No Jones: Bears Content With Wideouts

When the Bears acquired Jay Cutler almost two months ago, it became required for all journalists and bloggers alike to spew on and on about how awful Chicago's receiving corps is. CBS' Clark Judge still can't stop doing it, for example. The next chapter in the Bears Offseason Reporting Handbook is to try and connect every single available receiver to the Bears via free agency. Just as quickly as a name pops up, though, Bears general manager Jerry Angelo shoots it down.

The latest example in a long line is cocaine addict former Jags wideout Matt Jones. The talented yet troubled receiver caught 65 passes for 761 yards and a pair of touchdowns last season. Angelo, staying true to form, doesn't seem interested.

"Guys make mistakes, move on, and become better people," Angelo said. "Some guys have patterns of bad behavior and continue to have those patterns. I'm not saying that about Matt Jones. What I'm saying is we have to do our homework. And then you have to look at what value that person brings to your football team irrelevant of his off-the-field issues."

There's a lot of run-around in there, but -- if we can read between the lines a bit -- it sounds like Angelo doesn't think Jones' on-field production is worth his off-field headaches. Maybe if he came in and put up Randy Moss numbers they'd roll the dice. Instead, he's not really much better than what they have.

I'll have to continue repeating myself until the season begins, but I'm happy to do it here: People are acting far too concerned about the Bears receivers. The team went 9-7 last season and adding Cutler for Kyle Orton is a huge upgrade at the most important position on the field. Plus, those naysayers neglect to mention how integral the running back and two tight ends are in the Bears' offense -- all of whom are adept at their roles in the passing game.

Here are the receiving numbers from last season, with an inferior passer at the helm:

Devin Hester: 51 catches, 665 yards, 3 touchdowns.
Greg Olsen: 54 catches, 574 yards, 5 touchdowns.
Matt Forte: 63 catches, 477 yards, 4 touchdowns.
Rashied Davis: 35 catches, 445 yards, 2 touchdowns.
Desmond Clark: 41 catches, 367 yards, 1 touchdown.

All those guys are back. Juaquin Iglesias and Earl Bennett will replace these guys:

Brandon Lloyd: 26 catches, 364 yards, 2 touchdowns.
Marty Booker: 14 catches, 211 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Pretty bad numbers for a group of pass-catchers, right? Yet, somehow, this team managed to go 9-7 with a marginally talented passer. If that was possible, why is it so impossible for the current group to win with Cutler and the receivers in-house? The receivers have not gotten any worse. In 2009, they'll have a better quarterback at the helm, and he's going to have a better offensive line in front of him than Orton had. Hester, Forte, Olsen, Iglesias and Bennett are all young enough to improve along the way with a solid quarterback like Cutler. Let's also consider how the threat of Cutler connecting deep with Hester -- as opposed to drastically under-throwing him like Orton would -- will open up more holes and enable Forte to improve upon his 3.9 yards per carry, making the offense more balanced.

But hey, we'll be having this little lesson again next week when another receiver is tied to the Bears by someone. I don't mind, though. After all, it's in the manual.