Bears admit they knew about William's herniated disc (1 Viewer)

[sholditch]

This is it, Angelo should be fired. Immediately. This is absolutely intolerable as a fan.

The Bears knew Chris Williams had a herniated disk in his back before drafting him in the first round in April.

The team now says that Williams is experiencing a new injury to that same disk, which just happened to occur on the second day of practice. Williams acknowledged the herniated disk was probably why some teams took him off their draft board, but Bears GM Jerry Angelo is clearly a loner, Dottie. A rebel.

No one should be given this many chances. In his years as GM he has drafted a total of two quality first-round picks, Olsen and Harris. Every other 1st round pick since 2001 has been a bust. Angelo should be fired.

''Nobody was trying to pull the wool over anybody's eyes,'' Angelo said. ''Nobody is covering their ###, nobody is twisting the truth or embellishing it. If we screwed up, I would tell you, 'We screwed up. Hey, we said this was 50-50 and we just rolled the dice.' I would tell you that.''

UPDATE: If any FBGs have any connections to CHI area media, please PM me or say so on here. I will be working on a press release.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

This is it, Angelo should be fired. Immediately. This is absolutely intolerable as a fan.

I was just coming to post this. This, combined with the absolute refusal to replace what are obviously non-NFL caliber quarterbacks is downright negligent.I love it as a Vikings fan, but it's absolutely ridiculous as a football fan.What makes this even worse for Bears fans is that Branden Albert, Gosder Cherilus, Jeff Otah, and Sam Baker were all on the board and NOT injured at the time the Bears took Williams.

 

[sholditch]

Seriously, this needs to be a campaign. And his guilty, BS attempt at explaining it away makes it even worse. I have had it. HE needs to go before the seasons starts, before he has a chance to ruin another one. Who do I write a letter to?

OK, I am doing something about this, and will need some FBG help. I am going to get this ******* fired. I have just bought www.fireangelo.com and will be setting up a blog about getting him fired ASAP. I need to know if anyone has any connection to chicago media outlets because I need to get a press release out about the site as soon as I can get one running. It will likely just be a blog. But I am going to keep posting about what a colossal disaster this guy is until he is gone.

Updates to come.

 

[GroveDiesel]

Wow, you're pretty fired up.

I would be too though. What a disaster that guy is. It was bad enough that he did NOTHING to address the QB situation (seriously, bringing in Culpepper to compete for a job would have even been a decent idea), but to draft an offensive lineman with medical problems before other healthier guys (that most people rated higher than the guy he drafted anyway) is just inexcusable. And THEN to lie about it after the fact is just downright amazing.

All he had to say was "Yes, we took somewhat of a risk, but our medical team believed it was a minimal risk and we believe that he can be a very good player for us. If you look at Marcus McNeil, he has similar questions around him going into the draft and the Chargers ended up with a franchise LT. Unfortunately Williams has had some additional problems now and we're going to have to get them taken care of before he can show how much he can add to the Chicago Bears."

It still wouldn't look good, but it'd be better than blatantly lying when everyone knows that you're blatantly lying.

 

[T Bell]

It's hard to imagine a beloved sports team in a major sport in a major city having leadership/ownership this poor.

I'm not a Bears fan and don't ultimately care much on that level, but as an NFL fan the league needs the Bears to be better than this.

 

[sholditch]

I have emailed my hosting company to see if I need another account or if I can start building right now. I hope to have something completed by the end of the day.

 

[gianmarco]

www.fireangelo.com is down. Too much traffic?

 

[Sweet Love]

www.fireangelo.com is down. Too much traffic?

 

[sholditch]

Dude, give me a couple hours at least...

 

[Statcruncher]

Wow. This sucks.

 

[T Bell]

Dude, give me a couple hours at least...

Your grace and your unique sense of irony are why this project will work.

 

[MSULions]

i'll never understand why Millen gets so much grief but guys like Angelo don't - comparatively anyway. he's ten times worse. what a joke.

 

[T Bell]

i'll never understand why Millen gets so much grief but guys like Angelo don't - comparatively anyway. he's ten times worse. what a joke.

Let's not go overboard here.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

i'll never understand why Millen gets so much grief but guys like Angelo don't - comparatively anyway. he's ten times worse. what a joke.

Because no matter how he's done it, luck/skill/whatever, at least the Bears make the playoffs every now and then. From time to time they may even win a playoff game.

