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Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 17h

For completeness, Kramer's 1997 is #13 in the Bears season ranks at 3,011-14-14. We skipped past that amid all the Rick Mirer drama. After the Bears, he signs in San Diego. He gets four more starts but then is hospitalized with neck spasms. On doctors' advice, he retires rather than risk paralysis.

Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 18h

In 49 games over five tumultuous years in Chicago, Erik Kramer throws for 10,582 yards, 63 TDs, and 45 INTs. That puts him 6th on the career passing list and makes him the only undrafted player in the top 10. In '91, he also leads the only Detroit Lions playoff victory between 1957 and 2023.

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Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 19h

The Bears advance to play the 1-seed 49ers, who are there for a reason. Walsh starts 10/19 for 78-0-2, the running game is equally stifled, and they trail 30-3 by halftime. Kramer is sent out at the half and delivers a better line (161-1-0) but certainly not a miracle, for a final of 44-15.

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Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 19h

Facing rival Minnesota, the Bears turn the ball over twice in their first 4 plays, but only trail by 3 points. Walsh has an efficient 221-2-1 day as the Bears take the lead and then pull away for a 35-18 win. Your narrator is 8 years old, and this is the best thing that has happened in his life.

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Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 1d

This is a good question to chew on, but I feel like the solution that doesn't drive everybody insane is going to be progressive taxation, and probably wealth taxes in particular.

Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 1d

When Kramer throws 2 picks in his first 10 passes against the Packers, coach Dave Wannstedt pulls him, and Walsh starts the rest of the year. It keeps working. Walsh only throws for 200 yards twice, but the team goes 8-4 in his starts. This time 9-7 is good enough to sneak into the playoffs.

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Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 1d

With Walsh in, coordinator Ron Turner calls a more conservative, run-heavy game plan. Walsh avoids sacks and has the most accurate season of his career (60.6%). They win three in a row after Kramer goes down. When he comes back, he airs it out for 309-2-3 at Detroit, but it's a 21-16 loss.

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Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 1d

The Bears' starter for the Jets game and 11 more games is Steve Walsh. In 1989, Walsh was the Cowboys' #1 pick — in the supplemental draft, a now-defunct process for players who don't qualify for the regular draft. Their real #1 pick that year, Troy Aikman, proves to be a somewhat better choice.

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Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 1d

1994: Kramer arrives on a 3-year, $8m contract. The Tribune says this season's QB market is "irrational" and "loony," but he's "a bargain" compared to other signings. He rips off three 200+/1+ games, but a separated shoulder keeps him out of Week 4. www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/19...

Chicago Bears at New York Jets - September 25th, 1994 | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Chicago Bears 19 at New York Jets 7 on September 25th, 1994 - Full team and player stats and box score

www.pro-football-reference.com

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Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 3d

Caleb Williams' season-opening streak of 200+/1+ games stops at five today with a 172-0-1 line in a game reminiscent of Erik Kramer's Week 3 start at Tampa in 1995. Great turnover margin, run-heavy game script, settling for too many FGs. Let's hope he follows it up with the same kind of hot streak.

Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 3d

In Week 3 Kramer has just enough yards (207) but no TDs as the Bears kick four field goals from inside the red zone. Nonetheless they win handily, 25-6, as the defense extracts seven turnovers and chases Tampa QB Trent Dilfer from the game. Then Kramer goes on a tear.

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Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 3d

We've now covered 30 years of Bears quarterbacking. The league-wide passing environment is getting noticeably more conservative as we dig further. We've met four first-round draft picks, the career leader, the single-season leader, and some guys from Pittsburgh. Who the hell is left? Let's find out!

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Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 3d

The Pro Bowl snub may be misleading. The NFC is loaded in 1995, and by most stats, Kramer goes toe-to-toe with legends like Favre, Aikman, and Young -- for this one year. The offense also features two 1,000 yard receivers in Conway and Jeff Graham. Rookie Rashaan Salaam gets 1,074 on the ground.

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Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 3d

This is the greatest individual QB year in Bears history. In the only 16-game season of Kramer's career, he throws for 3,838 yards, 29 TDs, and just 10 INTs. For context, this is 7th in the NFL in 1995, and he doesn't make the Pro Bowl. The Bears finish 9-7 and miss the playoffs on a tiebreaker.

