Payton Would Like to Add Super Bowl to List of His Credits

He is the leading rusher in National Football League history, an automatic Hall of Famer and one of the most versatile and exciting football players of all time.

What’s left for Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears?

“The Super Bowl, that’s what we’re here for,” said Payton, 31, who has played on three playoff teams but never reached the NFL’s championship game in his 10 seasons.

Not that it’s Payton’s fault:

--Payton is the leading rusher in NFL history, with 13,309 yards, 997 ahead of second-place Jim Brown. He also holds the NFL record of 3,047 rushing attempts.

--He set the single-game record of 275 yards in 1977.

--His 17,304 career combined yards are also a record, leading Brown by 1,845.

--His 63 games of 100 or more yards, including nine last year, broke Brown’s record of 58. He is also tied for a record with Franco Harris for eight 1,000-yard seasons.

The durable Payton has started 124 straight games, and says he doesn’t feel his ability slipping. He still is one of the most ferociously fit of the Bears, bench-pressing 390 pounds, although he carries just 202 pounds on his 5-11 frame.

“I go by performance and it’s too early to tell,” he said in training camp.

Although Payton has been working out only once a day, and did not play in the first exhibition game, Coach Mike Ditka snorted and said, “I doubt it,” when asked in Payton would play less this season.

Who can blame him. Payton, who joined the Bears out of Jackson State as a first-round draft choice in 1975, also led the team last season with 11 rushing touchdowns, 45 pass receptions for 368 yards, and he completed 3 of 8 passes for 47 yards and two touchdowns.

He even played a bit of quarterback because of injuries to others, and was selected to his seventh Pro Bowl.

Payton was clearly among the most devastated Bears when the team was routed in the National Football Conference championship game by San Francisco, but he said he bounced back quickly.

“If I base my whole career on that, I should have gotten out of this game a long time ago,” Payton said. “I have to focus on things ahead of me. That game is in the past. We’ve got a new year and a new schedule ahead of us.”

The birth of his first daughter, Brittney, also eased the pain, Payton said.

“My goal is to do better than last year,” said Payton, which sounds a bit like DaVinci saying he planned to touch up the Mona Lisa.

“It doesn’t matter in yardage, but in not making as many mistakes, not fumbling as much, catching and blocking better,” Payton said.

The Bears hope quarterback Jim McMahon will be healthy all season, so they can pass more and take some of the pressure off Payton.

“That will probably make it easier on me,” Payton said. “Mike Ditka is giving priority to getting the wide receivers and tight ends into the passing game more.”

The Bears made the playoffs as a wild card team in 1977 and 1979, and then followed with poor seasons. Payton does not want to discuss the possibility of that happening this year.

“When you get into a situation where you compare years and people, you put your foot in your mouth,” he said. “This is a new year with new people, new attitudes and a new outlook. What we have done in the past is just that.”