Bears No RUSH TO JUDGEMENT

LAKE FOREST -- One of Lovie Smith's pet phrases is "you don't throw someone out of the family just because they made a mistake."

The Bears' coach and team management continue to ponder whether to throw defensive tackle Tank Johnson out of their football family for repeated mistakes in judgement and defying their edicts.

However, they seem to be leaning toward keeping him with the team.

"We have some things in mind that we would like to do, but we have to go through the league with everything," Smith said Monday.

Less than 12 hours after Smith and GM Jerry Angelo made public statements that Johnson's third arrest in 18 months had essentially caused them to bench him for last Sunday's game, the third-year player was at the scene of an early morning Saturday shooting in which his best friend and body guard was slain in a Chicago night club.

"He made a bad decision as I see it on that day," Smith said.

Smith said Johnson had been told to sever ties with some of the questionable people he was associating with, including Willie Posey, who was the friend murdered in the Ice Bar. Smith indicated the ill-advised trip to the bar Saturday had something to do with this separation process.

"I asked him to do some things, to get some things done and he was in the process of doing some of those things," Smith said. "Some of his decisions on how he was taking care of some of those things, we would like to have back."

The delay in the Bears' punishment process can only be interpreted as good news for Johnson sticking with the team the rest of the year, even if it means he doesn't see the field in the regular season or playoffs.

If they planned to cut him, they could simply do it. He is still working on his first contract and it doesn't expire until after 2008. The remaining pro-rated portion of his signing bonus would come up against their cap, but that would amount to only $688,000. Johnson's original bonus was $1.725 million.

Instead, the Bears seem to be looking to punish Johnson without breaching the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and its players union.

"We'll take our time to make the right decision because we're dealing with somebody's life right now, his livelihood and things like that," Smith said.

The collective bargaining agreement put into place prior to this season allows a team to suspend players without pay or to cut them for conduct deemed detrimental to their team.

Smith said Johnson has impressed him as someone who can turn his life around.

"Tank's a caring guy," Smith said. "If you talked with his teammates around here, how many of his teammates have said, 'hey we don't want Tank Johnson to be a part of this team.'

"Most of you know Tank. Has Tank made some bad decisions? We all have, but as far as Tank being a guy that the players would like to have be around here and be a part of their team, yes."

Although the Bears had no decision Monday, they doubt it will be much longer.

"We're trying to come to a quick solution to the problem," Smith said.

The decision is not one being made entirely by Smith or Angelo. Members of the McCaskey family, which owns the team, are involved, as well. Among those also with input are players. After Sunday's game, almost all asked were 100 percent behind keeping Johnson as a teammate.