Honest thoughts on Walter not scoring in SB XX

[MontanaBear]

Watching the 30 for 30 tonight.... Don't get me wrong, Walter will always be my hero, but I don't get why he was so upset about not scoring in the Super Bowl. It seems wrong to give Ditka so much shit for it. Who knows, he might not have been that upset about it as the media made it out to seem.

Thoughts?

 

[Omeletpants]

Massive ego, he carried the Bears for years, gave every ounce of effort on the biggest stage in the world and he doesn't get to score in a massive blowout? WTF do you expect him to feel?

 

[ijustposthere]

Massive ego, he carried the Bears for years, gave every ounce of effort on the biggest stage in the world and he doesn't get to score in a massive blowout? WTF do you expect him to feel?

You should regale us with stories of how he was a bad neighbor.

Watching the 30 for 30 tonight.... Don't get me wrong, Walter will always be my hero, but I don't get why he was so upset about not scoring in the Super Bowl. It seems wrong to give Ditka so much shit for it. Who knows, he might not have been that upset about it as the media made it out to seem.

Thoughts?

I think we should make a poll thread to discuss this further.

 

[Calabis]

In a blowout, should have gave him three opportunities to score from goal line...but he was keyed on all game.

 

[run and shoot]

In a blowout, should have gave him three opportunities to score from goal line...but he was keyed on all game.

Exactly.....his job was as a decoy. The question ( maybe for Payton and others) is whats more important the Bears winning a SB or a player getting a TD.

 

[FirstTimer]

I thought McMahon and Fencik has the best takes on it honestly.

FWIW, the Bears did try to feed Walter the ball a decent amount when they were close to the goal line in SB XX. He was just stuffed quite a bit.

IMO it reflects much more poorly on Walter than it does on Ditka.

Might not be a popular take but I think that had Walter not died so young this is much less of an "issue".

 

[Gustavus Adolphus]

I was 3.

 

[MontanaBear]

I was 3.

I was -2.

 

[Bearly]

Exactly.....his job was as a decoy. The question ( maybe for Payton and others) is whats more important the Bears winning a SB or a player getting a TD.

Are you going to repeat this exact phrase 1/2 dozen times in this thread as proof or are you willing to accept that everyone else is talking about after the game was already won.

Not much misdirection with Fridge in the backfield on the goal line. Both he and Walter typically went straight upfield in that situation. Walter just took a higher line. Fridge was about an ego driven Ditka putting on a show and giving the finger to the other team. Nothing wrong with showing the other team you can also beat them when they know what's coming instead of with some gimmick.

That said, I thought Sweetness a bit too sensitive about it but why not give a HOFer a carrot. Guy had a dream of scoring in a SB and did his part to have that dream come true. No one deserved it more.

 

[Wintermute]

Exactly.....his job was as a decoy. The question ( maybe for Payton and others) is whats more important the Bears winning a SB or a player getting a TD.

Perry's job was defense. And that fat-ass got to score.

If I were Walter, I'd be pissed too.

 

[JimJohnson]

Perry's job was defense. And that fat-ass got to score.

If I were Walter, I'd be pissed too.

Nobody remembers who scores in SB's. People only remember whether a team won or lost.

 

[Bearly]

Walter remembered. Will you forget Cams college discretions if he wins a SB?

 

[iueyedoc]

Exactly.....his job was as a decoy. The question ( maybe for Payton and others) is whats more important the Bears winning a SB or a player getting a TD.

LOL, it was 37-3 and 1st and goal at the 1 when Perry got his TD. I don't think the playcalling was critical to the outcome at that point. Your acting like Walter was pouting for not being the guy that scored late in a 14-14 game. Context is everything.


Ditka was completely full of himself during that whole era. He has said he regrets his misstep in that case. It was regrettable, but too much has been made of it.

 

[FirstTimer]

I love run and shoot's understanding of football. If you really analyze what he keeps repeating, then you realize he thinks that Ditka gave the ball to the Fridge for strategic reasons...the Patriots would be keying on Payton, so bringing in the Fridge and giving him the ball would fool the Patriots defense, because that is what the Patriots would least expect when the Fridge came into the game.

Its truly astounding. Think of the football organization you could have with run and shoot as your coach, remydat as your GM, and BearsFan51 in charge of your analytics. Such a dream team.

Isn't that just the Cleveland Browns?

 

[WindyCity]

More concerned with the Bears 2 Superbowl Appearances in 50 years.

There 4 playoff appearances since firing Ditka 25 years ago also concern me greatly.

 

[Scoot26]

More concerned with the Bears 2 Superbowl Appearances in 50 years.

There 4 playoff appearances since firing Ditka 25 years ago also concern me greatly.

5*

Sent from the mod station in Nome, Alaska.

 

[james sanders]

I would rather have had Payton score a touchdown than have beaten Miami and been 19-0

 

[PAPABEAR77]

In a blowout, should have gave him three opportunities to score from goal line...but he was keyed on all game.

Are you saying he was a decoy? :shibe:

 

[MEGATRON]

Do you think that Marino or Kelley would give up their TD passes in the SB in exchange for a ring? At least he will never be mentioned with great RB's who never won a championship like Dickerson, Sanders, Martin and Tomlinson.

 

[Don't Care]

He shouldn't have had to choose.