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1996 Chicago Bears-Wanny's Watershed Moment
By Roy Taylor, www.BearsHistory.com
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17th year veteran quarterback Dave Krieg lines up the
offense at Denver. Shortly after this photo was taken, the Bears had a
first-and-goal at Denver's one yard line, but failed to score the winning
touchdown in four tries. This futility summed up the Bears' 1996 season
of futility.
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There is no way Dave Wannstedt could have known that he was
about to say the words that will forever be linked with his Chicago tenure when
he spoke to the Chicago Tribune's Don Pierson in early April 1996. The Bears
were readying for the draft, and had just closed the books on a successful
free-agent signing period. That February, the Bears had nabbed Bryan Cox-the
most coveted free agent on the market-and made him the highest paid Bear in
history.
When Pierson asked Wannstedt to give his thoughts on the
season, Wannstedt told Pierson he finally felt the Bears were ready to
challenge for a Super Bowl title, in 1996. "All the pieces are in place,"
Wannstedt said.
The season began with the Bears knocking off the NFL's
reigning champions on a Monday night, and virtually ended within weeks after a
2-5 start. 1996 was not Wannstedt's worst season with the Bears, but it was the
beginning of the end.
Dissapointment followed the 1995 season, when the Bears missed
the playoffs due to an improbable Atlanta Falcons upset of the San Francisco
49ers. But there was plenty of hope. The '95 Bears offense was statistically
one of the best 5 in the team's 77-year history, and there were building blocks
in place on the defense. But the defenders had obvious holes to fill, and that
is precisely where the organization focused prior to the '96 season.
For starters, the Bears matched a four-year, $12 million offer
the Jacksonville Jaguars made to free agent defensive end Alonzo Spellman,
retaining the player with enormous talent but also the propensity to disappear
for games on end. Wannstedt and his staff bet their money that Spellman would
work out his issues and continue to improve. They bet so much on Spellman that
the team could not afford to make an offer on free agent wide receiver Jeff
Graham, who departed the Bears to sign with the New York Jets.
The other defensive addition to pair with the re-signed
Spellman was the biggest free agent signing in the league that year. The Bears'
organization had carefully traded the free agent waters since its advent in
1993, watching other teams get into salary cap trouble by giving too much money
to players that provided no return on investment. Wannstedt and his personnel
staff publicly commented continually that once every other part of the team's
talent was at a high enough level, the Bears would then make a major splash if
that was what it was going to take to challege for a Super Bowl run.
Just days into the March '96 free agent signing period, the
Bears did just that by inking mercurial Miami Dolphin free agent linebacker
Bryan Cox on a four year, $13.2 million contract. Cox was penciled in as the
team's starting middle linebacker, but would be a key component on passing
downs when he would slide to right defensive end to rush the quarterback. Cox
cancelled planned trips to St. Louis and Green Bay when he signed with the
Bears, and explained at his introductory news conference that he would wear
jersey number 52, as he was sure he'd be the next in line of great Bears
linebackers. Mike Singletary (50), Dick Butkus (51), Bryan Cox (52).
The Bears' offensive success the previous season led to a run
on their own free agents for the first time, as the team lost offensive linemen
Jay Leeuwenburg and Troy Auzenne to the Indianapolis Colts. Backup quarterback
Steve Walsh, hero of the 1994 team, signed with the St. Louis Rams. Receiver
Curtis Conway signed a four year $10 million extension, and veteran tackle
James "Big Cat" Williams inked an extension as well. On special teams,
Wannstedt made the first real threat to veteran kicker Kevin Butler's
employment by bringing in CFL player Carlos Huerta for competition, and in the
return game it was hoped that '95 draftee Jack Jackson would bolster the team's
performance. Some had called the fourth-round pick the steal of the 1995 draft
after Jackson was selected in the fourth round.
