1997 Chicago Bears season
Encyclopedia
The 1997 Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 season
was their 78th regular season
Regular season (NFL)
The National Football League regular season begins the weekend after Labor Day. Each team plays 16 games during a 17-week period. Traditionally, the majority of each week's games are played on Sunday afternoon, with weekly games on Sunday night and Monday night, and occasional games on Thursday...

 completed in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. The club posted a 4-12 record under head coach Dave Wannstedt
Dave Wannstedt
Dave Wannstedt is current Assistant Head Coach/Inside Linebackers Coach for the Buffalo Bills in the National Football League. He was most recently head coach of the University of Pittsburgh football team, a position he held for six seasons. Wannstedt is also the former head coach of the Miami...

. It was the club's first 4 win season since the club posted a 4-10 record in 1975
1975 Chicago Bears season
The 1975 Chicago Bears season was their 56th regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted another 4-10 record, in the first season under Jack Pardee.-NFL Draft:-Schedule:-Standings: -References:...

.

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result TV Time Attendance
1 September 1, 1997 at Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

L 38-24 FOX 12:00pm
60,766
2 September 7, 1997 Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

L 27-24 FOX 12:00pm
59,263
3 September 14, 1997 Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

L 32-7 FOX 12:00pm
59,147
4 September 21, 1997 at New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...

L 31-3 FOX 12:00pm
59,873
5 September 28, 1997 at Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...

L 27-3 FOX 3:15pm
64,082
6 October 5, 1997 New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....

L 20-17 FOX 12:00pm
58,865
7 October 12, 1997 Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

L 24-23 FOX 12:00pm
62,212
8 Bye
9 October 27, 1997 at Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

W 36-33 FOX 12:00pm
73,156
10 November 2, 1997 Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...

L 31-8 FOX 12:00pm
53,052
11 November 9, 1997 at Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

L 29-22 FOX 12:00pm
63,443
12 November 16, 1997 New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

L 23-15 NBC 12:00pm
45,642
13 November 23, 1997 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...

W 13-7 FOX 12:00pm
43,955
14 November 27, 1997 at Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

L 55-20 FOX 11:30am
77,904
15 December 7, 1997 Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

W 20-3 NBC 12:00pm
39,784
16 December 14, 1997 at St. Louis Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...

W 13-10 ESPN 7:15pm
66,030
17 December 21, 1997 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...

L 31-15 FOX 12:00pm
70,930

Standings

NFC Central
TeamWLTPCTPFPA
Green Bay Packers
1997 Green Bay Packers season
The 1997 Green Bay Packers season concluded with the team winning its second consecutive NFC championship, but losing in a 31-24 upset to John Elway's Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII...

13 3 0 .813 422 282
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1997 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season
The 1997 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season began with the team trying to improve on a 6-10 season from 1996. The 1997 season was notable for several reasons...

10 6 0 .625 299 263
Detroit Lions
1997 Detroit Lions season
The 1997 season marked the Lions qualifying for the playoffs. Bobby Ross replaced Wayne Fontes as head coach. The highlight of the season was Barry Sanders becoming the third player in NFL history to rush for at least 2,000 yards in a season.-Staff:...

9 7 0 .563 379 306
Minnesota Vikings
1997 Minnesota Vikings season
1997 was the 37th year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 78th regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of nine wins and seven losses. Their record was good enough to qualify for a wild card berth...

9 7 0 .563 354 359
Chicago Bears 4 12 0 .250 263 421

Roster

Chicago Bears 1997 roster
Quarterbacks
  •  12 Erik Kramer
    Erik Kramer
    William Erik Kramer , is a former American football quarterback. He attended John Burroughs High School in Burbank, CA. After attending Los Angeles Pierce College and playing as their quarterback, Kramer transferred to North Carolina State University where he finished a successful college football...

  •  13 Rick Mirer
    Rick Mirer
    Richard Franklin Mirer is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League. After a successful collegiate career at the University of Notre Dame, Mirer was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks with the second pick in the 1993 NFL Draft. Mirer was traded to the Chicago Bears during...

  •  18 Steve Stenstrom
    Steve Stenstrom
    Steve Stenstrom is a former professional American football quarterback.-College career:Stenstrom was the starting quarterback at Stanford University from 1991 to 1994, and still holds most of Stanford's passing records:*Total yards, career: 9,825*Passing yards gained, career: 10,531*Passing yards...



