Thayer: Expect A Physical Game When Bears Take On Lions
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Bears have won their last six games against the Detroit Lions, but the game coming up this Monday is expected to be a difficult one, and what analyst Tom Thayer calls "the most physical game" ever between the two teams.
"I think it will be the most physical game between the Bears and the Lions in the history of the franchises," Thayer told WBBM Newsradio's Josh Liss. "I don't know, I always have to give the home team the advantage when on Monday Night Football, because they have such tremendous crowd support, but the Bears are going to have to earn this victory by taking the crowd out of the game."
LISTEN: Tom Thayer talks with WBBM Newsradio's Josh Liss
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Thayer emphasized that the Lions are not a flash in the pan that have just come on the scene. Their success – which has now reached the point of an unbeaten record – was building up for several years.
"They're very good. You know what, everybody thinks that the Lions have just come on the scene. This has been a building process of five of six drafts; five or six years, and their head coach has really been able to take control of not only talent, but some very good personnel decisions that surround this football team," he said.
Meanwhile, Thayer will be among the members of the 1985 Chicago Bears who will be honored by President Barack Obama at the White House on Saturday. The Bears missed the traditional celebration in 1986 because their 46-10 victory over New England came two days before the Space Challenger exploded, killing the entire crew.
"It's kind of like being a little kid going on a field trip," Thayer said. "It's not the Museum of Science and Industry, but it's the White House. So I think it's really exciting for all of us, and as much excitement as there is in going to see the White House, it's still getting this group of people together, because it's not only the team. It's a lot of people from the front office that were with the Bears at that time that were an important part of the whole mixture."
About 100 representative of the 1985-86 Bears will attend, including about 30 players, Thayer said.