It was thought that the Bears would lose veteran linchpin
center Jerry Fontenot to another club, so they signed Arizona's Ed Cunningham
to be their new starter. In the end, Fontenot signed a one-year deal with the
Bears, and Cunningham was released.
Experts were certain the Bears would go on the defensive in
the '96 draft and they did indeed, but not without first going on the
offensive. The Bears traded their third and sixth-round picks to the Rams and
moved from the 18th to 13th position to take Mississippi State corner Walt
Harris in the first round. The Bears had been burned plenty on third-and-long
the previous season, so corner was a logical choice. Soon Harris would be
peddling shirts that stated "2/3 of the Earth is covered by water. The rest is
covered by Walt Harris." Right.
In the second round of the draft the Bears selected Penn State
receiver Bobby Engram to replace Graham, and in the fourth took defensive
tackle Paul Grasmanis. The fifth-round pick was guard/center Chris Villarrial
from Indiana of Pennsylvania. Their last pick, running back Michael Hicks from
South Carolina State, would stick for part of the season and get a few carries.
Through the rest of the offseason and training camp, the Bears
focused on their main goal: Wannstedt's first meeting with his former team the
Dallas Cowboys, reigning NFL Champions and due into Soldier Field for the first
Monday Night Football game of the season. News through the preseason focused on
this matchup, although the Bears opening Carolina's new stadium and a
season-ending injury to Chris Zorich also made headlines. In the Bears' final
preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Soldier Field, starting
running back Rashaan Salaam injured his knee, and the heavens opened up with a
deluge of rain and massive bolts of lightning striking perilously close to the
stadium. The NFL officials called the game before its conclusion for safety of
the fans. Then Wannstedt would rock Chicago himself the day after the game.
In perhaps Wannstedt's first move that would not endear him to
Bears fans in his career, on August 23rd the coach/personnel boss released the
final 1985 Bear, Butler, in favor of Huerta, the newcomer from the Canadian
league. "The easy thing to do is to say yeah, we're OK. Sometimes to get ahead
you don't make the easy decision," Wannstedt said. Going with Huerta over
Butler was the right thing to do, Wannstedt thought, and time would tell.
Butler hit the talk shows to discuss how he felt it was a money decision made
as early as 1995, and fans mourned the loss of the last link to their most
recent championship.
The new kicker and his Bears played to the potential Wannstedt
thought they had in the opener against the Cowboys. Huerta converted on 3 of 4
field goal attempts while his team shocked the defending champion Cowboys 22-6
on national television. While the Bear offense didn't seem to resemble the 1995
version--the unit was generally out of synch and ineffective--the rest of the
team picked up the slack. Cornerback Kevin Minifield sacked Troy Aikman and
forced a fumble that Cox recovered for a touchdown, the Bears converted a fake
punt, and starting running back Raymont Harris caught a bomb from Curtis Conway
for a touchdown, keying the win. The rookie Harris shut down Deion Sanders, who
was playing receiver in addition to defense, and the Cowboys and their large
contingent of road fans were quieted. For one week at least, the Bears were
backing up their coach's bold prediction.
After knocking off the champions, the Bears traveled to
Washington to play the Redskins, a team that would finish 9-7 this season and
miss the playoffs. The Bears' offense again looked punchless in the nation's
captial, and Chicago lost 10-3 in a meeting of the Turner brothers (Bear
offensive coordinator Ron and Redskin head coach Norv). Bear running back
Robert Green rushed for 107 yards, but Huerta missed his lone field goal try
and Erik Kramer couldn't get the ball into the endzone from inside the 20 on
the Bears' final posession.
In week 3, the Bears lost to Minnesota at home to go 1-2, and
Huerta was released after beginning the season 4/7 on field goal attempts
(Kevin Butler hit his first 16 in 1995). Instead of taking another look at
Butler, the Bears signed veteran Jeff Jaeger for the season's fourth game.