Running Backs
  • 21 Darnell Autry
    Darnell Autry
    Harrington Darnell Autry is a former American football player who played college football at Northwestern University. In his sophomore season, he helped lead the Northwestern Wildcats to the Big Ten Championship and the 1996 Rose Bowl...

    RB
  • 30 Tony Carter
    Tony Carter
    Antonio Marcus Carter is a former running back who played nine seasons in the National Football League for Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, and Green Bay Packers....

     FB
  • 38 Mike Dulaney RB
  • 22 Ronnie Harmon
    Ronnie Harmon
    Ronnie Keith Harmon is a former professional American football player. After a standout career at the University of Iowa in the Big Ten Conference, he played for 12 seasons in the NFL. A 6", 220-lb...

     RB
  • 29 Raymont Harris
    Raymont Harris
    Raymont LaShawn Harris is a former college and professional American football running back. He played 6 seasons in the NFL from 1994 to 2000 for the Chicago Bears, the Green Bay Packers, the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots.-College career:He starred at the Ohio State University, where...

    RB
  • 44 Michael Hicks
    Michael Hicks
    Michael Hicks is an English historian, specialising on the history of late medieval England, in particular the Wars of the Roses. Hicks studied with C. A. J. Armstrong and Charles Ross while a student at the University of Bristol...

     RB
  • 31 Rashaan Salaam
    Rashaan Salaam
    Rashaan Iman Salaam is a former professional American football player. Salaam won the 1994 Heisman Trophy as a running back for the University of Colorado at Boulder, rushing for 2,055 yards by the end of the season. Salaam is the fourth major college football player to rush for over 2,000 yards...

     RB


Wide Receivers
  • 82 Fabien Bownes
    Fabien Bownes
    Fabien Alfranso Bownes is a former professional American football wide receiver in the National Football League. He played six seasons for the Chicago Bears and the Seattle Seahawks . He also ran track and graduated from Western Illinois University with a major in Communication...

  • 80 Curtis Conway
    Curtis Conway
    Curtis Lamont Conway is a former National Football League wide receiver and was a first round 1993 NFL Draft choice out of the University of Southern California...

  • 81 Bobby Engram
    Bobby Engram
    Simon J. "Bobby" Engram III is currently the offensive assistant coach for the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 1996 NFL Draft...

  • 86 Chris Penn
    Chris Penn
    Christopher Shannon "Chris" Penn was an American film and television actor known for his roles in such films as The Wild Life, Reservoir Dogs, Footloose, Rush Hour, True Romance, All the Right Moves and Pale Rider.-Early life:Penn was born in Los Angeles, California, the youngest son of Leo Penn,...

  • 87 Ricky Proehl
    Ricky Proehl
    Richard Scott Proehl is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League. Proehl played 17 seasons with the Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, St. Louis Rams, Carolina Panthers, and Indianapolis Colts...

  • 83 Eric Smith
    Eric Smith (American football)
    -2006:Smith was selected 97th overall in the 2006 NFL Draft. Smith had been rising on many draft boards in the weeks leading up to the draft as he was praised for his instincts and physicality on the field. The Jets signed Smith to a contract on July 21, 2006....


Tight Ends
  • 49 Tremayne Allen
  • 84 John Allred
  • 85 Keith Jennings
  • 88 Harper Le Bel
Offensive Linemen
  • 63 Todd Burger
    Todd Burger
    Todd Richard Burger is a former professional American football player. Burger grew up in Clark, New Jersey and is a graduate of Arthur L. Johnson High School. He attended Penn State University where he played four years under legendary coach Joe Paterno. In his professional career, he played in...

    G
  • 72 Jon ClarkT
  • 64 Andy Heck
    Andy Heck
    Andrew Robert Heck is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins, Chicago Bears, and Seattle Seahawks. He is the current offensive line coach for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars. He attended W.T. Woodson High School...

    T
  • 62 Chris Gray
    Chris Gray (American football)
    Christopher William Gray is a former American football guard of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the fifth round of the 1993 NFL Draft...

     C
  • 74 Jimmy Herndon
    Jimmy Herndon
    James Scott Herndon is a former professional American football player who played offensive tackle for five seasons for the Chicago Bears and the Houston Texans. He also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars....

    T
  • 67 Greg Huntington
    Greg Huntington
    Gregory Gerard Huntington is a former American football center in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Chicago Bears. He played college football at Penn State University and was drafted in the fifth round of the 1993 NFL Draft....

