In 1985, behind a ferocious and intimidating defense, the Chicago Bears won
all but one regular season game and captured the first Super Bowl championship
and ninth National Football League championship in franchise history. The 2006
Bears evoked memories of that defense, and led the franchise back to the Super
Bowl after a 21-year absence. With the release of Warner Home Video’s
Chicago Bears – 2006 NFC Champions, Bears fans can now relive
all of the thrilling moments from the franchise’s most successful season
in more than 20 years.
THE SEASON
The main feature of Chicago Bears – 2006 NFC Champions
is an approximately 50-minute long presentation that provides a full recap of
the Bears 2006 season. In the 2005 season, the Bears won 11 games and the National
Football Conference North Division title, but lost to the Carolina Panthers
at home in the NFC Divisional Playoff Round. The only major personnel loss after
the 2005 was the retirement of cornerback Jerry Azumah, and the Bears added
quarterback Brian Griese in free agency and cornerback/kick returner Devin Hester
and defensive end Mark Anderson through the draft.
The Bears staked their claim to the division title early by defeating each
of the other three division teams in the first three weeks of the season. The
winning streak extended to seven games to start the season, and included a thrilling
Monday Night Football victory against the Arizona Cardinals, where the Bears
scored three second-half touchdowns on defense and special teams to rally from
a 20-point halftime deficit. The Miami Dolphins, as they did in 1985 when the
Bears were threatening to go undefeated during the regular season, dealt the
Bears their first loss of the season.
The following week, the Bears won another game in stunning fashion, using Hester’s
touchdown return of a missed field goal to help overcome a ten point first half
deficit against the New York Giants. The Bears lost only two more games the
rest of the season: a four-point loss at the American Football Conference Eastern
Division champion New England Patriots; and in the final week at the Green Bay
Packers, after they had already clinched home field advantage for the NFC playoffs.
By finishing with 13 wins and the best record in the NFC, the Bears earned
a first round bye. The previous two times they had reached the playoffs, in
2001 and 2005, the Bears followed up first round byes with losses at home in
the Divisional Playoff round. Robbie Gould’s 49-yard field goal in overtime
against the Seattle Seahawks in the Divisional Playoff round sent the Bears
to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1988. The win was also
the Bears first playoff win since 1994, and first home playoff win since 1990.
In the NFC Championship Game against the New Orleans Saints, the Bears jumped
out to a 16-point lead, held off the Saints second half comeback attempt, and
pulled away with three fourth quarter touchdowns to advance to the Super Bowl
for just the second time in franchise history.
The presentation covers all aspects of the Bears season, and shows highlights
from all sixteen regular season games, including the three losses. The loss
to the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLI is also included, but plays from
this game are included early in the presentation, in the opening chapter immediately
after footage from the press conference where Lovie Smith was named Bears head
coach is shown. Each regular season game is allotted approximately 2 to 3 minutes,
and each NFC playoff game is allotted approximately 7 to 8 minutes.
SOUND + VISION Chicago Bears – 2006 NFC Champions is presented in a
1.33:1 aspect ratio and the audio is available in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo in
English. There are no additional audio tracks, but subtitles are available in
English for all of the content, and can be turned on by selecting the Subtitles
option on the main menu screen. Sportscaster Harry Kalas, who narrates many
NFL Films releases, provides the narration for the main presentation. Radio
and television play-by-play is frequently utilized in place of narration for
some of the game footage, and since the video is from the NFL Films library,
the video quality is exceptional throughout the presentation.
PACKAGING/ LAYOUT Chicago Bears – 2006 NFC Champions is stored in a standard
black plastic case that features the Bears head logo over an orange background
on the front of the case. The back of the case features a summary of the DVD
contents, a list of bonus features, and photos of Brian Urlacher, Smith, and
Hester. The menu screens are simple to navigate, and allow for viewing the history
documentary from the start or by clicking on the Chapter Select option, which
allows for selecting a specific chapter to view.
SPECIAL FEATURES
There are 12 special features for Chicago Bears – 2006 NFC Champions.
The features vary in length, from 2 minutes to almost 20 minutes, and total
more than 60 minutes. Specifically, the features are:
• Game of the Week: 2006 NFC Championship Game (22:21) –
This feature originally aired on the NFL Network, and provides highlights of
all of the key plays from the Bears victory against the Saints in the 2006 NFC
Championship Game. The abridged game also includes a brief introduction by Steve
Sabol of NFL Films.
• Thomas Jones Wired for Sound (1:46) – An assortment of
highlights with audio from running back Thomas Jones’ wiring for sound
during a regular season game against the Giants.
• Charles Tillman Wired for Sound (1:50) – An assortment
of highlights with audio from defensive back Charles Tillman’s wiring
for sound during the NFC Divisional Playoff game against the Seahawks.
• 2006 Bears Defense (4:20) – Members of the Bears defense
provides their thoughts on what makes them a tough defense to play against.
In 2006, the Bears defense allowed the fewest points in the NFC and the third
fewest in the NFL.
• Back in the Day With Brian Urlacher (3:16) – This feature
focuses on Urlacher’s high school career in Lovington, New Mexico, where
he played wide receiver and safety for his high school football team. Footage
from some of his high school games is shown.
• George Halas (3:53) – This feature profiles the legendary
career of George Halas, who owned the Bears for 63 years and coached them for
40 years.
• The 46 Defense (5:37) – Buddy Ryan, who joined the Bears
in 1978 as their defensive coordinator, created the 46 defense formation while
with the team. Members of the Bears defense from this period provide their insights
into why the defense was so successful.
• Players Profiles (30:51) – These five features provide
insight into the careers of Bears legends Gale Sayers, Dick Butkus, Doug Atkins,
Ed O’Bradovich and Walter Payton. Sayers played running back from 1965
to 1971, Butkus played linebacker from 1965 to 1973, Atkins played defensive
end from 1955 to 1966, O’Bradovich played defensive end from 1962 to 1971,
and Payton played running back from 1975 to 1987.
CIRCLING THE WAGONS Chicago Bears – 2006 NFC Champions adequately recaps
the 2006 Bears season, highlighting the successes of the team while not dwelling
on the failures. The inclusion of profiles of former Bears players in the special
features is a nice touch and helps draw parallels between the playing styles
of current Bears players and former Bears players. Bears fans that are looking
to add a highlight package of the 2006 season to their library should consider
this release, as it meets the basic requirements of a season-in-review package.
DVD Season Score: B-
DVD Sounds and Visuals Score: A-
DVD Packaging and Layout Score: B-
DVD Extras Score: B+ DVD Overall Score: B
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