[CBFF] Offended by Bears' lack of offensive picks (Downey)

[Victor Waldron]

Offended by Bears' lack of offensive picks
Mike Downey
In the wake of the news

May 1, 2006

A good friend of mine is scheduled to undergo surgery Tuesday. He'd
better get better in a hurry because the two of us, as impatient Bears
observers, still have a lot of arguments in our futures over what this
unpredictable football team of ours does.

Take, for instance, last weekend's NFL draft.

As I watched it go down, round by round, I came to realize that after
a lifetime of following pro football, I still do not have a clue as to
why NFL teams do the things they do. I believe monkeys could make a
smarter decision than the Houston Texans just did.

Now let's look at the Bears. I saw my favorite team—a team with one of
the league's very best defenses and very worst offenses—go through
five full rounds drafting defense, defense, defense, defense, defense.

A year ago, defensive coordinator Ron Rivera had to wait in the wings
while the Bears picked a running back (Cedric Benson), a couple of
wide receivers (Mark Bradley, Airese Currie) and a quarterback (Kyle
Orton).

And that came at a time when a number of Rivera's key players, guys
like Brian Urlacher, Mike Brown, Adewale Ogunleye and Charles Tillman,
couldn't be 100 percent sure how intact they would be from injuries
that had messed up their seasons in 2004.

Well, as destiny would have it, the Bears didn't get much out of their
top two picks, Benson and Bradley, but they did get a tremendous
season out of Rivera's defense. By itself, the defense carried the
Bears to within a week of the NFC championship game.

Because of that, I should concede that Chief Executive Officer Ted
Phillips, general manager Jerry Angelo, coach Lovie Smith, director of
scouting Greg Gabriel and others in the Bears' brain trust know
exactly what they're doing. As a fan, though, I can't.

I don't understand at all. I listen to their explanations, appreciate
their enthusiasm and hungrily swallow the party line that the Bears
have all 22 returning starters under contract, thereby assuring that
they can keep their eyes on next year's Super Bowl XLI prize. Yet
their strategy mystifies me.

A year ago, with a very high pick in the draft, the Bears took a
running back. To the naked eye, running back was one position at which
they were set with young (26 on draft day), recently acquired (as a
2004 free agent), in-his-prime and able-bodied Thomas Jones and the
proven Anthony Thomas as his backup.

But they told Thomas to take a hike. Then they doled out a bloody
fortune to Benson, who rewarded them by not showing up for camp. In
his rookie year, Benson wept on draft day, showed up late, got hurt
early and got under the skin of Jones, who clearly didn't care for
Benson's notion that he was there to "push" the starter.

To upgrade at quarterback seemed a much higher priority. And sure
enough, by opening day the team had to sacrifice an NFL virgin, Orton,
to the Washington Redskins in a hostile environment. Oh, would a more
seasoned Brian Griese type have come in handy that day.

Now cut to the future:

Draft day 2006, and it is understood the Bears aren't going to get a
Heisman Trophy winner with pick No. 26. The "best player available" is
all that is there for them—offense, defense, special teams, whatever.

So there is no serious objection to the Bears dealing down to the 42nd
pick and unveiling one Danieal Manning, the first man out of Abilene
Christian to be taken since a tackle named Dan Remsberg was the 252nd
pick of the NFL draft 21 years ago.

My hunch is the Bears could have waited to land young Danieal with the
252nd pick, so unknown was he. But that is neither here nor there. The
curious thing was that the Bears didn't take a single offensive player
with their top five picks.

They must know something I don't. Is this atrocious offense of theirs
really ready to contend for a Super Bowl?

I guess their answer is yes.

The Bears obviously think so. Unless they continue to make Benson the
world's richest benchwarmer, he has to play. That means their running
back, quarterback and receivers other than Muhsin Muhammad are
virtually unproven, tight end only technically being a "receiver" in
the Bears' attack.

If this offense can win a Super Bowl, I'll be a monkey's uncle.

But that's OK. I'll be patient. I want the Bears to win, so I will
trust in their decision-makers. My friend, of course, must think I
need my head examined.