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Suggs sags after sluggish workout
Bears' Angelo 'disappointed'
Mar 26, 2003
PHOENIX -- As Bears coach Dick Jauron expressed Wednesday his preference for a pass rusher high in the draft, general manager Jerry Angelo reported a surprisingly disappointing workout for the top pass-rushing prospect.
Just a few miles from where Jauron was speaking at the NFL owners meeting, Arizona State's Terrell Suggs put on a workout that left scouts and general managers glum, probably eliminating him as a top-five pick in the draft April 26-27. The Bears have the fourth pick.
"Everybody walked away very disappointed, especially us way up at the top [of the draft]," Angelo said. "It probably knocked him down. It's going to hurt him."
The 6-foot-31/2-inch, 257-pound Suggs was clocked between 4.77 and 4.8 seconds on his first 40-yard dash. On his second run, he was timed between 4.81 and 4.83.
"Everybody expected a 4.65 guy," Angelo said. "At worst I thought he'd run 4.75."
After Suggs' workout, Kansas State cornerback Terence Newman becomes a more likely possibility to be the first defensive player taken.
Newman joins quarterbacks Carson Palmer of Southern California and Byron Leftwich of Marshall as players identified by Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis on Tuesday as confirmed for additional visits to Cincinnati.
Lewis said he hopes the Bengals have a player under contract before the draft and is waiting for Leftwich's workout April 7. Lewis said quarterbacks and cornerbacks "are the most important parts of your team," and he has enjoyed success at Baltimore and Washington with great cornerbacks. So Newman is not a far-fetched choice, even though no cornerback has been the top choice in the modern era.
Jauron, a former defensive back, prefers the pass rusher.
"The great pass rusher can obviously make the secondary a lot better. If I had to choose, I would choose a pass rusher," Jauron said before learning about Suggs' workout.
The Detroit Lions, who have the second pick, are expected to take Michigan State receiver Charles Rogers.
Suggs especially disappointed the Houston Texans, who draft third. This makes it more likely that the Texans and the Bears will continue to explore the option of trading down.
Jauron, however, likes the rare shot at a special player in the fourth spot.
"I don't think there are a lot of special guys," Jauron said. "I think if you have a chance to get one, he can impact a game. In my opinion, I think you take the special guy because you don't know when you're going to get another chance.
"I would trade two good players for one impact player. On the other hand, if after we've gone through this whole process and we feel the depth of this draft is good enough that we can trade down and get two players and still get what we want, then absolutely you make that move, and that might still be the case in this draft."
Like Angelo, Jauron is reluctant to take a quarterback at No. 4, especially after the signing of Kordell Stewart.
"I would never say I wouldn't do it," Jauron said. But recognizing the risk-reward factor, especially right away, Jauron said, "If you had any doubt, no, pass him up."
Doubt surrounds Palmer and Leftwich.
Jauron disclosed plans to play Mike Gandy at right tackle in place of the departed James "Big Cat" Williams and Marc Colombo at left tackle, rather than the other way around as speculated.
"That's how we'll start," Jauron said. "I think it will work."
Jauron pointed out that the mobile Stewart "can help them too. People have to be a little more careful of what they do in terms of rushing the passer. And we have to run the ball more. That will help."
Jauron called departed quarterback Jim Miller "as good a leader as I've ever been around" and expressed regret at having to release Miller and Williams on the same day, a decision he said he "absolutely" was part of.
Both veterans expressed disappointment in the Bears organization, and Miller lamented playing through a rotator-cuff injury that required surgery he delayed until the off-season only to be released. Jauron said he never told Miller he had to play.
"With any player, not just Jim, we tried to make sure they are no more at risk by continuing playing than they are of playing football in general," Jauron said. "If you ask Jim if he wanted to play, he wanted to play. But Jim would always want to play. It's a fine line.
"I wish it hadn't happened. I told Jimmy I wish we could turn the clock back nine years and we all come in together and we move forward. I feel I have a real good understanding with Jim Miller personally. I couldn't think higher of a player than I think of Jim Miller. He was disappointed and there was bitterness there on his part. And I understand that."
Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden, who already has signed former Bears quarterback Shane Matthews as a backup to Brad Johnson, said he plans to sign Miller to some kind of provisional deal based on his health.
"I love Jim Miller," Gruden said.Jauron said he is "very happy" with the development of second-year pass rusher Alex Brown and linebacker Bryan Knight, the replacement for departed top sacker Rosevelt Colvin. But that doesn't mean Jauron has put pass rushing to the back of his mind.
"In the draft, we'll always be looking for defensive linemen, pass rusher particularly," he said. "If we get lucky again and get a guy in the fourth round like Alex, that would be terrific. We're going to have to come up with it some way."
Jauron called Jacksonville's defensive end Tony Brackens the best athlete he'd ever seen when he coached there. Brackens is a possible free agent after June 1, the next target date following the draft.
