Analogously, the magical 2001 Chicago Bears season as a
whole mirrored its opening drive of the season. On that warm September 9th in
Baltimore, two days before the world would change forever, the Bears were given
absolutely no chance against the defending NFL champion's defense. But with
noodle-armed Shane Matthews at quarterback, and hot-cold running back James
Allen, Chicago drove the length of the field until they had 1st and goal inside
the Raven's 10-yard line. Sadly, after three attempts from close range, the
Bears couldn't get the ball in the end zone, and the team ended up losing to
the defending champs 17-6. Just as the team went farther than anyone thought
they could on that opening drive, this 2001 Bears team shocked the nation and
knocked on the championship door, but sadly, the door slammed shut all too
soon.
Preseason 2001 started with turmoil, much as Bears fans are
used to. Mark Hatley, then Bears VP of Player Personnel, ran his final draft in
April 2001. Rumors had been flying for months that Hatley was dissatisfied with
Bears' management and wanted to leave. Publicly, though, no one involved would
admit there was a single problem. During the draft, he made a solid selection
by taking Michigan WR David Terrell, who was an absolute surprise to last to
the Bears' seventh pick in the first round. In the second, a questionable pick
was made with the selection of Terrell's teammate, running back Anthony Thomas.
Thomas was rated as a durable straight-line runner with questionable speed and
moves. Why pick another Curtis Enis, many said. Hatley completed the draft by
selecting two offensive linemen, a defensive end, and the fastest man in the
draft who had tested positive for marijuana.
In May, a press conference was called to announce Hatley's
"mutual termination", a term that seemed to be coined by this Chicago Bears
organization that seemed to be in utter disarray. Hatley stated that he was
tired of losing, and felt partially responsible, so thought it would be best to
leave the organization. Team President Ted Phillips agreed, and released
Hatley. Interestingly, Hatley caught on with the same title in Green Bay, and
his first move was to sign DT Jim Flanigan, whom was his very last cut in
Chicago. Phillips announced the Bears would be hiring a bonified General
Manager for the first time since the 1986 season. As the Bears don't seem to do
anything without being controversial, Phillips declared the organization would
be paying an executive search firm over a quarter-million dollars to screen
prospective candidates, and the search would take over a month. After choosing
between Philadelphia personnel man Tom Modrak, Denver director of college
scouting Ted Sundquist, Tampa personnel man Jerry Angelo and others, Phillips
finally named Angelo the teams' new GM in mid-June. At the press conference
announcing the Angelo hire, he stated that anything for 2001 would only be
"fine tuning".
If Angelo's moves from June to the opening of the season
were "fine tuning", we would hate to see his wholesale housecleaning! The new
GM promptly traded troubled QB Cade McNown to the Miami Dolphins for a song,
and cut higher-priced and popular veterans Mike Wells, Bobby Engram and Barry
Minter. Even CB Thomas Smith, signed in 2000 for $22 million, was shown the
door in a smart move after Smith's inconsistent (at best) play the season
before. While these moves proved to be necessary to shed salary from
underproductive players as well as develop young talent, many saw them as
Angelo's way to ensure a poor season from Coach Dick Jauron. Most believed
Angelo wanted to see Jauron fail so he could hire his own coach in 2002.
Then Dick Jauron's players stepped to the defense of their
favorite coach. Perhaps it was really true, that Cade McNown's dismal play and
poor attitude had more of an effect on the rest of the players that were much
more talented than their 2000 record reflected. After the opening day
heart-breaker, the team was devastated in the locker room. They truly felt they
were within grasp of beating the world champs, and had just fallen short. It
wasn't the same feeling after a loss as they had been used to feeling for years
before. The Bears were set to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars the next Sunday,
but two days later, America reeled from multiple terrorist attacks on September
11th. The NFL decided to postpone September 18th's games to mourn the loss of
thousands of her countrymen.
