Chicago Bears NFL 

Bears GM Seek Experienced QB To Improve Playoff Prospects

MOBILE, Ala. -- Bears general manager Jerry Angelo has reviewed tape of his team's disappointing 29-21 playoff loss to the Carolina Panthers, and it didn't look any better the second time around.

''Anytime you lose, you feel terrible,'' Angelo said. ''And you are right, it was disappointing the way we lost, given the strength of our team. Did it look any better or any worse than what we saw? No. The things everybody saw on that Sunday were the same we saw on the tape. We have good players, and we have played better than that. It was just unfortunate that we had that kind of game, given the magnitude of it.''

Angelo declined to bite on a couple of questions about the tactics the Bears employed against Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith, who burned them for 218 yards and two touchdowns on 12 receptions.

''We picked a bad day to have a bad game,'' Angelo said. ''Part of it is the maturity of your football team. But I really don't have an answer. I can't sit here and give you one or two things.''



ANGELO: THE FIVE-YEAR REPORT
Jerry Angelo's track record as Bears general manager.

Season Head coach Division finish Record Playoffs
2001 Dick Jauron 1st, NFC Central 13-3 0-1
2002 Dick Jauron 3rd, NFC North 4-12 --
2003 Dick Jauron 3rd, NFC North 7-9 --
2004 Lovie Smith 4th, NFC North 5-11 --
2005 Lovie Smith 1st, NFC North 11-5 0-1


One player who took a lot of heat for the loss was cornerback Charles Tillman, who seemed overmatched in trying to stay with Smith. Angelo didn't dismiss the idea that Tillman might be better suited to play safety than cornerback, even though the Bears don't have much depth at the cornerback position right now.

''It's not something we're thinking of, but when we get into our meetings, go over everything, we want to put the best 22 players on the field and get them in their best positions,'' Angelo said. ''I can't sit here and look too far into the future on things like that. We want to see free agency and see the draft and where we're at.''

The week of practices before the Senior Bowl on Saturday serves as a coaching convention of sorts, with more than 700 NFL people -- head coaches, assistants, general managers, personnel types and scouts -- gathering for the unofficial kickoff to the college draft that begins in earnest with the Indianapolis Scouting Combine in late February. The week in Mobile serves as a great time to meet, commiserate and job-hunt.

But Bears coach Lovie Smith and his staff, along with coaches from about six or seven other teams, are nowhere to be found this year. Angelo said the decision not to fly all the coaches down to Alabama for a week of meet-and-greets was an easy one.

''We have them better served evaluating our team,'' Angelo said. ''We are going to butt up to the free-agency window, so I suggested they work on self-evaluation. When we go into our meeting, the coaches have to do an inordinate amount of work, and we have to give them time to do it. We have to make sure our team is properly evaluated. The hardest thing in our business is self-evaluation, and you need to spend time on it.''

The Bears' season was extended two weeks by their playoff appearance, so it also made sense to let coaches and some of the support staff get a chance to reunite with their families and take stock of an excellent, if ultimately disappointing, season.

Angelo, draft guru Greg Gabriel, personnel boss Bobby DePaul and the rest of the team's scouting department is working diligently on player evaluations ahead of the April draft, so not making a trip to Mobile a requirement makes sense.

''Once we determine our hot list at each position, we can get everyone up to speed,'' Angelo said of the coaches' contribution to draft preparation.

The team is still a couple of weeks away from making its final determinations about the offseason plan, but Angelo said continuity is the key word in the program. The Bears are the only NFC North team that didn't make a coaching change during the offseason. They will return the entire coaching staff, minus special-teams assistant Charles Coiner -- the only Bears coach to make the trip to Mobile -- who has turned down a contract offer to pursue a job coaching on offense elsewhere.

''Naturally, there are going to be areas we are going to upgrade,'' Angelo said. ''Is there anything that just jumps out at you that we need to have or we can't go on? No, I don't see any area like that. We certainly have to improve in some areas, but we feel we have the talent to do it. Until we get out of our meetings, there is nothing I am going to sit here and say we need for sure.''

Don't look for the Bears to be big spenders on the free-agent market as they have in the past. Angelo said the free-agent market is important, but he indicated the big-money signings of recent years might not occur because the Bears don't have a position they feel they have to fix immediately.

''You make a free-agent splash when you go into it saying: 'We have a need,''' Angelo said. ''When you say you have a need, you are saying you have to address it now. Obviously, you want to do that with a veteran player. That's when you go into the free-agent market and you have to be competitive in there. I don't see us doing that. Certainly, we're going to look at free agents. A good part of our team has been built on free agents, and we'll always look at that market. But to say we're going to make a big splash, I think you are correct in saying we won't.''

Angelo also likes the idea of using the draft to improve the defense, the strength of the team, instead of adding more weapons on offense. He knows the Bears have some players who were drafted last year who will help the offense, such as Cedric Benson, Mark Bradley and Airese Currie.

