Bears Release Columbo
The Bears released Jerry Angelo's first Bears draft pick today, 2002 First Rounder Marc Columbo. Well I guess that closes the book on him, he's officially a bust. He really never did anything for the Bears. He played a few games, then got hurt, and missed two years. He came back late last year, played sparingly, blocked a Field Goal, and thats it. I heard he was a hard worker; and to come back from the injury he had, he must have been. Nevertheless, he's still a major bust. He's now nothing more than the answer to a trivia question.
Angelo's acquired a handful of good veterans through free agency (Moose, Tait) and trades (Ogunleye), but overall his strategy for winning has been through the draft. So how did he do? 2002 officially goes down as a bust. Only Alex Brown (4th round) and Adrian Peterson (6th) remain. There's a number of contributors remaining from the 2003 draft, but the two first round picks (Michael Haynes and Rex Grossman) have either underachieved (in the case of Haynes) or were too banged up to get on the field (Grossman). The other guys in that draft include Charles Tillman, Lance Briggs, Ian Scott, Todd Johnson, Bobby Wade, Justin Gage, and Joe Odom. The first two guys on that list have cornerstone potential while the others have at least contributed a little. Tommie Harris from 2004 thus far looks like a great pick. Tank Johnson, Bernard Berrian, and Nate Vasher are still around and contributing, while the rest of that draft is but a memory. Its obviously too early to evaluate the 2005 draft. (If at least two of the three Benson, Bradley, and Orton pan out, you would call 2005 a success.) So what do we got? One busted draft, one good draft, and a third that still has some promise. So I guess on the draft front Angelo's not doing a terrible job. He could be doing better, but I imagine he could be doing worse. I guess his biggest problem draft-wise is that he hasn't yet drafted a pro-bowler. (Although it wouldn't surprise me if Tillman, Briggs, or Harris make it some day.) Now if he could only figure out how to acquire a backup Quarterback....