The Bears beat writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, Sean Jensen, joins us for a Q&A. You can follow Sean on Twitter @skjensen, and you can also pick up a Chicago Sun-Times at a news stand. Yes, they still have those!

Is Chester Taylor insurance for the Bears and relief for Matt Forte, or do you think the Bears are wavering on Forte as their back of the future? Or does every team feel they need two starting quality backs to succeed?

Jensen: The Bears didn’t pay such a steep price for Chester Taylor ($7 million in guarantees) to simply be an insurance policy for Forte. I believe they realized last season that they needed another quality back, especially since Forte played through assorted minor injuries last season. Forte, though, hasn’t been threatened by Taylor. The latter isn’t one to steal the spotlight; he didn’t cause waves behind Adrian Peterson in Minnesota or Jamal Lewis in Baltimore. That was attractive to the Bears, although not as much as his versatility (effectiveness on all three downs, his ability to catch the ball and even return kickoffs).

The Julius Peppers signing obviously fills a big need, but do you think the Bears will be able to fill their other glaring needs at safety, wide receiver, and especially along the offensive line?

Jensen: The Bears seem to be content at safety, after trading for Chris Harris and drafting Major Wright in the third round. Yes, they keep saying over and over again that they are confident in their receivers.

He said at the mini-camp last week that his high opinion of them hasn’t changed. He called his starters (presently Devin Hester and Johnny Knox) terrific, and he also pumped up Devin Aromashodu.

The offensive line would seem an area of concern. The Bears explored some options (they considered Rob Sims, who was traded from the Seattle Seahawks to the Detroit Lions) and they also may have been interested in Justin Smiley, if he were released by the Miami Dolphins. But, Smiley was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a late-round pick.

The Bears may be figuring out what they have in-house, with young players like Johan Asiata, who got a lot of snaps as the starting left guard at mini-camp. They also took a look at veteran offensive tackle Kevin Shaffer at guard, as well as Josh Beekman. Lance Louis, it appears, will be a backup at right tackle. Some veterans are expected to be dumped in late July or early August, and the Bears may make a play for one of them, if they are not satisfied with their depth.

Do you think Lovie Smith needs to make the playoffs to save his job, and does the presence of

someone like Mike Martz create an additional distraction since he, too, is probably gunning for another head coaching job eventually?

Jensen: The McCaskey family has been patient with Smith and general manager Jerry Angelo since the duo led the Bears to an NFC Championship. So I doubt they would tell Smith his job hinges on a playoff berth. Not all playoff runs are equal. A shellacking in the first round, for instance, might not be satisfactory. Who knows, for sure, though?

As for Martz, it’s not uncommon for an assistant to be auditioning for a head job. So it shouldn’t be anymore of a distraction than anywhere else.

What did you think of Ron Jaworski's breakdown of all of Cutler's picks?

Jensen: Well, it was my idea, so I obviously thought there was value to it. The primary reason I wanted to do it was because I needed to review the entire 2009 Bears season. I jumped onto the beat just before the season finale, so I had a lot of catching up to do.

Cutler, obviously, was one of the biggest stories.

It would have been hard for me to review his entire season. Thankfully, Jaworski and company can access film much easier, so I was able to save tons of time. Because he was a successful quarterback, Jaworski also had unique insight on Cutler, so we watched all of the interceptions together. Some wondered why I didn’t break down the touchdowns. Well, the Bears went 7-9, and Jay had been a Pro Bowl quarterback before. His interceptions was the more relevant story.

The Bears have one of the NFL's most powerful "brands" or legacies. A combination of Chicago weather, fan expectations and Bears history has typically seen the Bears as a defensive team first. With the arrival of Jay Cutler and now, Mike Martz, are the Bears battling themselves and their "traditions" as much as they are anything else?

Jensen: I think that’s a misnomer. The Bears have some great offenses, just not in quite some time. Perhaps the greater battle is how they will be successful throwing the ball – a Martz signature – in late November through January, when the Bears will often be playing in cold weather conditions. Smith has repeatedly stressed that running the ball will still be important, and Martz did boast a great run attack with the St. Louis Rams.

But there’s no denying the fact that the Bears have to use their strengths, which means Cutler isn’t going to just hand the ball off all the time.