 

[DoubleG]

i'll never understand why Millen gets so much grief but guys like Angelo don't - comparatively anyway. he's ten times worse. what a joke.

Because no matter how he's done it, luck/skill/whatever, at least the Bears make the playoffs every now and then. From time to time they may even win a playoff game.

 

[-baller]

weren't the bears just in the superbowl a couple years ago?

how's detroit doin'?

 

[Johnny Rock]

This is it, Angelo should be fired. Immediately. This is absolutely intolerable as a fan.

The Bears knew Chris Williams had a herniated disk in his back before drafting him in the first round in April.

The team now says that Williams is experiencing a new injury to that same disk, which just happened to occur on the second day of practice. Williams acknowledged the herniated disk was probably why some teams took him off their draft board, but Bears GM Jerry Angelo is clearly a loner, Dottie. A rebel.

No one should be given this many chances. In his years as GM he has drafted a total of two quality first-round picks, Olsen and Harris. Every other 1st round pick since 2001 has been a bust. Angelo should be fired.

''Nobody was trying to pull the wool over anybody's eyes,'' Angelo said. ''Nobody is covering their ###, nobody is twisting the truth or embellishing it. If we screwed up, I would tell you, 'We screwed up. Hey, we said this was 50-50 and we just rolled the dice.' I would tell you that.''

UPDATE: If any FBGs have any connections to CHI area media, please PM me or say so on here. I will be working on a press release.

I like your attitude and the way you do business.

 

[sholditch]

Dude, give me a couple hours at least...

Your grace and your unique sense of irony are why this project will work.

Thanks. I mostly work in web content which is kind of a different world from web sites, so I'm trying to figure this out through tech support.

 

[hugebearsfansinceforever]

Let's tone down the negativity a bit, shall we?

I don't have a problem with Angelo drafting Williams knowing what he knew about Williams injury history and current condition.

Backs injuries are tricky things to diagnose and to speculate if or when his injury would become a problem which would require surgery is impossible to predict. As with any player who puts his body through the rigors of playing in the NFL, any area of structural weakness whether congential or aquired can turn into something worse at any time.

It is very possible the CW could have played successfully with his injury for most of his career without surgery. As Angelo mentioned, the doctors said he could play and CW said he could play (and didn't encounter any problems during OTAs that we know of). What else can a GM go on? JA's biggest fault is not drafting quality depth in the early rounds - especially in this O-Line plentiful draft.

JA felt that CW was the most NFL ready LT in the draft at the 14th spot. His injury didn't stop him from dominating at Vandy. It sucks that he got injured, but its not like the Bears were going to solve their O-Line problems this season with Williams alone. Hopefully CW will be healthy next season and if we can draft a replacement for Tait & Kruetz, and aquire more depth at guard we'll be stylin'.

 

[sholditch]

Let's tone down the negativity a bit, shall we?

I don't have a problem with Angelo drafting Williams knowing what he knew about Williams injury history and current condition.

Backs injuries are tricky things to diagnose and to speculate if or when his injury would become a problem which would require surgery is impossible to predict. As with any player who puts his body through the rigors of playing in the NFL, any area of structural weakness whether congential or aquired can turn into something worse at any time.

It is very possible the CW could have played successfully with his injury for most of his career without surgery. As Angelo mentioned, the doctors said he could play and CW said he could play (and didn't encounter any problems during OTAs that we know of). What else can a GM go on? JA's biggest fault is not drafting quality depth in the early rounds - especially in this O-Line plentiful draft.

JA felt that CW was the most NFL ready LT in the draft at the 14th spot. His injury didn't stop him from dominating at Vandy. It sucks that he got injured, but its not like the Bears were going to solve their O-Line problems this season with Williams alone. Hopefully CW will be healthy next season and if we can draft a replacement for Tait & Kruetz, and aquire more depth at guard we'll be stylin'.

For the bolded part alone, that is enough reason not to draft him. Much less with two healthy equally-rated prospects staring him in the face. That is just horrible, horrible drafting. It's time to get someone who knows how to do that.

 

[dornado]

Ummm.... what about these parts of the tribune article?

Williams disclosed after Sunday's practice that he had a herniated disc when the Bears drafted him, an injury suffered three years ago at Vanderbilt. The Bears, basing their comments on information from doctors, had called Williams' setback on the second day of training camp "a new injury."

