No. 1 receiver not top priority for Bears

Re-signing Kreutz, bolstering multiple spots on defense more important

David Haugh In the Wake of the News 7:10 p.m. CDT, July 7, 2011

My threshold for manufactured NFL nonsense during the 118-day lockout broke somewhere between hearing speculation over another Brett Favre comeback and seeing reports of Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Dockett posting a picture of his pet alligator on Twitter.

I would rather watch Roger Goodell and DeMaurice Smith walk down another courthouse sidewalk or overanalyze attendance at those meaningless player-organized workouts again.

I know what you're thinking: Those mind-numbing, football-related summer exercises still beat watching Chicago baseball this year. And you would have a valid point.

So it came as welcome news Thursday in New York that the strongest sense of cautious optimism yet spread quickly around the league.

Perhaps more than at any point in the impasse, signs suggested a deal looks inevitable and it might behoove teams to brace themselves for the free-agency flurry to follow.

This is the way I would start if I were Jerry Angelo.

Contrary to the talk around Chicago, the Bears' No. 1 position concern isn't wide receiver. It's center. The longer the lockout has dragged on the truer that has become.

So the name at the top of Angelo's priority list should be a familiar one. The minute the league deems it permissible to start the clock on the 2011-12 calendar, Angelo needs to make Olin Kreutz a respectable, competitive offer to return for a 14th season.

The shortest offseason in NFL history is no time to break in a new center. The compressed nature of free agency puts a premium on the experience Kreutz lends, making carryover on the offensive line a more logical goal than reconstruction. With rookie first-round pick Gabe Carimi moving in at right tackle and J'Marcus Webb switching to the left side, the Bears can ill afford to have a novice telling novices what to do.

After locking Kreutz up, Angelo must turn his attention to the other side of the line. Start by bringing back defensive tackle Anthony Adams. Adams' presence would allow the Bears to develop promising second-round pick Stephen Paea at a more conservative rate. The Bears moved up to take Paea essentially to replace Tommie Harris — not Harris and Adams.

Once Angelo solidifies both sides of the line, he should address the safety position. Thank Danieal Manning for the memories, but both sides will benefit from parting company. Lovie Smith favorite Major Wright will start at safety alongside Chris Harris, but backups Craig Steltz and rookie Chris Conte hardly create a sense of stability. Find a veteran who's better than Josh Bullocks was and fits in the locker room and Cover-2 scheme (Quintin Mikell?).

Sorry, we're still not ready for the Bears to pursue wide receivers.

Remember, the Bears believe in their depth at the position — which would be a mistake to do with their linebackers, a higher priority. Let Pisa Tinoisamoa and his shaky knee leave quietly and make an effort to re-sign Nick Roach to start at strong-side linebacker. But don't overpay. Scan the salary-cap casualties for potential bargains who would love playing next to Lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher.

After addressing center, defensive tackle, safety and linebacker, Angelo finally can gauge the wide receiver market.

First, I'd call the Panthers to see if they indeed would take a third-round pick for Steve Smith, as a report out of Charlotte suggested. If not, my free-agent wish list starts with Santonio Holmes, but the Jets seem intent on re-signing him.

Of the rest, Santana Moss represents the smallish, quick type of 1,000-yard receiver who thrives in Mike Martz's system, but the Bears would have to outbid somebody for Moss. Braylon Edwards offers a big, physical dimension the Bears lack and, despite occasional drops, might be at the point of his up-and-down career where he accepts the structure a coach like Lovie Smith provides. Sidney Rice sounds exciting, but I wonder how Rice will react to a big contract and recover from his 2010 hip injury. If James Jones and his inconsistent hands come affordably, the Bears would benefit from his athleticism and hurting the Packers.

Stay away from Plaxico Burress (too rusty) and Terrell Owens (too old, injured and annoying). But Angelo can't talk himself out of every veteran receiver. The Bears have a good group of complementary receivers, but they badly need a No. 1 target to help Jay Cutler take a step in the most important season of Cutler's career.

At that point of free agency, Angelo can call underappreciated 37-year-old punter Brad Maynard to see if he's ready for one more year of football.

By now, aren't we all?

DHaugh@Tribune.com

Twitter @DavidHaugh

If all we can get is Braylon E and James stone hands Jones, or another small fast WR in I'm not the cool Santana, then lets just waste another year w/the current #2's and 3's we have. gwaud, if your team is ever desperate for Braylon just don't bother suiting up...

welcome to another 30th ranked offense

Well if Chester Taylor actually contributes something I think that would open up the offense just a little bit more.

