David Montgomery says playing for the Bears took the joy out of football for him

As losses piled up in recent years, Lions running back David Montgomery says playing for the Bears took the joy of playing football away from him.

Through their history of not being successful, it's almost been inherent how former Detroit Lions players grew tired of losing to the point the joy of playing football was taken away. But these days the shoe is on another foot, and David Montgomery signed with the Lions after four seasons with the Chicago Bears.

Montgomery looks to be a great fit for the Lions at this early stage, as a culture fit and a talent upgrade over the departed Jamaal Williams.

After the first day of OTAs on Tuesday, Montgomery gathered with new teammate C.J. Gardner-Johnson for the debut of "Lions Gaming" on the team's You Tube page. In a loose, casual setting playing NBA2K, the recapped Day 1 of OTAs and touched on some other topics.

They talked about playing in prime time games, which Montgomery guessed he only did twice in four seasons as a Bear. Gardner-Johnson tabbed it as a "Super Bowl feeling", and Montgomery starting talking about his Chicago career.

"I aint ever had that feeling," said Montgomery, "I’m really envious of you.""

David Montgomery

The Bears went 25-41 over Montgomery's time there, capped by last year's 3-14 record that earned them the No. 1 overall pick before they traded out of it with the Carolina Panthers. After saying how losing was "all I was used to", Montgomery minced no words about his time in Chicago.

"It got to a point where it really sucked the fun out of the game for me, because I’m a competitor," he said. "I like to compete, that’s what football’s about. But it’s so refreshing to be in a place where that’s appreciated and that’s what you get to do.""

The Lions had players choose a placard with the logo for the team they're most looking forward to playing this season after the schedule came out. It's no surprise Montgomery's pick was the Bears, but the look on his face said a lot.

Montgomery's honesty about how losing took the fun out of football for him the last few years is a dose of reality, albeit a harsh dose of reality for the Bears and their fans. He didn't use the dreaded 'T' word (tanking), but he stongly hinted it, didn't he?