Technically, both sides are correct. The Bears put typically off-limits head athletic trainer Tim Bream on the teleconference to explain in excruciating medical detail that Williams had suffered a different injury to the same disc.

...

Angelo's points were as good as his intentions. Every team was aware of Williams' herniated disc, but teams in need of a left tackle, such as the Bears, considered it moot because he hadn't missed a game or practice.

Several of the other seven tackles selected in the first round also had health questions, Angelo said. Factoring in wear and tear is part of every prospect's evaluation, he stressed.

Tribune ArticleI really don't get how people are lumping Jerry Angelo in with Matt Millen... did I imagine that super bowl run two years ago? Certainly he's got some flaws.... but yikes, simmer down guys....

 

[sholditch]

Sorry, but it's some crap like this every year. This shouldn't be viewed as a singular incident but rather as a "straw that broke the camel's back kinda thing." Lemme ask you this: how many of Angelo's first round picks, of eight drafts, are still on the team? How many are still in the league?

1. Four: Olsen, Harris, Williams, and Grossman

2. Five: The above and Colombo. Terrell, Benson, and Haynes are all out of the NFL.

 

[3nOut]

It's hard to imagine a beloved sports team in a major sport in a major city having leadership/ownership this poor. I'm not a Bears fan and don't ultimately care much on that level, but as an NFL fan the league needs the Bears to be better than this.

Cubs? Blackhawks?

 

[Chicago Hooligan]

It's hard to imagine a beloved sports team in a major sport in a major city having leadership/ownership this poor.

Still better than the Blackhawks.

 

[3nOut]

Sorry, but it's some crap like this every year. This shouldn't be viewed as a singular incident but rather as a "straw that broke the camel's back kinda thing." Lemme ask you this: how many of Angelo's first round picks, of eight drafts, are still on the team? How many are still in the league?1. Four: Olsen, Harris, Williams, and Grossman2. Five: The above and Colombo. Terrell, Benson, and Haynes are all out of the NFL.

But I dont recall there being much backlash when those picks were made. if i remember correctly,most people liked his picks on draft day. grossman was considered a good pick, and terrell and benson too.

 

[T Bell]

It's hard to imagine a beloved sports team in a major sport in a major city having leadership/ownership this poor.

Still better than the Blackhawks.

You've got an argument with the Cubs; I have a tough time considering hockey to be a "major sport" given it's distant fourth place status (and lower, if you count NASCAR and figure skating and Tiger-golf) in American sports.

 

[3nOut]

The Bears knew Chris Williams had a herniated disk in his back before drafting him in the first round in April.

as much as i think its time to move on from the Angelo era, i got no problem with this. would you prefer he DID NOT know? you'd skewer him for that as well.

 

[maxwelledison]

It's hard to imagine a beloved sports team in a major sport in a major city having leadership/ownership this poor.

Still better than the Blackhawks.

Not anymore.

 

[plapla]

Non football related, but there was a fireEdWade.com site when he was still in Philly. The fan backlash became too much and he was eventually fired.

 

[hugebearsfansinceforever]

Let's tone down the negativity a bit, shall we?

I don't have a problem with Angelo drafting Williams knowing what he knew about Williams injury history and current condition.

Backs injuries are tricky things to diagnose and to speculate if or when his injury would become a problem which would require surgery is impossible to predict. As with any player who puts his body through the rigors of playing in the NFL, any area of structural weakness whether congential or aquired can turn into something worse at any time.

It is very possible the CW could have played successfully with his injury for most of his career without surgery. As Angelo mentioned, the doctors said he could play and CW said he could play (and didn't encounter any problems during OTAs that we know of). What else can a GM go on? JA's biggest fault is not drafting quality depth in the early rounds - especially in this O-Line plentiful draft.

JA felt that CW was the most NFL ready LT in the draft at the 14th spot. His injury didn't stop him from dominating at Vandy. It sucks that he got injured, but its not like the Bears were going to solve their O-Line problems this season with Williams alone. Hopefully CW will be healthy next season and if we can draft a replacement for Tait & Kruetz, and aquire more depth at guard we'll be stylin'.

For the bolded part alone, that is enough reason not to draft him. Much less with two healthy equally-rated prospects staring him in the face. That is just horrible, horrible drafting. It's time to get someone who knows how to do that.

