The Bears were reminded again Saturday that they are regarded as a probable division champ and a possible NFL playoff surprise. Why else would a sellout crowd of 9,693 risk heatstroke at prices of $11 and $8 just to see a controlled scrimmage against the Cleveland Browns?
The turnout was by far the biggest during coach Dave Wannstedt’s three years of scrimmaging the Browns at Platteville.
Afterward, Wannstedt was using this sometimes bumpy exercise, marked by Bears inconsistencies, as a cattle prod.
“I think it is very, very, very clear that we have a long way to go,” Wannstedt stressed. “We are going to have a good football team, but we can’t fall into a trap and think that anything is going to be easy for us. Today brought that to light to me and to our players. I would have liked to have seen us perform better in some areas.”
Temper tantrum: Alonzo Spellman was able to lift off the helmet of Browns guard Bob Dahl and punch him in the face at the same time. Had he done that in a regular game, Spellman would have been ejected and faced suspension. But Saturday, after putting him out for a few plays, referee Jerry Markbreit allowed the defensive end to return.
Wannstedt lost no time in upbraiding Spellman. Said the coach: “Alonzo’s playing great, but he’s going to have to play the game the way it’s supposed to be played and not the way he wants to play it. I love his attitude and his intensity, but he has to make sure he doesn’t cross over that gray line.”
Spellman responded: “In a game situation that definitely shouldn’t happen and won’t happen. It got a little bit out of hand. Dave never wants you to lose it, and I know what he’s talking about.”
Spellman’s back, a sore point most of camp, remains a trouble spot.
“It’s not completely behind me,” he said. “I have to be very careful with it. I can’t just say it’s OK and go back to the routine I used to do. I might not take as many reps as I would in the preseason if I was perfectly healthy, but it’s not going to slow me up.”
Equal time: Wannstedt rated his quarterbacks even Saturday–equally ineffective. Erik Kramer was 10 of 17 for 107 yards and Steve Walsh 4 of 10 for 29 yards.
“I don’t think either one of them made any plays,” Wannstedt said. “It looked like they both had some opportunities and didn’t make a lot happen. I’m not real happy with either one. A lot of times they didn’t get enough time to make plays because we didn’t protect well or a receiver ran the wrong route or a fullback broke the wrong way.”
Almost all good: Kevin Butler performed well Saturday on field goals, his best from 50 and 45 yards out. Rookie Todd Sauerbrun showed good hang time, as advertised, on punts, but shanked one to his right for a 17-yard mistake. On kickoffs, Sauerbrun impressively put two in the end zone.
