Tag: Mike Ditka

Top 10 seasons by a rookie TE: Pitts closing in on Ditka’s record

Pitts got within striking distance of the record, but he still needs over 100 yards with two games left to overtake Iron Mike.

On Sunday, Kyle Pitts passed Jeremy Shockey for the most receiving yards by a rookie tight end in the NFL’s modern era. While this is quite the accomplishment, there’s still one man that Pitts must pass to be the undisputed rookie TE champ.

Before he was the Super Bowl-champion head coach of the Chicago Bears, Mike Ditka set what’s been an unbreakable rookie record of 1,076 receiving yards for the Bears in 1961.

Pitts got within striking distance of the record, but he still needs over 100 yards with two games left to overtake Iron Mike. Here are the top 10 seasons by a rookie tight end.

Mike Ditka’s rookie record is in danger of being broken by Kyle Pitts

In 1961, Mike Ditka set the record for most receiving yards by a rookie tight end. Sixty years later, Kyle Pitts is nearing that record.

With three games to go in the 2021 NFL season, Falcons rookie tight end Kyle Pitts, he is close to breaking a long-standing record that goes back before the Super Bowl era.

In 1961, Bears rookie tight end Mike Ditka had 1,076 receiving yards in 14 games. No tight end has come within 100 yards of the record, but Pitts has a real chance to break it.

Pitts is 229 yards short of tying the rookie record, which puts him fifth all-time in receiving yards by a rookie tight end. Something to note, he only has one touchdown catch compared to Ditka’s 12 during his rookie season. A second thing to note, the record in 1961 happened in a 14-game season. So if Pitts breaks the record, he did it in a 17 game season.

Whether Pitts breaks the record or not, Ditka will still remain the only rookie tight end in NFL history to break 1,000 receiving yards in a 14-game season. Considering how the NFL was a run-heavy league back in 1961 makes Ditka’s record even more impressive.

Ditka had 12 of the Bears’ 26 receiving touchdowns in 1961. He also had 1,076 of their 3,011 receiving yards. Pitts has just one of the Falcons’ 18 receiving touchdowns, along with 847 of their 3,359 receiving yards.

So, if Pitts does break Ditka’s record from 60 years ago, it will have taken him more games with less offensive production. Pitts averages 60.5 receiving yards per game, which puts him on pace for another 181 receiving yards this season. That would still be 49 yards shy of breaking the record.

In the 1961 NFL season, Ditka averaged 76.9 yards per game. If he played a 17-game season, he would have averaged around 1,307 yards, which would have been sixth all-time, but the NFL record until 2011 when Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham both had over 1,307 receiving yards.

Someday Ditka’s record will be broken. But it still won’t be as impressive, considering how today’s NFL is very pass-heavy, compared to the run-heavy era he played in.

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Throwback Thursday: ’85 Bears lose only game of the season vs. Dolphins

In this week’s Throwback Thursday, the Bears were shocked by the Dolphins, losing their only game of their legendary 1985 season.

Every Thursday throughout the 2021 regular season, Bears Wire will take a look back at some of the most memorable moments in Chicago Bears history that occurred on or near that given day.

December 2nd, 1985: Chicago Bears get shocked by the Miami Dolphins, lose only game of the season to end undefeated streak

When it comes to the 1985 Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears, there weren’t many blemishes from that special season. In fact, there’s really just one game that stands out in a negative way. I’m talking, of course, about the prime-time loss to the Miami Dolphins that ended the undefeated season.

The Bears were still without starting quarterback Jim McMahon, who had missed the last three weeks due to an injury, meaning Steve Fuller would once again get the start. But the matchup everyone wanted to see was the Bears’ suffocating defense against Dan Marino. Surprisingly, Marino won this battle in a knockout.

Miami decided to roll Marino out of the pocket more frequently to avoid the Bears pass rush and it worked to perfection. Marino was able to easily connect with his receivers and struck first, finding Nat Moore for a 33-yard touchdown. Fuller and the Bears responded in kind, scoring a touchdown of their own when the quarterback called his own number to get into the endzone. Unlike the Bears previous two games where they combined to shutout their opponents 80-0, they knew this one was going to be different.

