The snicker factor rises daily in the Curtis Enis affair, a generous characterization since the Bears and Enis have been unable to speak without spite. This is hardly the way to conduct an affair, never mind to identify the next Walter Payton, or the next Rick Casares, or whomever Enis is supposed to be when he at last shows up in Bears’ camp on Monday.
By his agent’s estimation, Enis is already both of those and Ryan Leaf and Peyton Manning as well. And if the Bears would not agree, well, see you next auction.
This is the playground equivalent of telling the Bears to take their ball and go home.
Too bad Enis did not mean it, for it would have required honest sacrifice and uncommon commitment on his part to sit a season. As for the Bears, well, they could go 3-13 with or without him.
Now the griping and groaning give way to two-a-days and reality. Enis will at last be able to show if he was worth agonizing over.
Ted Phillips, the Bears’ deputy exchequer, whining about dealing with amateurs was like a bartender complaining about having to check for an ID.
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The customers don’t make the rules. They just want what they want. And you don’t have to give it to them. As it turns out, Enis gets three years. Or less. Less is always pro football’s option.
It is always reassuring to come across a young man with a solid sense of self-worth, and Enis believes his is more than, say, Charles Woodson, the Heisman anomaly who was drafted one place before Enis.
At this Phillips had to scoff, for there is a system in place for these things: Every succeeding draft choice gets less money.
This has been worked out among pros–you know, astute agents and provident budget managers–and just who were these derelict dabblers to think they can wreck the whole thing?
Enis wanted something not even the union he was not a member of has agreed to–free agency before four years.
Whether this was right or legal or possible, the NFL players union has done worse by its members than any other in sports, so following the union’s guidelines would be just as foolish as following his own.
I suppose Phillips tried to explain this in a religious context, faith being the general environment in which it is being handled, and a lot of bad faith at that.
Enis is of a religious bent, and if his curve is away from the Bears, well, that is not Enis’ problem.
One obvious argument to help explain the NFL salary structure might have been to point out that even among the Gospels, some are preferred over the others.
Or, while all the Apostles were well regarded, some were more favored. And they had earned that favor. They didn’t just show up for the last meal, traditionally at training camp heavy on the red meat.
My point only is this: All of this was Phillips’ job to work out. It was not Enis’ nor is it the job of his agent, Greg Feste.
Phillips is the pro, as is Michael McCaskey (keep the chuckles down, please). Enis would never have a bargaining position better than the one he had. His instincts are right on that.
Possibly the worst thing the Bears did since this all began is to play public football, for Enis and his congregation could see just how awful a team he is becoming part of. There are more important things than money, and a hole off tackle could very well be one of them.
Throughout this whole thing, what the Bears were admitting is that they were not clever enough to beat a couple of beginners.
The NFL management has been pounding its employees back forever. Here’s a kid who didn’t even finish college and he might have challenged the basic agreement, the college draft and common sense.
None of that makes any difference now. All that is important is to find out if Enis can break into the Green Bay secondary.
As with most Bears’ running backs, Enis could have used all the head start he could get.