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Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 3d

Kramer's 200+/1+ streak runs for nine games, but the Bears are only 5-4 in that stretch. One reason he's throwing so much is that the once-and-future vaunted defense has turned pedestrian. They give up 4,001 yards through the air, the 27th-ranked pass defense that year.

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Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 3d

It starts with 317 yards and 4 TDs in St. Louis, which used to have a football team. The Bears lose. He throws for 318 and 2 in the rematch with the Packers. They lose. 3 TDs each against Carolina and Jacksonville, who are playing in the NFL for the first time, hold up for wins, though.

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Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 3d

In Week 3 Kramer has just enough yards (207) but no TDs as the Bears kick four field goals from inside the red zone. Nonetheless they win handily, 25-6, as the defense extracts seven turnovers and chases Tampa QB Trent Dilfer from the game. Then Kramer goes on a tear.

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Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 3d

Adding injury to insult, Brett Favre turns that turnover into points in a single play. Packers wideout Robert Brooks gets behind the entire Bears defense and scores a 99-yard touchdown. www.reddit.com/r/GreenBayPa...

From the GreenBayPackers community on Reddit: Highlight - Robert Brooks 99 yard touchdown catch from Favre at Bears (09/11/1995)

Explore this post and more from the GreenBayPackers community

www.reddit.com

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Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 3d

1995: Kramer, coming back from injury, delivers 262-3-1 to beat the Vikings, but in Week 2 he's 161-1-1 on low volume in a 27-24 loss to Green Bay. Kramer tries to get all the missing yards on a deep shot to Conway, but it's picked at the GB 1. www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/19...

Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears - September 11th, 1995 | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Green Bay Packers 27 at Chicago Bears 24 on September 11th, 1995 - Full team and player stats and box score

www.pro-football-reference.com

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Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 3d

This is the beginning of the line for Shane Matthews, who sees his first NFL action in Week 17 garbage time. Matthews, undrafted out of Florida, has a long career as a backup but gets on the field most in those chaotic Bears years. He's their #23 career passer with a line of 3,461-19-18.

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Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 4d

Kramer has a slow start and plays only four games. Two herniated discs in his neck require season-ending surgery. Next up is 38-year-old Dave Krieg, a 3-time Pro Bowler for Seattle in the 80s. Krieg is serviceable, and heats up for a 4-game 200+/1+ streak late in the year, but the Bears finish 7-9.

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Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 4d

1996: Week 1 vs Dallas, the Bears throw for 213-1-1, but actual QB Erik Kramer is just 12/27 for 133-0-1. Wideout Curtis Conway throws the 33-yard TD on a trick play, and punter Todd Sauerbrun completes a fake punt that goes for 47. It's a 22-6 victory. www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/19...

Dallas Cowboys at Chicago Bears - September 2nd, 1996 | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Dallas Cowboys 6 at Chicago Bears 22 on September 2nd, 1996 - Full team and player stats and box score

www.pro-football-reference.com

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Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 4d

The Mirer trade goes down as one of the most baffling and worst deals in NFL history. While a former #2 pick, his track record over 55 games with the Seahawks was unimpressive (41:56 TD:INT). He contributes 420 yards, zero TDs, and 6 picks to the Bears' first of consecutive 4-12 seasons.

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Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 4d

The team brass is eager see Mirer play, so Kramer is pulled during a Week 3 loss to Detroit, but Mirer fares no better. He starts three games but gets yanked mid-game in consecutive weeks. Upon reinstatement, Kramer records five straight 200+/1+ performances, including 343-2-0 in an OT win in Miami.

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Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 4d

1997: Kramer starts Week 1, even though the Bears have traded their first-round draft pick for Seattle's Rick Mirer. His grasp on the job is weakened immediately, as he goes 17/41 for 192-1-2 on the road in Green Bay, and the Bears lose 38-24. www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/19...

Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers - September 1st, 1997 | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Chicago Bears 24 at Green Bay Packers 38 on September 1st, 1997 - Full team and player stats and box score

www.pro-football-reference.com

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Pat Lange @pfunklange.bsky.social · 4d

Rookie 7th-rounder Moses Moreno gets one of his three career starts in Week 12. You can find him in 78th place (166-1-0) on the Bears career passing list, if you're into that kind of thing.

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