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Rozner: Bears' Thayer haunted by one Super play

No one needed to explain the significance to Tom Thayer.

A born and bred Chicagoan, Thayer understood what the 1985 Bears meant to the city and he was fully versed in its tortured sports history.

He also thought his team would beat the Patriots by 30 or 40 points in Super Bowl XX. There wasn't much doubt about it - until the opening series of the game.

The Bears got the ball and after Walter Payton swept left for 7 yards on the first play from scrimmage, he was hit 3 yards deep in the backfield on second down. New England forced a fumble and recovered the ball.

"A lot of people want to take the blame for it," says Thayer, who took over right guard for the last 13 games of 1985 and was named to the all-rookie team. "Jim McMahon has taken the blame, but I think that was just a friendly gesture.

"When you consider the fundamental specifics of blocking a play when choreographed perfectly, I think it was as much my fault as anyone because (right tackle) Keith Van Horne and I had a combination block up to the first level."

They were supposed to get defensive lineman Garin Veris and then inside linebacker Steve Nelson, but Matt Suhey was overwhelmed and Payton was engulfed.

"When you have a combination block, you always have to be more conscious of the first block before you go to the second level," Thayer explains. "But I think I should have stuck with Keith longer to ensure that we had the first guy blocked."

Thayer was not alone at that moment in thinking this was going to go down in history as the biggest sports disaster ever.

"That play has always haunted me," Thayer says. "Running off the field I thought, 'Oh, my God. This Chicago thing is gonna be my fault. I'm a Chicago guy and it's my fault.'

"No matter if the formation is called incorrectly or not - which is what Jim said - there's still a proper way of executing the combination block. We never really watched the tape because that was the end of the season, but I know in my heart I should have stayed with Keith longer. I don't need anyone to tell me I did or didn't.

"One thing that (offensive-line coach) Dick Stanfel taught us is that if you can't self-coach then you have a difficult time getting better as a player. You don't improve if you don't see it yourself."

The Bears' defense did not give up a yard on the series after the turnover and the Pats kicked a field goal 79 seconds into the game for a 3-0 lead. The Bears' offense scored on four of the next five possessions and the rout was on, but Thayer has never forgotten the play.

"I felt like I failed the block for Walter," Thayer says. "You're gonna miss blocks. Sometimes the defensive player is gonna make a better play than you. But I felt so bad for Walter.

"Even though I was playing for the Bears, I was still into hero worship. I grew up a Bears fan. I watched him growing up and I loved Walter and everything he stood for. That's always a sour note for me when I think about the Super Bowl.

"An offensive lineman can play 75 plays in a game and give up a sack or have one missed assignment and the whole game (stinks)."

And while the Bears put up 46 points and got touchdowns from McMahon (2), Suhey and William Perry, Payton never found the end zone, something that has bothered Bears fans for decades.

"I feel bad that he didn't score, but you could feel the intentions of New England to take Walter out of the game," Thayer remembers. "That was their only chance, to make sure someone else beat them, and Willie Gault did and Matt did and Emery Moorehead did and Ken Margerum did. Jim distributed the ball great."

Payton carried 22 times for a game-high 61 yards, but his long was 7 and he was swarmed every time he got near the football. The Bears ran 20 plays from the New England 10 or closer in the game, but the gimmes from the 1 or the 2 went to McMahon and Perry.

"To me, Walter's career is not tarnished in the least because he didn't score a touchdown in a Super Bowl we dominated," Thayer says. "The other team respected him so much that it was their sole purpose to take him out of the game.

"But his greatness transcends not scoring in that game and his ring looks the same as everyone else's. We got there as an offense because of Walter Payton and because Walter carried us. I would have felt bad for him if he had never won a Super Bowl."

Now a Bears radio analyst who also works for Fox 32, Thayer doesn't get tired of talking about the team many feel is the best in NFL history, especially with the anniversary approaching Tuesday.

"People love that team and people love to talk about it," Thayer says with a huge smile. "We won big and we entertained big and the Super Bowl was almost the perfect ending."

For Tom Thayer 30 years later, "almost" will have to be good enough.

brozner@dailyherald.com

• Hear Barry Rozner on WSCR 670-AM and follow him @BarryRozner on Twitter.

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