Wilson Says He’s Not a Wounded Ex-Bear : Linebacker Isn’t Out to Prove Anything in Raiders’ Final Exhibition

For those looking for a revenge angle in Saturday’s Raider-Bear exhibition at the Coliseum, be advised that Otis Wilson doesn’t harbor a bit of ill will toward any of his former mates that he’ll meet . . .

On the field, anyway.

“If there’s any grudge matches, it’ll probably be down in the tunnel between me ‘n’ him,” Wilson said, laughing.

Him, of course, is Chicago Coach Mike Ditka, whose feud with Wilson, as Wilson remembers it, goes back most of the decade.

This is, perhaps, one reason Wilson is a Raider. After a slow start on a surgically rebuilt knee, he is one of the pleasant surprises in an exhibition season that needed some.

By last week’s third game, Wilson became a starter at outside linebacker, running off incumbent Linden King so decisively that King went in the first cut.

In Oakland, against the Houston Oilers, Wilson distinguished himself on several plays, including one on which he got 20 yards downfield to tip a pass away, and another on which he drew the team’s first roughing penalty in exhibition play.

“Yeah and I’ll probably get a few more,” he said, smiling. “You’ve got to establish an understanding with those tight ends.”

Meanwhile, back in Chicago . . .

The Bears are 1-2, having lost exhibitions at Soldier Field to American Conference West powers San Diego and Kansas City. Ditka blew up after the loss to the Chiefs, declaring, “We stunk,” and saying of his own reserves, “We lined up with backup people who can’t play a lick.”

Feel for your old mentor, do you Otis?

“Any time they lose, he always panics and goes off on the guys,” Wilson said. “He even does that during the season. That’s normal for him.

“Any time they lose more than one or two games, he gets tight on them. Don’t let him lose another. You might read about him hurting somebody. Or getting hurt, himself.

“They’re obviously a different ballclub. You look at the changes they’ve made in the last two seasons. I think out of the defense, you’ve got four guys (who were) on the Super Bowl team (six, actually).

“They’re just getting beat now. I mean, they’re not the dominating team they used to be.”

But then, who is?

The Raiders got Wilson because he was a player in their image.

Of course, Raider image and recent Raider reality are different things.

“The personality here is a little different than what their reputation is, I’d say that,” Wilson says. “What their reputation has been, it seemed like, they were a bunch of crazy people going around beating people up and winning ballgames. Now, from what I’m hearing, they have to get back to that point, and I think we can.

“Can I help? Well, I’m going to do everything I can. As long as I’m healthy, I can help any ballclub. I’m definitely going to help this club.

“I play aggressively and emotionally as well. I’m going to play one way out there--that’s hard-hitting and aggressive.

“I only know one way to play and that’s all-out. Hopefully, my style will rub off on some of the other guys. If all 11 guys get to the ball like that, we should have no problems.”

Right now, they have problems, but this could be one menacing step in the right direction.

Raider Notes

Holdout lineman Bill Lewis’ bid for a preliminary restraining order that would make him a free agent was denied Wednesday in Superior Court. Lewis’ agent, Larry Muno, said earlier that if he lost, Lewis would reluctantly return to camp. . . . Receiver Sam Graddy, who won gold and silver sprint medals in the 1984 Olympics and had been a surprise in the exhibition season, broke his right fibula, the smaller bone in the lower leg, in practice Tuesday and will be out 10 to 12 weeks.