If that were true, there would be a number of current NFL players that would never have been drafted by any team. Every year teams draft players who have pre-existing injuries or who are on the mend and who are not cleared medically to play.

I respect your position, but I think in JA's mind, the Bears needed a franchise LT and he took the best LT prospect available at that position. The other O-Line prospects you mentioned were graded as RTs or Guards and not considered LT material.

I think a lot of GMs in JA's position would have done the same thing. Other teams may have removed CW from their draft boards, but IMO if the Bears had past on Williams, some other team would have taken a flyer on him in the 1st round. No way CW would have been undrafted.

 

[sholditch]

Let's tone down the negativity a bit, shall we?

I don't have a problem with Angelo drafting Williams knowing what he knew about Williams injury history and current condition.

Backs injuries are tricky things to diagnose and to speculate if or when his injury would become a problem which would require surgery is impossible to predict. As with any player who puts his body through the rigors of playing in the NFL, any area of structural weakness whether congential or aquired can turn into something worse at any time.

It is very possible the CW could have played successfully with his injury for most of his career without surgery. As Angelo mentioned, the doctors said he could play and CW said he could play (and didn't encounter any problems during OTAs that we know of). What else can a GM go on? JA's biggest fault is not drafting quality depth in the early rounds - especially in this O-Line plentiful draft.

JA felt that CW was the most NFL ready LT in the draft at the 14th spot. His injury didn't stop him from dominating at Vandy. It sucks that he got injured, but its not like the Bears were going to solve their O-Line problems this season with Williams alone. Hopefully CW will be healthy next season and if we can draft a replacement for Tait & Kruetz, and aquire more depth at guard we'll be stylin'.

For the bolded part alone, that is enough reason not to draft him. Much less with two healthy equally-rated prospects staring him in the face. That is just horrible, horrible drafting. It's time to get someone who knows how to do that.

If that were true, there would be a number of current NFL players that would never have been drafted by any team. Every year teams draft players who have pre-existing injuries or who are on the mend and who are not cleared medically to play.I respect your position, but I think in JA's mind, the Bears needed a franchise LT and he took the best LT prospect available at that position. The other O-Line prospects you mentioned were graded as RTs or Guards and not considered LT material.

I think a lot of GMs in JA's position would have done the same thing. Other teams may have removed CW from their draft boards, but IMO if the Bears had past on Williams, some other team would have taken a flyer on him in the 1st round. No way CW would have been undrafted.

No, he actually took the worst prospect available at that position. Williams was a worse pick than Otah or Albert because he had a pre-existing back condition, one that was bad enough for smart GMs to take him off their boards. It should have been enough for JA to at least bump him below the two equally-rated prospects with no history of a back condition. But no, Williams didn't move on our draft board, we took him over the two equally-rated healthy prospects, and surprise surprise, his back flairs up the second day of camp and we lose him for the season. In response to the other poster, I would have preferred he drafted Otah or Albert. Pretty simple.Look, I know there is a lot of "devil's advocate" played on this board, but just how much are you two prepared to forgive in the way of total managerial incompetence?

Also, to the person who said there weren't any bad feelings about the Grossman and Benson picks when they were made, time to leave the cave dude.

 

[Liquid Tension]

i'll never understand why Millen gets so much grief but guys like Angelo don't - comparatively anyway. he's ten times worse. what a joke.

Let's not go overboard here.

Anything times ZERO is still ZERO

 

[hugebearsfansinceforever]

Sorry, but it's some crap like this every year. This shouldn't be viewed as a singular incident but rather as a "straw that broke the camel's back kinda thing." Lemme ask you this: how many of Angelo's first round picks, of eight drafts, are still on the team? How many are still in the league?1. Four: Olsen, Harris, Williams, and Grossman2. Five: The above and Colombo. Terrell, Benson, and Haynes are all out of the NFL.

But I dont recall there being much backlash when those picks were made. if i remember correctly,most people liked his picks on draft day. grossman was considered a good pick, and terrell and benson too.

It's true JA has had bad luck drafting in the 1st round. This is why JA prefers to trade down when he can. The reality is the 1/2 of the the players picked in the 1st round never live up to their hype or end up busts. That's the way it goes.

 

[sholditch]

Well, isn't that a good reason to be extra careful about 1st round picks and avoid players with flags, be they yellow or red or whatever? And wouldn't having drafted three complete, official busts in a scant 8-year period make you a little more cautious?

