Monday, October 18, 2010

Wait, Jerry Angelo Still Runs This Team?!? Well Fuck Me


Alright ladies and gents I'm back! Mr.Peanut On Your Face has returned after a 2-year hiatus filled with fast livin' and good times to once again spew gibberish about the beloved, Chicago Bears.


As we sit here today, the beloved stand at 4-2, including 2-0 within the NFC North. To the naked eye, many would believe Lovie Smith and the boys are off to a great start. Winning games is the only thing that matters at the end of the day in the NFL but don't let the Bears record fool you, this team is seriously flawed in more ways than one. There are severe talent/personal issues at several key positions on the offensive side of the ball. Typically, it would be unfair to pin the blame on just one person for the numerous problems the Bears have but this situation is far from typical. Jerry Angelo and his brain trust are solely responsible for most all of the Bears issues.


Jerry Angelo began his reign of terror following the 2001 season in which the Bears played with a horseshoe up their collective asses and finished the regular season 13-3 before crashing and burning in a playoff defeat to Donovan McNabb, Hugh Douglas and the Eagles. The Bears were successful that season due to an opportunistic defense led by up and coming standouts Brian Urlacher and Mike Brown and a solid running game featuring Offensive ROY Anthony Thomas. Things seemed to line up perfectly for Angelo as the right pieces were already in place to replicate the formula that made him successful at his previous stop in Tampa Bay; A solid defense with multiple pro-bowl caliber players and an offense predicated on the run.


Angelo's first 3 seasons (2002-04) were a complete disaster on all fronts. The team on the field was terrible with a combined record of 16-32 with zero playoff appearances. This also marked the beginning of the worst stretch of draft picks EVER by the Bears. Over this 3 year period, the Bears had 29 total picks. Let's start with the good. During this time frame the Bears selected standouts: Lance Briggs (3rd rd - 2004), Charles "Peanut" Tillman (2nd rd - 2004), and Alex Brown (4th rd - 2002). Among players drafted that made an impact for 2-3 seasons: Nate Vasher (4th rd- 2004), Tommie Harris (1st rd - 2004), Tank Johnston (2nd rd - 2004), Bernard Berrian (3rd rd - 2004), Rex Grossman (1st rd - 2003) and Terrance Metcalf (3rd rd - 2002). Notable busts during this time: Marc Colombo (1st rd - 2002), Michael Haynes (1st rd - 2003). This 3 year stretch, unfortunately, is the cream of the crop when it comes to draft picks as most of the players listed above contributed to the Super Bowl run in 2006.


Finally following the 2003 season, Dick Jauron was put out to pasture and a new optimism was born with the hiring of Lovie Smith. Initially, the defense seemed to be in good hands under the guidance of Smith. The Bears rode the strength of the D to back to back division titles in 2005/2006 including a Super Bowl appearance following the 2006 season. The influx of talent on the defensive side of the ball continued through the draft: Danieal Manning, Jamar Williams, Marc Anderson and Corey Graham all contributed during their first few seasons with the club.


The combination of Angelo/Lovie has proven over time that drafting for defense has been the least of their problems. The issue has been the inability to draft any offensive talent whatsoever. The NFL over the last 4-5 seasons has become a league geared toward offense and more specifically, passing offense. During Angelo's tenure, the Bears have drafted ZERO offensive pro-bowlers. Let that sink in, ZERO offensive pro-bowlers. Since Angelo took over, you can count on one hand how many offensive players drafted had a positive impact on this team: Matt Forte, Devin Hester (although originally drafted to play DB), maybe Greg Olsen(terribly inconsistent), maybe Johnny Knox(jury is still out on him) and the combination of Ortman (Orton/Grossman). That's it people. Among the many offensive misses in the Jerry Angelo era: Colombo, Mark Bradley, Garrett Wolfe, Chris Williams(?), Juaquin Inglesias. This does not factor in the numerous wasted high round picks on players that were, for lack of a better term, really shitty: Dan Bazuin(2nd rd), Michael Okwo(4th rd), Roosevelt Williams(3rd), and Jarron Gilbert(3rd).


There are zero players on the current roster from the draft class of 2005 (Chris Harris was drafted that season, but has since been reacquired), zero from 2002, one player from 2004 (Tommie Harris, ugh), two from 2003, two from 2006, three from 2007, three from 2009, four from 2010, and seven from 2008. That's a total of 22 drafted players on the current roster. Of those 22 players, only 6 players are starters. Fucking 6! Over 8 fucking draft classes!


The draft is the lifeblood of any NFL franchise. Jerry Angelo has proven over the last 8 seasons that he is incapable of drafting quality NFL talent. The man has failed over and over again. Sure, Angelo has made many bold moves including the signing of Julius Peppers and the trade for Jay Cutler but in the process has left the cupboard void of NFL talent to surround these pro bowlers with.


I'm not the first to call for Angelo's head and wont certainly be the last, but the bottom line is a change is long overdue. The beloved will continue to swirl in the pool of mediocrity as long as Angelo is in charge. Sam Cooke said "A Change is Gonna Come" Let's hope sooner rather than later.

1 comment:

Devin The Dude said...

As long as Angelo is making the draft picks, the Bears have no shot to improve. Their only defense for all these early round misses is how they find "gems" in the later rounds. Well, Genius, if you didn't miss in rounds 1-3 every year, you wouldn't have to give a mediocre player a shot at starting. Funny how Al Afalava was the starter for the majority of 2009, yet can't even make the roster in 2010. Shows how big of a joke Angelo is.