Bears Duo Looks Forward to Reunion

The Bears saw a good lesson this week in how not to behave after a trade or change of teams.

At least they don't need to worry about gloating or crowing from two of their own players who came to them from Thursday's opponent, the Carolina Panthers

For about the umpteenth time since he was traded to the Baltimore Ravens, former Bears linebacker Roquan Smith, however, took shots at his old team this week and indirectly at Ryan Poles.

He told Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer:

"It was bittersweet for me, just knowing Chicago and rightfully so, but if I would've stayed there, honestly, I wouldn't have been able to compete for a title any time soon.

"Man, it makes me so happy, just knowing my career is not going down the drain, in the sense of playing somewhere where I'm not truly competing for a title. And then when I came over here, it took me a while, like a couple of weeks, to really realize how stacked this team was, as well as how many good people the are on this team, and how they just bring in truly good people."

ROQUAN SMITH WITH YET ANOTHER RIP JOB ON HIS OLD TEAM

He cut a wide swath that included his old teammates with the shot. He said something else vindictive just like this last year after the trade and took some other shots in the offseason.

Everyone gets it by now and understood what he meant the first time.

So Smith once again is happy about being out of Chicago, but has liked repeating it so much that you almost wonder if he actually does mean it. And if he really is happy why doesn't he just thank Poles for sending him to a winning team and be done with it. After all, Poles could have tried hard to trade him to a weak team.

Then his career would go down the drain without a sense of competing for a title, which Baltimore always is said to be doing and rarely really does.

Meanwhile, two Bears with a great deal of class are not talking trash at all about facing their old organization, the Carolina Panthers.

And one of them has grounds for a real grudge.

DJ Moore came to the Bears from the Panthers in the big trade down from first pick in the draft and at times he seems to not be targeted as much as he should, but by and large has been a huge asset.

Of all the players who you'd least expect to pop off about anything, it's the classy, easy-going Moore. And he didn't.

He didn't have a problem with anything even though he's on a 2-7 team. Then again, he'd have been on a 1-7 team otherwise.

"It's played out well," Moore said. "I don't have no hard feelings about being here. I'm loving it here.

"We're going to get this thing turned around and that's going to be the best of it."

No shots at the Panthers in there. But don't tell that last part about turning it around to Smith.

Moore has 47 catches and is 17 catches from topping his catch total of last year. At 735 yards, he's on track for a career best in yardage. Barely a peep from him, though.

Bears running back D'onta Foreman would have a right to let loose on the Panthers, but by and large will try to let his pads do the talking.

The Panthers let him leave as a free agent and he only received $2 million to sign in Chicago. Meanwhile, the Panthers were bringing in Miles Sanders to team with Chuba Hubbard.

Sanders has 57 fewer yards than Foreman even though Foreman sat out as a game day inactive for three games. Foreman has 65 runs for 287 yards and a 4.4-yard average. He had the game with the Raiders with two rushing TDs and a receiving in a 30-12 win.

Foreman hasn't exactly circled this date on his calendar but it's easy to see he remembers being disrespected without actually being disrespectful to anyone.

"It means a lot, definitely," Foreman said of Thursday night. "Like I said, I definitely respect those guys, went to war with a lot of those guys. But when you feel like a team picked another guy over you, then you want to go show them why they made the wrong decision."

Pretty succinct with little gloating. He might even get his wish because Carolina is 28th against the run.

"I mean, I'd be lying if I said I never thought about it, but at the end of the day, I mean, I just kind of come in here and go to work every day and try to stay the course," Foreman said.

Even if a possible return this week or next of Khalil Herbert means fewer carries for him, Foreman doesn't seem bitter or upset about anything.

"All the guys in our room are great guys, motivators, and they push me," he said. "Every day I feel like I do the same for those guys."

It all hardly seem like the makeup or attitude of a group of losers for life, like their former linebacker in the Baltimore penthouse suggests they are.

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