 

[hugebearsfansinceforever]

Let's tone down the negativity a bit, shall we?

I don't have a problem with Angelo drafting Williams knowing what he knew about Williams injury history and current condition.

Backs injuries are tricky things to diagnose and to speculate if or when his injury would become a problem which would require surgery is impossible to predict. As with any player who puts his body through the rigors of playing in the NFL, any area of structural weakness whether congential or aquired can turn into something worse at any time.

It is very possible the CW could have played successfully with his injury for most of his career without surgery. As Angelo mentioned, the doctors said he could play and CW said he could play (and didn't encounter any problems during OTAs that we know of). What else can a GM go on? JA's biggest fault is not drafting quality depth in the early rounds - especially in this O-Line plentiful draft.

JA felt that CW was the most NFL ready LT in the draft at the 14th spot. His injury didn't stop him from dominating at Vandy. It sucks that he got injured, but its not like the Bears were going to solve their O-Line problems this season with Williams alone. Hopefully CW will be healthy next season and if we can draft a replacement for Tait & Kruetz, and aquire more depth at guard we'll be stylin'.

For the bolded part alone, that is enough reason not to draft him. Much less with two healthy equally-rated prospects staring him in the face. That is just horrible, horrible drafting. It's time to get someone who knows how to do that.

If that were true, there would be a number of current NFL players that would never have been drafted by any team. Every year teams draft players who have pre-existing injuries or who are on the mend and who are not cleared medically to play.

I respect your position, but I think in JA's mind, the Bears needed a franchise LT and he took the best LT prospect available at that position. The other O-Line prospects you mentioned were graded as RTs or Guards and not considered LT material.

I think a lot of GMs in JA's position would have done the same thing. Other teams may have removed CW from their draft boards, but IMO if the Bears had past on Williams, some other team would have taken a flyer on him in the 1st round. No way CW would have been undrafted.

No, he actually took the worst prospect available at that position. Williams was a worse pick than Otah or Albert because he had a pre-existing back condition, one that was bad enough for smart GMs to take him off their boards. It should have been enough for JA to at least bump him below the two equally-rated prospects with no history of a back condition. But no, Williams didn't move on our draft board, we took him over the two equally-rated healthy prospects, and surprise surprise, his back flairs up the second day of camp and we lose him for the season. In response to the other poster, I would have preferred he drafted Otah or Albert. Pretty simple.Look, I know there is a lot of "devil's advocate" played on this board, but just how much are you two prepared to forgive in the way of total managerial incompetence?

Also, to the person who said there weren't any bad feelings about the Grossman and Benson picks when they were made, time to leave the cave dude.

I guess we'll agree to disagree. Time will tell whether or not CW becomes a better player that Otah or Albert (who I both think highly of, BTW). But my point is we didn't need a RT or Guard. I don't think there were any prospects who were considered franchise LT material later in the draft.I look at it this way. I think it's better his herniated disc is resolved with surgery at the beginning of his career rather than it being a problem in a few years when he is older with more wear and tear on his body potentially shortening his career. Hopefully, CW will fully recover from his injury and play well for a decade as a linchpin for the O-Line. Again, time will tell.

 

[Limp Ditka]

It's hard to imagine a beloved sports team in a major sport in a major city having leadership/ownership this poor.

Still better than the Blackhawks.

Not anymore.

Damn straight. Blackhawks are in "do everything right" mode. Young, up and coming team that's going to be fun to watch? CheckSplash in Free Agency over the off season? CheckHome games on TV? CheckPat Foley back? CheckBill Wirtz a corpse? Check

 

[sholditch]

Let's tone down the negativity a bit, shall we?

I don't have a problem with Angelo drafting Williams knowing what he knew about Williams injury history and current condition.

Backs injuries are tricky things to diagnose and to speculate if or when his injury would become a problem which would require surgery is impossible to predict. As with any player who puts his body through the rigors of playing in the NFL, any area of structural weakness whether congential or aquired can turn into something worse at any time.

It is very possible the CW could have played successfully with his injury for most of his career without surgery. As Angelo mentioned, the doctors said he could play and CW said he could play (and didn't encounter any problems during OTAs that we know of). What else can a GM go on? JA's biggest fault is not drafting quality depth in the early rounds - especially in this O-Line plentiful draft.

