made him even more respectful and accountable to his teammates, to the game of basketball, and to those less fortunate than himself.
     Is it all too good to be true? We'll have plenty of time to find out, because Rose will be with the Bulls for a long time. For now, we'll close with a quote from Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf: "If you don't see something special in Derrick Rose, then you're blind."

Honorable Mention (in alphabetical order):
Marian Hossa, Blackhawks; Patrick Kane, Blackhawks; Paul Konerko, White Sox; Jonathan Toews, Blackhawks; Brian Urlacher, Bears.