What do you see as the future of Greg Olsen, and is that tight end position an important barometer of how the Bears will now put more emphasis on pass protection in order to spread the ball to wide receivers and running backs down field?

Jensen: The tight ends were fairly active during mini-camp, and Olsen told me that he’s confident that he’ll remain a big part of the offense. Yes, Martz didn’t exactly integrate tight ends into his offense in St. Louis, and he certainly didn’t use Vernon Davis much in 2008, when he was with the San Francisco 49ers. But, Martz may not have a choice in Chicago.

Olsen is athletic, and he’s one of the more experienced pass-catchers available to Martz. Olsen also

seems annoyed by the perception – whether legit or not – that he isn’t a very good blocker. Either way, the Bears signed Brandon Manumaleuna as a blocking tight end.

Do you believe the return of Brian Urlacher will help keep the defense as a whole become more stable or must there be major change in the defensive backfield?

Jensen: Urlacher is still a huge part of this defense. Hunter Hillenmeyer did an admirable job in 2009, filling in for Urlacher. But Urlacher is a perennial Pro Bowl player, and his impact is huge. In addition to his leadership, he makes game-changing plays on a regular basis. The Bears are encouraged because Urlacher suffered a fluke wrist injury, which is far better than him coming back from a leg injury.

While the Bears didn’t overhaul the defensive backfield, they are hopeful that the addition of Julius Peppers will make a difference, helping to shore up the pass rush.

If the Bears don't sign a veteran wide receiver how do you think the depth chart will look to start next season?

Jensen: At this point, it’s Hester and Knox, followed by Aromashodu. Then, Earl Bennett. I think Iglesias will be given every chance to win the No. 5 job, since he was a third-round pick last year. But, he’ll have to convincingly beat Rashied Davis, who is a versatile player.

Do you believe the organization is worried about Cutler learning Martz's system in such a short time period? Do you think the addition of Manumaleuna will help Cutler?

Jensen: No, the Bears aren’t worried about Cutler learning the offense. Martz has a history of improving offenses in his first year of working with them. The Rams offense jumped from 22nd to first under Martz in 1999. The Lions 27th-ranked offense improved to 22nd and 19th under Martz then dropped to 30th the year after he left. They are confident Cutler can pick it up. He did, after all, go to Vanderbilt.

While they haven’t dramatically changed their offensive line, Manumaleuna certainly must be counted toward helping pass protection. That was largely his role in San Diego, where he complemented Antonio Gates.

-- CHET GRESHAM
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Setting The Stage For 2010 NFL Draft




The view of the draft stage from press row:


Pre-Draft Buzz From The Press Box, Radio City 2010




The view from the draft stage:



Firing Up The Crowd At 2010 NFL Draft




Lawrence Taylor greets Rod Woodson in the gathering of legends:



New York Fans Boo Dan Marino




Jim Brown, Jerry Rice and Barry Sanders are among the legends honored on stage:


Bucs Pick Gerald McCoy Hugs It Out With The Commish




The Chiefs Are On The Clock




ESPN's Adam Schefter makes a point in the press box between Twitter updates and on-camera appearances:


New Browns CB Joe Haden Wants LeBron To Stay In Cleveland




Bills pick C.J. Spiller gets swarmed by cameras as he moves from the green room to the stage:


Jets Fans Meet "The Draft Queen"




The Professor works the press box:


Eagles And Giants Fans Face Off




Eagles Fans React To First-Round Pick




The NFL salutes the U.S. military:


Jets Fans React To The Selection Of CB Kyle Wilson

Cheering at the draft can build an appetite. Check out the line at the snack bar:



-- ERIC HERD, SEAN JOHNSON, BRANDON KOPCEUCH, TERRY LONG
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The Bears coaching staff and front office are desperate. The players know it, the fans know it and more importantly free agents and their agents know it. If the Bears don’t make the playoffs in 2010, ownership will likely clean house. Adding Julius Peppers, Chester Taylor and Brandon Manumaleuna on the first night of free agency may make a difference, but there is no guarantee. Either way, with no first- or second-round draft picks it was a necessary risk.

Peppers was the big fish this offseason. Simply put, he’s an athletic freak, a 6-7, 290-pound defensive end who runs a 4.5 40 and played basketball at North Carolina. He has the ability to completely dominate the game, more than any other defensive player. There is a legitimate concern, however, that Peppers takes too many plays off. As Bear fans know, this is what’s killed them the past three years. Getting stops on first and second down and giving up a touchdown on third. Still, getting the best overall player available is always a good thing.