JA felt that CW was the most NFL ready LT in the draft at the 14th spot. His injury didn't stop him from dominating at Vandy. It sucks that he got injured, but its not like the Bears were going to solve their O-Line problems this season with Williams alone. Hopefully CW will be healthy next season and if we can draft a replacement for Tait & Kruetz, and aquire more depth at guard we'll be stylin'.

For the bolded part alone, that is enough reason not to draft him. Much less with two healthy equally-rated prospects staring him in the face. That is just horrible, horrible drafting. It's time to get someone who knows how to do that.

If that were true, there would be a number of current NFL players that would never have been drafted by any team. Every year teams draft players who have pre-existing injuries or who are on the mend and who are not cleared medically to play.

I respect your position, but I think in JA's mind, the Bears needed a franchise LT and he took the best LT prospect available at that position. The other O-Line prospects you mentioned were graded as RTs or Guards and not considered LT material.

I think a lot of GMs in JA's position would have done the same thing. Other teams may have removed CW from their draft boards, but IMO if the Bears had past on Williams, some other team would have taken a flyer on him in the 1st round. No way CW would have been undrafted.

No, he actually took the worst prospect available at that position. Williams was a worse pick than Otah or Albert because he had a pre-existing back condition, one that was bad enough for smart GMs to take him off their boards. It should have been enough for JA to at least bump him below the two equally-rated prospects with no history of a back condition. But no, Williams didn't move on our draft board, we took him over the two equally-rated healthy prospects, and surprise surprise, his back flairs up the second day of camp and we lose him for the season. In response to the other poster, I would have preferred he drafted Otah or Albert. Pretty simple.Look, I know there is a lot of "devil's advocate" played on this board, but just how much are you two prepared to forgive in the way of total managerial incompetence?

Also, to the person who said there weren't any bad feelings about the Grossman and Benson picks when they were made, time to leave the cave dude.

I guess we'll agree to disagree. Time will tell whether or not CW becomes a better player that Otah or Albert (who I both think highly of, BTW). But my point is we didn't need a RT or Guard. I don't think there were any prospects who were considered franchise LT material later in the draft.I look at it this way. I think it's better his herniated disc is resolved with surgery at the beginning of his career rather than it being a problem in a few years when he is older with more wear and tear on his body potentially shortening his career. Hopefully, CW will fully recover from his injury and play well for a decade as a linchpin for the O-Line. Again, time will tell.

Both Albert and Otah were considered good prospects at LT. Albert played both in college and Otah had extensive experience at LT. No matter how you slice it, the CW pick was a monstrous mess up and we'll be lucky if he ever plays a down for us. And what tells you that JA knew exactly how much he screwed up is the fact that they lied about it at first, saying it was totally unrelated to his previous back problems. Today they admit it's the same #######g disc.

 

[simey]

But no, Williams didn't move on our draft board, we took him over the two equally-rated healthy prospects, and surprise surprise, his back flairs up the second day of camp and we lose him for the season. In response to the other poster, I would have preferred he drafted Otah or Albert. Pretty simple.

Actually Otah was not healthy during the draft. He played his whole last season at Pitt on a high ankle sprain. His ankle was still in the healing process when the Panthers drafted him. The Panthers drafted Stewart before Otah, and Stewart was coming off of turf toe surgery. They felt good about both players recovery, so they rolled the dice. A lot of teams do that.

 

[TitusIII]

If Jerry Angelo would simply handle the defense(as good as they come), the Bears would be fine...

...and come on now, Jerry Angelo doesn't belong in the same sentence as Matt Millen, nobody does.

If this season plays out like the last one, I'll be on-board, but it's still too early to call for his head.

Stop pimping the fireangelo site on wikipedia...

 

[sholditch]

Umm, I'm not, is someone else? firejerryangelo.com was taken but nothing was up when I checked

 

[mbuehner]

Sorry, but it's some crap like this every year. This shouldn't be viewed as a singular incident but rather as a "straw that broke the camel's back kinda thing." Lemme ask you this: how many of Angelo's first round picks, of eight drafts, are still on the team? How many are still in the league?1. Four: Olsen, Harris, Williams, and Grossman2. Five: The above and Colombo. Terrell, Benson, and Haynes are all out of the NFL.

But I dont recall there being much backlash when those picks were made. if i remember correctly,most people liked his picks on draft day. grossman was considered a good pick, and terrell and benson too.

