Bears send Tank to Timeout, Seven others to Pro Bowl
Seven Bears are going to the Pro Bowl: Urlacher, Briggs, Harris, Kreutz and Special Teamers Hester, Gould and Ayanbedejo. Nice list. I can't really say that anybody was snubbed. Now for the real news.
The Bears suspended Tank Johnson for one game. That'll learn 'em! The Bears were loud and clear: you get in trouble with the law four times, and we'll make you sit out one meaningless game. And to show they were serious, Tank is strictly prohibited from having a cookie before he goes to bed tonight. So there.
OK, let's take a step back. The Bears look pretty weak with this decision, but what has Tank done, exactly?
- He verbally threatened an officer last year outside a night club. He told the cop, "if it wasn't for your gun and badge, I'd kick your ass." He ended up getting in his limo and going home, but the threat was real (though the charges ended up being dropped.)
- His neighbors have complained about him firing guns on his property, blaring loud music, and having pit bulls sparring in the back yard.
- He was the subject of a FBI raid that yielded 6 guns that were purchased legally but missing the required permits in the state of Illinois. This is a misdemeanor. Further, some of the guns were in plain sight with children in the house. He also had a buddy staying with him that had a few ounces of weed.
- After being declared inactive for a game in order to get his affairs in order, and further ordered by the team to avoid drugs and alcohol, he went out to a club where his bodyguard ended up getting shot and killed.
Lovely. I don't know much, but I do know that Tank is a stupid, stupid man. Should the Bears cut him for being stupid? The only laws he broke were misdemeanors. The rest is just his immaturity. Do the Bears need him? If you watched the Tampa Bay game, you know the answer to that one. I don't want to be glib, but the Bears clearly need him for a Super Bowl run. Further, it would be a poor business decision to simply release the man. If they released him, there'd be a half-dozen teams lining up to sign him instantly. At a minimum, he's worth a 3rd or 4th round pick in trade, even with these issues. (If he were an alter boy, he'd be worth a late first/early second rounder.) Simply dumping him would be like pissing millions of dollars down the toilet, not to mention potentially sabotaging this entire season. I actually think the Bears made the best decision for Tank as well. Tank needs to grow up and maybe this will be a good wakeup call. He needs the support the Bears organization can provide. If they cut him, he might pull a Spellman.
I do know this. If Tommie Harris was fully healthy, Tank might have gotten a little more severe punishment. And to borrow a line from Bill Simmons, Virginia McCaskey would never have put up with any of this if she were still alive.