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.''
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