Every day of the 2015 Chicago Bears season, Chicago Sun-Times Sports will revisit its coverage 30 years ago during the 1985 Bears’ run to a Super Bowl title.
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Attitude irks Ditka
Kevin Lamb
Originally published Aug. 19, 1985
The longer the Bears play without a chip on their shoulder, the deeper they dig one into coach Mike Ditka’s.
The outcome of the 24-13 exhibition loss to Indianapolis Saturday night didn’t bother Ditka as much as the players’ outlook. He saw the results of selfishness where he thought he was watching a team. He saw
goldbricking where he thought it was time to play football, exhibition or not.
“We won last year because we played as a team,” Ditka said yesterday. “That’s the one thing I said three years ago. It’s imperative the Bears are a team.
“Not offense. Not defense. Not this. Not that. They’ve got to be a football team.
“All of a sudden, we’re starting to split up again. Who gets credit? Who gets blame?
“Who cares? Evidently, somebody does.
“When you’re worried about me, me, me, you get nowhere. When it becomes that, then it’s time to start picking the weeds.”
More than three Ditka wasn’t speaking only of the three players who care enough about their paychecks to hold out of training camp. When he said, “I see a little selfishness” he meant players in camp, too.
“I don’t know when defensive tackle Dan Hampton’s supposed to be in pads. I don’t know when safety Gary Fencik will be ready,” Ditka said.
Hampton is following his doctor-ordered slow rehabilitation from offseason knee surgery. Fencik missed a week’s practice and two exhibitions after a hamstring injury during camp. But Ditka said, “I think these are all things you can control mentally if you want to.
“Hampton should be in pads practicing this week. If he’s not, I want to know why he’s not, period.
“Fencik should be ready to play this week, period.”
Ditka didn’t even exempt the assistant coaches from his evaluation, although he didn’t name names.
Two incidents from the game particularly seemed to bother Ditka because they reflect the malaise that concerns him.
One was the Indianapolis kickoff the Colts recovered after rookie return man Ken Taylor didn’t charge the ball and it took a crazy bounce.
“I think he’s a very soft football player on the field and you can’t play this game being soft,” Ditka said. “I like people who take the bull by the horns.
“Balls don’t hit the ground. You just catch them and go with it. It’s an opportunity. I told our kids a long time ago, `All we do is provide opportunities. You’ve got to make it happen.’ ”
The other annoyance was the on-again, off-again status of Walter Payton, who Ditka said “should play a half” at Dallas a week from tonight.
“I just assumed he was going to play during the week,” Ditka said. “Then before the game starts, someone says he’s not going to play and I change the starting lineup, and the next thing I knew he was introduced and he played the first series.
Tie one on “I had great communication. A lot of guys were saying, `Who’s the guy with the tie?’
“We just can’t do that. We can’t do what we want to do. We have to do it within the program. We’ll set the rules down this week.”
The first units will play much of the Dallas game, Ditka said. He was impressed to see the Los Angeles Raiders and Washington Redskins leave their first units in through halftime yesterday. He mentioned the
Cowboys’ bringing their regulars back to beat San Diego in overtime Saturday.
Kick ball “Dallas is going to play their veterans and they’re going to come out to kick the hell out of us because they play us later in the year,” Ditka said. “If we’re not smart enough to know that, we’ll probably need transfusions.
“Faint of Heart never won Fair Lady. That’s the way I feel. We’ve got to get going.
“This week, I’ll determine who plays and how long they play. No other coaches. And if I decide to play the No. 1 defense and offense the entire fourth quarter, that’s exactly what we’ll do.”
In Dallas’ overtime, quarterback Danny White’s ribs were injured, making him doubtful for the Bear game. But Ditka doesn’t buy the theory players should pace themselves in training camp.
“If you’re a football player, you’re paid to play football. If you don’t want to play football in the pre-season, get a contract that says no pre-season play, period.
“I don’t separate them. I think you can only prepare to play one way. With your mind in the game and your heart in the game.
“I’m old-fashioned, I know. This is a new breed of cat.”
