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Jerry Angelo is my hero

By Skin Patrol

I was hysteric about the Lance Briggs trade that finally (hopefully?) suffered a slow death due to the Redskins refusal to accept a Bears counter offer that included Rocky McIntosh. I've maintained throughout that Jerry Angelo saved the Washington Redskins from themselves, and now he provides one more reason for a Hogs Haven salute, per the Chicago Sun Times:

Angelo had carefully crafted answers in a pre-draft pow-wow, shooting down Internet reports that the Bears are in contact with a handful of teams interested in Briggs and suggesting that Briggs' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, is ''paid to do his job, too.'' Angelo said the Redskins remain the only team he has talked with in specifics about Briggs, and the Bears can't shop him because of rules regarding the franchise tag.

Even if Angelo had wanted to, he couldn't accept the Redskins' offer of the No. 6 pick for Briggs and the No. 31 pick during the owners meetings. Had he taken the deal, it would've been a signal to other players that if they make enough noise, they, too, can force their way out of a contract situation.

''I didn't like the way the whole thing was presented, and I let Washington and [Rosenhaus] know that,'' Angelo said. ''We are a profession, and there are certain ways that you do business. But we're over that.''

And he's right. In the forseeable future the Redskins may see fit to Franchise Tag one of their players, and I'll have a hard time sympathizing with the team if/when that player holds out during negotiations with other teams. Pulling the trigger on the Lance Briggs deal would, among other disastrous things, indicate that hold outs are a legitimate and rewarding strategy for players if they don't like the rules -- agreed to by their representatives at the NFLPA -- in the CBA. Your Washington Redskins undermined the Franchise Tag by providing a convenient out to a troublesome Lance Briggs. Angelo sees the big picture, even if we don't, and I give props for that.

Whether or not shackling Briggs to Chicago is the right thing for the Bears, which doesn't appear to be the case, I still appreciate Jerry Angelo for saving the Redskins from a bad trade, simply by saying "only if..."

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