Q. The Bears opened the season ominously at San Francisco before dropping Sunday night’s game at Minnesota. Did you expect such an uninspiring start to this season?
A. I was disappointed in the lack of enthusiasm coming out of the locker room before the 49ers game. I would think that if we were going to be on an emotional high, it was going to be the first game of an NFL season.
Q. You starred at Joliet Catholic, Notre Dame and in the old USFL before playing nine years in the NFL. How has that experience helped you in the booth?
A. I enjoy studying the game from the era that I played in up to now –and the future of football. It hasn’t changed a lot. Football is blocking and tackling and being mentally prepared in your assignments.
Q. I understand you spend about half the year in Hawaii, surfing the waves. How did a kid from Joliet turn into a surfer?
A. Since I retired in 1993, I’ve been spending about five months a year out there. I always went out there as a player just for a rehabilitation period and to get out of the winters here. I’m an active person out in Hawaii and I have really gotten into surfing. I wish Lake Michigan had waves; then I would stay here all year.
Q. Is there any comparison between playing football and surfing?
A. In the NFL as a player, you get a feeling in the pit of your stomach of nervousness and anticipation and excitement and some fear. When you pull up to the ocean and you see some big waves in Hawaii, the same emotions go through your stomach. You’re nervous, you’re excited, you’re anticipating, and it’s something you have to concentrate on. I like it because it fills the void when I finished my football career.
Q. How can the Bears improve offensively?
A. I think the key is to take the pressure off Kordell Stewart and allow him to be the athlete that he is.
Q. Is it fair that Dick Jauron takes the fall for the Bears’ poor start?
A. I think a coach is going to take a lot of the blame. It’s hard to blame the players. The coach is always the one who loses his job. But I really think these players admire coach Jauron and really like his style.
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