Chris Conte was stiff-armed. Chicago Bears fans had to smile.
It’s no secret, Chicago Bears fans don’t like Chris Conte. It’s nothing he did personally, it’s just that, well, he isn’t very good at football.
Conte’s woes were highlighted in week 17 of the 2013 season against the Green Bay Packers when he blew his coverage assignment late in the fourth quarter and let Randall Cobb run free. Aaron Rodgers hit him for a 48-yard touchdown that stunned the Bears and sent the Packers to the playoffs.
If you are a glutton for punishment, you can watch the play here.
Conte is now in the secondary for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and his abilities still seem to be regularly questioned, and for good reason.
Conte’s struggles were highlighted big-time on Monday Night Football against the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the first quarter, Ben Roethlisberger hit Vance McDonald and he rumbled 75 yards to the house for a touchdown.
Along the way, Chris Conte stood between McDonald and the end zone. What McDonald did to him should probably be illegal in all 50 states. It was flat abuse. The NFL tweeted out the GIF below of the vicious stiff arm that Conte received and allowed McDonald to run untouched the rest of the way for the score.
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1044387095031144448
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Anyone with a pretty good memory will remember Fred Jackson annihilating Conte with a stiff arm when the Buffalo Bills played the Bears in week one of the 2014 season. If you need your memory refreshed, check it out here.
Let’s be honest, it’s pretty amazing Conte still has a job this many years into his NFL career. He consistently gets exposed but continues to get jobs. Hey, if someone is willing to sign you to a contract, might as well get paid.
The good news is that Conte is no longer in a Bears’ uniform so when he gets abused like he did against Vance McDonald, Bears fans don’t get to slam their fist in agitation, instead, they just get to smile.