I`m really tired of the gutless Tribune sports writers who continue to make excuses for the Bears and for Mike Ditka and Jim McMahon. All you read about is how well the Bears did in spite of all their injuries. But the fact is that the offense was healthy and only put three points on the board against the 49ers. The result was that for the third straight year the Bears were embarrassed at home in the playoffs.
For the third consecutive year the Bears went into the playoffs without a consistent offense. The Bear defense is able to withstand injuries because of the on-the-field leadership of players like Singletary and Hampton. The offense has had no real leader since the Super Bowl. Since that time Jim McMahon has been strictly a part-time quarterback, and his performances on the field have been erratic.
The Bears have as much talent as any team in the league, and the players deserve to have a quarterback who is capable of leading them to the Super Bowl. However, instead of going out and getting a veteran signal caller, which is what most coaches would have done, Ditka has to do things his own way. In 1986, Ditka brought his team into the playoffs with a 5-foot, 9-inch rookie quarterback with less than a half-year of NFL experience. The next two seasons, Ditka went with an ineffective McMahon.
McMahon`s and Ditka`s antics may sell newspapers but they don`t win football games. Next year, instead of acting as the team gossip reporter, how about focusing on the players who do their talking on the field. This might even encourage certain persons to stop performing for the media and to start performing on the field.