Butler was livid with the decision, saying "it's deceitfulness, the difference
between Wannstedt and Mike Ditka. Dave doesn't know how to tell the truth. He
likes to beat around the bush and comes up with all these intangibles, like
age." Wannstedt countered that "we gotta do what we gotta do. You make a
decision, and if it doesn't work out and you keep your mistake, then you're
making two mistakes." The change in kicker didn't affect the score of the next
game, as the Bears were blasted 35-16 in Detroit. While Kramer did hook up with
Conway on a long touchdown, the offense was still looking like a completely
different unit from 1995, and Chicago's record was 1-3.
Following the Detroit loss it was announced that Kramer was
suffering from a herniated disc in his neck, a potentially career-threatening
injury, and the quarterback was shelved "temporarily". The injury did end up
costing Kramer the season, he would not play again in 1996, but with the way
the offense had performed behind him in the season's first 5 weeks, it could
not be concluded that Kramer's loss would be the reason for a poor finish.
Kramer's replacement would be 17-year veteran Dave Krieg who had been signed to
replace Walsh. Krieg and Jaeger would team up to stun the Oakland Raiders in a
19-17 upset in the season's fifth game, but a season turnaround it was not.
Considering 1996 was the season Wannstedt had predicted the
Bears would challenge for a Super Bowl title, things got real interesting from
there. In week six, the Bears hosted the Green Bay Packers, whom they had not
defeated in almost three years. The Packers seemed to be the team that was
rolling toward the title game, and they thoroughly beat Chicago 37-6. After the
game, Cox unleashed a tirade against his teammates to curious reporters. "We've
got to get some damned heart!" Cox declared. "Some of our guys need to go see
the wizard because we don't have a lot of heart. If people aren't doing their
jobs, let's get their asses out of here and get some people who want to play,"
he declared. After the Packer game, Cox also committed the first of his many
fineable offenses with the NFL when he "verbally abused" an official. He and
his attorney announced that he would be fighting the $87.500 penalty levied by
the league.
The losing continued the following week in New Orleans, when
the Bear defense was overrun by an average Saints running game. The team
entered its bye week 2-5.
The second half of the 1996 season didn't contain enough
highlights to write extensively about. Chicago did at least finish the final
nine weeks of the season with a 5-4 record, but also ended the year on a sour
note, losing in Tampa to an improving Buccaneer team 24-19.
What did Dave Wannstedt, the organization and Bears fans learn
from the 1996 season? Clearly, all the pieces were not in place. Granted, the
season was somewhat derailed by injuries, as many key positions were decimated
by the end of the season. Some younger players began to emerge, such as guard
Villarrial, quarterback Shane Matthews who showed a flash in the finale (but
would not return in 1997) and rookies Harris and Engram.
But instead of January 1997 being filled with a playoff run,
Wannstedt and his associates again buckled down to assess the damage, both
physical and mental, from another losing campaign.
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Quote of the Year: "I like our team. It's going
to come together in a big way. We will get over the hump. All the
pieces are in place." Dave Wannstedt, speaking to the Chicago
Tribune's Don Pierson in an April 4, 1996 article.
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1996 Records: Preseason 1-3, Regular Season 7-9
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1996 NFL Rankings: Offense 21st Overall, 16th
Rush, 19th Pass; Defense 12th Overall, 11th Rush, 14th Pass
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1996 Coaches: Dave Wannstedt, Head Coach; Bob Slowik,
Defensive Coordinator; Ron Turner, Offensive Coordinator
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DATE
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TEAM
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RESULT
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NOTES
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8/3
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Panthers
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12-30
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Preseason
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8/11
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Dolphins
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24-21
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Preseason
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8/17
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Saints
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21-31
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Preseason
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8/22
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Chiefs
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10-14
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Called-lightning.
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9/2
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Cowboys
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22-6
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Stunning MNF upset.
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9/8
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Redskins
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3-10
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Letdown.
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9/15
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Vikings
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14-20
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Can't hold on.
