Thread: Angelo big on players who 'bet on themselves'

Angelo big on players who 'bet on themselves'








Bears GM Jerry Angelo confers with coach Lovie Smith over the weekend. (Getty Photo)

By Brad Biggs Tribune reporter 9:53 a.m. CDT, August 1, 2011


BOURBONNAIS -- The key to making reclamation projects work in the NFL is finding players who may not have been a fit elsewhere but are a fit for you, and also identifying players with a passion for the game.

General manager Jerry Angelo talks about "football character" from time to time, and it has nothing to do with citizenship and a lot to do with professionalism and an approach to the game. He thinks the Bears have found that in all four of their former first-round picks who signed as free agents: wide receiver Roy Williams, defensive end Vernon Gholston, defensive lineman Amobi Okoye and center/guard Chris Spencer.

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    Vernon Gholston
    
    Thomas Jones
    
    Ruben Brown
    
    Jerry Angelo
    
    National Football League
    

It’s a situation where these players need the Bears as much, or maybe more, than the Bears need them.

"We got a good football player at what I consider a good value,” Angelo said of running back Marion Barber, signed to a $5 million, two-year contract. "You know the thing I like about some of the players we have, in particular Roy Williams and Vernon Gholston, they could have had more money at other places. I like players that like to bet on themselves.

"When you pay a player a lot of money to get them, you’re betting on him. These players are betting on themselves. I respect that about them. It tells you a little about how they feel about our situation and how they feel about themselves.”

The Bears have done well with players like this in the past. Guard Ruben Brown and running back Thomas Jones are excellent examples of former first-round picks other teams had dismissed. It doesn’t always work out. A lot of times another team’s trash turns out to be your trash as well. But in sifting through the bargain bin what the Bears have discovered are some players they believe are motivated to use short-term contracts to get back to the bargaining table. That can be a powerful, too.