World’s Best Preview: The safety dance

“The Safety Dance” is a song about Lord knows what. Clearly, the group Men Without Hats wasn’t writing about Kenny Easley and Ronnie Lott when it came up with these captivating lyrics in 1982:

I say, we can dance if we want to we can leave your friends behind

Cause your friends don’t dance and if they don’t dance

Well they’re no friends of mine

I say we can dance, we can dance everything out of control

We can dance, we can dance we’re doing it wall to wall

We can dance, we can dance everybody look at your hands

We can dance, we can dance everybody’s takin’ the chance

Oh well the safety dance

Ah yes the safety dance

One line, however, works quite well when writing about the obvious story line of former Green Bay Packers safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix lining up for the Chicago Bears and former Bears safety Adrian Amos lining up for the Packers for Thursday night’s season-opening showdown at Soldier Field.

We can dance, we can dance everybody’s takin’ the chance

Video: Aaron Rodgers on the Packers-Bears rivalry

The Packers took a big chance on Amos, handing him a four-year, $36 million contract that puts him in the top 10 among safeties in terms of total contract and average per season. In 60 career games that include 56 starts, Amos has three interceptions and three forced fumbles. Over the last four seasons, 47 safeties have started at least 40 games. Only four have fewer interceptions than Amos.

Clinton-Dix took a chance, too, agreeing to a one-year, $3 million, prove-it contract with the Bears to be Amos’ replacement. He ranks third among safeties with 13 interceptions the past four seasons. While Amos has three career interceptions, Clinton-Dix had three interceptions in seven games with the Packers before he was traded to Washington.

There’s more to playing safety than interceptions, of course, which is why Amos is being counted upon to be part of the Green Bay defense’s foundation while Clinton-Dix is trying to resurrect what once was a promising career.

“This is a tough business, and it’s about performing,” Clinton-Dix, who did not speak to reporters in Chicago this week, said recently. “We’ve got a game [coming up], and that’s my first opportunity to write my story here. I didn’t meet a lot of goals that I wanted to meet last year. I left a lot of plays out there that I could’ve made, that I wish I could have back. … You can’t miss those opportunities. I’m ready for them this year.”

Clinton-Dix said there’s no extra excitement about playing his old team. Instead, the excitement is playing for his new team. Amos said the same on Monday.

“I wouldn’t say I circled it,” he said. “That first game, it’s just that excitement that you get. Like I keep telling people, that it’s the Bears, that’s an added thing. There’s so much stuff going on with the transition of coming here and learning the scheme, learning my teammates, getting settled in in my home here and stuff like that, that it’s just the excitement of getting on the field and playing in my first game as a Packer. The excitement is for getting out there and playing. If I were to circle it, it would be for that reason.”

Amos was a glue guy on Chicago’s premier defense, more adept at preventing big plays than making big plays. The Bears didn’t think he was worth the price tag, though, and let him sign with their bitter rival. There was no hint of a grudge in Amos’ voice, though.

“I’ve got way too much to worry about than worry about stuff like that,” he said. “Of course, as a competitor, you want to prove that you’re one of the best. That’s my goal, and it’s not just with Chicago. This one game doesn’t prove anything. If I go and have a crazy game, it doesn’t prove anything to anybody. It’s just that one game. It’s how I play over the course of the season and how I help my team and if we win game.”

For most people, if your employer chose someone else to do your job, you’d probably snicker if your replacement botched his assignment. That’s just human nature.

“No, man,” Amos said. “I’m a DB and I like when other DBs do well. I’m not rooting for people to do good against us because I want to win but, at the same time, I’d never wish anybody to struggle. If you’re referring to Ha Ha …”

That it’s Clinton-Dix only adds to the intrigue as these rivals get ready to meet for the 199th time on Thursday.

“Growing up in the league, I liked watching him play,” Amos continued. “I like the way he plays and how he can go get the ball. It’s no competition between me and him or me and Eddie (Jackson, Chicago’s other safety). If anything, me and Eddie talked in the offseason about meeting at the top as far as trying to be the top safeties in the league. It’s nothing like that, because I don’t have to go out there and play against him. I’m going to play against Mitch.”

For Amos and his new teammates, the short-term goal will be keep Mitch Trubisky and the rest of the Bears out of the end zone on Thursday. The long-term goal is to build a Bears-esque unit in Green Bay. Amos is one of four high-profile starters added by general manager Brian Gutekunst, a list that includes rookie safety Darnell Savage.

For Clinton-Dix, the goal is fitting in with a star-studded defense that has established a standard of excellence. Chicago’s batch of playmakers on the front seven could set up Clinton-Dix for a big year. Then again, his penchant for missing tackles and taking bad angles could have the team longing for the steady Amos.

“I have a ton of respect for Ha Ha,” Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “I enjoyed playing with him. We always had really interesting football conversations. He’s a student of the game, as most guys who went to Alabama. They really understand the ins and outs of the game, are tough players, they’re fun to be around, and Ha’s no different. He was a lot of fun to be in the locker room with, to go to battle with, and I’m sure he’s talking about different things with my eye control or eye movement or pocket movement – different things that I like to do.”

Rodgers paused and smiled.

“But it’ll be fun to play against him.”