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9/22
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Lions
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16-35
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Injuries piling up.
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9/29
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Raiders
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19-17
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Comback.
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10/6
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Packers
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6-37
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Blowout.
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10/13
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Saints
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24-27
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Frustrating.
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10/28
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Vikings
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15-13
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Big D.
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11/13
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Bucs
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13-10
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Last easy Buc game.
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11/10
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Broncos
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12-17
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Last minute loss.
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11/17
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Chiefs
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10-14
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Another last minute.
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11/24
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Lions
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31-14
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Detroit getting bad.
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12/1
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Packers
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17-28
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Poor special teams.
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12/8
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Rams
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35-9
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Rams worse than us.
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12/14
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Chargers
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27-14
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Final home game.
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12/22
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Bucs
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19-34
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Beginning of sprial.
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Passing: Dave Krieg- Krieg was signed
to be a stopgap backup, since Erik Kramer had not missed a single snap in
1995. Alas, Kramer was lost after 4 games, and Krieg threw for 2,278
yards and 14 TD's for a 76.3 passer rating.
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Rushing: Raymont Harris- The plan was to play
Harris in the backfield with Rashaan Salaam, but due to Salaam's consistent
injuries, Harris had to start at halfback. He rushed for 748 yards and 4
TD's for a 3.9 average.
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Receiving: Curtis Conway- With 81 catches for
1,049 yards, Conway became the first Bear in the club's 77-year history to post
back-to-back 1,000 yard receiving seasons.
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Scoring: Jeff Jaeger- Jaeger led the team with 80
points despite playing in only 13 games. Not saying much for the Bears
offense.
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Sacks: Alonzo Spellman- Alonzo Spellman
led the team with 8 sacks after signing his new four year $12 million
deal. For those counting, including his $4 million signing bonus, the
Bears netted 1.3 sacks per million.
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Interceptions: Donnell Woolford- Woolford led
the Bears for the third straight season, this time with 6 picks. Age and
injuries were wearing on Woolford, and '96 would be the final season for this
former All-Pro.
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1996 Starters
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17 QB
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29 RB
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30 FB
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80 WR
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83 WR
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64 LT
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75 LG
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67 C
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63 RG
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71 RT
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85 TE
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1 K
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90 DE
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98 DT
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99 DT
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96 DE
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55 LB
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52 MLB
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59 LB
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21 CB
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23 SS
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20 FS
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27 CB
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16 P
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Left to right Offense: Dave Krieg,
Raymont Harris, Tony Carter, Curtis Conway, Michael Timpson, Andy Heck,
Todd Perry, Jerry Fontenot, Todd Burger, James Williams, Keith Jennings,
Jeff Jaeger. Defense: Alonzo Spellman, Carl
Simpson, Jim Flanigan, Al Fontenot, Vinson Smith, Bryan Cox, Joe Cain, Donnell
Woolford, Marty Carter, Mark Carrier, Walt Harris, Todd Sauerbrun.
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#
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Pos.
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Name
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School
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Exp.
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1
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K
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Jeff Jaeger
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Washington
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10
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9
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QB
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Shane Matthews
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Florida
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3
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10
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QB
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Mark Butterfield
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Stanford
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R
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12
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QB
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Erik Kramer
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NC State
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7
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16
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P
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Todd Sauerbrun
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West Virginia
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2
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17
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QB
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Dave Krieg
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Milton College
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17
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18
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QB
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Steve Stenstrom
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Stanford
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2
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20
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S
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Mark Carrier
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USC
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7
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21
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CB
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Donnell Woolford
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Clemson
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8
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22
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RB
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Robert Green
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Wm & Mary
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5
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23
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S
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Marty Carter
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Mid. Ten. St.
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6
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24
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CB
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Kevin Minifield
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Arizona St.
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4
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26
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S
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John Mangum
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Alabama
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7
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27
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CB
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Walt Harris
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Mississippi St.
