Back to the Future - Scoring Points in the Cutler Era

This post is about scoring points in the "Cutler Era."    Hang with me for a minute.

First, a little background.  Most of you know of my fondness for the 85 Bears and players like Mike Singletary.  When Singletary was named permanent HC of the Niners, he stated his desire to play "smash-mouth" football.  This didn't go over to well in SF.  Everybody said this:  The 1985 Bears offense sucked.  Kind of like the 2000 Ravens.  The Bears won in 85 because of their defense and running game.

Actually, the 85 Bears led the NFC in scoring in 1985.  Offenses that suck usually don't lead the league in scoring.

When I point this out to people, they are usually SHOCKED!  It's kind of funny (and a good way to shut them up).

The 85 Bears scored 456 points.

Special Teams accounted for 12 points on two kick returns.

The defense accounted for 36 points ( 4 INT TD's, 1 Fumble TD, and 3 Safeties)

That means that the offense scored 408 points, which averages out to 25.5 points per game.  If any Bear offense in any era scores 25.5 points a game they should win the game.

How do the 2009 Bears stack up with the 1985 Bears on offense?  I'll address three key positions:

QB.  Pro-Bowler Jim McMahon . . . . Pro-Bowler Jay Cutler.

RB.  The incomparable Walter Payton and rookie sensation Matt Forte.  Here's how they compared (in 1985 & 2008):

Payton: 1,551 yards on 324 attempts for a 4.8 yard average and 9 TD's.

Forte:    1,238 yards on 316 attempts for a 3.9 yard average and 8 TD's.

I'm not saying that Forte is Payton.  I am saying that his numbers were pretty comparable to Walter's.

Finally, both teams had a speedster.  The 85 Bears had Willie Gault and the modern Bears have Devin Hester.  Surprisingly, in 1985, Gault only scored one TD as a WR (he also scored one on a KR).  He gained 704 yards on 33 receptions for a 21.3 yards per reception average.  (He did score 8 TD's in 83, 6 in 84, 5 in 86 and 7 in 87).

Gault, at that time was the fastest player in the NFL (along with Darrell Green).  While not as fast as Gault, Hester is a burner and is faster than WR's like Larry Fitzgerald and most other receivers in the NFL.  Considering the fact that Hester has only played WR for one season (2008) while guys like Fitzgerald have been playing the position since probably High School, I'm pretty encouraged by Hester's development so far. 

Having a QB like Cutler who has a cannon for an arm, and having an explosive, speedster WR like Hester bodes well for the Bears going forward.  It's now up to those guys, and Ron Turner, to make it happen on offense.

I am not making a direct comparison here by any stretch of the imagination.   Please.  Don't attack this post by pointing out the many differences between the two squads.  I could do that by myself (thank you).  I am just  saying that when it comes to QB, RB and WR, the 2009 Bears will have "somewhat" similar pieces in place with the 1985 Bears, who led the NFC in scoring.  Much more than they had in 2007 and even in 2008.