[CBFF] Haugh: Stubborn GM may leave Bears in lurch

[Phil DeNomme]

Man, I keep hearing the same ol' bullshit from Lovie and Turner about how
they should have gotten this and that involved.  But NOTHING EVER PHUCKING
HAPPENS.

They both should go in to politics cause they sure know how to talk out of
their ass.


-----Original Message-----
From: cbff-bounces at chicagobearsfanforum.com
[mailto:cbff-bounces at chicagobearsfanforum.com] On Behalf Of Victor Waldron
Sent: Friday, February 22, 2008 8:34 AM
To: CBFF
Subject: [CBFF] Haugh: Stubborn GM may leave Bears in lurch

Stubborn GM may leave Bears in lurch
David Haugh
On the Bears

February 22, 2008

INDIANAPOLIS -- Contract negotiations between the Bears and Rex
Grossman are scheduled to begin in earnest here Friday, and the team
must really like its leverage.

How else to explain the Bears declining Thursday to apply the
franchise tag to wide receiver Bernard Berrian in the same week they
cut their No. 2 wide receiver, Muhsin Muhammad?

Will the last proven wide receiver out of Halas Hall please turn off the
lights?

If Grossman still agrees to a deal soon, as expected, he will return
to an offense likely to start two new receivers and count on Mark
Bradley to be its best option in the passing game.

Which one of Bradley's six catches last season convinced Jerry Angelo
that Bradley was ready for a starring role?

"I will speak for the coaches on this because they said it: They were
remiss that they didn't do more [to get Bradley involved last year],"
Angelo said. "They put the blame on themselves in that situation more
than lack of confidence in Bradley. Mark has talent. If you grade the
flashes, you like what you see."

If Angelo graded only the flashes in evaluating NFL talent, he would
be unemployed. And he must know that. This was the spin of a general
manager who left a contractual tool in the box instead of tinkering to
assemble the best possible roster in 2008.

"It's certainly going to leave some holes, [but] we've been in that
situation before," Angelo said of not using the franchise tag. "If
things don't work out, we have a Plan B."

Rather naively, Plan A includes hoping Berrian eventually will accept
a Bears contract proposal he already has deemed too low over any offer
bound to come next week in a free-agent market lacking receivers of
his caliber.

Berrian is the same guy who switched agents in midseason, going to
Drew Rosenhaus to start angling for a new, big-money contract. Now
he's going to leave some cash on the table because he loves Chicago?
This is Plan A?

In the name of continuity, the Bears decided to bring back offensive
coordinator Ron Turner and make a run at bringing back Grossman. But
then, illogically, they let Grossman's favorite target, Berrian, out
of their contractual grip instead of committing $7.8 million to him
for 2008 and buying more time to work out a long-term deal.

Well, that's one sure way to force the Bears into becoming the running
team they want to be.

While rooted in good financial intentions, Angelo's decision on
Berrian seemed more about making a statement than making progress. He
built the Bears based on the belief that overpaying for commodities,
even players the Bears need as much as they need Berrian, inevitably
spells doom. It's a great way to run a household but maybe not a
football team that wants to return to the Super Bowl.

Angelo articulated that core philosophy defending the last-minute
offers to free agents Berrian, Lance Briggs and Brendon Ayanbadejo,
offers all three players have rejected.

To hear Angelo, the proposals reflected the Bears' interpretation of
the players' worth to the franchise more than they did a team more
than $30 million below the salary cap.

"The thing you have to do is create sobriety in the marketplace,"
Angelo said. "Because you have the money doesn't mean you have to
spend the money. You have to put values on players and then you have
to stay disciplined to that, or else what you're going to end up doing
is being unable to keep all these players."

Ask people around the league here for the NFL scouting combine and
most would be surprised if the Bears are able to keep Berrian, Briggs
or Ayanbadejo. Angelo stressed that none of the offers was final but
didn't sound amenable to reaching much deeper to keep anybody.

"If money is the bottom line, I don't want that player," Angelo said.
"I want guys who want to be here. The numbers we put in front of our
players are very good numbers, very fair numbers. Could somebody blow
us out of the water [with a better offer]? Certainly they can. But I'm
not letting that team rule our thinking. That's where the sobriety
comes in."

Forgive Bears fans if they don't necessarily drink to that, the idea
of losing two Pro Bowl players and the team's deep threat based mostly
on principle.

"Then we'll have to find another player," Angelo said. "We'll have to
have confidence in ourselves, in our coaches. If you don't operate
that way, you are truly going to be a train wreck. That will never be
our approach."

Please do not refer to the Bears' approach in 2008 as rebuilding,
either. Angelo and coach Lovie Smith, looking sagacious sporting a
salt-and-pepper goatee, both disputed the accuracy of the word as it
describes their off-season work. Maybe not. But Smith's look isn't the
only thing getting a makeover on the Bears.

Faith no longer exists in running back Cedric Benson, for example.
Smith reduced the guy he once considered a future star to a back who
"can be a productive player in this league." But Angelo summed it up
best.

"He has been hurt four times," he said. "You have to be mindful of that."

John Tait might move from left tackle to right tackle if the Bears
find a suitable replacement, even if it's a rookie.

Guard Ruben Brown is gone, but safety Mike Brown might not be.

And Grossman hasn't peaked yet, in the minds of the Bears, but will
have to beat out Kyle Orton if he re-signs.

"[Grossman] is fine with it," Angelo said. "Kyle deserves the right to
compete at the position. I know this isn't going to be something
dragging out. We will have a pretty good feel [at training camp]. What
the tiebreaker is, obviously will be determined by the coaches."

Whoever talks Berrian into staying first wins.

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