Early in the second quarter, the Dolphins kept coming and took a 17-7 lead, putting the Bears in a spot they’re not accustomed to being in. By halftime, the Dolphins had this game wrapped up, leading 31-10. The mood was tense in Chicago’s locker room, with reports of head coach Mike Ditka and defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan going at it after Ditka tried to meddle in defensive affairs, which Ryan didn’t appreciate.

Chicago trimmed the lead early in the third quarter thanks to another Fuller touchdown run, but the Dolphins responded right away with their own scoring drive to keep their 21-point lead. Marino had himself a day, throwing for 270 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. It was the best performance a quarterback had against the legendary defense.

Though Fuller finally threw a passing touchdown later in the quarter, he was removed near the end of the game for McMahon. Fuller finished the day 11-for-21 with 169 yards, one touchdown and two picks. McMahon also threw an interception, attempting just six passes. The only standout offensive performer was Walter Payton, who accumulated 121 yards on 23 carries.

The Bears wound up losing 38-24 for their one and only loss of the 1985 season. To make matters more interesting, they recorded their famous “Super Bowl Shuffle” the very next day, despite some concerns about the optics coming off a loss. It turned out to be the thing they needed though, as they wouldn’t lose another game en route to their first Super Bowl title.

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Cowboys News: Dak Prescott vs Matt Stafford debate, playing a 17-game slate

Ranking Dak Prescott and the NFC East QBs, re-tallying sack totals to 1960, bold predictions for the Cowboys, and what 17 games feels like. The latest Cowboys News and Notes.

So much brouhaha over one spot in a countdown. ESPN touched off a firestorm when it slotted Matthew Stafford over Dak Prescott in a recent ranking of NFL quarterbacks, and Cowboys Nation has thoughts. Meanwhile, NFL.com pays a backhanded compliment by calling Prescott the best passer… in the worst division for the position. Fans are wondering if a new Prescott backup is coming before training camp, and Prescott himself is showing off the new Nike cleats he’ll be endorsing. (Elsewhere, Dez Bryant showcases a pretty famous pair of cleats of his own.)

In other news, what would happen to the list of all-time sack leaders if they were an official stat prior to 1982? One outlet runs the numbers to find out. Also, dig in to what players can expect this 17-game season by looking to the eight men who have already done it. We’ve got player profiles of defenders Randy Gregory and Brent Urban, rookie Chauncey Golston could be a big-time sleeper, and there’s a bold prediction regarding rookie Osa Odighizuwa. Finally, a look at the remarkable career of tight end Mike Ditka and the integral role Tom Landry played in reinvigorating his Hall of Fame career.

Mike Ditka tells NFL players to get the hell out if they can’t respect U.S.A.

Mike Ditka thinks NFL players should get the hell out of the U.S.A. if they don’t respect the country.

Mike Ditka was a guest on Newsmax and he delivered exactly what the program expected, telling NFL players, “if you can’t respect this country, get the hell out.”

This has been Ditka’s take from the git-go and he continues to beat the drum hard.

“Football’s football. It’s not a complicated thing,” the Hall of Famer and former coach of the Chicago Bears and Saints said. “You’re playing the game, you’re enjoying the game. You don’t like the game, get out of it. It’s not for protesting one way or the other. What color you are, what you think, this or that. You play football. That’s it. You’re privileged. You got a gift from God that you can play the game because you got a body you can do it with. I don’t really understand what you’re protesting. I played the game. I coached the game for a long time. It makes no sense to me.”

“I would tell those players go to another country and play football there. You don’t have to come out. You don’t have to come out if you go to another country. You can’t! Because the game’s only played in this country. And if you can’t respect this country, get the hell out of it.”

X League players — the women’s league Ditka is chairman of — had better look out if they decide to make a stand unpopular with him.

 

Mike Ditka again tells NFL players to ‘get the hell out’ of the country after protests

There he goes again.

