Buddy Ryan did something Thursday afternoon few opponents have been able to accomplish. He brought Mike Singletary to his knees.
The Bears` defensive coordinator had a present in store for Singletary on his first day back to drills–extra sprints.
”What do you think he`ll hate more, the ladder or the up-downs?” Ryan asked linebacker Otis Wilson.
Singletary actually had to do both, and by the time he was finished, he was gasping for air. But he said it felt good–real good.
”It was great,” Singletary said. ”It was a little tough, but I lived through it. I`m proud of myself.”
Singletary ended his holdout Thursday when he signed a reworked contract, reduced from six years to four years. He had planned to be at the morning practice, but it took a while to iron out a few minor points on the deal.
”We had to put the finishing touches on everything,” Singletary said.
”It took a little longer than I thought it would. I wanted to practice, but I know better than to leave things undone. I wanted to take care of business so I could do nothing but concentrate on football.”
Singletary said he felt he was going at 80 percent, but he didn`t think it would take long to be at full strength. He plans to play in Monday`s exhibition game against Dallas.
”I can play the whole game,” Singletary said.
Singletary probably will fade from the spotlight for the time being, while the attention shifts to the other holdouts–safety Todd Bell and linebacker Al Harris.
”That`s not all bad,” he said.
Singletary`s wife, Kim, said when he says that, it means he`s doing cartwheels.
— Newly acquired punter Maury Buford is thankful to have a chance with the Bears, but he wishes he were going up against someone else besides Dave Finzer. Buford beat out Finzer for the San Diego Chargers` punting job last year. He`ll get a chance to do the same this year, because Finzer has been unimpressive in the preseason.
”Dave and I became pretty good friends last year,” said Buford, who was acquired for a draft choice Tuesday. ”It`s an awkward situation. We talked about it, and we both decided we didn`t have any control over what`s going to happen. We`ll just punt, and see where it falls.”
Buford had been the Chargers` regular punter for the last three years. But he knew he was in trouble when San Diego used its fourth-round pick to select Michigan State`s Ralf Mojsiejenko, who is also a placekicker.
”It`s nice to be out of limbo,” Buford said. ”I didn`t expect them to draft a punter, but when they did, the handwriting was on the wall.”
Buford thought he had served San Diego well. His best season was in 1983, when he averaged 43.9 yards; he fell off to 42 yards last season.
”I still have confidence in my ability,” Buford said. ”The main thing they were worried about in San Diego was my consistency. I don`t think that`s a problem. I`m confident I can be consistent.”
Buford said his main concern now is making sure he doesn`t press too much in an effort to impress the coaches. He has to maintain a controlled steady motion on his punts.
”Punting is like a golf swing or a baseball swing,” Buford said. ”In baseball, usually you`re best hits come from the times when you aren`t trying to hit a homer. It`s the same in punting.”
— Cornerback Leslie Frazier pulled a thigh muscle and will be out indefinitely. There`s a good chance he will miss the Dallas game.
Wide receiver Dennis McKinnon also remains out of practice. He is trying to recover from arthroscopic knee surgery in July.
— Placekickers Bob Thomas and Kevin Butler competed in a one-on-one contest Thursday in front of Ditka and general manager Jerry Vainisi. The race still seems too close to call.