    C
  • 75 Todd Perry
    Todd Perry
    ----Todd Perry is a presently inactive tour professional tennis player from Australia.Perry turned turned professional in 1998. He played more doubles than singles, and his most usual partner was the Swedish Simon Aspelin...

    G
  • 65 Evan Pilgrim G
  • 67 Bill Schultz G
  • 58 Chris Villarrial
    Chris Villarrial
    Chris Villarrial is a former American football guard who played with the Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills in the National Football League. He played college football at Indiana University of Pennsylvania....

     G
  • 60 Casey Wiegmann
    Casey Wiegmann
    Casey Peter Wiegmann is an American football center for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 1996...

    C
  • 71 James Williams T


  • Defensive Linemen
    • 93 Paul Grasmanis
      Paul Grasmanis
      Paul Ryan Grasmanis is a former American football defensive lineman of the National Football League. He was a ten-year veteran of the NFL and was picked in the fourth round of the 1996 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. Paul was also a standout defensive tackle during his career at the University...

       DT
    • 99 Jim Flanigan
      Jim Flanigan
      James Michael Flanigan, Jr. is a former American football defensive tackle that played in the National Football League from 1994–2003. Most of his success came when he was with the Chicago Bears from 1994–2000. He played college football at the University of Notre Dame...

       DT
    • 76 Shawn Lee DE
    • 91 Carl Reeves DE
    • 98 Carl Simpson
      Carl Simpson
      "HOT" Carl Simpson is a former American professional football player, Professional poker player, olympic swimmer, Michael Phelps personal trainer.-Navy Years:...

       DE
    • 90 Alonzo Spellman
      Alonzo Spellman
      Alonzo Robert Spellman is a former American football defensive lineman in the National Football League who played for the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, and the Detroit Lions...

       DE
    • 91 John Thierry
      John Thierry
      John Thierry is a former professional American football player who was selected by the Chicago Bears in the 1st round of the 1994 NFL Draft...

      DE
    • 95 Mark Thomas
      Mark Thomas
      Mark Clifford Thomas is a left-wing English comedian, presenter, political activist and reporter from south London. He first became known as a guest comic on the BBC Radio 1 comedy show The Mary Whitehouse Experience in the late 1980s. He is best known for political stunts on his show, The Mark...

      DE
    • 96 Tyrone Williams DE
    • 97 Chris Zorich
      Chris Zorich
      Christopher Robert Zorich is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League for the Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins.-Early life:...

       DT
    Linebackers
  • 59 Daryl Carter
    Daryl Carter
    Daryl Carter is a former linebacker in the National Football League. He was a member of the Chicago Bears during the 1997 NFL season.-References:...

    OLB
  • 52 Bryan Cox
    Bryan Cox
    Bryan Keith Cox is a former American football linebacker who played twelve seasons in the NFL from 1991 through 2002. He was a member of the New England Patriots club that won Super Bowl XXXVI...

    ILB
  • 54 Ron Cox
    Ron Cox
    For the football player of the same name see Ron Cox .Ron Cox , is a driver in the ARCA RE/MAX Series. He was the 1999 Rookie of the Year in that series, and has 31 top-ten finishes so far. He is also a veteran of the U.S. Army...

    ILB
  • 55 Sean Harris
    Sean Harris
    Sean Harris is a British actor, who is best known for his performance as Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis in the film 24 Hour Party People. He grew up in Norwich, Norfolk, where he lived until he was 23....

     ILB
  • 53 Michael Lowery OLB
  • 92 Barry Minter
    Barry Minter
    Barry Antoine Minter is a former National Football League linebacker for the Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns.Minter played college football for the University of Tulsa...

     LB
  • 57 Anthony Peterson
    Anthony Peterson
    Anthony Peterson is a professional boxer.-Amateur career:Peterson had an outstanding amateur career, and was the 2003 National Golden Gloves Lightweight Champion. In 2004 he lost twice to Mexican American Vicente Escobedo at 132 lbs which cost him his place in Athens...

     LB
  • 59 Jim Schwantz
    Jim Schwantz
    James William Schwantz is the Mayor of Palatine, Illinois. He is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League for the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, and the San Francisco 49ers....

