Chicago Bears defensive end Alex Brown (L) sacks Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme during the third quarter of yesterday’s game. The Bears sacked the hapless Delhomme 8 times.

There was a time that the Chicago Bears were the New York Yankees of the NFL. During the initial 3 decades of the NFL’s existence, the Bears appeared in 14 championship games, winning 8 of them and dominating the nascent league with a combination of hard nosed defense and an in-your-face running game.

Owned and coached by George “Papa Bear” Halas for most of their existence, the Bears became known as “Monsters of the Midway” following a 73-0 shellacking of the Washington Redskins in 1940. That game featured the birth of the “T” Formation – a radical departure from the old “Single-Wing” formation that up to that time had been the standard way for teams to line up behind the center. Where the old Single Wing featured two or three backs lined up on a “strong side” who then shifted right or left, the “T” Formation was truly revolutionary. Two running backs (sometimes three) would line up on either side of the quarterback with the QB having the option of faking to either or both backs. Also, one back could “lead” through the hole for the other back changing the blocking scheme for the entire offensive line.

Until the advent of the “I” formation in the 1970’s, the “T” was used by almost every college and pro football team. And about the time the “T” Formation began to fall out of favor, the Chicago franchise became a laughingstock of a football team. An aging Halas never adapted to the radical changes that occurred in the NFL during the 1970’s and his teams looked it. This was the era of “Air Corryell” and the brilliant offense created by Tom Landry in Dallas. It was the era of the sophisticated defensive formations of Chuck Knoll’s Steelers. The entire game changed while Halas – both as coach and later as President – refused to acknowledge that singular fact.

His scouting operation was run on a shoestring which explains why despite getting consistently high draft choices, the Bears failed to improve. In fact, Chicago players never failed to point out the flintiness of Halas saying “He tossed around nickels like they were man-hole covers.”

One of Papa Bear’s last official acts before his death was hiring former Bear Mike Ditka in 1982 whose teams dominated the league for the next decade. The Superbowl Champion team of 1985 is generally considered one of the best teams in NFL history.

But then came the 1990’s and the Monsters became pussycats. Showing an offensive ineffectiveness that had fans booing almost before the team stepped on the field, a succession of coaches, quarterbacks, and General Managers all proved unable to bring winning football to the victory starved fans who turned out for December games that often had the team playing in weather more fit for ice fishing than football.

Then last year came the nadir for the team. In one of the worst displays of ineptitude in the team’s history, the Bears began the Lovie Smith era by losing 5 of their first 6 games with an offense that was the laughingstock of the league. But then, in a reversal of fortune not anticipated by anyone, the team’s defense began to mature. First year players Tommie Harris and Nathan Vasher proved that they could not only play in the NFL but that they could excel. And even with two of their best players injured for most of the year – All-Pros Brian Urlacher and Mike Brown – the quickness and spirited play demonstrated by the youngsters on defense augured well for the future.

And now, with a healthy Urlacher playing Middle Linebacker like a demon possessed and the rest of the defense throwing their bodies around the field with awesome quickness and a brutality not seen since the glory days of two decades ago, Chicago fans are beginning to wonder; is it time to start believing again?

Clearly, the offense is, well, offensive. A better than average runner in Thomas Jones can’t offset what can only be charitably called an “anemic” passing attack. But for 6 straight games, the offense has done enough – just barely enough – to win ballgames. Using two and sometimes three running backs has perked up the offense just enough so that the defense can stay off the field long enough to catch its breath.

How well will this formula will work against a team with a truly good offense remains to be seen. But the very fact that the team has won 6 in a row has Bears fans whispering among themselves a word not heard in more than a decade…

“Superbowl”...