http://blogs.suntimes.com/bears/2011/04/bears_attempted_to_move_up_to.html Bears general manager Jerry Angelo said he talked to several clubs with picks ahead of him, but he was very close to a deal with the Baltimore Ravens. The Bears were going to give the Ravens the 29th overall pick and its fourth-rounder (127th overall) to move up to the 26th slot, presumably to move ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs, who were rumored to be interested in an offensive lineman. But, the Bears didn't finalize the deal, and the Ravens missed their selection and ended up picking 27th. The Chiefs selected Pittsburgh receiver Jonathan Baldwin and the Ravens selected Colorado cornerback Jimmy Smith. "It was our fault," Angelo said. "[The Ravens] did everything according to the rules. "It worked out. We got our player." So did the Ravens, although general manager Ozzie Newsome lamented the snafu with the Bears. "Everyone was poised," he said at a press conference. "I was on the phone with the other team. [A Ravens official] was on the phone with Jimmy Smith. Once that agreement was made, then they have to call the league." Newsome informed NFL personnel executive Joel Bussert that a trade had been worked out. Only one problem. "The other team never got confirmation with the league," Newsome said. Angelo confirmed the Bears were trying to move up to get Carimi. "We dropped the ball," he said. "I dropped the ball. What's been done can't be undone." The Bears were actively looking to trade up from No. 29 because Carimi was still available in the high 20s. "We tried several times, and talked to other people," Angelo said. "But it didn't work out." So when Carimi was available at 29, the Bears didn't have much of a discussion on who they were going to take. "It was pretty easy about that time," Angelo said. "It was a pretty obvious pick for us." Newsome, among the league's most respected talent evaluators, had a trade fall through in 2003, when he was trying to consummate a deal with the Minnesota Vikings. Current Bears offensive line coach Mike Tice was the Vikings head coach at the time. The Vikings had the seventh pick, and they ended up selecting ninth. It didn't work out too bad for them; the Vikings landed defensive tackle Kevin Williams, a six-time Pro Bowl selection. UPDATE: The Ravens are not letting this go, appealing to the league that the Bears owe them a draft pick, presumably the 4th rounder. If the league makes a ruling, one would expect it to happen Friday or Saturday, before that pick comes up. I don't recall a precedent, so I'm not sure the Ravens will get their way.
No doubt the Bears messed, but so did the Ravens by admitting that they wanted Jimmy Smith all along. Since there was no harm, no foul. Had the claimed they wanted Jonathan Baldwin, they might have a case...
I've been following the draft for a while and never heard of a team wanting compensation for this snafu. If Jimmy Smith was gone, Ozzie might have a case. Making the trade, compensation has to be agreed upon and submited to Joel Bussert by both parties within that 10 minute window. If both parties don't contact Bussert..no deal. It's not rocket science, you have multiple people on the phone, one with the team and one with Bussert.
I sort of understand Ozzie's beef. He's saying that if the trade would have gone through, he would have still gotten Smith, but also the Bears 4th rounder. They still got the guy they wanted, but didn't get the 4th rounder. I doubt anything will come of it, but I understand why he's pissed.
It's definitely understandable why he's pissed, but I highly doubt the Ravens will get any satisfaction in this case.
I think there's no question the Ravens deserve the Bears' 4th round pick, but I hope they don't get it. Since Ozzie was on the phone with DeAngelo (or someone from the Bears) he should have asked them if they had confirmed the trade with the league yet. He also should have had someone on the phone with the league confirming the trade. Since Tice was involved in the Raven's previous trade snafu, it sounds like there could be some history or revenge going on there and the Bears intentionally took advantage of or even cheated the Ravens. I know he didn't expect the Bears to not confirm with the league, but imo you don't "assume" anything. If I'm Ozzie and I haven't received confirmation that the Bears confirmed the trade with the league with a minute to go, I cancel the trade and get my card up to the podium.
All in all the Bears got the player they wanted to trade up for so they should give the Ravens that 4th rd pick... To them Carimi was worth a 1st and a 4th so they shouldn't be dicks... by getting him at 29 instead of 26 they're also going to save a bit of money.
Because the Bears basically screwed them. The Ravens wound up with Jimmy Smith anyway, but they were fortunate. He could've gone in the interim. However, this has happened several times in the past and the NFL has never awarded compensation to the offended party.
Think about it this way, both teams have to call the league to confirm the trade. The Bears "messed up" costing the ravens a position in the draft, no harm no foul you say? Next year the Jets have a trade out of thier first rounder. Said trading partner, say an AFC rival, has no intention of trading with the Jets and "forgets" to get on the phone with the league in time, cost us our time slot in which the next team jumps us and drafts our guy. How would you feel then? When both have a responsability here and one of them fails on it there is injury to the other party. Call it breach of a verbal contract, call it what you will, but the Bears incompetance cost the Ravens something of value. They have every right to seek some compensation for it.
