It was pretty obvious that the Chicago Bears needed to upgrade their offensive line that looked more like contenders for an AARP card than a Super Bowl.
The Bears did just that by selecting left tackle Chris Williams with the 14th pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, despite Jerry Angelo finding some “wear and tear” during his days at Vanderbilt. Today, Williams is looking more like damaged goods after the Bears announced that he is having surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back.
Bears coach Lovie Smith is saying that this is a new injury although Williams has had back problems since freshman year. It’s likely that he will miss the entire season to heal from this injury.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone as three NFL scouts in attendance at last night’s exhibition game against the Kansas City Chiefs told Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mike Mulligan that Williams was completely off their draft board because of injury concerns.
Why didn’t Angelo follow suit?
If the Bears felt they needed a tackle that badly, they should’ve selected Jeff Otah from Pittsburgh who Scouts inc. feels is not as talented as Williams, but has a much better injury history and would’ve played in last night’s game.
Or better yet, why were the Bears in denial that Cedric Benson was done in Chicago and wait until the second round to grab Matt Forte when Rashard Mendenhall was available? Why is it that Angelo is brilliant when he goes after a defensive player, but selects bust after bust on offense?
At some point, Mendenhall is going to replace Steelers’ running back Willie Parker while the Bears will regret not taking him and giving him an environment to thrive in his home town similar to Derrick Rose will playing with the Bulls.
No matter how much spin the Bears’ public relation department gives the media on how great Matt Forte is, he will not be the every down back that Mendenhall is going to be for Pittsburgh. Instead, we are looking at a bleak situation for Chicago with four running backs and no hope for the near future.
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3 months ago
Absolutely right on.
3 months ago
Great read, think it's time for the fans to call for Angelo's head and force the McCaskey's to fire him. Obivously, the guys the biggest idiot in the NFL, a monkey could draft better than him and we drafted three injury prone players last draft. That alone should do it, not drafting a QB should and gambling on Cedric another unforgiving blunder. On any other team, Angelo would be fired and never get a second chance at continuing to ruin a franchise.
3 months ago
I agree. Good job with your article.
3 months ago
Angelo is great at finding defensive talent. Tommie Harris has turned out great as well as Mark Anderson, Charles Tillman, Nathan Vasher, and many others on the defensive side that he created. He just can't judge offensive talent to save his life. Benson, Grossman, Bradley who is often injured, as well as other offensive busts. I could see the Bears going after Pennington, but I wouldn't exactly want that to happen. Forte did look decent last night. Earl Bennett dropped a big pass. The third string quarterback Hanie looked spectacular. Orton was efficient, completing 70% of his passes without an interception. Grossman made a few mistakes but also hit some beautiful passes, so I still don't know about him. Angelo should be in the front office as an assistant GM who is a consultant on defensive players where he thrives.
3 months ago
S M, I think Angelo would be a good general manager that is already solid on offense and struggling on defense but with the Bears it's the other way around. Even though he makes a lot of mistakes drafting offensive players, he has a great eye for talent on defense and special teams (take a look at where they've ranked the past few years and you'll notice it's more than just Hester). The problem is he gets offensive players who either are injured too much or not very good. If McCaskey could find an offensive-minded guy to help Angelo, things would go much more smoothly.
from 3 months ago
My point was, offensively we suck. Angelo while he may find defensive and special team guys. Is it worth keeping him or bring in a GM that can do all three, listen to the scouts, not draft injuried players and build a decent offense. Also use the draft to fill your holes, replace what your going to lose to FA and use FA. If it's a benefit to the team and would fill a hole you need a quick fix for.
I like the Bears defense, like the team being defensive minded. But I also realize it takes offense to win and it will take adding 4 great players to do it. Also you can't be great offensively, and win with a poor defense.
3 months ago
Its a disgrace when an injury to a rookie tackle unravels your whole sad offensive scheme...
But the real disgrace is the overbearing prideful stubbornness of coaches and management to even admit that they could possibility upgrade their QB position with a free agent or draft day move...
