McNown Stays in His Zone

Cade McNown walked off the field with his head down and his eyes looking straight at his toes. His Chicago Bears had just lost to the Oakland Raiders, 24-17, Sunday. McNown had to expect it. McNown said his own brother had chosen not to come to this game because his 3 1/2-year-old nephew shouldn’t be exposed to what you get exposed to from Raider fans.

Still, when two fat men without shirts and without embarrassment shouted “Hey, Cade, ya cripple. Where’d ya park?” McNown’s face reddened and he went from strolling to sprinting off the field.

For the first time since the 1999 Rose Bowl, McNown was playing football in California. A day earlier, his former team, UCLA, suffered a discouraging loss to Stanford. At halftime in Palo Alto the Stanford band had mocked the Bruins for the handicapped-parking scandal.

There are no marching bands at NFL games, for which McNown is surely grateful, so it was only the foul-mouthed fans which McNown had to put up with.

McNown’s neck stiffened at the first mention of UCLA. McNown, facing is locker, was almost finished dressing. McNown only needed to knot his tie.

“Did you watch UCLA [on Saturday], Cade?” he was asked.

“I’ll talk to you when I’m finished,” McNown said.

No one has ever spent more time putting on a tie. McNown also put on a smile and no matter what, he would not stop smiling.

No, McNown said, he had not watched the Bruins lose to Stanford. No, he had not talked to any of his old teammates. No, he had no bets with any of the Bears who are Stanford alumni, people such as Glyn Milburn and Ryan Wetnight. McNown acted as if he’d had no college career.

McNown seems oblivious to the way his stubborn insistence that he did nothing wrong in acquiring a handicapped-parking placard has made him seem the personification of the selfish modern-day athlete.

The hubbub over his ugly preseason holdout combined with the negative publicity that has come to McNown over the parking scandal has not been a distraction, McNown says. “Being in Chicago, away from it all, I’ve been able to just think about football,” McNown says. And he smiles. “Being in Chicago, it’s a great opportunity to focus on what I need to focus on.”

You wish, just once, to hear McNown not say ‘I’ and instead say ‘Sorry.’ You wish, just once, to hear McNown say that he understands how he might have been inconsiderate in having a handicapped-parking placard and that maybe he wishes he had owned up to his mistake and that he and his former teammates have acquired some sensitivity and a wider view of the world around them.

Instead, McNown talks about himself. His Chicago cocoon which allows him to ignore the pending legal charge against him and allows him to say he did not hear those men shouting “cripple” at him.

In the Bears’ third game of the season, McNown played one series.

With 10:47 left in the second quarter, McNown took off his baseball cap and put on his Bear helmet. It was not the easiest circumstance for a rookie quarterback. The Bears were starting this drive at their own 12-yard-line and all McNown could hear were boos, catcalls and ugly obscenities.

McNown’s first pass was incomplete. Next he handed off to running back Curtis Enis for no gain. Then there was a holding penalty on the Bears, one of 17 penalties in the game against Chicago. From his own six, McNown dropped back into his own end zone. He completed a pass to Ty Hallock for three yards. Another penalty, though--false start Bears--and the ball was on the Bear four. It was third and 18 when McNown threw a bullet--tight spiral, right on target--to wide receiver Macey Brooks.

The play was for 30 yards. The drive ended with a Bear punt and McNown didn’t play again but that one pass, under pressure, is why McNown was a first-round draft pick. He will, some day soon, be the starting quarterback.

“I’ll tell you what,” McNown said afterward, “the loss sours your personal achievements.”

Now that was the right thing to say.

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Diane Pucin can be reached at her e-mail address: diane.pucin@latimes.com.