Biggs to Bears fans: Don't expect the "big fish"

Yesterday, during a news conference, Jerry Angelo discussed the draft and free agency. Brad Biggs broke it all down for us in the Tribune, saying that while Angelo spoke in the most general of terms, there were some things of note said, especially with a possible lockout for the 2011 season looming. More after the jump.

Angelo waxed philosophical about being in a business of creating hope, and he bases a good deal of his optimism on quarterback Jay Cutler and the offense entering a second season under coordinator Mike Martz.

While he said there will be a "bevy" of talented players available in free agency, it sounded like Angelo wants to fortify a couple positions instead of hunting the big fish.

If true, that could rule out chasing a marquee wide receiver like Sidney Rice, who will become a free agent unless the Vikings re-sign him.

I don't really see this as that big of a problem. We know the team has needs all over; one player at one position, however spectacular, wouldn't necessarily fix the problems at other positions. And on top of that, because of the CBA issue, we don't know how much the Bears will have available to spend, or have to release to make the kind of room that a marquee free agent would demand. While said player might eliminate a need completely, is it worth tying up whatever cap room is theoretically available? Let's also keep in mind, 2010 was an uncapped year, so it didn't matter how much the team spent last year. So I have no problems with spreading the wealth, so to speak.

"We're not one player away," Angelo said. "We need to get better at positions, we need to upgrade, create more competition and then we've got to come together as a team."

This is the key phrase in the whole article. Even though it's mostly GM-speak, he acknowledges there is not a single player that can take the team over the top; improvements have to be made to multiple positions.