Hall of Fame running back Gayle Sayers made headlines in the offseason with a scathing critique of the current Chicago Bears team that pulled no punches in calling out the players or coach Lovie Smith. Sayers, who played his entire career in Chicago, incurred the wrath of several players with his comments including linebacker Brian Urlacher. Questioned recently about the team's strong 2010 regular season and berth in the NFC Championship game, he didn't back off his earlier assessment of the team but admitted that he was surprised with the Bears' success.
Sayers' aggressive comments were made at a booster banquet in his home town of Omaha, Nebraska:
"Cutler hasn't done the work. Urlacher, I don't know how good he's going to revisit [from surgery]. They need a couple wide receivers, a couple defensive backs. They haven't done a good job.
"If Lovie doesn't do it this year, I think he's gone. He had a good team the Super Bowl year. Nothing came together for him the last couple years."
Just as he didn't shy away from his aggressive comments at the time, he's not trying to distance himself from them now that the Bears are one win away from the Super Bowl:
"They had a great season. I'm all for Brian Urlacher, he had a great season. The whole team had a great season.
"I told it like it was. That's the way I felt about this team, that it would be very, very tough for them to get into the Super Bowl, and they're almost there. I have nothing against Brian Urlacher. I have nothing against the Bears. I told it like it was, that I felt they had a tough way to get to reach the Super Bowl."
"I think what happened is the Bears are the team that has the fewest injuries. Lot of injuries in [the NFL]. The Bears got healthy early and went on in and had a great season."
He did take exception with a recent comment by former teammate Dick Butkus that Urlacher was the best linebacker in Bears' franchise history:
"Never. Never. Don't even try that. Dick Butkus is blowing smoke. He knows. He knows who's the best, and that's Dick Butkus."
In fact, Sayers ranks Urlacher behind Mike Singletary who was the defensive leader of Chicago's great 1985 Super Bowl winner.
"Singletary was an incredible, great football player. Urlacher is a great, great football player also, but he did not have the killer intuition Singletary had.
"Singletary was second to Dick Butkus, simple as that. I'm not going to say more."
The Bears host their longtime opponents the Green Bay Packers on Sunday in the NFC Championship Game. The present NFL betting line on the game has the Bears installed as a +3' home underdog with the total set at 43.
Sayers' aggressive comments were made at a booster banquet in his home town of Omaha, Nebraska:
"Cutler hasn't done the work. Urlacher, I don't know how good he's going to revisit [from surgery]. They need a couple wide receivers, a couple defensive backs. They haven't done a good job.
"If Lovie doesn't do it this year, I think he's gone. He had a good team the Super Bowl year. Nothing came together for him the last couple years."
Just as he didn't shy away from his aggressive comments at the time, he's not trying to distance himself from them now that the Bears are one win away from the Super Bowl:
"They had a great season. I'm all for Brian Urlacher, he had a great season. The whole team had a great season.
"I told it like it was. That's the way I felt about this team, that it would be very, very tough for them to get into the Super Bowl, and they're almost there. I have nothing against Brian Urlacher. I have nothing against the Bears. I told it like it was, that I felt they had a tough way to get to reach the Super Bowl."
"I think what happened is the Bears are the team that has the fewest injuries. Lot of injuries in [the NFL]. The Bears got healthy early and went on in and had a great season."
He did take exception with a recent comment by former teammate Dick Butkus that Urlacher was the best linebacker in Bears' franchise history:
"Never. Never. Don't even try that. Dick Butkus is blowing smoke. He knows. He knows who's the best, and that's Dick Butkus."
In fact, Sayers ranks Urlacher behind Mike Singletary who was the defensive leader of Chicago's great 1985 Super Bowl winner.
"Singletary was an incredible, great football player. Urlacher is a great, great football player also, but he did not have the killer intuition Singletary had.
"Singletary was second to Dick Butkus, simple as that. I'm not going to say more."
The Bears host their longtime opponents the Green Bay Packers on Sunday in the NFC Championship Game. The present NFL betting line on the game has the Bears installed as a +3' home underdog with the total set at 43.
About the Author:
Daniel Scott is a freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on price per head. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and pay per head sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.
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