Each week throughout the NFL season, the Chicago Sun-Times chats with former Bears coach Mike Ditka on four topics. His thoughts:
1. Do you like what you see so far of Bears coach John Fox?
John Fox is a very good coach. The Bears made an excellent decision in going out and getting him. You know, coaches coach, and players play. So, they have to do a better job of drafting and finding players in free agency. You can’t tell a lot in preseason, but they look like they’re better on the defensive side of the ball and that’s important.
2. With the pressure off of Jay Cutler to throw so much this season, do you think we’ll see the best of what he has to offer?
Look guys, we can’t worry about what’s best for Cutler. We have to worry about what’s best for the Bears. We’re not trying to develop a Hall of Fame quarterback here. If that comes, fine. What we’re trying to do is develop a winning football team, so how do we do that? You play defense. You run the ball a little bit. Maybe you limit the number of times you throw the ball or drop back, and that keeps him healthy, too. But this is not about one player, it’s about trying to find a winning formula. This notion that you have to throw the football—no, you don’t.
You win by doing certain things and doing them well—you play good special teams, you don’t turn the football over, you play good defense. Things work out when you do the right things. They don’t have to be the most glamorous things, but they have to be consistent. Right now, I think that’s what John is trying to establish.
3. Can you explain Deflategate? Is this about more than just some deflated balls?
I don’t think there’s anything to it, but that’s just me. And, I’m sure a lot of people disagree with that. I don’t think the Patriots have to cheat to win, or Bill Belichick or Tom Brady. That’s only my opinion. But I know one thing, you can’t be the judge, jury and executioner. Maybe if [the NFL] went after this in a different way, maybe they would have had better success than what they did. I’m glad Brady is not suspended. That’s good for football.
To me it’s mind boggling. It’s very simple if you want to change the rules—everyone plays with the same damn ball! You don’t clean your own balls up. You take the balls out of the box, the official has them and everyone plays with the same damn ball. It’s not too hard to figure out.
4. Tom Brady says he likes Donald Trump, where do you stand with him?