Taylor was a terrific signing for two reasons. He won’t dominate games, but he provides a very real alternative to Matt Forte. Taylor is also a terrific receiving and blocking back, which will fit in well in Mike Martz’s offense. This was also a great signing because it really hurt the Vikings, a big Chicago rival. Even though he didn’t highlight that offense, Taylor did a lot of little things, which made the Vikings so potent. It remains to be seen how they’ll perform without him.

The Bears cannot rest on their laurels after landing their two main free agent targets. They still need a free safety and a guard before they can talk about competing with the Packers or the Vikings. Still, for Bear fans, these early moves show that the front office is serious about winning and winning now.

-- TOMMY ALTER
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With no first- or second-round pick in the NFL draft the Bears decided to stir up a free agency whirlwind starting Thursday night when coach Lovie Smith flew to Charlotte to take Julius Peppers back to Chicago and give him a whole lot of money. While that was happening the Bears were also courting running back Chester Taylor and tight end Brandon Manumaleuna.

Now that the dust has settled the Bears have landed all three. Their biggest needs seemed to be in the defensive backfield and offensive line, but the best free agents didn't fit those holes. Peppers is a good fit for a defense line that had trouble getting to the quarterback, which is needed in coach Smith's Cover 2 scheme. Peppers' m.o. is to disappear in some games and, of course, take over in others. He is still only 30 years old and should have no trouble accumulating double-digit sacks once again. Is he worth 12 million a year? Probably not, but he has skills and Angelo, Smith and company are looking to save their jobs.

Taylor has passed that magic age of 30 for running backs, but he also has only one season where he has carried the ball over 160 times. Recently he has been the third-down back behind Adrian Peterson and has done that job well. In a Mike Martz offense running backs need to be able to block and catch the ball out of the backfield; Taylor does both well. Grabbing him from division rival is just an added benefit. He signed a four-year, $12.5 million contract with $7 million guaranteed.

After Matt Forte's down season, much was blamed on the offensive line and injuries, but whatever it was, he wasn't good enough. Taylor will have to have a huge training camp to become the new starting tailback, but he will for sure push Forte for playing time, especially in Martz's offense. Yes, Forte fits the offense as well, but Taylor is a veteran who I believe Martz thinks can really help this team.

Speaking of Martz, he had a huge hand in the signing of Manumaleuna, his tight end from his hey day with the Rams. Manu is a great blocker and fits Martz's scheme perfectly. So what does this mean for Greg Olsen? There was some talk that Olsen could be on the trading block, but the rumor mill has slowed its churn. But if they keep Olsen how will Martz use him? Could the signing of Manu mean we might see Olsen on pass routes while Manu blocks? That isn't really the Martz way. Tight end numbers are often depressed in a Martz offense and I don't see him using many two TE sets. Will he change that for Olsen? I just don't see it happening. Trading Olsen would probably be the best course of action, but we'll just have to see.

Overall, these moves will help the Bears, but they still have glaring weaknesses that need strengthening. The uncapped year may keep them in the running to make more moves, but they are done making big name acquisitions. This is the current Bears' regime's last gasp. If they don't make real progress this season (i.e. playoffs and a win) I don't see Lovie and company staying in town.

-- CHET GRESHAM
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It’s already two weeks and counting since the Bears played their final game, and this past weekend’s wildcard playoffs reminded fans of the navy and orange what could have been.

Making the playoffs – and winning there – is a common denominator each fan can certainly appreciate. Yet beyond that, it’s difficult to predict just what type of future playoff challenge Bears fan are hoping for their team to represent.

With Jay Cutler now at the helm, some are probably thinking that the shootout at the OK Corral between the Cardinals and Black-and-Blue Division’s Packers is what the Bears ought to pursue. Yet to others, the way the Ravens waltzed into Gillette Stadium and laid a pounding on Pretty Boy Brady and his cast of overly self-enthralled Patriots is more the standard.

If beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder, then which of the eight teams still in the Super Bowl hunt is the one the Bears might emulate? Who deserves the weighty allegiance of Bears Faithful’s vicarious embrace, now that their own squad has left them alone at the altar yet again?

