Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti recently took aim at Bears’ GM Jerry Angelo, ripping him for drafting OT Chris Williams in the first round of April’s draft when he knew he had a herniated disc in his back.
Now, Jackhammer Jerry is embarrassing himself publicly and making me wonder if the clock has started ticking on his Halas Hall employment. Sunday, he hastily summoned reporters for a conference call that turned into a mass scolding of the media, always the first sign that a sports executive is feeling heat. Never mind that he is the one who drafted left tackle Chris Williams in the first round while knowing the player had a herniated disc in his back, not the kind of injury risk worth taking when: (a) the Bears have an offensive line constructed from dental floss and marshmallow treats; and (b) Angelo has a woeful record of drafting during his seven years in power.
Jerry Angelo, you are ridiculous. What happened is that the Bears fell in love with Williams, who filled a desperate need, while underplaying the possibility that a herniated disc could burn them. Sure enough, they were scorched on the second day of training camp, when Williams suffered a new injury to the same disc. It led to surgery that will sideline him for most, if not all, of his first season. Granted, anyone who suggests Angelo wasn’t aware of the injury isn’t being fair. On draft day, he pointed out that the team’s medical staff examined the back “once, twice and a third time’…”But where Angelo blew it is when he shrugged off those three examinations as if they were frivolous when, in fact, the necessity of three exams only screamed potential trouble.
Point is, Angelo never has manufactured enough credibility as a drafter to allow himself the benefit of doubt to gamble. When Williams finally spoke up the other day about the injury, and delivered the news with matter-of-fact bluntness, it exposed the Bears as having taken a nonchalant risk. “I had a herniated disc before I got here,” Williams said. “We knew that. Everyone knew that…
Mariotti is right. Angelo screwed the pooch this offseason when he didn’t at least make an attempt at free agent offensive linemen Alan Faneca, Justin Smiley, Jake Scott or Travelle Wharton. He pigeonholed himself into taking Williams in the first round because of his inactivity during the offseason. Not only that, but Williams was a reach considering Branden Albert and Jeff Otah (two linemen rated higher than Williams) were still available. The Bears’ offensive line looks like a mess.
It might be a long season in Chi-Town.
