[CBFF] Angelo, Smith formulating Bears' offseason plan - Chicago Bears - Sent Using Google Toolbar

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Angelo, Smith formulating Bears' offseason plan - Chicago Bears


Angelo, Smith formulating Bears' offseason plan

By Larry Mayer





LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Echoing coach Lovie Smith's statements from
Monday, general manager Jerry Angelo said Thursday that the Bears
don't intend to make wholesale changes during the offseason.

Smith and Angelo agree that the organization possesses a talented
group of core players and can return to championship form by
addressing a few key needs and eliminating costly on-field mistakes
that sabotaged the team in 2007.



 Bears general manager Jerry Angelo addressed the Chicago media
Thursday morning at Halas Hall. "I don't think we're that far from
being that team that you saw in the last two weeks and certainly in
'06," Angelo said. "But we do have to do some things in this
offseason.

"We have time and we'll take that time, and when we do make decisions,
we're not going to make them emotionally. I want the coaches to take
some time off, go through their cut-ups, let us look at the things
that we feel really are the problems, and then we'll address those."

While Angelo was pleased with how the Bears played in defeating the
Packers and Saints the final two weeks of the season, the general
manager won't over-value those victories given how his team plummeted
from first-to-worst in the NFC North with a 7-9 record.

"I'm not going to get euphoric and say that's who we're going to be in
'08," Angelo said. "But it was good to see that we could still play
that kind of football. You did see consistency, more so on offense.
You did see the kind of defense that we're accustomed to seeing, and
again you saw good special teams. We played well as a team.

"We weren't able to do that throughout [the season]. Does that mean
we're going to have to make [wholesale] changes to get to that point?
I don't feel we need to. Right now what we want to do is fix what we
feel is broken."

Still evaluating the 2007 season, Angelo will confer with his
personnel staff as well as Bears coaches before creating a list of
wants and needs heading into free agency and the draft.

"The key to me when we go into this offseason is to first and foremost
address what our needs are," Angelo said. "That's what we have to do;
address the needs of the football team. Whatever those needs are, then
we will fill those needs.

"There will be certain positions that we want to create more
competition, so we can upgrade at those positions. But there will be a
clear delineation between those needs and the areas that we want to
create more competition and upgrade with."

Angelo conceded that there are more gaps on the roster to fill this
year than last offseason when the Bears were coming off a 13-3 season
and an appearance in Super Bowl XLI.

"I have to say that there are given the record," Angelo said. "But I
do feel that we still have a good nucleus of a football team
irrelevant of how much change goes on this offseason.

"We do know we control the draft, so there will be an infusion of some
young players. But we still feel we have a pretty good nucleus and
it's a matter of playing consistently. It's a matter of not shooting
ourselves in the foot with the mistakes that we've made."

Angelo identified some of those miscues as penalties, fumbled
exchanges between the center and quarterback and allowing big plays on
defense when a player was out of position.

"Those things can be corrected," he told reporters. "So [the
situation] is not as bad as maybe what some of you have alluded to the
past month."

Like Smith, Angelo said the Bears would like to retain every player
who is due to become a free agent in March, though both know that some
roster turnover is inevitable. Brendon Ayanbadejo, Bernard Berrian,
Lance Briggs and Rex Grossman are among those slated to hit the open
market.

Angelo also endorsed Smith's desire to bring back his entire coaching
staff intact.

"He's got to feel comfortable with the people that he works with every
day, and that obviously is Lovie's call," Angelo said. "He feels real
good about his staff. We've talked about that. We feel the problems
that we have can be corrected. We have made changes on our staff
before. If that were what he felt was in our best interest, I'm sure
he would have done it."