Yeh, but the front office, one would hope, should do better than the masses. After all they are the ones spending millions on scouting. Not many GMs in many sports can fall back on the 'everybody in town liked the picks at the time' defense too often. I'd like to feel like the Bears GM knew something i didnt once in a while when he's drafting offense. I've never had that feeling, and its certainly never proved out (unless you considering Hester, who is a special teamer until proven otherwise).Look, there is such a thing as playing with fire. Coming into the season with this offensive roster qualifies as playing with fire. There was NO depth on the o-line. Now we see the fruits of that. IF no-one got hurt, this line could have been decent, veryone geled and stayed healthy, possible even pretty good. But what are the odds of that, particularly with an aging center and right tackle? PARTICULARLY when the guy you drafted to start was already hurt. I dont have a problem with gambling on Williams in theory, but what was plan B? If you draft a guy with a herniated disk and your backup plan is John St Clair, you should be fired, end of story.

 

[sholditch]

JA has never had a plan B. Plan B for getting rid of Chris Harris was Adam Archuleta and Mike Brown staying healthy. Plan B for cutting Tank was Dusty Dvoracek and Darwin Walker. What's been Plan B ever with this team? Try to limp through it on offense and hope you can score 3-4 ST and defensive TDs a game? Pathetic way to run a franchise any way you slice it.

 

[pyite76]

i say we hang em, then we kill em.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

i'll never understand why Millen gets so much grief but guys like Angelo don't - comparatively anyway. he's ten times worse. what a joke.

Let's not go overboard here.

potd

 

[shader]

Not a Bears fan, but isn't this a bit overboard? Grossman was a first round pick that didn't work out. Usually when 1st round picks don't work out, the front office gets blamed. Orton has won most of the games he's been in there.

The Bears just went to the super bowl last year, have had one of the best defenses in the league the past 3-4 seasons and have a chance to compete in the division this year.

I'm not saying that the guy should or shouldn't be fired, but some of the posters on here are acting like this is an organization that's been in the gutter for years like the Cardinals or Lions, when it's been a pretty successful franchise over the past few seasons.

 

[Max Power]

You really have to look beyond the first round picks to see just how bad Angelo has been.

QB: Already covered to the point I don't feel like adding any more

RB: I won't knock the Benson pick. Off the bat it didn't look that bad. However Thomas Jones was the only guy producing on the Offense and a RB was a low priority IMO at the time. His big mistake came when he traded the more talented back because he "invested" so much money and the early pick into Cedric.

WR: I didn't have a problem with how the WRs were managed up until this season. You just can't lose both starters and address the issue with a band-aid WR and 3rd round pick. We knew in 06 Berrian was coming up for a contract and Moose was slowing down.

TE: No major gripes. Although Getting Olsen at 31 was a gift IMO.

OL: Again just an absolute mess. The FA Market was LOADED with talent this season. JA just kept saying that we don't want to "overspend" AKA pay market price for talent. This OL needed a lot of help this offseason and again did very little to address the problems. JA has neglected OL for YEARS in the draft and for that reason the Bears will will struggle to win games this year.

D: He has put a nice unit together and I won't be rough on the guy in this regard.

One of his biggest failures as a GM came in the 2007 draft. He traded Jones for a SWAP of 2nd round picks. Then traded that pick back to pick up Garrett Wolfe, a 3rd down back at most. He also wasted the 2nd round pick on Dan Bazuin a situational pass rusher that would be lucky to make the roster. Lets not forget that Okwo fella who most scouts had rated as a 5th to undrafted guy.

I'm not a big fan of the guy. Thanks for that SB run JA, but you got too cute for your own good and that has set this team back years.

My only hope is that Chicago can somehow field a legit Offensive in the next 2-3 years before the D turns the corner. (if it hasn't already happened)

 

[-baller]

hey, I never knew this.......

Quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan was signed by the Bears in February 2007. At the time, however, O'Sullivan's agent made Chicago GM Jerry Angelo promise that if there was no room for O'Sullivan on the roster, they would release him by the start of training camp. Despite the fact that O'Sullivan was the offensive Co-MVP of NFL Europa that spring, Angelo and the Bears kept their word and released him on July 6. A week later, he was signed by the Lions and was introduced to Mike Martz. The rest is history ...

 

[hugebearsfansinceforever]

Nice analysis, Max. I would add to you comments...

