1985 Bears Coverage: `Forgotten’ rookie sharp in intrasquad scrimmage

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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.

`Forgotten’ rookie sharp in intrasquad scrimmage/Sanders’ injury is Bear gain

Herb Gould

Originally published Aug. 4, 1985

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. — The way Thomas Sanders and the Bears see it, the injury that sidelined him for his entire 1983 season at Texas A&M – and very nearly ended his football career – had its positive side.

Sanders learned to become a better runner. And the Bears found themselves a halfback in the ninth round who has a lot more potential than the average ninth-rounder.

“Before I got hurt, I always tried to run over people. I was a bruising type of back,” said the softspoken Sanders. “But because of the injury, I had to change my running style. Now I can also be elusive.”

The 5-11, 203-pound Sanders learned to be elusive while participating in agonizing pain during A&M’s spring practice of 1983 despite suffering a herniated disc in his neck the first week of

practice. Initially, it sapped the strength from his right arm. Eventually, his chest muscles atrophied so much that “my chest just caved in.”

85b_inbody_600x112.jpg

Painful

The correct diagnosis also proved elusive. “At first, they told me it was just a pinched nerve and to keep working out. For five weeks, I had tremendous pain. I hurt it every day. I almost couldn’t take it,” said Sanders, a highly recruited high school All-America from Giddings, Texas.

The following summer, after the caved-in chest suddenly had appeared one morning, terrifying Sanders, the problem was diagnosed correctly as a herniated disc, a calcium buildup in his vertebrae that was pinching a nerve that led to his right arm. One neurologist advised him to forget football.

Rushing leader

But Sanders quietly went about rehabilitating himself. His Aggie coaches were startled when he reported last August with medical clearance to play. And Sanders was startled when he led A&M in rushing with 4.2 yards a carry. “I didn’t expect to be that good,” he said. “I just kept working.”

For the Bears, the positive side to Sanders’ injury was that, although he was given a clean bill of health during repeated exams, many NFL teams shied away.

“One team was going to take him in the third round, but evidently decided to pass him over because of concerns about the physical condition,” said Bill Tobin, the Bears’ director of

player personnel. “His talent is much better than ninth round.”

So the Bears jumped when Sanders was still available.

Sanders is making the selection look good. He’s emerging as a strong candidate to be the No. 1 halfback behind Walter Payton.

In yesterday’s intrasquad scrimmage, Sanders performed well in his first big test, breaking a couple of tackles and picking up 12 yards the first time he touched the ball. Sanders carried four other times, mainly in short-yardage situations, and wound up with 20 yards for the

afternoon.

“He ran hard. He’s kind of a slasher,” coach Mike Ditka said. “Sanders is bigger and stronger than some of the kids we have. We want to take a long look at him.”

“I felt good,” Sanders said. “Things came to me out there. I didn’t have as many mistakes as I might have had.”

Added Tobin, “He’s dropped a few balls that he should catch, but he’s improving in that area. And he has the running skills – balance, good instincts – and he blocks well. He’s not after Walter’s job, but after that, it’s wide open.

“He may be better than the other second-string candidates. It’s up to him to prove it in the pre-season.

Worth risk

“He certainly was worth taking a risk on.”

For Sanders, the disappointment at not being selected until the ninth round was outweighed by the surprise at being picked by the Bears.

“Because of my injury, even though the doctors said I was healthy, I expected some people to drop out. But I still didn’t think I’d go later than the sixth round,” said Sanders, who would like to put his industrial education degree to use in manufacturing or industrial

safety after his playing days.

“But I was more surprised when I was drafted by Chicago, because I had never been contacted by them.”

The Bears might have not spoken. But they were watching – not only Sanders’ rushing stats, but the medical reports. “We were very concerned,” Tobin said, “but the doctors said he was all right.”

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