Chicago Bears: Are They Growing or Dying?

With all the free agent moves happening around the league recently, and with the 2009 Draft coming in April, NFL general managers everywhere have to decide if their teams are on the way up, or on the way down.

Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith have already made some fairly significant changes to the coaching staff, but they do not appear to be making any major roster changes. It appears that the most they've been able to do is wait for underperforming veterans like John Tait and Mike Brown to either quit or run out their contracts.

If I were an NFL player, Jerry Angelo would be my first choice if I had my pick of any GM to play for. His loyalty is one of his best attributes, and the NFL is a rough business at times for a lot of players who are past their prime.

Just ask Warrick Dunn, Fred Taylor, or Marvin Harrison. If Angelo has shown us anything in recent years, it's that he doesn't know how to say goodbye—unless you're a raging alcoholic and your name rhymes with Tedric Henson.

But Angelo's refusal to make major roster moves may prove to be his biggest flaw, and the undoing of the Bears franchise.

By not releasing underperforming vets, he has boxed himself into a corner. He has to succeed with the talent he has because of all the money he has tied up. If players like Nate Vasher and John St. Clair are retained, yet fail to perform up to expectations, Angelo will have to silence his critics, again.

Those critics? They get louder with each major free agent he decides not to pursue.

The Bears truly did not play up to expectations in 2008. Let's face it, in most cases they're just getting a little too old. Certainly youth is needed on the offensive line, but the same could be said about the receiving and linebacking corps.

The pieces are all in place for the Bears to start winning again. But they aren't winning enough. They aren't a great team, and it's unclear if they are closer to going 16-0 or 0-16 in 2009.

But perhaps it's time for Angelo to start building tomorrow's team instead of trying to patch up the holes of yesterday.