The weather was oppressive, but the ”the Refrigerator” kept running.
The Bears` No. 1 draft pick, defensive tackle William Perry, wasn`t Joe Greene, but he didn`t spoil either during the Bears` 10-3 defeat to St. Louis in their exhibition opener.
The Cardinals` Quentin Walker broke a 3-3 tie with a 48-yard touchdown run with 3:42 left in the fourth quarter.
Perry played nearly 3 1/2 quarters in the steaming St. Louis heat that registered 92 degrees at game time and 102 on the temperature-humidity index. If Perry played all of his games in those conditions, they would have to put a conditioning clause in his contract to fatten him up.
Most expected the 320-330-pound tackle to drop, especially after he missed Tuesday afternoon`s practice with cramps. Perry sounded as if he wanted to do it one more time.
”I felt fine,” said Perry, who didn`t report to camp until Monday, two weeks late. ”Coach (defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan) said get ready to play, so I played. It was no big deal.”
Perry`s fourth-quarter sack of Cardinal quarterback Kyle Mackey was a big deal. It showed he still had his legs late in the game. When he came off the field, he got his reward from Ryan.
”He gave me a high-five,” Perry said. ”He told me in the third quarter that if I didn`t get a sack, I wasn`t going back to Platteville.” That`s where the Bears train in Southwest Wisconsin.
Ryan was just joking. Ryan claimed he was trying to motivate Perry when he said earlier in the week the Bears wasted a No. 1 pick on ”the
Refrigerator.” The quotes received wide attention in the media, but Perry knew where his boss was coming from.
”Coach is going to be coach,” said Perry, adding that Ryan calls him
”72” and ”fatboy” and other nicknames not suitable to print.
”He`s going to get on me, just like he gets on other players,” Perry said. ”It didn`t bother me.”
”William played a good football game,” said coach Mike Ditka. ”You`ve got to be encouraged. He was out there for 3 1/2 quarters in this heat, and that`s tough. He was out there trying.”
Perry knew everyone would be watching him in his first game, but he said he didn`t feel pressure. He did believe he had something to prove.
”I wanted to go out and have a good performance,” Perry said. ”I wanted to show people that I can play. I wanted to show people why the Bears drafted me No. 1.”
All told, it was a good end to what probably wasn`t the easiest week for Perry. He had to get used to the rigors of pro life that included a special diet plate at all of his meals. He lost 13 pounds in practice Tuesday morning, which caused him to cramp up so bad, he couldn`t go in the afternoon.
”But I feel much better now,” Perry said. ”I got in better shape through the week. It makes a difference to have those practices in me. I`ve got my legs under me now.”
Aside from Perry, it was a typical exhibition opener for the Bears. There were a few mistakes and a few good plays. The biggest cheer from the 36,305 at Busch Stadium, other than for the touchdown run, came when the scoreboard flashed that the baseball Cardinals beat the Phillies 5-4.
”I saw a lot of good things,” Ditka said. ”It wasn`t that bad. You knew it wasn`t going to be a classic. It was a good game to build on.”
The Cardinals` Rick Anderson opened the scoring with a 51-yard field goal on the last play of the first quarter. Bears` rookie Kevin Butler countered with a 21-yard field goal at 12:18 of the second quarter.
That 66-yard drive was engineered by rookie quarterback Mike Tomczak, who completed 2 of 5 passes for 38 yards. Ditka gave each of his quarterbacks one quarter starting with Jim McMahon followed by Tomczak, Steve Fuller and Ken Cruz.
McMahon, playing in his first game since his kidney was lacerated in a game last November, completed 2 of 6 passes for 58 yards. One of them was a 47-yarder to Brad Anderson, when McMahon had to scramble out of the pocket and throw off one leg.
”I know what Jim and Steve can do. I`m not worried about them,” Ditka said. ”I`m very impressed with Tomczak, and I thought Kenny showed some good qualities.”
Still, Ditka didn`t like the way the Bears executed in enemy territory, a top priority in this year`s training camp. Anderson`s catch gave the Bears a scoring threat in the first quarter, but Bob Thomas missed a 46-yard field goal.
Fullback Matt Suhey recovered a fumbled punt at the Cardinal 26-yard line in the third quarter. The Bears turned that advantage into fourth and 42 yards to go.
”We`ve got to do better there,” Ditka said. ”We didn`t execute very well. We had one play where the fullback went the wrong way. You can`t be doing that down there.”
The Cardinals executed in scoring the winning touchdown. The Bears got trapped in a blitzing situation, and Walker had a huge hole.
”They caught us,” Ditka said.
Ditka wasn`t down. McMahon only played a quarter and running back Walter Payton didn`t play, although he is expected to see some action Saturday against Indianapolis in Soldier Field.
”He said he has a superstition about playing the first exhibition game,” Ditka said. ”We wouldn`t want to break any superstitions.”