On September 23rd, the NFL resumed its games with its week
three matchups. Chicago faced the Minnesota Vikings at home, and lost its
starting quarterback Shane Matthews to a hip injury. At halftime, down 10-0, it
was reported that players and coaches alike were livid about the teams' missed
opportunities. Chicago came out fired up in the second half, and upset the
Vikings 17-10. It would prove to be the start of something big. In the ensuing
three weeks, the Bears beat Atlanta, Arizona, and Cincinnati by a combined
score of 75-16. From Brian Urlacher and R.W. McQuarter's fumble recoveries
against Atlanta and Arizona, to Anthony Thomas' 188-yard rushing performance
against Cincinnati, the Bears were on fire. It was even announced that the TV
networks were moving two upcoming Bear games to 3:00 starts to accomodate
national television. For the Bears-the team most predicted to finish no better
than 5-11 in 2001.
Then came the two games that will live on in most Bear fans'
memories forever. Against San Francisco on October 28th, Chicago trailed 28-9
deep into the third quarter, and had lost starting QB Jim Miller to a side
injury. Now-backup Shane Matthews responded with two long TD drives, the last
to rookie David Terrell that brought the Bears within 2-points, 31-29 with less
than a minute remaining in the game. Anthony "A-Train" Thomas then barrelled in
for the tying two-point conversion, and the crowd went nuts. The high-powered
San Francisco offense received the ball first in overtime. On their very first
play, big-time wide receiver Terrell Owens cowered from an approaching Brian
Urlacher hit, Mike Brown intercepted the pass and romped 33 yards for the
winning score in what is now the shortest OT game in NFL history. Chicago went
crazy, figuring nothing could top this finish.
Wrong we were. The following week, an ineffective Shane
Matthews-led offense trailed Cleveland 21-7 with less than one minute left in
the game. Obnoxious Cleveland Brown fans ruled Soldier Field for the moment, as
some Bear fans just hadn't learned from the week before and left early. With
less than a minute left, Matthews hit Marty Booker with a TD to close the gap
to 21-14. No chance, the Browns fans said. On the next play, Chicago recoved
the onside kick. After several short passes moved the ball to the Cleveland 34,
there was time for one final play. Right in front of the North endzone fans,
Matthews heaved a pass toward the heavens, which seemingly in slow-motion fell
into the outstreched hands of James Allen. Tie game, and the cheering Bear fans
gave it back to the obnoxious Cleveland-ites. On the Browns' first
possession of overtime, Bryan Robinson batted a third-down pass up in the
air, Mike Brown performed deja-vu, and the Bears had pulled out the most
improbable victory in a decade. The Bears were now 6-1 for the first time since
1991.
The magic wouldn't last against the hated Packers on
Veteran's Day at Soldier Field. Despite having the ball inside the Pack 10,
down by 8 points, the same hero James Allen couldn't hang on to a swing pass in
the sun, and Green Bay won 20-12. Three more Bear victories followed that
heartbreaker, over Tampa, the Vikings, and Detroit. At Minnesota, Chicago would
hold their opponents without a touchdown for the first time since they had done
it in 1995. Rookie David Terrell dropped two sure TD passes against Detroit,
but the Bears still hung on thanks to three Jason Hanson field goal misses.
Then came the rematch at Green Bay, which the Bears lost again due to a poor
offensive showing.
Regardless, Chicago was 9-3, and finished 13-3 with their
first NFC Central Division Championship since 1990. The final four games were
magical. Anthony Thomas tore the Buccaneers up on December 16th with a 173-yard
performance. Brian Urlacher caught a TD pass to help beat Washington 20-15, and
Dwayne Bates came out of the woodwork with a 100+ yard receiving day in the
24-0 victory at Detroit. And who will ever forget Keith Traylor's 67-yard romp
with an interception in the regular season-ending victory over Jacksonville.
The Bears were atop the division, and would host at least a divisional playoff
game.
Philadelphia came into town as the lowest-seeded division
winner, and the Bears were heavily favored. The Bears? Who would have thought?
But Chicago looked ill-prepared offensively after Jim Miller was knocked out on
a questionable hit by Hugh Douglas. In Soldier Field's final game, Da Bears,
2001's miracle team, lost their first home playoff game in a decade, 33-17.
Despite the final letdown, 2001 was magical indeed, from NFC Coach of the Year
Dick Jauron to Offensive Rookie of the Year Anthony Thomas, the guy everyone
questioned picking. Bear fans looked ahead to 2002 with a vigor unknown on
opening day in a decade, which would begin in a city far, far away....
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