They are almost indignant with their answers...and just fire out we have two quality guys in Rex and Kyle...blah, blah, blah, blah....these guys can win..blah, blah, freaking blah...
Hubris...
And a team that wasted a great defense....
Again...
3 months ago
Oh, the Bears! Great article, man! I think you definitely hit the nail on the head here.
3 months ago
Great article, nice voice. I felt passing on Mendenhall was a bad idea, too.
3 months ago
Adam, great article and fantastic analysis. I agree with your points and the Williams injury is really depressing for the team after they pretty much handed him the starting job the second he was drafted.
3 months ago
So he misses one season. It's not like his career is over and it was a wasted pick. At 14, this was the best pick for the Bears, regardless of what anyone says. Otah was better suited as a RT and wasn't a great pass protector, something the Bears really needed opposite John Tait, because Fred Miller was atrocious. Branden Albert played 2 collegiate games at LT and may have "upside", but upside is what gets coaches fired. Believe me, Mendenhall would have made a lot of sense, but he wouldn't have anywhere to run behind such a pourous line. Also, Forte is one of the most all-around backs in the draft. He can run, catch, AND block.
"The Bears gambled away their future in this draft by selecting a tackle who’s too injury prone and no long-term solution for when Smith, at some point, is fed up with Grossman and Orton." Yes, because he was so banged up in college. Didn't he not miss a start??? Yeah, I think so. Yeah, this first year injury is going to effect the long-term. I'm sure everyone wanted Joe Flacco at 14. I can understand skipping on Henne and Brohm, but they really liked Forte, and it looks like a good pick because Cedric Benson is a colossal bust.
However, don't forget to put some blame on Ron Turner. He is a poor play caller and doesn't know how to get the most out of his players. He made Berrian a one-route receiver and showed Devin Hester on every gadget play.
This year isn't over. Both QBs have talent. Believe it or not, Grossman has talent. However, like any QB, he needs talent around him, and that's where you can fault the front office.
3 months ago
Adam,
Grossman has talent obviously or he wouldn't be in the NFL. But it's pretty pathetic that he is still botching snaps and his throws are way off. If his throws were close and his receivers weren't catching, that would be one thing. The problem is that I don't think he would be much better with a good o-line and great wide receivers.
I realize that Williams was probably the best tackle available but with so many holes in the offense, why didn't they either trade down to minimize the risk (he would come cheaper and probably would've been available) or take Mendenhall and then find some tackles on free agency.
3 months ago
Sorry, not buying it. I don't think Angelo is a great GM, but he's pretty good. His record on hits and misses draft day is about as good or bad as other GMs. I just wish he was smart enough to get the Bears in the Super Bowl. Oh ... right ... that happened. You have to give that Williams kid a few years to see if he is good or bad. The Bears gave up on Columbo, and he's a starter in Dallas. Bet the Bears wish they had HIM right now. I wish the Bears would have picked a QB (heck, I liked KY's Andre' Woodson, who wasn't drafted till the sixth round), but for some reason they LOVE Rexy.
3 months ago
way to call it, so many time these things are written by homers unwilling to speak the truth. the bears should have taken carl nicks later in the draft .the saints got him in the 5th.he may beat out the starter (nesbit) who is a very soild line man .nicks may have been the best run blocker in the whole draft.
3 months ago
Adam, I agree also that Angelo is not the BEST GM in the league but he definetly isn't the worst. I put a good portion of some of the offensive woes on Ron Turner's back as his play calling is luke warm at best. Turner seems to be predictable in his play calling and using Hester on "gadget" plays or as a decoy will only work in the future if Hester is putting in enough work with the WR's during camp. Should the Bears limit Hester's touches on O or should they use him exclusively for the return game? I'm for using him in the return game until he can show that he is a consistent threat on offense which will be predicated on Turner's play calling abilities. Man, I wish they still had Columbo to go with Kreutz on the line right now. Good article.
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