Bears coach Dick Jauron does not have fond memories of Walter Payton - at least not of their days opposing each other on the field of play."My memories are mostly not good ones of playing against him," Jauron said with a smile. "He was certainly the best that I have seen or had the privilege ... well, I don't know if I'd call it a privilege. It was a privilege to see him play; it wasn't a privilege to miss him (on a tackle), but I wasn't alone in that category, either."
As a safety with the Detroit Lions, Jauron played against Payton twice a year from 1975-77 and watched him grow in those three years from a struggling rookie on a hapless 4-10 team to the NFL's leading rusher with 1,852 yards on a playoff team.
"I do believe that the first time we played him he got no yards on 10 carries," Jauron recalled correctly. "It was all downhill from there for us. After that, the lowest that I can recall is a 75- or 80-yard game and then they're all 100-plus games."
One of Payton's trademark moves was the most feared stiff-arm in the game. Jauron personally experienced the business end of the legendary Payton weapon on enough occasions to recall it clearly.
"Yeah," Jauron said, "I do remember the stiff-arm, and it was brutal. It always has been my contention that the offensive player shouldn't be allowed to stiff-arm you in the facemask, but that's part of the game. He was so strong everywhere. Lower body, upper body, arms, hands, and when he put that straight-arm on you, there was no way you could get ahold of him. Generally, he'd bend you over backwards and you'd be on the ground. He had such great balance that he'd still be running."
Many years after he stopped running with the football for a living, Payton was still a frequent visitor on the sidelines at Bears games or at practice. Even players who still were small children when he began his Bears career were able to meet him and enjoy the Walter Payton experience.
"He used to hang out a lot around Halas Hall and be on the sidelines at games," said tight end Ryan Wetnight. "He'd come up to us and talk to us like he played with us, like he was your teammate because everybody who puts this helmet on he had a lot of respect for.
"I think all of us have had a lot of thoughts about him the last couple days. Watching the highlights of him and how he played, how he inspired his teammates, has inspired us."
Many players were amazed at the way Payton had of connecting immediately with even the lowliest player or the youngest rookie, despite his elevated status.
"He was one of those people who we all put on a pedestal and he'd walk right down off of it just to stay level with you," said wide receiver Curtis Conway. "You'd be like, 'You're Walter Payton!' and he'd be like 'No, no, I'm just a normal guy.' He made you feel like that. He broke the ice right away."
It only took one meeting.
"I only met him one time, last year," said return specialist Glyn Milburn. "I saw him on the sideline of a game and he came up to me and said, 'How you doin'? You're (playing) great.' He didn't have to do that. He was like that to a lot of people."
In the throes of a three-game losing streak and with a tough assignment against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field this week, the Bears could use a little inspiration. Defensive tackle Jim Flanigan said Payton's memory should provide plenty.
"I got to know him a little bit just like everybody else, and when I came in contact with him he was always smiling, always had a joke or was always a prankster," Flanigan said. "He's an inspiration to everybody in this locker room.
"Everybody knows the legacy that he's left and the effect that he's had on the game. Anybody that's loved sports or loved football has loved Walter Payton. If we dedicate this season to him, hopefully we can live up to that legacy even a little bit and do him justice."
Players will wear a football-shaped patch decorated with Payton's No. 34 over their hearts for the remainder of this season. But there are no plans to officially dedicate this or any other game to Payton.
"For us to make it a single game, I don't think is a worthwhile gesture," Jauron said. "That certainly wouldn't do him justice, or even a season wouldn't do him justice. You'd like to play with his spirit and his dedication and with his effort. You'd like to play that way over the course of a whole career, over the course of the whole time you're in the game or any game; anything you do."