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R
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29
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RB
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Raymont Harris
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Ohio State
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3
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30
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FB
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Tony Carter
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Minnesota
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3
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31
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RB
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Rashaan Salaam
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Colorado
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2
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35
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CB
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James Burton
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Fresno St
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3
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36
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S
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Anthony Marshall
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LSU
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2
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38
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FB
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Mike Faulkerson
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N. Carolina
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1
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46
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S
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Marlon Forbes
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Penn State
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1
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52
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LB
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Bryan Cox
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W. Illinois
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6
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53
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LB
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Michael Lowery
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Mississippi
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R
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54
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LB
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Greg Briggs
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Texas Southern
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2
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55
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LB
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Vinson Smith
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E. Carolina
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10
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57
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LB
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Sean Harris
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Arizona
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2
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58
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OL
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Chris Villarrial
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Indiana (PA)
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R
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59
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LB
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Joe Cain
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Oregon Tech
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8
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63
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G
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Todd Burger
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Penn State
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3
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64
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T
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Andy Heck
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Notre Dame
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8
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65
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G
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Evan Pilgrim
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BYU
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2
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67
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C
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Jerry Fontenot
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Texas A&M
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8
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68
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DE
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Carl Reeves
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NC State
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2
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69
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G
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Octus Polk
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Stephen F Astn
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1
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71
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T
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James Williams
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Cheney St
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6
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72
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T
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Jon Clark
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Temple
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R
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73
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DT
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Marcus Keyes
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N. Alabama
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R
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75
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G
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Todd Perry
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Kentucky
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4
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76
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G
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Marcus Spears
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NW State
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3
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79
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T
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James Parrish
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Temple
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2
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80
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WR
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Curtis Conway
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USC
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4
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81
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WR
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Bobby Engram
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Penn State
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R
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83
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WR
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Michael Timpson
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Penn State
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8
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84
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TE
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Kerry Cash
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Texas
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6
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85
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TE
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Keith Jennings
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Clemson
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7
|
87
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TE
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Bobby Neeley
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Virginia
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R
|
88
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WR
|
Jack Jackson
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Florida
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2
|
89
|
TE
|
Ryan Wetnight
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Stanford
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4
|
90
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DE
|
Alonzo Spellman
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Ohio State
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5
|
91
|
LS
|
Rob Davis
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Penn-Ship
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1
|
92
|
LB
|
Barry Minter
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Tulsa
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4
|
93
|
DT
|
Paul Grasmanis
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Notre Dame
|
R
|
94
|
DE
|
John Thierry
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Alcorn State
|
3
|
95
|
LB
|
Dana Howard
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Illinois
|
2
|
96
|
DE
|
Al Fontenot
|
Baylor
|
4
|
97
|
DT
|
Chris Zorich
|
Notre Dame
|
6
|
98
|
DT
|
Carl Simpson
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Florida State
|
4
|
99
|
DT
|
Jim Flanigan
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Notre Dame
|
3
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Wanny's Infamous Last Words
Excerpts from the April 4, 1996 Don Pierson article on
Wannstedt's 1996 Bears:
After four years of building, this is the team coach Dave
Wannstedt has assembled to make a Super Bowl run. This season. "All the pieces
are in place," Wannstedt said.
If it is not exactly the team of his dreams, it is the team of
his schemesin a salary cap era that limits possibilities. Call it downsizing,
NFL style. Free agency and the cap offer smaller windows of opportunity. You
simply can't have everything you want. You can't wait long for things to
develop. That's all right with Wannstedt, who thinks this group is ready now.
"I like our team. It's going to come together in a big way,"
he said.
If the Bears don't get to the Super Bowl this year, they could
be rebuilding again with a new quarterback, a new cornerback, new linebackers,
new kickers.
Walter Payton played 10 years before the Bears put together
the final pieces of a championship team. The same deliberate, patient building
process is not possible for Rashaan Salaam, destined in the current system to
play with all kinds of different players and maybe different teams, hoping to
hit on a winner. Has Wannstedt built one?
