Shedding Some Light on the Jeremiah Ratliff Debacle

On the Field

A career maybe coming to an end, Jeremiah “Jay” Ratliff is a ten year veteran on the defensive line. He spent his time in Chicago as well as Dallas. His most productive year came in Dallas when he recorded 51 combined tackles and 7.5 sacks in 2008. His time here in Chicago however was short. He only played 18 games in the Windy City. He recorded 8 sacks and 54 tackles. For his career he has 282 combined tackles and 35 sacks.
That’s not what I’m here to talk about though.

Off the Field

As I’m sure Bears fans have heard by now, Jay Ratliff had to be escorted from Halas Hall by police because he failed to comply when he was asked to leave the facility by the team security.
In the police report it is mentioned that the Bears cut him from the roster, due to pending disciplinary issues. Mr. Ratliff left the facility and later returned to grab his phone. However, the gate security did not let him pass through the gate.
Ratliff then hopped out of his car and walked past the gate. With an escort, he ran into an authority figure for the team and told him, “I am the devil.” Jay Ratliff then continued on his rant saying that he wished that person’s kids would die.
This is not the first time that Ratliff has blown up on the team. Last year before the final game, Ratliff blew up and pushed around an assistant coach. Meanwhile, Trestman stood off to the side watching and later rewarded Ratliff with captain honors for that final game.
We recently witnessed on the field, the Dallas Cowboys, Greg Hardy blow up on his coach and push him around. People are saying that Hardy was just being passionate about the game.
Err, not when the guy has a criminal record. It’s one thing to be passionate about the game, but looking at the incident and knowing his background history I’m not so sure you can call that passion.
Just like how Ratliff has a history.
He plead guilty to a DWI charge in 2013 after crashing his pickup into a semi-truck. There are other reports saying that Ratliff was impaired during this whole situation at Halas Hall. To my knowledge that is just speculation, I have yet to see any confirmation of that.
Either way, Jeremiah Ratliff has a criminal history. He’s been known to push his coaches around. This is strike three. Obviously since the Bears cut him, they recognized he had a problem and did not want him to cause any further issues.
Good job by Ryan Pace to see that and act proactively.

My Opinion

On the field, Jeremiah Ratliff was a solid player. He never really excited me or stood out to me in any way. I thought the team was doing alright without him during his suspension to start the season. I know I’ve mentioned in previous posts that the Bears need a pass rusher on the defensive line, and Ratliff did not impress me enough to warrant him that title of “Pass Rusher.”
While some people thought he would be a big asset when he returned, he failed to record a sack in the two games he played.
As far as relationships with the team, Ratliff was described as a great guy. Some players said that doesn’t sound like him at all. He has provided good veteran leadership to the young players on the defensive line. Eddie Goldman and Will Sutton have learned a lot from Ratliff.
I am a firm believer in the baseball term, “three strikes and you’re out.” Apparently so is Ryan Pace. The DWI, being physical with authority figures, and now the latest developments described above. If he had played more than 18 games in his three seasons here I might argue that his presence will be missed.
His presence in the locker room sounds like it will be missed, but on the field I think the Bears can find better options moving forward.