Mike Ditka spent five-plus decades around pro football. He’s a Hall of Famer and a Super Bowl champion. But when it comes to NFL players protesting police brutality and racial injustice during the national anthem, Ditka sounds like a broken record … in the stubbornly uninformed variety.

Back when Colin Kaepernick started his protest by kneeling during the anthem in 2016, Ditka said that Kaepernick should “get the hell out” of the country because Ditka incorrectly saw the protests as disrespecting the flag.

Fast forward four years as the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor sparked global protests against police brutality, and Ditka still hasn’t even tried to listen to the message of the protests.

He said in July that protesting athletes should “get the hell out” of the country. And after Week 1’s NFL games saw protests across the league, Ditka echoed the same ignorant catchphrase in an interview with Newsmax on Monday.

Ditka said, basically admitting his ignorance on the subject:

“Football’s football. It’s not a complicated thing. You’re playing the game, you’re enjoying the game. You don’t like the game, get out of it. It’s not for protesting one way or the other. What color you are, what you think, this or that. You play football. That’s it. You’re privileged. You got a gift from God that you can play the game because you got a body you can do it with. I don’t really understand what you’re protesting. I played the game. I coached the game for a long time. It makes no sense to me.”

He continued:

“I would tell those players go to another country and play football there. You don’t have to come out. You don’t have to come out if you go to another country. You can’t! Because the game’s only played in this country. And if you can’t respect this country, get the hell out of it.”

Though Ditka only sees football players as soulless bodies meant for his entertainment, that’s not the reality of today’s NFL. The players have a platform to peacefully voice their opinions on an important cause, and there’s nothing wrong with them doing so. The protests have never been about the flag or disrespecting the country — they’ve been about pushing for a better future for this country.

But at this point, Ditka would rather be the old man yelling at a cloud.

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Mike Ditka roars: ‘If you can’t respect our national anthem, get the hell out of the country’

Mike Ditka says people/players who kneel during the national anthem should ‘get the hell out of the country.’

Former Chicago Bears legend and current owner chairman of the X League, a women’s pro football league, has strong opinions about athletes kneeling during the national anthem.

The Hall of Famer said if it were up to him, he would not have players in his league kneeling in his league, while admitting to being old-fashioned.

Per TMZ.com:

“If you can’t respect our national anthem, get the hell out of the country,” Ditka said. “That’s the way I feel. Of course, I’m old fashioned, so I’m only going to say what I feel.

“You don’t protest against the flag and you don’t protest against this country who’s given you the opportunities to make a living playing a sport that you never thought would happen. So, I don’t want to hear all the crap.”

Mike Ditka to kneeling athletes: ‘Get the hell out of the country’

Mike Ditka still doesn’t get it.

Hall of Fame football coach and former NFL broadcaster Mike Ditka spent much of the 2016 season voicing his opposition to Colin Kaepernick’s protest against racial injustice and police brutality.

And while George Floyd’s death in May sparked a nationwide movement against police brutality, the now-80-year-old hasn’t changed his perspective on the country’s systemic racism. In fact, he’s back to saying the same things he said in 2016 and 2017.

Speaking in an interview with TMZ Sports about his women’s football X League, Ditka was asked about the resurgence of peaceful protests from athletes during the national anthem — MLB, the WNBA, NWSL and MLS have all had players protesting during the anthem since restarting. Ditka said:

“If you can’t respect our national anthem, get the hell out of the country. That’s the way I feel. Of course, I’m old fashioned. So, I’m only going to say what I feel … You don’t protest against the flag, and you don’t protest against this country who’s given you the opportunities to make a living playing a sport that you never thought would happen. So, I don’t want to hear all the crap.”

Of course, just as it has been pointed out repeatedly, the athletes are not protesting against the flag or the anthem.

They are using their platform to peacefully bring attention to a real issue in this country. Ditka has had four years to grasp that concept, but he’s instead leaned into statements like “there has been no oppression in the last 100 years.”

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