     LB


  • Defensive Backs
    • 30 Ricky Bell
      Ricky Bell (cornerback)
      Richard Bell was a cornerback who went to North Carolina State University and played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Chicago Bears, the Barcelona Dragons, the Orlando Rage, the Calgary Stampeders, the Ottawa Renegades, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Montreal Alouettes...

      CB
    • 35 James Burton
      James Burton
      James Burton is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 , Burton has also been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame...

      CB
    • 23 Marty Carter
      Marty Carter
      Marty Carter is a retired safety in the NFL. He played from 1991-2001 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons, and Detroit Lions....

      CB
    • 25 Tom Carter CB
    • 20 Corey Dowden
      Corey Dowden
      -Career:Dowden's first professional experience was in two seasons with the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League. He then spent a season with the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League before returning to the Storm for another season. During the 1996 NFL season Dowden played...

       CB
    • 46 Marlon Forbes
      Marlon Forbes
      Marlon Darryl Forbes is a former professional American football cornerback in the National Football League. He played four seasons for the Chicago Bears and the Cleveland Browns ....

      CB
    • 27 Walt Harris
      Walt Harris
      Walt Harris is a former American football player and coach in the United States. Harris served as the head football coach at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California from 1989 to 1991, the University of Pittsburgh from 1997 to 2004, and at Stanford University from 2005 to 2006,...

      CB
    • 48 Van Hiles CB
    • 33 Tyrone Hughes
      Tyrone Hughes
      Tyrone Christopher Hughes is a former American football defensive back in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears, and the Dallas Cowboys. He attended and graduated from St. Augustine High School, where he also ran track. He went to the Pro Bowl after the 1993...

       CB
    • 26 John Mangum
      John Mangum
      John Mangum , is a former American professional football player who played in 9 NFL seasons from 1990-1998 for the Chicago Bears....

      S
    • 36 Anthony Marshall
      Anthony Marshall (American football)
      Anthony Dewayne Marshall is a former professional American football cornerback in the National Football League. He played five seasons for the Chicago Bears, the New York Jets, and the Philadelphia Eagles. After winding down his career in the NFL, Marshall finished his football his career by...

       FS
    • 45 Tony Stargell
      Tony Stargell
      Anthony Stargell is a former professional football cornerback who played eight professional seasons 1990-1997. Stargell attended LaGrange High School and graduated with the class of 1986....

       CB

    Special Teams
    •  1 Jeff Jaeger
      Jeff Jaeger
      Jeff Todd Jaeger , is a former American football placekicker who played in 12 National Football League seasons and was an All-American kicker at the University of Washington. In the NFL Jaeger played for the Cleveland Browns, the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, and the Chicago Bears...

       K
    •  16 Todd Sauerbrun
      Todd Sauerbrun
      Todd Scott Sauerbrun is an American football punter who is currently a free agent. He was originally drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 1995 NFL Draft...

       P


    1997 Chicago Bears draft choices

    Round Pick Name Position College
    2 38 John Allred TE USC
    University of Southern California
    The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...

    3 69 Bob Sapp
    Bob Sapp
    Robert Malcolm "Bob" Sapp is an American kickboxer, mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, actor, comedian and former professional American football player. Sapp currently has a combined fight record of 21–21–0, mostly fighting in Japan...

    G Washington
    University of Washington
    University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...

    4 105 Darnell Autry
    Darnell Autry
    Harrington Darnell Autry is a former American football player who played college football at Northwestern University. In his sophomore season, he helped lead the Northwestern Wildcats to the Big Ten Championship and the 1996 Rose Bowl...

    RB Northwestern
    Northwestern University
    Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

    4 108 Marcus Robinson WR South Carolina
    University of South Carolina
    The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...

    5 141 Van Hiles DB Kentucky
    University of Kentucky
    The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...

    6 196 Shawn Swayda DL Arizona State
    6 200 Richard Hogans LB Memphis
    University of Memphis
    The University of Memphis is an American public research university located in the Normal Station neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee and is the flagship public research university of the Tennessee Board of Regents system....

    6 201 Ricky Parker DB San Diego State
    7 210 Mike Miano
    Mike Miano
    Mike Miano is a former American football player who played the position of defensive tackle. He is currently a Physical Education and Health teacher for Department of Defense Education Activity...

    DL Missouri State
    7 233 Marvin Thomas DL Memphis
    University of Memphis
    The University of Memphis is an American public research university located in the Normal Station neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee and is the flagship public research university of the Tennessee Board of Regents system....


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