As TV Bears analyst and former wide receiver Tom Waddle prepared to cover tonight’s preseason opener at San Francisco, he couldn’t believe his eyes when he looked at the depth chart.
“Muhsin Muhammad, Bernard Berrian, Mark Bradley. These guys are good but who’s Rex Grossman going to throw to on third and six?” Waddle asked, taking a deep breath. “Who’s going to be the guy that catches one over the middle and gets lit up by the safety? Where’s the invaluable ‘possession guy’?”
Waddle is undoubtedly the most famous “possession” receiver in Bears history. During his six-year career, Waddle caught 173 passes but suffered multiple concussions due to his guts-and-no-glory style of play.
“For the love of Keith Ortego, Ken Margerum and Glen Kozlowski, if there’s one thing barely athletic residents of Chicago need to see this winter, it’s a slow ‘possession’ receiver who looks like he has no business playing football,” said Waddle. “Then they could look at their wives and say, ‘See honey, if I wanted to play for the Bears, I could.'”
“You would think they would continue the tradition out of tribute to me,” added Waddle. “I guess one bad season by Bobby Wade ruined it for us all.”
