Bobby Engram returns to Soldier Field for the first time since the Bears cut him as he was coming off knee surgery in 2001 and he no longer seemed worth the money.
The Bears have a history of letting some pretty fair receivers get away–Willie Gault, Keenan McCardell, Curtis Conway, Jeff Graham, Ricky Proehl, Marcus Robinson, Eddie Kennison, Marty Booker. None was missed more than Engram, who makes tough catches, returns punts and even stepped up as Seattle’s No. 1 receiver when others were down last season during their Super Bowl run.
The last time the Seahawks came to Chicago in 1999, a 49-yard pass to another former Bears receiver, Fabien Bownes, beat the Bears 14-13. Engram was playing for the Bears and remembers the game but was careful not to let on to Seattle reporters that he would welcome an encore.
“I’m so far removed,” he said. “Obviously, it’s going to be a little different because I spent the first five years of my career there. But my focus is not going to be on the Bears or a reunion. It’s just on helping us continue to win games and continue to move forward.
“Everything happens for a reason. When you get cut, you’re not excited about it. But with the way things have turned out, I think it was great for me.”
When the Seahawks beat the Bears in Seattle two seasons ago, Engram caught a touchdown pass in the 24-17 victory. But he has not played in Chicago since coach Mike Holmgren signed him as a free agent.
Seattle receiver Darrell Jackson said last week: “I wouldn’t want to be the Bears after they cut Bobby Engram and now he’s coming back to town. That’s all I can say about that.”
Engram’s 8-year-old daughter, Bobbi, suffers from a rare form of sickle-cell anemia that causes severe episodes of cramping that can last two or three days.
“It’s tough when you see your kid going through something like that and being in pain, but she’s an inspiration because, I mean, she’s tough,” Engram told Seattle Times reporter Steve Kelley. “I wish, often times, when she goes through one of her pain crises I could take her pain away. But she is a tough little cookie.
“She’s such a loving and outgoing kid that you never would know she has the disease. She doesn’t tell anybody. I think that she and other kids who have an illness like this just appreciate life and the little things in life a little bit more than some of us who have our health.”
How loud?
Seattle’s Qwest Field was so loud for the Giants game last week that press-box officials could not hear referee Mike Carey describing penalties. Reporters could not hear radio play-by-play through headphones even though the press box is glass-enclosed.
There has been talk about outfitting offensive linemen with radio headsets to offset the effects of noise. It won’t get Holmgren’s vote.
“The reason it has become a little bit more at the front this year is because last year there was quite a big jump in procedure penalties,” Holmgren said. “I don’t think it was all crowd noise and things like that. We had a lot of young quarterbacks, a lot of quarterbacks got hurt and we had a lot of young people playing.
“I don’t want to see a bunch of stuff in guys’ helmets. It just opens up a Pandora’s box when it comes to the technology that can be used in the game.
“Leave the game be. Let the fans create a home-field advantage. I’m OK with that. I like ours, and I expect to go into places where they have theirs.
“And that’s football.”
Success stories
Only three coaches in the last 75 years have won their first three games after taking over teams that won three or fewer games the previous season.
One is Vince Lombardi. The other two are good friends who face each other for the first time Sunday in Carolina: the Panthers’ John Fox and the New Orleans Saints’ Sean Payton.
Fox and Payton were the defensive and offensive coordinators, respectively, on Jim Fassel’s New York Giants during their 2000 Super Bowl run.
Payton, offensive coordinator of Bill Parcells’ Dallas Cowboys last season, benefited from a good recommendation from Fox, who told Saints general manager Mickey Loomis that Payton had the “it” factor.
“I have no problem whatsoever giving him a glowing recommendation,” Fox said. “Not just because he’s a friend, but whether it would have been the New Orleans Saints or the Packers, or whomever, I could have told them that unequivocally.”
Payton, from Naperville and Eastern Illinois, is the first new Saints coach to have a winning record after three games, much less a 3-0 record. Everyone before him started 0-3 or 1-2.
To hit or not
Cleveland quarterback Charlie Frye has been hit or sacked 42 times in 166 plays.
“If you keep getting hit, eventually you are going to break down,” coach Romeo Crennel said. “I don’t care who you are. I would like to think we can fix it. If we can’t, we will be talking about another quarterback.”
Miami defensive end Jason Taylor thinks quarterbacks already are overprotected.
“It’s ridiculous,” Taylor said. “The guy’s wearing the same things we are. He has a helmet and shoulder pads on. I understand when he’s not protected or when the ball’s gone, not hitting him. . . . Everybody else can get cut and chopped and rolled up on and poked in the eye and kicked in the face. But if you sneeze on a quarterback, it’s a fine and a penalty, and it’s not right.
“And if you are going to fine us, let us give it to our own charity. But that’s something else.”
Frye and Taylor both played for the University of Akron, though not at the same time.
Seahawk fallout
After the Seahawks jumped on the New York Giants 35-0 and won 42-30 last week, Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey said his team was “outplayed and outcoached.” Giants defensive coordinator Tim Lewis later was asked for one reason why his defense has been so awful through three games.
“Just one? Me,” Lewis said. “I haven’t done a good enough job. I’m trying to get the message from me to the players. I have to make sure that the way the defense needs to be operated–the way I see it–is the way it gets done on the field.”
Poor Mario
Top draft pick Mario Williams, the defensive end drafted by Houston before Reggie Bush, is looking for his first sack. Bush still is looking for his first touchdown but leads the publicity race.
Texans defensive tackle Travis Johnson defends his teammate: “For Mario and the Reggie Bush controversy, he’s going to be linked forever to a running back, which is not fair. We don’t give Mario the ball to score touchdowns. I mean, everybody’s sitting there [slobbering] all over themselves because Reggie Bush rushed for 63 yards [in Monday’s victory over Atlanta], but Mario is a D-lineman, the second-hardest position to play on the field. I think if we gave Mario the ball he could rack up 63 yards too.”
T.O. view
Minnesota Vikings guard Artis Hicks had this take on former Philadelphia teammate Terrell Owens: “Whatever he says in his press conference is going to be the truth. He’s not the kind of guy who is going to lie. He’s going to shoot it to you pretty straight.”
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dpierson@tribune.com
