NFL: Curtis, We Hardly Knew Ya!

Curtis Enis entered the NFL in 1998 as a first-round pick of the Chicago Bears. Enis was hailed as a savior by many who hoped that he would resurrect the Bears from the ashes of a 4-12 record in 1997 and a last place Central Division finish. Those hopes never materialized and this week, after three largely unproductive years, Enis announced his retirement from pro football, citing a degenerative knee problem as the reason.

Sure it's easy to jump on the kick-Curtis-while-he's-down bandwagon. After all, he held out for 28 days back in 1998, turning down a six-year deal that included $7.2 million in up front money. He later signed a three-year deal with $3.6 million up front. The thought being there that he would be able to get to the big bucks of free agency that much sooner. Unfortunately for him, that decision cost him over $3 million.

After he finally signed he showed up to camp out of shape and was roundly criticized. He also angered his teammates and alienated many fans with a much-publicized altercation with offensive assistant Eric Studesville. Then, in game nine of the '98 season, he blew out his ACL against the Rams and his career went right with it.

Go ahead and add Curtis Enis and his 1497 career rushing yards to the list of ex-Penn State running backs (Kai Jana Carter, DJ Dozier, Blair Thomas, etc.) that never achieved the acclaim they won in Happy Valley. For every ten great college running backs there might be one that stands out in the NFL, for a variety of reasons. Maybe if Enis had reported to camp in shape and gotten off to a good start, we'd now be comparing him to Franco Harris instead.

Right or wrong, many hopes were pinned on Curtis Enis. He just didn't have the maturity level at the time to make the best decisions. What twenty-something person hasn't done or said something that they've later regretted? Let he who is without sin, cast the first penalty flag.