Jauron appeared to sleepwalk his way through his years patrolling the Chicago sidelines.  He wasn’t exactly a rah-rah or in-your-face kind of guy and shunned controversy and confrontation like Jerry Angelo shuns free agent pickups. 

Among the many reasons I hated the idea of signing T.O. was that without strong leadership and a well-respected quarterback, T.O. could eat a team alive.   The Bills QB situation appears no better than the Bears’, Jauron is hardly firm enough to quench any T.O. fires and the Bills hardly possess a Hall-of-Famer-in-waiting like a Peyton Manning or Brett Favre to command Owens’ respect.

Some people I’ve talked to have made the Dennis Rodman comparison.  Bulls fans all hated Rodman, especially when he was the core of the Bad Boys Piston teams that used to beat up the Bulls in the late 80′s, but we quickly forgave the sins of the past when he was on our team.  I get it.  There are many players that you love to hate; when they’re on the opponent, they are the enemy, but when they join your team, they are beloved. 

The distinct difference between T.O. and Rodman is that the 90′s Bulls had Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Phil Jackson and 3 rings when Rodman brought his circus to town.  The Bills have none of those; no one to keep that megalomaniac in check.  

Selfishly, I wish T.O. had inked with the Bears, only because this blog would write itself each day with the sideshow that is T.O.  Then again, it wouldn’t be about the Bears, it would be about Owens, which is exactly what would happen in the locker room and on the field.  Have fun with that Buffalo.

• Word over the weekend that starting right tackle John Tait is thinking retirement. This leaves ‘rookie’ Chris Williams and undrafted free agent Cody Balogh as the only tackles signed to the roster. Methinks free agent tackle John St. Clair’s price tag just went up.

• The Bears cut ties with wide receiver Marty Booker and veteran safety Mike Brown. Book was largely ineffective in his return to the Bears last season, but did make this highlight reel catch against the hapless Lions earlier this season:

• Meanwhile the oft-injured Mike Brown spent more time in recent years on the sideline than on the gridiron. I’ll never forget the back-to-back INT returns for scores in overtime games back in 2001. I was at the Cleveland game and had all but given up. Check out this Best of Brown list here. Thanks for the memories Brownie!!

These departures  highlight a few of the areas where the Bears need to add depth during this offseason. Hopefully GM Jerry Angelo can make better adjustments to his draft plan than his coaching staff can make to their game plans. If not, it could be a rough 2009 season.

• Meanwhile, over on the Free Agent QB carrousel, add former Buc Jeff Garcia to the mix.  I’ve never been a fan of Garcia from back in his days in San Francisco and the journeyman signal caller certainly is not the long term answer, but if he’s looking for a place where he could start right away…
• Over at the Tribune, David Haugh suggests including face-of-the-franchise middle linebacker Brian Urlacher in a trade to get  Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin here.  A few years ago, I probably would have gotten in my car and driven down to Tribune Tower to slap David silly.  It’s not such a crazy idea now, but I guess my only thought is that the Bears might be selling low.  ‘Lach for Boldin straight up – take it and don’t look back.  Urlacher and their first round pick for Boldin and I might be more hesitant.

I’ll be “out of the office” for a couple of days as Mrs. Boomer will be delivering the newest Bears fan within the next day or two, so most likely the next time I check in, it’ll be as “Papa Bear” Boomer.  Wish us luck!