"I look at our team and I really see potential," Wannstedt
said. "I see potential in Raymont Harris, Rashaan Salaam, Curtis Conway, Chris
Gedney, John Thierry, Todd Sauerbrun. We know what Erik Kramer is. We hope he
can play this year like he did last year. We hope Michael Timpson can play like
he did in New England. Established guys like Andy Heck, what you see is what
you get. But we've got a lot of guys that potentially should be better.
There are millionaires at receiver, offensive line,
quarterback, defensive line, linebacker, and secondary--every unit but one,
running back. Salaam is close with a cap number of $910,000. He is also eager
to prove himself. When the Bears started their offseason conditioning program
March 18, Salaam came through the door at 7:20 a.m. [BH note-did he want to get
home early in the morning to burn one?] Only one player was already
there, kicker Kevin Butler, oldest member of the team and lone holdover from
the 1985 champions.
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For the first time since the advent of free agency in the NFL, the
Chicago Bears signed the most coveted free agent available on the market
in Miami linebacker Bryan Cox. The four year $13 million contract surpassed Jim
Harbaugh's 1993 deal as the highest salary ever paid to a Chicago Bear. Also re-signed
to major contracts were WR Curtis Conway, OT James Williams and DE
Alonzo Spellman. Spellman had been named the Bears' transition free
agent prior to the open signing period, guaranteeing him a salary in the top 10
of defensive ends and giving the Bears the right to match any new offer he
received. Spellman signed a take-it-or-leave-it deal with the Jacksonville
Jaguars, and the Bears had one week to match. The day before signing Cox, the
Bears decided to match Jacksonville's four year $12 million offer. It didn't
take long for the clock to begin ticking on Spellman's attitude, however.
The contract the Bears matched contained a provision for annual $100,000
payments for Spellman's charity promoting diversity awareness, and the Bears
organization refused to match that term. This would be the first crack in what
would become a break between Chicago and Spellman. For virtually the first
time, other teams came calling on the Bears' own free agents in 1996.
The team lost receiver Jeff Graham, offensive linemen Jay Leeuwenburg and Troy
Auzenne, quarterback Steve Walsh and linebacker Ron Cox to other clubs. It was
thought the Bears would also lose center Jerry Fontenot, and they signed free
agent Ed Cunningham from Arizona as his replacement, but Fontenot eventually
re-signed with the Bears for a year and Cunningham was released. To
replace Walsh at backup quarterback, Chicago signed 17-year veteran Dave Krieg
from the Cardinals, never expecting to use him at the position, of course. Speaking
of Spellman and Cox, the former had been moved to left defensive end in
1995, and part of Spellman's demand to the team he signed with was that he be
moved back to the more pass-rush centric right side. After signing Cox, the
Bears agreed to play Spellman again on the right side, then slide him into
right tackle when Cox played right end on passing downs. In the season opener,
on Monday Night Football against the world champion Dallas Cowboys, the Bears pasted
the visitors 22-6 without putting up much of an offensive fight. One
touchdown was scored on a gadget pass by Curtis Conway, the other when Cox
recovered a Troy Aikman fumble in the end zone. Resurgent punter Todd Sauerbrun
even chipped in on a fake punt pass to Raymont Harris. After the game, Spellman
delcared "there's a new sheriff in town." A war of words erupted in the
second week of the season between outspoken punter Todd Saurebrun and
Redskin kick returner Brian Mitchell. Sauerbrun mostly quieted Mitchell, but
the Bears lost the game. Bears coach Dave Wannstedt made his first highly
controversial decision when he cut kicker Kevin Butler prior to the
season. Wannstedt went with kicker Carlos Huerta, citing Butler's unreliability
down the stretch in 1995. Butler claimed it was solely due to money. Huerta was
himself released after three games and replaced by Oakland Raider veteran Jeff
Jaeger. Jaeger had himself just been cut by Oakland and replaced by
Cole Ford in a salary cap move. Ford would
later find himself in legal trouble for firing a gun at the home of
performers Seigfried & Roy. The '96 Bears looked horrible on October 6th
and 13th, losing to Green Bay and New Orleans in ugly losses. Following the bye
week, they came back to upset the Vikings in Minnesota and beat Tampa at home. The
outspoken Cox ranted at the media following the Packer game, then broke
his hand against the Vikings. He announced that he would forego surgery on the
hand for one more week, then miss the rest of the season, and the Bears beat
the Buccaneers 13-10 with a strong defensive performance. Cox would finish his
first of two seasons with the Bears with 99 tackles, 3 sacks and 3 fumble
recoveries. Quarterback Erik Kramer, who had performed shakily to begin with in
the season's first four weeks, was lost for the remainder of the season with
a herniated disc in his neck. Wannstedt would later call it a "broken neck."
