by David Haugh
Ignore all the chatter created Thursday in Chicago over the sudden availability of Hall of Fame-bound wide receiver Terrell Owens.
Words don't matter when evaluating how Owens might fit with the Bears.
Actions do.
And the way the Bears have been acting this off-season, pursuing Owens would be as inconsistent as it would be unwise for a team clearly in the development mode.
A team that decides to stay out of the bidding for veteran, quick-fix free-agent offensive help such as Kurt Warner or T.J. Houshmandzadeh doesn't wake up one day and think signing a 35-year-old playmaker is a good idea.
Laveranues Coles would have been a good idea. Nate Washington would have been a good idea. Torry Holt, who has asked the Rams for his release, might be a good idea.
Owens is anthrax in shoulder pads.
Even if the Bears weren't more conservative than a gray suit this winter, history says adding Owens to the roster would add nothing but trouble. Bears fans should be relieved a league source told the Tribune on Thursday the team has no interest in Owens regardless of the price.
The Bears have deep holes at offensive tackle and safety as well as wide receiver. They aren't one or two players away from the Super Bowl. But even if they were, Owens wouldn't be one of those players.
Owens eventually undid the Eagles and alienated one of the best teammates in sports, Donovan McNabb. When he was in Dallas the Big D was for Distraction.
This isn't about talent. It would be silly to suggest a Bears team that has had one Pro Bowl wide receiver the past four decades wouldn't be immediately improved with the addition of a guy who caught 69 passes for 1,052 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.
Heck, the Bears' current top two receivers, Devin Hester and Rashied Davis, combined for only 58 more yards than Owens did in 2008 in what was Owens' worst of three seasons statistically with the Cowboys.
But how big would the tantrum be the first Sunday that Kyle Orton underthrows Owens on a windy day at Soldier Field? He is one of those superstar wide receivers who thinks he is a superstore—always open. Orton's decisions would get second-guessed more in the meeting room than they would in print. That's no way to build confidence in a young quarterback.
In staying away from quarterbacks who would give Orton a legitimate push in training camp, the Bears have committed to developing the quarterback they drafted in 2005. Sure, Owens as a downfield threat might help Orton develop quicker. It also might help him develop hives.
How quickly before Owens got jealous of Orton's tendency to throw to tight ends Greg Olsen or Desmond Clark the way he did with Tony Romo's reliance on Jason Witten? Defensive tackle Warren Sapp went by the nickname "QB Killa." That also could be the vanity plate on Owens' BMW.
Remember, too, that Owens is 35. At some point the burst that defined Owens' route-running will be gone. At some point the only explosion from Owens will come in the locker room and not in the secondary. Age inevitably will do to Owens what cornerbacks could not.
It sounds like the Bears believe they can find a No. 1 receiver in April's NFL draft, as Angelo reiterated in comments Wednesday to ChicagoBears.com.
"Naturally, we're going to look at [wide receiver] real hard, in all likelihood in the draft [and] we're not looking for backup wide receivers," Angelo said.
Choosing 18th, the Bears might have a chance to find a player that fits that profile in athletic wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey of Maryland. An offensive tackle also might tempt them in that slot if the Bears talk themselves out of taking a wideout that high if they overanalyze past drafts. But a GM that passes on so many veteran wide receivers cannot neglect a position of need forever, can he?
We have spent much of this off-season pondering all sorts of possibilities for the Bears, from Warner to Houshmandzadeh to Julius Peppers to Jay Cutler when he was briefly on the trade market. It's an understandable diversion from a frustrating devotion to the status quo.
When a team goes 16-16 since playing in a Super Bowl, a city passionate about its football wants creative solutions. It doesn't want to hear about patience and development and fiscal responsibility. It won't get excited about re-signing John St. Clair or adding an offensive lineman, Frank Omiyale, who doesn't have to worry about getting noticed walking through O'Hare.
There are valid arguments to be made that the Bears have been too quiet this off-season and a philosophy built around waiting for draft picks to mature is flawed. When Angelo mentions faith in Earl Bennett at wide receiver and Craig Steltz at free safety, you wonder what he knows that we don't and try to stifle a chuckle.
But there is despair and there is desperation.
It's OK and natural for Bears fans to feel despair over their team's idle winter. But it would be wrong to feel so desperate for the Bears to do something to encourage Angelo to sign Owens.
Doing so would make a statement about wanting to win now, make the lead of SportsCenter but make no sense at all for the Bears.
