I don't remember much about Gale Sayers other than an occasional highlight reel offered up by NFL Films. Television was still light years away from introducing picture perfect cable programing like ESPN or the NFL Network. The Gale Sayers I remember was an injury riddled running back who completely lost all his "magic" by the time I caught up with him. Understanding the fact that Sayers suffered a severe knee injury against the 49ers in 1968, I found it quite ironic that San Francisco would be the last time and place anyone would see him perform again. By 1971 Gale's knees were history, and it bewildered me to see him clunking around (via WBBM channel 2) on the Candlestick Park astro turf like some dinosaur from the past. Sayers carreer would end with a thud as he carried the ball 5 times for 8 yards. Watching Sayers run wild via NFL Films was like watching highlights of the 1963 NFL Champion Bears. Just a distant memory that I was too young to recall. Although Sayers would make another comeback attempt in 1972, the front office clearly had other insurance plans by drafting RB Johhny Musso that same year.

Week 5's contest against the San Francisco 49ers would also prove to be a defining moment in Jim Dooley's musical chairs of quarterbacks. Kent Nix was again, far too schzophrenic in a game marred by turnovers and penalties. Rather than stick with an erratic Nix (who also injured his wrist), Dooley inserted a well healed (the other "Kansas Comet") Bobby Douglass instead for mop-up duty in a 13-0 loss. Dooley would even take the liberty of bunking with his south-paw (starter) to prepare him for an important showdown with Detroit at Tiger Stadium. The Bobby Douglass era had indeed begun and it was up to him to save the season. With the Lions pounding Houston and the Vikings drubbing the Packers, the Bears slip to 3rd place in the standings with a 3-2 record...1 game behind Detroit and Minnesota.

So I'm left to ponder;...what went wrong? What happened? How does a team that beat such playoff calibur teams like Minnesota, Detroit, Dallas and Washington, lose to a team like Green Bay (twice mind you) and Denver? How? Were the 1971 Chicago Bears the classic example of the phrase "any given sunday" or, were they a team that was only prepared enough to play to the level of their competition? At any rate, they would finish the season at 6-8 again . Dooley's departure would usher in the Abe Gibron era which also resulted in some of the darkest days in Bears history. On November 14, 1971 when the Chicago Bears defeated the Washington Redskins they were 6-3. They wouldn't acheive that mark again until some 13 years later in 1984. The Bears picked Lionel Antoine in the 1972 draft and Gale Sayers retired. It would appear that my Grandfather was right about the offensive line being a "dime store joke". Whatever that meant, maybe a reference to George Halas' spending habits...or lack there of.