30 Day Challenge - Favorite Bears Tight End

The Bears have had a few great tight ends in their time, one of whom - a certain Mike Ditka - is in the Hall of Fame for his amazing production at the position.  And while it would be easy to pick Da Coach as Da Tight End as well, I'll take this one in a slightly different direction and go with my favorite lunch-pail player of the 2000s, Desmond Clark.

In a somewhat ironic coincidence, Dez Clark came into the league through one of the picks that Da Coach traded away to get Ricky Williams in the late 90s.  After three years in Denver and a single season in Miami, Clark joined the Bears in 2003 and was one of the few rock-solid pieces to the shaky offenses that continually plagued the Bears throughout the 2000s.  While the front office ran a roster merry-go-round at WR, slap-dashed together offensive lines, and trotted out more QBs than I care to think about, Clark was a solid (if unspectacular) piece to the offense throughout.  Unlike "Charmin-soft" Greg Olsen, Clark was a solid blocker on the line, and unlike Kellen Davis, he could actually catch a ball.  Was he a Pro Bowl player?  No.  But he quietly did his job to a T, exhibiting a work ethic and dedication to craft that would make George Halas proud.

Ditka himself would applaud Dez Clark's Grabowski-esque performance that kept him in the league twelve years despite coming in as a sixth-round pick, and while he lacks the flash of a Greg Olsen or the legendary status of a Mike Ditka, he was perhaps the only steady presence on the Bears offense during his tenure.  For that reason alone, I'll always have love for Dez.

Now it's your turn...

Day 9: Who is your all time favorite Chicago Bears Tight End?