Bears Pick A Winner In Emery

Can Phil Emery take the Chicago Bears to the promised land?
[Source: Comcast Sports Net]

Phil Emery is the new general manager of the Chicago Bears, or as most Bear fans will fancy calling him, not Jerry Angelo.

There are many reasons why "Not Jerry Angelo" is an exceptional hire, the first of which is that he is not Jerry Angelo.  Aside from that, Emery has a distinguished track record that includes a stint with the Bears from 1998-2004.  In this time, the Bears drafted Charles Tillman, Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs.  He worked in the Atlanta Falcons' scouting department since then.  He was the director of college scouting from 2004-2008, a period in which the Falcons brought in Matt Ryan and Roddy White.

In other words, his track record speaks for its self.

Emery is also respected and well liked around the league.  His reputation for being a professional will bode well for him when he tries to execute trades and sign free agents.  His first major challenge will be trying to fill enough holes in the roster via free agency, in order to be able to be a good draft away from having a title contender.  The Bears need a few more pieces to be just that, and like every other offseason in recent history, those pieces need to be offensive lineman and receivers.

ESPN's Kevin Seifert said that the Bears found "their Ted Thompson" in Emery.

Bears fans sure as hell hope so.  But for now, they're just happy that they hired "Not Jerry Angelo."