Playoff loss stung, but Bears focus on big picture

The Bears' playoff loss to the Panthers was difficult for general manager Jerry Angelo to stomach, but it didn't change his personnel plans heading into the offseason. "No, it really didn't," Angelo said at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. "(It was) disappointing, yes, but in terms of our overall team, no." The Bears defense battered Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme in a Nov. 20 win but played poorly in the playoffs. In recent weeks, Angelo met with Bears coaches and personnel people to evaluate every player on the roster. As a group, they looked at each individual's entire body of work and didn't allow any one game to dramatically change their perspective. "I've always said the hardest thing to do is self scout and we just finished that process," Angelo said. "What I felt at the end of the year pretty much tied into those meetings. It really had no bearing on that last game. "I didn't think anybody overreacted to anything and I didn't sense that there were any emotional ties in (the coaches') evaluations. They did a very good job of objectively looking at the team. Our personnel people do the same and I do the same. For the most part, we were pretty close to center at all the positions." Angelo was particularly upset by the playoff loss because the Bears had defeated the Panthers in the regular season, registering eight sacks and not allowing a touchdown in a 13-3 victory. But Chicago's defense, which led the NFL in points allowed and ranked second in total yards, played poorly in a deflating 29-21 defeat at Soldier Field. "If you told me we were going to score three touchdowns on offense and we were playing at home, I would have liked our chances," Angelo said. "But it didn't happen. We just didn't play well enough on defense. We gave up some big plays early and that took some of the momentum away from us." Before the Bears faced the Panthers, Angelo said that he still had a bad taste in his mouth from the team's playoff defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2001. He has a similar feeling about the loss to Carolina, but knows the organization must focus on the present and future. "It's disappointing when you lose," Angelo said. "Nobody likes to lose and I always say that if losing doesn't hurt, how important is winning?