NEIL HAYES ON THE BEARS .hideTime { DISPLAY: none}Jan 27, 2011 02:39AM
Coach Lovie Smith quieted skeptics by taking a team that most expected to finish near .500 to an NFC North title and a berth in the NFC Championship Game. As a result, Smith can expect to sign a contract extension that will keep him on the Bears’ sideline for the foreseeable future.
Now that the offseason has officially begun, it’s Bears general manager Jerry Angelo’s turn to step out of the shadows and make decisions that will ensure Smith has the talent he needs to move forward.
The problem is, like every other league executive, Angelo faces an offseason of uncertainty because of the expiring collective bargaining agreement and the likelihood of a work stoppage.
The general managers who do the best job preparing for the unknown will have a distinct advantage when the expected lockout ends and teams are allowed to replenish their rosters.
“We’ve got work to do,” Angelo said. “I’m not sitting here saying we can’t get better. We can get better; we will get better.
‘‘We’ve got a full complement of draft picks. We used one in the supplemental [draft] last year on [running back] Harvey Unga, and we like him very much. We’re going to do business as usual. We’ll have a plan for free agency, and I’m sure we’ll be able to get a few players in free agency. We’ll want to bring some of our own back, and I’m confident we’ll be able to do that. So business as usual, and, like everybody else, we’ve just got to plan accurately.”
While the draft will be business as usual, teams will not be able to sign free agents until a new CBA has been reached. What happens then likely will be chaos, especially if the impasse continues deep into the summer because when the new deal is done, all 32 teams will be scrambling to sign free agents and rookie free agents to fill out their rosters.
Drafted players won’t be able to sign contracts until the new CBA is in place, which means unprepared front-office staffs could be overwhelmed. Because it’s in a team’s best interest to get free agents and drafted rookies into the fold quickly, especially if new coaches are in place, the pressure could be intense.
“We’re going to plan as if free agency is going to start when it’s supposed to start and the season is going to start when it’s supposed to start,” Angelo said. “That’s the way we’re going to plan. We’re not going to wait and find out anything before we make decisions. We’re moving forward, and we will be a better football team in [2011] for it.”
The first order of business is creating emotional distance. Angelo said during his season-ending news conference that everybody in the organization needs to take a step back after the disappointing loss to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game to gain perspective before evaluations begin.
With the draft still more than two months off and free agency on hold, this isn’t the time to make rash decisions.
“We’re going to do as we always did,” he said. “We have a process, and that process will probably take hold in another month. We’re going to let coaches have some well- deserved time off. We’re doing our evaluation of personnel. We’ll gather with objective, collective minds, and then we’ll make an evaluation on our football team with our players and what’s best for us.
“There’s a lot of things that go into that. For me to sit here and say anything about any player right now would be premature.”
Angelo will begin forming opinions and making decisions soon enough. For him, the 2011 season already has begun.
LAKE FOREST – The Jay Cutler saga could linger for days, weeks or months.
The Bears did what they could to defend their embattled quarterback. Now they’re moving on.
Although recent offseasons have generated roster upheaval, this summer could be more stable for the Bears. Eighteen of the team’s 22 starters on offense and defense are under contract for next season, and the bulk of the coaching staff and front-office executives are expected to return.
And – get this – the Bears have draft picks in the first two rounds for the first time since 2008.
“There will be more positives than negatives when we go and we start planning for next year,” Bears general manager Jerry Angelo said. “It’s not like we have a bevy of holes or a bevy of concerns going into this. I know half the league wishes they were in our shoes right now.”
Granted, those shoes could use a bit of polishing.
After Angelo extends the contract of head coach Lovie Smith, which he expects to do in the next several weeks, he will look to bolster a couple of trouble spots on both sides of the ball.
That should start with the offensive line, which allowed a league-worst 56 sacks during the regular season and failed to protect Cutler in the NFC Championship Game. The interior of the defensive line also might be due for an upgrade after another quiet season by Tommie Harris.
The annual wish list of a No. 1 wide receiver and a shutdown defensive back still applies.
Along with adding new players, Angelo will try to keep a few old ones.
None is more important than center Olin Kreutz, who is one of four free-agent starters.
Kreutz, who will turn 34 in June, is four years removed from his sixth consecutive Pro Bowl selection. Yet he remains the anchor of the Bears’ offensive line, and the team has failed to groom any centers-in-waiting who could fill Kreutz’s role going forward.
Kreutz said he hoped to return for his 14th season with the Bears.
“That’s not my call,” said Kreutz, who has started 155 of the Bears’ past 156 games, including the playoffs. “I’ll keep trying to play. I’ve said a million times, ‘When you’re not good enough, the NFL will let you know.’ So if no one wants me, I’ll retire. If someone wants me, I’ll play.”
The team’s other free agent starters include defensive tackle Anthony Adams, strong safety Danieal Manning and linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa. Each could return if the price is right.
“They can watch the film,” Adams said, “and they can tell that I want to be here.”
Meanwhile, a couple of longtime veterans might be on their way out.
Twelfth-year tight end Desmond Clark, who will be an unrestricted free agent, was inactive for 11 games during the regular season and one game during the playoffs. Punter Brad Maynard finished No. 32 in the NFL with an average punt of 40.1 yards in his 14th NFL season.
Other unrestricted free agents include quarterback Todd Collins, wide receiver Rashied Davis, running back Garrett Wolfe, cornerback Corey Graham, safety Josh Bullocks and linebackers Nick Roach, Brian Iwuh and Rod Wilson.
Angelo said he was excited about the Bears’ chances heading into next season provided that players and owners reached a labor agreement.
“I’m not trying to take solace in the defeat – the defeat is hard,” Angelo said. “But you’re in football. You have to learn with disappointment, but you can’t become hopeless with it. And we feel very good going forward in terms of our future. And our future starts in 2011.”
Bears bits: At least one Bears assistant coach won’t be back in 2011. Chris Tabor, who was the Bears’ assistant special teams coach for the past three seasons, was hired as the Cleveland Browns’ special teams coordinator. ... The Bears signed defensive end Nick Reed to a reserve/future contract Tuesday. Reed, 23, registered one sack and returned a fumble for a touchdown as a member of the Seattle Seahawks in 2009.
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