This began a season of follies for Bear quarterbacks. Following Kramer's
injury, former Bear Shane Matthews was re-signed. In the waning moments
of the loss to Green Bay on October 6th, second-year player Steve Stenstrom
took seven snaps, but broke his foot on the first, and was lost for the season.
The Bears then signed Mark Butterfield as the third stringer. In the
final game of the season, a 34-19 demoralizing loss at Tampa, Matthews got his
first live snaps as a Bear and went 13/17 for 158 yards and a touchdown. But he
would not be back in 1997. The quarterback situation led to flirtations with Seattle's
Rick Mirer just before the trade deadline in October. It was reported
at the time that the Bears had offered a second-round pick and a package of
players to acquire Mirer, but Seattle rejected the offer. Good thing for them
they waited. The '96 Bears featured three different running backs that started
games and rushed for 100 yards in a contest: Robert Green, Raymont Harris, and
Rashaan Salaam. Harris led the team with 748 yards in his third
campaign. Offensive coordinator Ron Turner announced on December 2 that he was
leaving the Bears to become Head Coach at the University of Illinois. Turner
did finish the regular season with the Bears. In addition to losing Kramer for
the season, DT Chris Zorich missed the entire season with a knee injury,
the tight end position was a revolving door, and Spellman played part of the
season with a massive club wrapped around his hand. DT Jim Flanigan ruptured his
achilles tendon in the season finale. 1995's first second-round pick, DL
Patrick Riley, lasted just one season in Chicago. He was traded to
Atlanta during training camp but cut with no compensation to the Bears after he
failed his physical.
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Let's just cut to
the chase. The Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl for the first time since
the 1967 season.
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1996 Bears Draft
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Rd
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Pos
|
Name
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School
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1
|
CB
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Walt Harris
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Mississippi State
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2
|
WR
|
Bobby Engram
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Penn State
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3-Traded to St. Louis to move up in first round.
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4
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DT
|
Paul Grasmanis
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Notre Dame
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5
|
G
|
Chris Villarrial
|
Indiana-PA
|
6a
|
T
|
Jon Clark
|
Temple
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6b-Traded to St. Louis for Harris pick.
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7a
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DT
|
Marcus Keyes
|
N. Alabama
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7b
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RB
|
Michael Hicks
|
SC State
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1996 Bears Trades
|
Traded 1st, 3rd and 6th round picks to St. Louis for Rams' 1st
round pick.
Received sixth-round pick from Dallas as consideration for 1994
Jim Schwantz trade.
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1996 Bears Free Agent Signings
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LB Bryan Cox, Miami
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QB Dave Krieg, Arizona
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C Ed Cunningham, Arizona
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1996 Retirements/Departures
|
Jeff Graham, WR
Troy Auzenne, T
Jay Leeuwenburg, G
Ron Cox, LB
Kevin Butler, K (cut)
Jeremy Lincoln, CB (cut)
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1996 Chicago Bears Awards
|
None
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