CHICAGO — The sports talk shows in town were hyperventilating Thursday over what appeared to be one of the great debates of our time: Should the Bears pursue Terrell Owens?

This is some sort of trick question, right?

If the Bears had two or three halfway decent receivers, this might be a discussion. If the Bears had an offense that was the envy of the NFL, we might be talking about whether it's prudent to bring in a problem child like T.O. If Kyle Orton's hand were so steady at the tiller that he didn't need a superstar receiver to win games, there would be no reason to argue the issue.

But the Bears?

The Bears who finished 26th out of 32 teams in total offense last season?

The Bears who had a No. 1 receiver, Devin Hester, whose major accomplishments last year were pass interference calls on the other team?

The Bears with a receiving corps that included Hester, Rashied Davis, Brandon Lloyd, Marty Booker and a third-round draft pick, Earl Bennett, who couldn't get on the field?

Those Bears?

You go after Terrell Owens and you don't give it a second thought. Unless he suddenly has enrolled in the University of Felonious Assault's continuing education program, you get moving on this guy.

The Cowboys have released Owens, meaning one of the most talented receivers in NFL history is available to any team willing to put up with his act. If the Bears aren't already in meaningful discussions with Owens' agent, they're crazy.

Indications are they're crazy. Word is the Bears aren't interested. This is so like the Bears that you feel like caning Staley, their fluffy mascot.

The Bears with the most receptions last year were running back Matt Forte (64) and tight end Greg Olsen (54). Hester was third with 52, followed by another tight end, Desmond Clark, with 41.

So you can see how they wouldn't need someone who's a great wide receiver.

Owens had more touchdown receptions last season (10) than all the Bears' receivers combined.

His last three seasons:

2008: 69 catches, 1,052 yards, 10 touchdowns

2007: 81 catches, 1,355 yards, 15 touchdowns

2006: 85 catches, 1,180 yards, 13 touchdowns

Why would the Bears ever want Terrell Owens?

These being the Bears, the most obvious question is why they don't want him. If you have spent any time studying the franchise, then you know money and the McCaskey family's concerns about image are likely suspects.

General manager Jerry Angelo recently discussed the team's spending philosophy. This was before Dallas cut Owens.

"Certainly there are players out there, but at what cost?" he told ChicagoBears.com. "And what does that cost do to your salary cap and to other things that you may want to do internally and/or in free agency? You have to be patient as you go through this process. It's not a matter of not wanting to spend the money. The cap is how you want to allocate the money."

Allocate the money to Owens. Do something bold. Be daring. The other approach hasn't been very satisfying the past few years. Did anybody notice what the Cardinals did in the playoffs last season with Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston? For Orton to have any shot at being a quality NFL quarterback he needs talented receivers, not the band of nobodies he had last season.

Please don't talk about the cap and the importance of paying your own players. How did paying all those players from the 2006 Super Bowl team work out? Not very well.

And please, no moralizing. The organization that gave chance after chance to Tank Johnson shouldn't be worried about Owens' disruptive nature in the locker room or on the field. It should be worried about an offense that was as painful to watch as an elephant trying to get out of a moat.

We have spent a lot of time this off-season talking about whom the Bears should add to their roster after a disappointing 2007. Those names are meaningless in light of the Owens development. He makes the Bears better immediately. There is no discussion about how long it would take him to get used to the system, not the way there would be if the Bears had acquired quarterback Jay Cutler.

With Owens, it's see football, catch football.

That's what wide receivers are supposed to do. We tend to forget that in this town. This is a town that treated Muhsin Muhammad as if he were Jerry Rice. Imagine if a real receiver came to Chicago. We wouldn't know what to do with ourselves.

Sort of like the Bears.