If developing young players had been the Bears’ overriding goal going into the season, they could assess 2003 as reasonably successful.
“When you evaluate a season, that’s one component of it,” general manager Jerry Angelo said before Sunday’s 34-21 loss to the Packers ended the Bears’ playoff hopes, which were faint to the point of indistinguishable anyway.
Linebacker Lance Briggs, who returned a Brett Favre interception for the Bears’ second touchdown, is starting as a rookie, as is cornerback Charles Tillman, while No. 1 pick Michael Haynes has been finding his way onto the field at defensive end.
The offensive line, rebuilt on the fly because of injuries, includes second-year men Steve Edwards and Terrence Metcalf. But it’s far from a finished product, as evidenced by Sunday’s meager 44-yard output for the running game.
“We didn’t run the ball with any authority at all,” coach Dick Jauron said.
Although wide receiver Justin Gage (one catch, 28 yards) and running back Brock Forsey (three carries, minus-4 yards) had a quiet Sunday at Lambeau Field, both rookies have been effective spot-duty contributors.
In fact, nine of the team’s 12 rookies were on the active roster Sunday. And with other recent draftees such as defensive end Alex Brown and left tackle Mike Gandy settling in as starters, the Bears’ recent scouting and player-development efforts appear to be paying off.
“The draft is an inexact science,” Angelo said. “I feel good with where we are philosophically, with our approach. We know what our needs are, and we know what to look for.
“But it’s a bottom-line business. In the end, you judge a draft by whether it helps you win.”
With six losing seasons in the last seven and a .500 record the best they can aspire to this year, the Bears obviously need more help.
Angelo said they’re “getting there” in terms of stockpiling the five or six “difference-makers” a team needs to be competitive in an era when free agency and the salary cap conspire against dynasty-building, against staying near the top for a decade or more, as the Steelers did in the 1970s and the 49ers did in the ’80s.
“Look at last year’s Super Bowl teams,” Angelo said. “If you don’t have enough difference-makers, you’ll always be status quo. Two years ago we had six Pro Bowl players. I think we’re putting at least three legitimate Pro Bowl-caliber players on the field consistently. Could we use two or three more? Of course. But I’m not sure that doesn’t apply to every team.”
A quarterback drafted in the first round obviously is viewed as a potential difference-maker, but Angelo has no qualms about restricting Rex Grossman to a clipboard and a ball cap on the sidelines this year.
“If you look around the league, most of the quarterbacks who are playing well didn’t play in their first year,” he said.
“When we drafted Rex Grossman, it wasn’t with the expectation that he would play this year. His resume still stands out. He’s a talented guy who competed and succeeded at a very high level in college. It doesn’t get any tougher than the Southeastern Conference. We put more into that.”
Jauron declined to address Grossman’s immediate future after Kordell Stewart threw three interceptions, one of which Mike McKenzie returned 90 yards for Sunday’s game-breaking touchdown.
“We’ll talk about it on Wednesday,” he said. “We won’t make any decision until then.”
If Grossman is the quarterback of the future, there are no certainties regarding who his boss might be once he gets on the field. Angelo declined to discuss the playoffs-or-else speculation surrounding Jauron, who has one year left on his contract and three losing seasons in four, with 8-8 the best he can manage this year.
“I’m not going to get into that at all,” Angelo said. “At the end of the season we’ll evaluate everything in terms of what we need to do to move forward as an organization.”
