I think it's wrong to call him 'unremarkable' based on last season in a system not made for TE's. However getting a 3rd for a guy in the last year of his contract who you're not going to re-sign is a good move.
You're probably right, which is why I had his entire career in mind when I posted that, not just last year. My opinion on him has been static for years, and I've seen every NFL play he's been in. He's just not that good.
This thread is full of angry homers or people who don't know much about Olsen. I have been extremely critical of the Bears in the past, but this is a good trade. The Pats got Moss for a 4th two years ago. The Jets got Holmes last year for a 5th. The Chiefs got Cassel for a 2nd. Scheffler went for a 5th a couple years back also. Now, the Bears got a 3rd for a very unremarkable TE in Olsen, and people are complaining? Great deal. Do not be surprised if Kellen Davis steps in and puts up the same numbers as Olsen, because he is not special. There are probably 4 TEs in the NFC North alone better than Olsen today, not including rookies we haven't seen yet. And don't give me the "well its a bad trade because they can't draft at all!" thing, because if that's the case, why bother even commenting? Clearly, you hate the front office, and you shouldn't let your guesses at their future moves color your opinion of actual moves they did make. Judge the move on its own merits. Plus, Angelo is coming off a pretty strong draft, anyways. The outrage over this is bizarre.
Olsen was misused by the Bears. I believe Olsen will go on to be a top ten TE. Before the 2010 draft the Patriots and the Bears had a trade in place for Olsen for a second round pick. The Patriots backed out, and proceeded to draft Gronkowski and Hernandez. The Patriots were very interested and they are exceptionally good at grabbing players that are not being used properly that will fit in to their system. Welker is a prime example. I believe that demonstrated that Olsen was a lot more talented then it appeared by his stats because the Bears weren't using him properly. I believe that in Carolina he will do very well. As to Angelo's drafting, I like Carimi and Paea this year, but Angelo has really not done well drafting the last five years or so. From the 2010 draft Major Wright and J'Marcus Webb are the only starters. Webb was very mediocre last year and Wright hasn't done much. 2009 produced Johnny Knox and that is it. 2008 was good, Forte, Bennett, Marcus Harrison, Zack Bowman and Kellen Davis are all producing some. Chris Williams is a bust in my opinion. He failed as a tackle and he is a below average guard. But from the 2007 draft there is not a single player left on the team now. That is hardly a stellar record.
You can maybe get away with arguing that he was misused last year, but what about the other four years? We're just going to blame everyone else in the organization but Greg for four straight years of underwhelming play? Appealing to the quasi-authority of the Patriots doesn't really fly, either, especially since your story is unverified rumor and they clearly didn't pull the trigger, anyways. Instead, they drafted two TEs that are far better than Olsen, which kind of undermines your point. I wasn't arguing that the Bears have a stellar draft record, because they haven't. Many of the drafts the Bears have had over the last decade were terrible, imo, even at the time they occurred. All I said was that we need to assess the Olsen trade on its own merits, and that the last draft was pretty strong.The Bears got great value for a very underwhelming player. It's a win for Angelo.