Mention Chicago and he still looks pained. Not the sort of pain for which Jim Miller is still paying, but Hugh Douglas is uncomfortable nonetheless.
Three consecutive Pro Bowl invitations, 12 1/2 sacks this season and Philadelphia’s loquacious defensive end is still apologizing for the hit on Miller in last year’s playoff game that separated Miller’s shoulder and earned him a fine; the helmet-to-helmet hit on Tampa Bay quarterback Brad Johnson that earned him another, and an image he says is off base.
“I think I only got fined once this year for something like that,” he says, smiling. “I got fined twice last year, so I’m getting better.”
He says he knows there is animosity toward him in Chicago. He felt it when rookie tackle Marc Colombo speared him in the back while he was on the ground after one play and chop-blocked him from behind on another when the Eagles beat the Bears 19-13 Nov. 3 in Champaign.
“And I understand where the fans are coming from,” Douglas said. “That was their season, and they honestly felt they had a chance to go all the way, and for something like that to happen, I’m pretty sure they’re a little upset with me, and rightfully so. But all I can do is apologize so many times.”
Similar sentiments are expressed toward Johnson, whom the Eagles will see Sunday when the Buccaneers travel to Philadelphia for the NFC championship game.
“It was an accident,” Douglas says of the hit on Johnson, which drew a $5,000 fine, small change compared with the $35,000 he paid for the Miller hit. “I apologized for it before and I apologize now. It was nothing malicious or anything like that. You’re in the heat of the battle. But I should have pulled up.
“[And] if you’re trying to say something like that is going to happen Sunday, no. I’m not trying to hurt anybody. I’m trying to play fair.”
There are a lot of misconceptions about Douglas, not the least of which is his image as a hulking bully. In fact, he is a mere 6 feet 2 inches and 280 pounds, undersized as an NFL end. But when asked if it is possible he would not have had to work as hard if he were 6-6 and 300 pounds, he looked incredulous.
“What are you trying to say?” he says. “I am 6-6, 300 pounds. In my mind I’m 6-6. In my mind I’m 300 pounds. I’m as big as I need to be.”
But in a quieter moment, he admits, “Yeah, it’s always there. You always hear about the undersized this or that.”
In fact, Douglas is the consummate underdog. He’s the kid who grew up poor, raised by his father after his mother gave him up when he was 8 when she found herself homeless. He’s a “blue-collar guy” who was dumped in March 1998 by the Jets and Bill Parcells, who didn’t see a place for him in their 3-4 defense.
He admits he did not want to come to Philadelphia at first.
“But they bought me a cheesesteak and one of those Italian ices and I was OK,” he says, winking. “That’s all it really took. I’m a simple man. It doesn’t take much to make me happy.”
A free agent after the season, Douglas, 31, says staying in Philadelphia would make him happy.
“But you never know what’s going to happen,” says Douglas, who is often encouraged by coach Andy Reid to send the Eagles onto the field with some final words.
“I have to be realistic. This is a business, and we all have to make business decisions. I have a family and they have things they would like to do. Hopefully, it will all work out in the end.”
The Eagles can only hope.
“He won’t let you know it, but he has a soft heart,” says Eagles tackle Paul Grasmanis, a former Bear. “He really, truly cares about everybody in here. He loves all his friends; he loves his family. The last thing on his mind is to hurt anybody.”