You really have to look beyond the first round picks to see just how bad Angelo has been. QB: Already covered to the point I don't feel like adding any more

I think JA was adequately patient with Grossman, and in all fairness JA had to give Grossman enough time to see if he is the guy. Don't forget Grossman was injured for his first few seasons which didn't give JA and Lovie enough time to fairly evaluate him. Orton is in the same boat as Grossman - if he has a bad year this year he'll be looking over shoulder as well. I think picking up Caleb Hanie was brilliant. Regardless, I think Grossman doesn't get resigned next year and the Bears attempt to draft another starter.

RB: I won't knock the Benson pick. Off the bat it didn't look that bad. However Thomas Jones was the only guy producing on the Offense and a RB was a low priority IMO at the time. His big mistake came when he traded the more talented back because he "invested" so much money and the early pick into Cedric.

JA tried to trade down, but found no takers. Since the delusional OC Ron Turner thinks he can establish a power running game (with O-Line personnel that doesn't fit a power running game) they drafted Benson who didn't want to be drafted by the Bears and held out; then predicted himself having a 1,700 yard season while pissing off the veterans with his primadona attitude.

WR: I didn't have a problem with how the WRs were managed up until this season. You just can't lose both starters and address the issue with a band-aid WR and 3rd round pick. We knew in 06 Berrian was coming up for a contract and Moose was slowing down.

To JA's credit he tried to resign Berrian almost matching what the Vikings offered. IMO the Vikings overpaid for Berrian, who has dropped too many balls and isn't aggressive enough for my taste. However, should the Vikings win the SB, I'm sure the Vikings will conclude Berrian was worth every penny.

TE: No major gripes. Although Getting Olsen at 31 was a gift IMO.OL: Again just an absolute mess. The FA Market was LOADED with talent this season. JA just kept saying that we don't want to "overspend" AKA pay market price for talent. This OL needed a lot of help this offseason and again did very little to address the problems. JA has neglected OL for YEARS in the draft and for that reason the Bears will will struggle to win games this year.D: He has put a nice unit together and I won't be rough on the guy in this regard. One of his biggest failures as a GM came in the 2007 draft. He traded Jones for a SWAP of 2nd round picks. Then traded that pick back to pick up Garrett Wolfe, a 3rd down back at most. He also wasted the 2nd round pick on Dan Bazuin a situational pass rusher that would be lucky to make the roster. Lets not forget that Okwo fella who most scouts had rated as a 5th to undrafted guy. I'm not a big fan of the guy. Thanks for that SB run JA, but you got too cute for your own good and that has set this team back years.My only hope is that Chicago can somehow field a legit Offensive in the next 2-3 years before the D turns the corner. (if it hasn't already happened)

Agree completely.

 

[hugebearsfansinceforever]

JA has never had a plan B. Plan B for getting rid of Chris Harris was Adam Archuleta and Mike Brown staying healthy. Plan B for cutting Tank was Dusty Dvoracek and Darwin Walker. What's been Plan B ever with this team? Try to limp through it on offense and hope you can score 3-4 ST and defensive TDs a game? Pathetic way to run a franchise any way you slice it.

I couldn't agree more. This is JA's Modus Operandi. This is exactly the same formula he used in Tampa Bay.

 

[Wildman]

I think Angelo fails as a GM. Just because he he was able to assemble one half of a team doesn't excuse him. Do school kids pass with 50%?

This is a team that had a great opportunity to be aggressive in free agency to nab a QB when Rex Grossman looked shaky. In my opinion JA should be indicted more than a Matt Millen or the Cardinals GM because if 2/3 of your team is dominant and you don't bust your butt to bring the final part of the team at least up to a level of adequacy, you deserve the criticism.

I'm not sure I'd say Grossman was Eli Manning-shaky, it would be too generous to Grossman who had a decent receiving corps with veteran Muhammad and up and comer Berrian. True, Benson, Bradley, and others got hurt and never got extended time to show their wares, but there have to be at least two conclusions to draw about not getting quality free agents:

1) JA's rep among players or agents was poor and kept free agents away.

2) They didn't pursue free agents hard enough

When you have a great defense and get to the SB, you don't get rid of Thomas Jones. He was a locker room guy with quality skills. It sent the message that they were more about economics than about winning and that doesn't draw quality free agents who were on winning teams and know how to win.