I think new ownershit should be top priority for the bears. Once this happens we can clean house like Rocky Wirtz did when he took over the Chicago Blackhawks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boochee Man

Well if Chester Taylor actually contributes something I think that would open up the offense just a little bit more.

Don't hold your breathe. I'm hoping that Unga puts him on the bench as a short yardage guy and if Kahlil Bell can learn to catch better he's a much better and younger backup for Forte. I'm just not a Chester Taylor fan at all. He isn't the guy we need backing up Forte.

As for the rest of Haugh's article I can only say that he makes some sense but still interweaves a lot of off base opinion and baseless speculation into the article.

Signing Kruetz is a pretty obvious move in the minds of every Bears fan who doesn't live in a cave in the Himalya's so it bares little mentioning again. Pretty much the same with AA as our NT. Both these guys prefer to remain with the Bears so I can't see why we should ever sweat it. My guess is that both will be in the fold within 48 hours of the start of FA.

It's a lead pipe cinch that we'll make a solid attempt to retain Roach as well. On another team he may be a pine rider but he fits well when he plays with Briggs and Urlacher. Pisa is ours for the taking. I don't think anyone but the Bears will take a chance on him with his injury history. Another one year deal should land him and if not J.T. Thomas has the tools to backup at SLB. I'm actually more concerned about not losing Iwuh and his ST play.

And here's another Chicago sportswriter who seems convinced that J'Marcus Webb will start at LT over Carimi even though Carimi is a LT and Webb barely got the RT spot down until the end of the 2010 season. Even Webb doesn't act like he's been told to prepare for a switch so why does David Haugh and a few others seem to know this. Is it clairvoyance or are they Mike Tice's poker chums? But I would agree with him about picking up some vet depth at Safety. I can't see our defensive backfield playing as well as they did in 2010 with either of then starting in place of Harris or Wright.

Now to the WR thing. Sorry DH but we do need a bigger WR and no Steve Smith or Santana Moss aren't the guy. It's pretty likely that the Jets will opt to keep Holmes and let Edwards go but I'd much rather it was the other way around. If we were to sign another small WR I'd opt for Holmes before anyone else. Edwards is interesting only if he really has learned to hold on to the football at long last. My first choice after Rice is still Malcom Floyd. He isn't a true #1 guy but he may well be the best #2 guy in FA and he compliments what we have well enough to be a useful addition to the offense and while he may not be ideal for Mike Martz he is for Jay Cutler and it's Cutler who has to pitch to him, not Martz.

Haugh is way off base if he doesn't rate a vet OG as the number one outside need as soon as FA begins with a WR following closely behind. Normally I like Haugh's take on things but not this one. Other than signing our own, which to me is a given, he's way off base with his take on our other FA needs IMO.

Where was the Chester Taylor that was breakin it off in our ass every time we played the Vikings? Was there a reason he was not more involved in the offense? When he was out there, he seemed to be lost alot of the time. Maybe not grasping the offense very well? Whatever the case, we need more production.

We need a battering ram at RB to go with Forte, and Taylor is not the one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by seanski

Where was the Chester Taylor that was breakin it off in our ass every time we played the Vikings? Was there a reason he was not more involved in the offense? When he was out there, he seemed to be lost alot of the time. Maybe not grasping the offense very well? Whatever the case, we need more production.

He hadn't gotten the payday we gave him. I think what pissed me off about him as much as anything last year is that to me he ran lazy. If the blocks weren't there he couldn't create a damn thing with his feet or his body. I saw him make a few shifty moves around the goaline on a few plays but why anybody ever thought he'd be a decent power back is beyond me. He doesn't have the size of the leg drive.

Frankly I think we only picked him up as an insurance policy against Forte's 2009 injury plagued season. When Forte bounced back we used Taylor in ways that didn't work to his strengths. He's not a power back. He's basically a 3rd down change of pace back who we thought could run inside. What we got was an older and much less talented version of Forte who really can't run well inside either.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Henry Burris

We need a battering ram at RB to go with Forte, and Taylor is not the one.

Well we can hope that Unga can fill that role but I'm still thinking that if the Packers John Kuhn remains an UFA that he's a guy we should sign. He's a tough runner to bring down when they spot him at RB and he's a very good blocker when they use him as a FB. He's a guy our offense could really use IMO.