FanPost

Blueprint for Success

Here is the basic stat line for the Jets on Saturday:

12-15. (80%) 182 Yards. I TD. No INT's. 171 yards rushing on 41 carries (4.17 average).

Compare that to the shootout in Arizona between the Cards and the Packers. There' no doubt that it's great to be able to pass the ball effectively in the NFL. Ron Jaworski continually cries out: "Points are scored in the passing game in the NFL, not in the running game."

He's right.

Still the Jets had the top rated defense and the top rated rushing attack in the NFL last season.

Just like the '85 Bears had.

Here are the stat lines for the two playoff games and Super Bowl in 1985:

Giant game: 11-21. (48%) 216 Yards. 2 TD's. No INT's. 147 yards rushing on 44 carries (3.34 Average)

Ram Game: 16-25. (64%) 164 Yards. 1 TD. No INT's. 91 Yards rushing on 33 carries (2.76 Average).

Super Bowl: 12-24. (50%) 256 Yards. 0 TD's. No INT's. 167 Yards rushing on 49 carries (3.40 Average).

A couple of observations between the Jets game and the '85 Bears playoff run:

Average number of passes thrown: 21. Average number of rushing attempts: 42

Twice as many rushes than passes.

NO Interceptions.

The '85 Bears led the NFC in scoring that season. They did that by playing great defense, running the ball extremely well and by making timely plays in the passing game.

Jim McMahon played in the original West Coast Offense at BYU and holds more passing records than any other QB in NCAA history. There's little doubt in my mind that if he played in a passing system (like in SF, SD or Miami) that he could've put up huge numbers in the NFL.

He didn't. He played for the Bears. In a cold city for a Neanderthal HC. For a team who was noted for great defense and running the ball. That said, you still have to make big plays in the passing game to win in the NFL.

And in that area Jim McMahon excelled. He might not've thrown the most passes. He did, however, make the most out of the passes he threw.

After the Super Bowl in 1985, Don Shula (who was no friend of the Bears, Mike Ditka and especially Buddy Ryan) said that Jim McMahon played about as great a game at the QB position in the Super Bowl as he'd ever seen. (McMahon had two rushing TD's in that game and also had a 60 yard bomb to Willie Gault that was inches away from being a 90 + yard long TD).

The Jets and Mark Sanchez played a great game Saturday, on the road in Cincinnati, where the Bears got shellacked earlier in the season.

Great defense, a dependable running attack and timely passing can still take a team a long away in even today's NFL.

And the best part is that the three aren't mutually exclusive. A team can have all three components working at the same time together, without one interferring with the other.

A balanced attack can take a team a long ways in the NFL, even a team with a rookie HC and QB like they have in NY.

This Fanpost was written by a Windy City Gridiron member and does not necessarily reflect the ideas or opinions of its staff or community.