Chicagobearstick's Blog

The Bears' playoff loss to the Panthers was difficult for general manager Jerry Angelo to stomach, but it didn't change his personnel plans heading into the offseason. "No, it really didn't," Angelo said at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. "(It was) disappointing, yes, but in terms of our overall team, no." The Bears defense battered Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme in a Nov. 20 win but played poorly in the playoffs. In recent weeks, Angelo met with Bears coaches and personnel people to evaluate every player on the roster. As a group, they looked at each individual's entire body of work and didn't allow any one game to dramatically change their perspective. "I've always said the hardest thing to do is self scout and we just finished that process," Angelo said. "What I felt at the end of the year pretty much tied into those meetings. It really had no bearing on that last game. "I didn't think anybody overreacted to anything and I didn't sense that there were any emotional ties in (the coaches') evaluations. They did a very good job of objectively looking at the team. Our personnel people do the same and I do the same. For the most part, we were pretty close to center at all the positions." Angelo was particularly upset by the playoff loss because the Bears had defeated the Panthers in the regular season, registering eight sacks and not allowing a touchdown in a 13-3 victory. But Chicago's defense, which led the NFL in points allowed and ranked second in total yards, played poorly in a deflating 29-21 defeat at Soldier Field. "If you told me we were going to score three touchdowns on offense and we were playing at home, I would have liked our chances," Angelo said. "But it didn't happen. We just didn't play well enough on defense. We gave up some big plays early and that took some of the momentum away from us." Before the Bears faced the Panthers, Angelo said that he still had a bad taste in his mouth from the team's playoff defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2001. He has a similar feeling about the loss to Carolina, but knows the organization must focus on the present and future. "It's disappointing when you lose," Angelo said. "Nobody likes to lose and I always say that if losing doesn't hurt, how important is winning?

Connie, Jarrett and Brittney Payton will attend the Bears Fan Convention this weekend at the Hilton Chicago to sign copies of "Payton," the book they co-authored. The inspirational and emotional book features amazing photos, insightful stories and heart-warming recollections about legendary Bears running back Walter Payton, who died of bile duct cancer on Nov. 1, 1999 at the age of 45. Connie Payton and her children Brittney and Jarrett have co-authored an inspirational and emotional book entitled 'Payton.' "With this book we hoped to bring a personal insight into not just the professional life of running back Walter Payton, but his life as a husband, father and friend," Connie writes. "Today the legacy he left behind still flourishes and, prayerfully, will forever." With "Never Die Easy" and other Payton books already on the market, Connie was reluctant to work on the project. But Jarrett and Brittney convinced their mother to participate. "They really wanted to share some of their feelings in the book," Connie said. "I didn't necessarily want to do it. But the kids were really interested in it and I guess that's the only reason I went along with." For that reason, Connie's favorite chapters are the ones that were written by her children. "They talk about things they really hadn't even shared with me," she said, "like how they were feeling growing up with their dad, when he got sick and when he passed. "Their chapters were very special to me because it allowed us to sit down and just talk about some things and even cry together about some things." Payton joined the Bears as the fourth overall pick in the 1975 draft and proceeded to set 16 NFL records and 28 team marks. "Sweetness" retired in 1987 as the league's all-time leading rusher with 16,726 yards, a record that wasn't eclipsed until 2002 by Emmitt Smith. Payton also held NFL marks that have since been broken for the most yards in a game (275) and the most 100-yard games in his career (77). He was voted to nine Pro Bowls, had his No. 34 jersey retired by the Bears and was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993. But what makes this book unique are the touching memories of a wife, son and daughter. Not able to afford what she describes as "a big fancy wedding," Connie writes about how Walter surprised her on their 10th anniversary by arranging a "beautiful and proper wedding." Jarrett, a running back with the Tennessee Titans, continues to be inspired by his father. "My dad's legacy isn't all that complicated," Jarrett writes. "Be the very best you can be and the rest will follow. Don't focus on what you can't control, but only on what you can. Just do your best by giving everything you've got and leaving it all on the field." Payton's great sense of humor is a common theme throughout the book. "I tackled him one time," says former Dallas Cowboys safety Bill Bates, "got up and as I turned around, he pinched my butt. I turned around and he just giggled." "When I dropped a pass against the Colts," former Bears fullback Matt Suhey says, "on the way back to the huddle he said to me, 'You can always get a paper route or join the Army.'"