The Bears Make A Popgun Of The Shotgun

Once in a while the Bears would rush seven men against the 49ers; now and then they sent in only four and dropped off seven to defend against the short passes of the shotgun. Although Shaughnessy, like most coaches, is reluctant to divulge the details of his defense, it appeared that it was keyed to whichever quarterback was in the game. Brodie is the best passer of the three, the worst runner; Bill Kilmer is the best runner and the worst passer. Against Brodie, the Bears set up a passing defense, against Kilmer, a running defense. Bobby Waters throws better than Kilmer, not as well as Brodie and runs better than Brodie, but not as well as Kilmer. When he was in the game, the Bear defense was keyed to the situation, not the player.

The 49ers, understandably, were flat for this game and they lost the best blocker in their offensive line early when Bob St. Clair was injured. But that made little difference. This was a day when the Bears were loaded—and the shotgun was not.