Bears fans should hope that history repeats itself with this year’s first-round draft pick, Kevin White.
That’s because in 1993, the Bears also drafted a wide receiver, also seventh overall, named Curtis Conway out of USC. In seven seasons with the Bears, he caught 329 passes (fourth in team history) for 4,498 yards (fifth) and 31 touchdowns (sixth).
When finding a potential ceiling for White, Conway’s a great place to start. He teamed with fellow wideout Jeff Graham and quarterback Erik Kramer to usher the Bears franchise into this era of ultra pass-happy football.
However, Conway believes the key to a Bears turnaround lies in putting less focus on their air attack.
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“I think Jay is a good quarterback; unfortunately, he threw the ball a lot more than I would like,” said Conway, co-host of “Total Access” on the NFL Network. “I don’t think he needs to be the guy carrying the team. The Bears have the pieces. I think they didn’t have the right coach to manage that because they fell into ‘oh, it’s a passing league, we have the gunslinger Jay Cutler, let’s throw it all over the yard.'”
It was during Conway’s career that the NFL evolved into a pass-first league and although every team’s fortunes do begin with the quarterback, defending the pass is just as important, if not more so. Conway cited reigning champion New England as an example.
“Even Bill Belichick had to go get Darelle Revis to win a Super Bowl because the defense wasn’t as good as it had been in the past,” he said. “I think the Bears did an excellent job in going to get [new Coach John] Fox and now that he’s here, the Bears are going to go in the right direction.”
Conway was in town to cover the draft, and he believes Chicago is the best sports town in the country. A scheduling conflict moved the draft out of New York for the first time in a half century, and Chicago beat out Conway’s hometown of L.A. for the right to host the event. When Conway made the transition from the City of Angels to the Second City his rookie year, he was awed by the city’s football passion.
“It was like getting the keys to a Ferrari coming out of college,” he said. “You gave me the best football city out of all the NFL franchises. My rookie year, we weren’t going to the playoffs, it was 15 degrees, I looked up at the stands and it was a sellout crowd. I’m like, ‘are you kidding me?’ It’s freezing out here and these fans are still out here supporting this football team. “
Conway said Chicago sports fans are more focused on the game and less occupied with the spectacle than fans in New York or L.A..
“New York and L.A. to me is more celebrity-driven,” he said. “You’re going to get the real down and dirty sports fans, the die-hard football fans here in Chicago. It’s not ‘I made a movie, or a song, and I’m going to pop up here because I’m promoting an album.’ To me that’s the real difference between New York, Chicago and L.A. Nothing against those cities because I’m an L.A. guy, I’m born and raised in L.A. I love L.A., but it’s just real organic sports here.”
Paul M. Banks is a RedEye special contributor. @paulmbanks
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