The better the opponents’ running backs, the more the Bears’ pass defense struggles, and Philadelphia rolls into town Sunday with the sideline-strutting Ricky Watters.
Watters, the former 49er who rushed for three touchdowns in the Super Bowl last year, is the third-leading running back in the NFC behind Dallas’s Emmitt Smith and Detroit’s Barry Sanders with 1,260 yards on 325 carries for a 3.9 average–all personal highs. His long is a 57-yarder and he has scored 11 touchdowns, second only to Smith’s 24 in the NFC.
But Watters doesn’t just run–he’s second on the team in receptions with 59, and the Bears are vulnerable to backs straying out of the backfield, as Sanders demonstrated when he was the Lions’ second-leading receiver in the Monday night loss. Watters needs just seven catches Sunday to match the career-high 66 he set last season.
“They can flex him out and use him as a wideout just as easily as a running back, so you have to be really alert for him doing some things out of the backfield,” said Bears coach Dave Wannstedt.
Philadelphia coach Ray Rhodes, who brought Watters to Philadelphia with a $6.9 million contract over three years, said they’ve had a lot of discussions and Watters is happy with his career-high number of carries.
“Ricky is a very emotional player and wants to be part of what’s happening as much as possible,” said Rhodes. “We don’t let personal things get in the way of what we have to do as a team. Ricky understands that, Ricky will be Ricky, emotional every week, but we get along extremely well.”
Then what? If the Bears can stop Watters, they’ll try to get at quarterback Rodney Peete, who is protected by an offensive line that has been struggling lately. The Eagles have given up 42 sacks this season, compared with the league-leading 15 allowed by the Bears.
“The ultimate goal is to rush the passer, but you can’t do it until you stop the run,” said Bears defensive lineman Chris Zorich. “The fact that they’ve given up 42 is an incentive.”
But if the Eagles don’t have to pass, they won’t. “It’s boring, it’s ugly, it’s not pretty, but it’s the way we have to go right now to win football games,” said Eagles offensive coordinator Jon Gruden. “We’re a big, two-tight-end, single-back team right now because of injuries to our fullbacks.”
Familiar faces: It’s a homecoming of sorts for Eagles quarterback Rodney Peete, even though he lives in Philadelphia in the fall and winter and Beverly Hills, Calif., in the off-season. When he runs onto Soldier Field, he’ll see his father, Bears running backs coach Willie Peete; his good friend Erik Kramer, with whom he played in Detroit; and Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner, who coached Peete at Southern Cal and has known him since he was a hot-shot 8th grader.
Turner, who cut his coaching teeth with Willie Peete at Arizona from 1978 through 1980, remembers watching Rodney pitch in a Little League game. “One guy hit a grounder to third and he struck everyone else out,” said Turner, a good friend of the family. “He hit the ball so hard I thought it would put a hole through the fence. He was on a different level than everyone else.”
Not too late for 48: In the 60-year history of the Heisman Trophy, only five of the 35 running backs who won it have rushed for 1,000 yards in their NFL rookie seasons. If Rashaan Salaam gains 48 yards against the Eagles, he’d be the sixth, joining New Orleans’ George Rogers (1,674), Detroit’s Barry Sanders (1,470), Houston’s Earl Campbell (1,450), Detroit’s Billy Sims (1,303) and Dallas’ Tony Dorsett (1,007).
“Rashaan is a power guy, and when he’s out on the perimeter he might not make people miss, but he runs over guys,” said Kramer, who expects the 1,000-yard barrier to fall.
Wannstedt expects it too. “Simply put, if he doesn’t get 1,000 yards, our chances to win are slim and none.”
Salaam also needs just 54 to reach the Bears’ all-time rookie rushing record of 1,004 set by Beattie Feathers in 1934. The team’s last 1,000-rusher was Neal Anderson, who had 1,078 in 1990.
No whining: The Bears may have lost key players like Donnell Woolford, Raymont Harris and Robert Green, but the Eagles suffered key blows as well and still have managed to win 10 games.
On the offensive line, Lester Holmes injured his knee in Week 2 and has been out ever since. Bernard Williams, the team’s starting left tackle and all-rookie-team selection last year, was placed on a league-imposed suspension for violating the substance-abuse policy. Fullback Kevin Turner was also lost in the second week with a knee injury. Running back Charlie Garner had surgical pins removed from his broken right thumb and should play against the Bears. He’s had two carries for two yards in the last three games.
“When your number is called, you’d better be ready to go,” Rhodes said, explaining the team’s success. “If you’re not, you won’t be around any longer.”
Deceptively dangerous: Curtis Conway would be wise not to look at Eagles cornerback Mark McMillian as a pipsqueak, even though McMillian is just 5 feet 7 inches and 148 pounds.
“He’s one of those guys who, I don’t care if you wake him up at 3 a.m., he’s still going to be able to cover,” said Rhodes.
