OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- In the wake of the trade fiasco that left the Baltimore Ravens without an extra fourth-round draft pick and the Chicago Bears facing accusations about their competence and integrity, the Ravens remain disappointed in how their NFL counterparts handled the situation.

The Bears refused to give the Ravens a draft pick after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell recommended they do so, but didn't make it a mandatory directive.

Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti called the league to complain and has expressed disappointment in the McCaskey family that owns the Bears.

"I cant imagine why they would be so opposed to doing this," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Saturday. "I thought Steve said it well. Youre talking about your reputation. Youre talking about how you do business. The McCaskeys are the McCaskeys. They are the NFL. I really think if they were making the decision, Im pretty sure their fourth-round pick wouldnt be worth the history of their reputation.

"It seems like thats what disappointed Steve. You make a deal. You say you have a deal. Its one thing to come back and say you have no deal. Its another thing to say you have a deal for two minutes and weve called it in. Im not sure what Ozzie [Newsome] is supposed to do. He thinks its a technical snafu. So, it should be able to get resolved. How hard would it be to pick up the phone and call it in if they don't have it yet It's pretty hard to understand. .. We do stand on our integrity."

The Bears and Ravens were discussing a trade where they would have sent their 29th overall pick and a fourth-rounder to the Ravens in exchange for the 26th overall pick of the first round.

The Ravens wound up getting the player they wanted, Colorado cornerback Jimmy Smith, with the 27th pick after they were passed by the Kansas City Chiefs who took wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin.

Bears general manager Jerry Angelo has apologized for the gaffe.

"The only thing I am going to say is they have rules when you do something wrong, Angelo told Chicago reporters. Not when people make mistakes. A mistake was made. No rule was broken, So, lets just make that clear here. We made the proper amends from our part and certainly there was no intent other than to do the best we could and it just didnt work out.

Angelo said he's not worried about whether this incident will harm his reputation, or if it will make the Ravens not want to deal with him in the future.

"There isnt anybody in this room that hasnt made a mistake," Angelo said. "We made an honest mistake. No more than that. There was total transparency. You make your apologies and we did and if there are consequences, you accept those consequences and then you move on. So be it. It wont be my last.

Believe me, I am going into my 31st year in this league. There has been a hell of a lot worse that has been done, believe me, on the clock and there have been things out there documented so lets not get into judging souls here. If there is something that needs to be done, I trust the league will do their due diligence and so be it.

Newsome hasn't criticized the Bears publicly.

And Newsome said he's moving on: "It's the end of the story."

NationalFootballPost wrote:

Anatomy of botched draft trade

Bears appear inept if not unethical in trade with Ravens that wasn't

Commissioner Roger Goodell suggested to the Bears they make reparations to the Ravens after the attempted trade they botched Thursday night and general manager Jerry Angelo declined.

The NFL investigated the matter Friday and apparently determined the Bears didn't make good on their word with Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome.

But the league stopped short of sanctioning them, which turned out to be another stroke of good luck as the disputed fourth-round pick was traded to the Redskins so the Bears could move up in the second round and draft Oregon State defensive tackle Stephen Paea.

"They have rules when you do something wrong," Angelo said. "Not when people make mistakes. No rule was broken, OK, so let's just make that clear here."

Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti petitioned Goodell, believing the Ravens were owed the compensation the Bears promised Thursday when they agreed to trade the fourth-round pick (127th overall) to move up three spots in the first round. The Bears wanted to go from No. 29 to 26 to draft Wisconsin offensive tackle Gabe Carimi, fearing the Chiefs would scoop him up at 27. The deal never was finalized and the Bears got Carimi anyway while the Ravens got the player they wanted, Colorado cornerback Jimmy Smith.

The Ravens released play-by-play detail of the negotiations Friday. They say the trade was finalized with three minutes remaining on their clock. The Bears never reported the trade to the league.

Angelo said he told staff members to phone in the deal with a little more than two minutes remaining on the clock. But two staff members each thought the other was making the call so it never was made. Newsome was exasperated as he spoke with the NFL and the Bears while the final two minutes expired.

"We made an honest mistake," Angelo said. "There was total transparency."

Angelo apologized to the Ravens personally after the deal fell through, then did so publicly later Thursday night.

It's an embarrassing situation and Angelo acknowledged the Bears didn't follow procedure . It's not the first time the team hasn't done so in his tenure. In 2003, the NFL fined the organization for tampering with cornerback Al Harris when a trade with the Eagles didn't materialize.

When the Bears had the checked-box fiasco in 2002, those errors hurt them, not another team. The Bears were on the clock in the draft last year in the sixth round when college scouting director Greg Gabriel told Buffalo running back James Starks the team was drafting him. Then the Bears changed direction and Angelo told Gabriel to tell Starks they had changed their mind to select Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour.

Is he worried about this latest situation tarnishing the team and making it more difficult to conduct business?

"I am going into my 31st year in this league," he said. "There has been a hell of a lot worse that has been done, believe me, on the clock and there have been things out there documented so let's not get into judging souls here."

ChicagoTribune wrote:

Goodell's actions in this matter strike me as rather limp wristed -- like the weak-willed mommy who says, "Susie, I really think you should stop taking Willie's candy," but doesn't do anything about it. If he thought the actions of the Bears were worthy of sanction, he should have imposed sanctions. If they weren't worthy of sanction, he should have simply said so. Recommending a voluntary punishment makes no sense. It is the equivalent of telling kids to play nice and then walking away.

That being said, I also find Angelo's reasoning spurious. I don't know what world he lives in, but in the real world, people pay everyday for mistakes they make. "Oops, it was an accident" almost never flies. When someone breaks the rules, he usually has to pay the consequences, no matter how pure his intentions might have been or transparents his actions were.

"Nonstopdrivel" wrote:

You.. can be a millionaire.. and never pay taxes! You can be a millionaire.. and never pay taxes! You say.. "Steve.. how can I be a millionaire.. and never pay taxes?" First.. get a million dollars. Now.. you say, "Steve.. what do I say to the tax man when he comes to my door and says, 'You.. have never paid taxes'?" Two simple words. Two simple words in the English language: "I forgot!" How many times do we let ourselves get into terrible situations because we don't say "I forgot"? Let's say you're on trial for armed robbery. You say to the judge, "I forgot armed robbery was illegal." Let's suppose he says back to you, "You have committed a foul crime. you have stolen hundreds and thousands of dollars from people at random, and you say, 'I forgot'?" Two simple words: Excuuuuuse me!!"