He Keeps Running On and On : Payton Says He’s Not Retiring Sort, and Proves It Every NFL Week

Walter Payton is getting tired of the retirement rumors that crop up at the start of every Chicago Bears’ season, but they haven’t stopped his unfaltering assault on the record books.

“Nobody knows what the future holds,” says the National Football League’s all-time leading rusher, who will reach the 15,000-yard plateau with his next 27 yards.

Now 32 and in his 12th season, the indestructable Payton rushed 22 times for 113 yards and scored two touchdowns in the Bears’ 41-31 victory over Cleveland last Sunday.

“I could have carried 32 times,” he said. “It was just another opening day.”

Payton has expressed a desire to reach 18,000 yards rushing.

“I could get 1,500 this year and 1,500 next year and to me that adds to 3,000 yards,” he said. “Who knows? I might get 2,000 yards this year.”

His best effort so far was 1,852 yards in the 1977 season.

Payton concedes age can exact a toll, but he’s not ready to pay it.

“With age and the punishment, maybe you do lose something. I don’t know. If you feel you’ve lost it, then you’ve lost it. I don’t feel I’ve lost it,” he said.

One reason might be that he has not compiled his records on sheer speed. He has never been known as “a burner.” Instead, he runs constantly and consistently, and has compiled a record 74 100-yard games.

“I don’t have great speed but I’m quick. I’m a jitterbug, always moving,” kidded Payton, doing a little soft-shoe dance.

“Maybe not having great speed is a blessing in disguise. That way, nobody can tell if you’ve lost a step.”

His offensive linemen support him.

“Walter Payton is Walter Payton,” said Jim Covert, the Bears’ All-Pro tackle. “He’s something special to us. You can’t do it without an offensive line. He knows that and we know that.

“When he has a great day, we have a great day,” Covert said. “He makes you look good even if you give him only a crease to run through. He never runs out of bounds and always goes north or south instead of east or west.”

As for Payton’s age, Covert said:

“He hasn’t lost anything. He’s the greatest football player who ever lived. You don’t even start to compare him with (O.J.) Simpson, (Jim) Brown or (Eric) Dickerson.

“When you compare Walter Payton, you compare him to (Jim) Thorpe and (Bronko) Nagurski, the guys who built the game.”

Payton has rushed 3,393 times and his next rushing touchdown will be his 100th.

Brown with 106 and John Riggins with 104 are the only others to reach the century mark and Payton figures to pass them this year.

No one-dimensional player, Payton is the Bears’ all-time leading receiver with 424 catches for 3,958 yards and is one of the most punishing blocking backs the game has known.

“I love to block,” he said. “That’s fun. There’s no punishment in blocking if you do it right.”

Asked about rapport with his offensive line, Payton said, “I don’t take the punishment, they do. They take the physical contact on every play.

“You have to run in there to give them the satisfaction for the work they do.”

Although Payton has taken a lot of punishment during his lengthy career, he has never suffered serious injury. He credits conditioning and mental preparation, and runs a strenuous conditioning program during the off season.

“You get injuries, you get nicks and bruises but you have to remain positive. If you think you’re hurt, you’ll hurt. If not, it speeds up healing,” he said.

Football is still fun for Payton.

“When it ceases being fun, that’s when I’ll cease playing,” he said.