Neil Hayes at the Chicago Sun-Times does a really nice job of summing up the predicament the Beas are in:
“General manager Jerry Angelo has always believed that teams should be built from the inside out. It has long been his opinion that offensive and defensive lines create an identity and standard of play. Never have truer words been spoken, by the way. Monday night’s game was proof positive. For the moment, forget about the lack of receiving talent and the inability to acquire adequate safeties. That Angelo has always believed in an inside-out philosophy only makes his team being destroyed on both fronts the latest indictment of his stewardship.”
This paragraph summarizes Angelo beautifully. He talks knowledgeably about building a team in the same way an average fan might talk about playing guard. You can teach that fan all about how to play the position and he or she can spout back what needs to be done in every situation. But in the end that fan will be destroyed without the physical talent to actually execute against a 300 lb. defensive lineman.
Angelo is out of his depth and looking back he has been since the day he became general manager. Its not because he doesn’t know where the gaps are and how to fill them but because he simply can’t evaluate talent. Add that to the numerous administrative gaffs and his weak leadership in which he seeks compromise on every decision and you’ve got a serious void at the top of the front office at Halas Hall.
Its a shame but Bear fans are destined to watch this team deteriorate before our eyes until the team’s elite talent ages to the point where it finally hits rock bottom with no younger talent to replace it and Angelo is let go. Unfortunately this process happens only very slowly. The schedule is about to get easier and Lovie Smith and the coaching staff are still strong in some important areas.
So the Bears will be mediocre again this year and Angelo will hang on for a while as long as he talks a good game and “has a plan”. That is despite the fact that he’ll never be able to execute it.