Ayanbadejo's pie-in-face prank falls flat
A year ago, it would have been funny.
When you're 1-3, the humor was lost.
Chicago Bears linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo didn't like it when defensive end Adewale Ogunleye slapped him on the back of the head Wednesday in their Halas Hall locker room.
Ayanbadejo left the room, then returned shortly after Ogunleye began his weekly media session at his own locker, which is right next to the weight room door.
The door opened. The next thing you saw was Ogunleye receiving a shaving cream pie in the face.
Ogunleye immediately departed, visibly not pleased. Of course, his eyes were burning.
Ayanbadejo returned to the locker room about 10 minutes later, but avoided reporters.
"Did you want me before?" he said, then departed through a different door.
After practice, Ayanbadejo said, "everything's fine."
"Blood is thicker than water. We treat each other like brothers. His eyes hurt, so I apologized. I'll definitely use whipped cream next time.
"It was a crime of passion. I did it in the heat of the moment," he said, telling the media not to judge him too harshly.
Reaction varied.
Linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer thought it was guys "trying to stay loose."
Rookie running back Garrett Wolfe (Northern Illinois) saw the incident while he himself was being interviewed.
"They just killed him (Ogunleye) over there," said Wolfe, interrupting questioning. Then he started laughing.
"I wasn't in on it," he said. "Don't get me laughing. I don't want to get in trouble for that."
Injury Update
Safety Adam Archuleta (hand) fully participated Wednesday at practice.
Offensive linemen Fred Miller (knee) and Ruben Brown (shoulder) were limited.
Sitting out were linebacker Lance Briggs (hamstring), defensive tackle Tommie Harris (knee), safety Brandon McGowan (shoulder), running back Adrian Peterson (calf), offensive tackle John Tait (ankle) and corners Charles Tillman (ankle) and Nathan Vasher (groin).
"The players all know it's Packers week, so I expect most of them to be ready," head coach Lovie Smith said. The two teams meet Sunday night at Lambeau Field.
Roster Shuffle
The Bears elevated safety Josh Gattis to the active roster, signed safety Leonard Peters to the practice squad and placed rookie safety Kevin Payne on injured reserve with a broken arm.
Gattis was a fifth-round draft pick of Jacksonville this year out of Wake Forest. Peters was an undrafted free agent signed by the New York Jets out of Hawaii. Payne was a fifth-round pick this year by the Bears from Louisiana-Monroe.
He recorded six defensive tackles and two on special teams before being injured Sunday in his first NFL start at Detroit.
Favre, Again
While Devin Hester was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for September, Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre was named NFC Player of the Week for the second time this season.
Favre also received the honor in Week 2. The latest award was the 12th of his 17-year career.
Hester also was up for Special Teams Player of the Week, as was Green Bay punter Jon Ryan. He averaged 49.0 on his punts with a net of 44.3, plus ran for a first down. Packers safety Atari Bigby was nominated for Defensive Player of Week (4 tackles, an interception and a fumble forced).
Reed Schreck is the NFL writer for the Rockford Register Star. Contact him at 815-987-1381 or rschreck@rrstar.com.