''We are going to look at some guys on defense,'' Angelo said. ''There are some areas we would like to improve on. And given the right players, we will do that.''

Angelo said last year he wanted to sign a veteran backup at quarterback but didn't do so. Now the Bears look ready to stand pat with Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton. Could Angelo change his mind again?

''Unfortunately, it's not like I am trying to play poker with you,'' Angelo said. ''You can only do what the market dictates. We certainly will continue to look. We'll always look at that position. I don't think you ever feel too comfortable there. You see what goes on around the league and see what has happened with us. We'll always be looking.''

Ten Bears Line up For Early NFL Europe Season Due to World Cup

Qasim Mitchell got a decent paycheck more than a year ago, but he certainly did not find satisfaction on the football field this past season.

The offensive tackle will get that chance on the field again as he heads up a group of 10 players the Bears have allocated to play in NFL Europe. Mitchell, who will play for Frankfurt, is the most experienced of the bunch.

He appeared in only four regular-season games as a backup with a talked-about switch to guard not panning out. Mitchell, 26, signed a four-year contract in the middle of the 2004 season that included a $1.5 million signing bonus, a reasonable wage for a backup offensive tackle. That position, however, will be assumed by John St. Clair, who has agreed in principle to a three-year contract extension. Mitchell is scheduled to earn $650,000 next season.

''Going to Europe, whatever, I will do anything to play and get back on the field,'' Mitchell said. ''Not dressing for the games, without saying any cuss words, it's not cool. It's not a good feeling.''

The Bears certainly are seeking some depth on the offensive line, and youth. Starting tackles John Tait and Fred Miller are both on the wrong side of 30, so a young tackle to develop behind St. Clair would be helpful. Left guard Ruben Brown, who turns 34 next month, is entering the final year of his contract wishful of an extension. Roberto Garza figures to start at right guard, and it is expected Terrence Metcalf will enter the free-agent market, although he could return in a deal favorable for the club.

Of course, finding that depth for the line in the draft will be tricky. The Bears have defensive needs at cornerback, linebacker and safety, and there is a solid talent pool of tight ends, another offensive need position.

Linebacker Jeremy Cain, who was promoted from the practice squad for the final three games of the season, has been allocated to Amsterdam along with cornerback Abraham Elimimian and wide receiver Craig Bragg. Joining Mitchell in Frankfurt will be safety Jason Harmon. Linebacker Stephen Larsen will play for Rhein. Hamburg will have linebacker Justin Smith and cornerback Willie Amos. Quarterback B.J. Symons goes to Berlin, and cornerback Josh Dean will play for Cologne.

Training camps for NFL Europe open Monday in the Tampa, Fla., area. The season starts March 18, with the date moved up this year to accommodate the World Cup.

Hall of Fame Overlooks Blitzing Bear Richard Dent

Not only was Richard Dent once again on the outside looking in as the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees were announced last week, but the former Bears great seems to be moving farther away rather than getting closer to Canton.

But Dent -- who wasn't even a finalist this year after making it to the final cut the previous two years -- said he's used to having to overcome a lack of appreciation.

"My old college coach used to say that the hay is in the barn,'' Dent said Monday before an appearance at the Holmes Place Health Club in downtown Chicago. "Once you did your work throughout the week and it's time to play, you've just got to make sure you're prepared and you play your best. When I came into the league, my first three years, I led the league [in sacks] two years in a row and I didn't get anything for it. I didn't get Defensive Player of the Year or Defensive Lineman of the Year. But I did get a Super Bowl ring, and I did get Super Bowl MVP.

"Sure, you want to be recognized for what you did throughout the season, especially from your peers. But since I didn't get anything much when I played, I'm not expecting to get anything now. I never was a chosen child from the Chicago Bears to be promoted that way. I was always fighting against the odds. If I did those same things today and was a second- or third-round pick, then the whole world would know.''

Dent was an eighth-round pick out of Tennessee State in 1983 and went on to play 14 NFL seasons, 11 with the Bears. He remains their all-time sack leader.

"At this point, I'm just enjoying my life,'' Dent said. "My hay is in the barn, I know what I did and I know it's more than a lot of guys who are in the Hall.''

Dent was among the former Super Bowl MVPs honored before Sunday's game. He thought the Bears would have fared better against the champion Pittsburgh Steelers than the Seattle Seahawks did.

"They had played the Steelers before, were more familiar with them and like to hit you in the mouth like the Steelers do,'' Dent said. "Still, the Bears are a talented young team that can come back and take this league by storm in the next couple of years.''

Former Bears linebacker Otis Wilson, a teammate of Dent's for four seasons, said he believes Dent will make it into the Hall of Fame sooner or later.

"It took Lynn Swann 13 years to make it,'' Wilson said, "and he was one of the most celebrated wide receivers who won four Super Bowls and kept his nose clean.

"At the same time, when you see some players make the Hall in their first shot when they haven't done half as much as Lynn or Richard, it makes you wonder who is driving the car.''