The increasingly evident problems along the Bears’ defensive line are turning the 2004 season into a referendum on general manager Jerry Angelo.
The injuries that have felled core players Jerry Azumah, Rex Tucker and Brian Urlacher place Angelo under one level of scrutiny: How well has he stocked the roster in an era when depth belongs to the talent-wise shoppers?
His first draft of Marc Colombo, Ro’ Williams, Terrence Metcalf, Alex Brown, Bryan Knight and others has given the Bears virtually nothing at this point, for various reasons, with the apparent exception of safety Bobby Gray.
But the truest measure of Angelo’s eye for talent will be this season and the defensive line. And you will not have long to wait to know how Angelo has done.
Contrary to a common refrain, it doesn’t take long to tell whether defensive linemen can play or if they’re busts, unlike, say, quarterbacks or offensive linemen. By the end of the first season, often sooner, you typically will know about players like Tommy Harris, Michael Haynes and Tank Johnson.
If they haven’t shown much by that time, they never will. What they are in Year 1 is what they will be for good. Chicago saw it with Dan Hampton, William Perry, Alonzo Spellman and John Thierry. Only Hall-of-Famer Hampton was dominant in Year 1 and ever would dominate.
History says Harris and Johnson will reveal themselves this year. Warren Sapp, Shaun Ellis, Jevon Kearse, Anthony McFarland, Dwight Freeney, Albert Haynesworth, Hugh Douglas . . . all flashed brightly as rookies and kept flashing.
Wendell Bryant, Damione Lewis, Ryan Pickett, Ryan Sims, Gerard Warren, Jamal Reynolds . . . each was “just a guy” as a rookie and each still is.
Add the fact the Lovie Smith defense is simple: “If it moves, you hit it,” line coach Karl Dunbar says. Brown, Harris, Haynes and Johnson aren’t being asked to chaperone Urlacher the way Ted Washington did. They can just play . . . if they can.
And in the process of answering questions about themselves, they will provide an immediate referendum on the staff that drafted them.
