Dan Hampton is the oldest and richest Bear now, and he talks as if he`s still young and poor. Because he`s also wise, he doesn`t want the news to get out.
”Read my lips. Emery Moorehead is older. He`s been in the league longer,” Hampton said.
True, Moorehead is 34 and Hampton won`t be 31 until Sept. 19. But Hampton is the oldest Bear in point of service. Al Harris is a year older, and Otis Wilson is four days older, but Hampton beat Harris into the league by five picks in the 1979 draft and beat Wilson by a year. Moorehead didn`t arrive until 1981 as a free agent after four years with the Giants and Broncos.
And about the money. Hampton is merely the highest-paid Bear, not the richest. At $775,000 this year, he is ahead of quarterback Jim McMahon`s $750,000 in base salary and ahead of everyone else as well.
”Don`t think everybody doesn`t remind me of that about 40 times a day,” Hampton said.
It`s part of the deal, the camaraderie that keeps him fresh. If the attitude is right, age and cash can`t mess with the mind.
”I feel like this is my third year,” he said.
He also feels good about the Bears, unusually good.
”I can`t help but look at the preseason prognosticators. Minnesota is supposed to be the hot team now. They played great in the playoffs, but I really like the way we`re sitting right now. I like the mix of talent on offense. And I like a lot of people saying our defense is getting too old and not getting the job done and there`s too many holes to fill,” Hampton said.
”I can`t think of a better situation we`ve ever been in, even the year everybody expected us to go to the Super Bowl. I really feel we have the talent to be a lot better offense and the defense is just as good.”
It sounded strange when he said it. The 1975 No. 1 draft choice, Walter Payton, retired. The 1976-77-78 No. 1 choices were long gone. Hampton`s 1979 No. 1 partner, Harris, was recovering from surgery. The 1980 No. 1, Wilson, was nursing an injury. So was the 1981 No. 1, Keith Van Horne. The 1982 No. 1, Jim McMahon, was healthy at the time. One 1983 No. 1, Jim Covert, was in the hospital, and the other 1983 No. 1, Willie Gault, was in California with the Raiders. The 1984 No. 1, Wilber Marshall, was a Washington Redskin. The 1985 No. 1, Fridge Perry, was at a diet clinic.
Still, there was Hampton, as confident and optimistic as a kid with new knees.
”I know this: (Steve) McMichael and I back inside together will make an amazing amount of difference on the defense,” he said. ”I don`t mean to sound boastful, but if you take the film out when we played in there together, we caused a whole lot of problems. When they moved me out to end, it changes the whole complexion of the defense.”
Hampton was moved from right tackle to left end during the 1985 Super Bowl season to make room for Perry. It seemed to improve the defense that year, but last year, coach Mike Ditka and defensive coordinator Vince Tobin benched Perry and moved Hampton back to tackle. After the season, Ditka said it was a mistake to bench Perry, but when he returns from the clinic, Ditka said Perry will play left end.
”We`ve got to get a left end to come to the front,” Hampton said.
”That`s the position we`re most concerned about on defense.”
Shaun Gayle has more speed than retired Gary Fencik at free safety. Ron Rivera will be a better than adequate replacement for Marshall.
”We`re not expected to win games on defense as much as we used to,”
Hampton said. ”It`s going to give us more freedom; we`ll play with more reckless abandon. We won`t play so tight this year because the offense is going to help carry the load a lot more.”
Newcomer Wendell Davis will offset the loss of Gault. Balance in the backfield will make up for the absence of Payton. Hampton worries about none of those spots, and he thinks John Wojciechowski is a good replacement while Covert recovers.
”It`s all `want to,` and everybody`s got their head on right. We got our big heads deflated and got it back to Square 1. For about three years we were rated the No. 1 team until we were embarrassed that Monday night (last Dec. 14) in San Francisco,” Hampton said.
That 41-0 loss was the beginning of the end of an era. The Bears lost three of their final four games, edging only the lowly Raiders 6-3.
”To be quite honest, after a while it`s almost like you have to perpetuate the beast. After a while, you lose sight of what really is important. The Raiders fell into that trap-the bad boys-and now they`re 5-11 every year,” Hampton said.
Hampton went home to Arkansas and fell into a trap of his own. In March, he was arrested for speeding and drunk driving, making front page headlines. The officer said Hampton responded to a field sobriety test by reciting the alphabet: ”E, F, G, C.”
In July, a municipal judge threw out all charges related to the speeding and DWI (he was fined on a subsequent disorderly conduct charge). That story was two paragraphs. The policeman had told Hampton to recite his ABC`s starting with EFG. Hampton had interrupted him twice before hearing the instructions, saying, ”A, B, C . . .” When the officer told Hampton he wanted him to start with EFG, Hampton said, ”I can start with EFG, see? Now call my lawyer.”
”By then it was apparent they were going to take him in no matter what,” said Hampton`s attorney, Hubert Alexander Jr.
”I`ve never wanted to run for governor or anything, so I could care about my record, but the bad thing is people think I`ve been doing something illegal, and I haven`t been,” Hampton said. ”There`s been an effort by certain individuals to bring me down in the public eye.”
Nevertheless, two previous incidents-one in Arkansas and one in Illinois- have convinced Hampton to ”take a limousine,” he said.
Training camp ended Friday in Platteville, Wis.
”I truly enjoy the training camp atmosphere,” Hampton said. ”It gets old, and I hate being up there, but the camaraderie that you form in this environment is the core of what we`re going to call a football team. We have a ball working hard and poking fun at somebody.”
Poking fun at the Bears` fiscal policies that cost them Todd Bell, Marshall and Gault is not part of Hampton`s joy. He is the team`s best example of rewarding service and performance. Linemen are more important than
”skilled players” anyway.
”The Bears have shown if you`re a y committed to doing your best for the Bears, they will pay you,” Hampton said. He cited Jay Hilgenberg, who recently became the highest-paid center in the league.
”The only fault I find is probably Wilber Marshall. Willie Gault was a good receiver, but what did he catch, 37 balls (it was 35)? He wanted $1 million a year. What about guys who catch 100 passes a year? Are they worth $3 million?” Hampton asked.
Marshall was the best player on the team, Hampton thought, but he suspects a league-wide conspiracy aimed at defending a free agency antitrust suit contributed to Marshall`s exit.
”These owners didn`t get to be the head of this program by being idiots,” Hampton said.
Money can`t buy the kind of desire that Hampton sees in teammates and in the mirror.
”It`s us against the world again. It`s great. This game is an emotional game for me.. Bortz and I are good friends, but I`ll hit him in the throat and face four or five times a day if it takes that to get the job done,” Hampton said.
”It`s like that cartoon with the wolf and sheep dog. They punch in the clock and beat hell out of each other all day, and then they punch out and say, `Hey, let`s go grab a beer.` Bortz is the same. He cut (blocked low) mee got to do.”
This is his 10th season on the job.
”Hard to believe. The only guy who`s been here longer is Jim LaRue
(defensive backfield coach). Moorehead`s got 12 years in the league. I`m really pulling for Emery. I`m going to have a rocking chair in my locker before I know it. It`s been a real fast 10 years.”
