I've never personally heard Butkus was a bum, but I don't think he would be effective in today's NFL.

Is it really anti-meatball to say Lebron > Jordan?

It's running rampant. Ditka was a bad coach, Butkus was a bum, Lebron>Jordan, running to first doesn't matter, castro just needs more time to mature.....

I'm sick of this whole "too cool to fly my meatball flag" trend.

I have no problem with the (alleged) marginalization of sports meatballs, both here and abroad.

But why? He wss bigger, faster, and stronger than most guys playing his position today.

Leave da broads outta it!

The objective

Michael Keller Ditka 106-62, 1 NFL Championship, 2 additional NFC championship appearances, 6 NFC Central Division Championships, 7 playoff appearances...all in 11 years of coaching the Beloved. Three losing seasons in that time, his first, his last and 1989.

The subjective

The Bears were an absolute mess when he took over the position. I believe they had something like 1 playoff appearance in 20 years and the great Buddy Ryan had been a defensive coordinator for them during those down years. The team immediately became better when he took over. He took a 6-10 team, brought it to .500 in two years and 15-1 in four years.

Detractors would have you believe he was somehow along for the ride in those 11 SEASONS or that it was a matter of great drafting. Even the most disloyal of his players would ever make that accusation...and what did Buddy Ryan and his bloated prodigy do without Ditka? They are almost 30 years deep in underproduction.

Sure the drafting was good but you cannot explain the consistently superior production the Bears received from lower round draft picks without looking to coaching. Bortz, Hilgenberg, Dent, Fencik and Butler became pro bowlers under his coaching despite being passed by teams on draft day. Every shitty TE they acquired seem to produce. The depth along his offensive line was unmatched.

This does not even address the work he did in Dallas. He lasted NINE season with one of the greatest coaches in the history of football. That special teams in Dallas were always top notch. He, of course, also won a Super Bowl as an assistant.

The Saints years were not good, but that was a completely different situation. Ditka was given control of personnel and he was horrible at it. The Ricky Williams trade had failure written all over it from the beginning and set the franchise back for years. How many other great coaches have ended their careers in a similarly bad fashion with a second franchise...the list would be substantial.

Bottom line: Ditka would have most likely made the Hall of Fame had he never played a down of football in the league. He was a great coach and an icon for the league.

BEARRRSSSS!

It seems to me that most of the guys coming at him are, too.

I feel like the game when he played was more defensive based, and now, it's a heavily favored offensive based game.

I dunno. Old timers like me grew up believing in the American Dream and hard work and all the crap. Bust your butt and you'll go far.

The youth of today (meaning anyone younger than ME) laugh at the grindy overacheiving types.

[ There are a few on this board out of work through no fault of their own. Plenty of generationally-wealthy people who haven't had to work a day in their lives either..

Antimeatballism goes so far the otehr way it becomes its own form of meatballism

Like when Rongey says Win Loss is completely meaningless or Bernstein insinuates that effort has zero effect on any sport at the highest level