Bears' Ogunleye comes full circle
MIAMI -- Adewale Ogunleye will resist the "how do you like me now" routine at Super Bowl XLI.
He went through something like it earlier this year when the Bears hosted his former team, the Miami Dolphins. The Bears lost 31-13 at Soldier Field.
Nam Y. Huh / The Associated Press
He's back in Miami with the Bears to face the Indianapolis Colts Sunday for the Vince Lombardi Trophy. It's like returning home, not just because he played here but he also lives here in the offseason.
"It's kind of like my career is coming full circle," Ogunleye said. "I came in from Indiana as an undrafted free agent. For me to work hard and to get where I was -- a Pro Bowl level -- in Miami, then with the trade here in Chicago to help this team get to the Super Bowl and we're accomplishing that right now.
"So my life has come full circle and I wouldn't trade it for the world."
Ogunleye failed to produce big sack numbers this season like last year. He had 6½ this season after getting 10 in 2005. In three Bears seasons he has 21½ and he had 25 in three seasons as a contributor for Miami.
The Bears paid $33 million over six years with a $14 million bonus for Ogunleye when Miami traded him for Marty Booker. It's debatable whether his numbers have warranted such a payment -- in the regular season.
However, he's developed into a big-game performer. Ogunleye has one sack in each of the three playoff games he's been in with the Bears. He had a forced fumble and fumble recovery in the NFC championship.
"I would like to pride on that," Ogunleye said. "Last year even in the Carolina game I had a sack in that game. So all of the playoff games that I've been here to play in I've played well and that's really big because when they bring you in they want you to be able to perform and perform in big games and I've been able to do that.
"So I've got to give credit to the coaches for putting me in that position but I have made the most of my opportunities in the playoffs."
Ogunleye actually had a conversation with coach Lovie Smith about this.
"Coach'll bring you up to his office and say the regular season's over; this is what we pay you for," Ogunleye said. "I took that to heart and hopefully I have another great game in me."
Ogunleye cherishes these high points because he's been through much worse. A torn knee ligament his senior year at Indiana kept him from being drafted. For an undrafted free agent, he hasn't fared poorly.
"The NFL is a bunch of highs and lows," he said. "And football is just a bunch of highs and lows. I think the lowest point might have been right out of college when I had the knee injury because when you're undrafted in the NFL it's hard to get in. If you're not drafted, for you to get on a 53-man roster is really tough. And for me to do that, and to get to play at a high level I think that was really big for me.
"And then when I got here I played hurt in the first year and that was pretty low. I had really high expectations for myself in the city of Chicago and whether it was injury-wise or whatever I wasn't able to do what I wanted to do. But hindsight is 20-20, I'm just happy that I went through all of that."
The injury in Chicago was a lower leg tendon which required post-season surgery to repair after 2004.
Ogunleye has been through so much in his career that he attempts to give credit where it's due. So he's been making certain during the Bears' playoff run to acknowledge Indiana University.
Earlier this year, he hurt the feelings of some Indiana alum by saying he was from "Tottenville High School" prior to the Bears' 24-23 Monday Night Football win over Arizona. Players normally say their college during the pregame television introduction.
Ogunleye actually took flak from an Indiana alum at an autograph session for it, and later received letters or e-mail about it, too. He merely said the high school name because his prep team was having a rough season and he wanted to give them a boost.
Considering Indiana's football record, the same could be done for them.
"Definitely, I'm an Indiana alum," Ogunleye said. "It's a school that kind of gave me the chance to play in front of a Big Ten audience and I had a chance to be in the NFL so I do owe a lot of gratitude to Indiana University to give me a shot to play in that forum."
On Sunday, Ogunleye will line up across from Northern Illinois University graduate Ryan Diem, the Colts' right tackle. The two faced each other in 2004 and Ogunleye didn't have a tackle in the Bears' 41-10 loss at Soldier Field. Ogunleye was playing hurt at the time.
"I just remember Edgerrin James running for over 200 yards on us; I do remember that," Ogunleye said. "But you know, we didn't have a couple key guys and that was years ago.
"This is a more mature team."
Ogunleye saw a benefit in that embarrassment, and so did coach Lovie Smith.
"I think we needed to have losses like that to build us into the situation that we're in now," Ogunleye said. "Those kind of things build character. Cause after that loss coach Lovie broke it down (in the locker room) like he still sees us as a world championship type of team.
"And that stuff is coming to a head right now."