Let’s take a look at each game:

Arizona @ New Orleans
This promises to become another shoot-out, but this time, Drew Brees ought to be scattering the ball around to the likes of Marques Colston, Robert Meacham, Reggie Bush and even Jeremy Shockey.

For most of the season, the Saints showed that they indeed have a defense and, second, that both of their lines aren’t afraid to bust people in the mouth. That’s good, because the Packers' defense was ranked even better, and Kurt Warner and Co. shredded them like good Wisconsin cheddar.

There’s something about Arizona, and it begins with Ken Whisenhunt and his Steelers roots. Yes, this team can certainly throw it with the best of them. But during the second half of the season, with the emergence of Beanie Wells, they also began to establish a ground game. Not THE ground game, but A ground game. Something to actually complement the prolific passing game and create symbiosis between the two rather than a mutually exclusive, one-or-the-other stasis.

The Bears could learn something from that and Cutler has the opportunity – with the right supporting cast – to become Warner-esque with the tools and speed surrounding him. Bears fans ought to get behind the Cardinals, for no other reason than they used to both play in Chicago. Somewhere deep within that Phoenix DNA lays a bratwurst and Italian beef-laden chromosome. Whisenhunt is a guy who not only appreciates that; he wants to evolve a team (like the Steelers) where it’s predominant.

Bears fans should take a look at Ken Whisenhunt's Cardinals for a blueprint of what their team could be like.

Baltimore @ Indianapolis
OK, the Colts took the Bears out (some say badly) in the Super Bowl three years back, and so that deserves banishment to the Bears' dungeon – forever. Not so fast.

The Colts are a finesse team, but Peyton Manning is not a finesse quarterback. He’s big and he’s bad and he gets pissed – but he keeps it under control and channels it toward the continued excellence of his cast. How come kids like Austin Collie or Pierre Garcon somehow magically become quality receivers, virtually overnight? Sure, Manning can thread a needle with an overgrown ostrich egg from about 70 yards, but his command of the game, determination and DEMAND that those around him perform to his level is what separates the Colts from the pack. Sound familiar, Chicago fans? A guy named Michael Jordan did a lot of that in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and Bears fans came to appreciate him pretty well.

Once Brian Urlacher went down in the first game of the season, there was nobody on the Bears' defense willing to step up in the same way. Dan Hampton would have done it years back, and Mike Singletary continues to do it from the sidelines, albeit in San Francisco. Accountability still means something in the Colts' backfield – as well as everywhere else – and while the Baltimore defense is to be envied, it’s the qualities that Manning represents that deserve recognition and emulation by Bears Nation (especially the current team).

Dallas @ Minnesota
Easy, hope for a zero-zero tie in which both teams self-implode and embarrass themselves. For Bears fans, this is a case of trying to decide on the worse of two evils.

Did anyone notice during the Alabama – Texas national championship game that the Texas team carried out the Texas flag flanked by two American flags rather than placing Old Glory in the feature position? Dallas claims to be “America’s Team,” which is yet another not-so-subtly veiled attempt to reduce American interest to what best suits the state of Texas. Can’t we all just turn a blind eye while Viva Mexico splays across the border and subsumes that dust pit south of the Rio Grande?

As for the dreaded Vikings, maybe Bears fans can just hope for overtime and for Jared Allen to pull Tony Romo down in the end zone for a 2-0 win. After that, it’s Katy bar the door for either the Saints or Cardinals to embarrass the Vikings again and deny the franchise yet another opportunity to lose the Super Bowl.

New York Jets @ San Diego Chargers
Rex Ryan and the Jets' defense are direct descendants of former Bears defensive coordinator and legend Buddy Ryan and his 46 Defense. Rex is pretty much as brash as the old man, but so far he’s walking the walk, and the young Jets aren’t afraid to punch people out, including those in their hometown who still consider the Giants the cock of the walk.

It used to be that Chicago was known as the “Second City,” and that might have once flown in terms of population (where Chicago is now No. 3) but never in terms of attitude. Strange, because New York is the clear No. 1 in that dynamic, but Bears fans have someone to love in the Jets since they’ve always been the second horse in a two-stable town.

Nobody much cares about the Chargers, and while LaDainian Tomlinson deserves accolades and comparisons to Walter Payton – as much for heart as for yardage – the Chargers are about equally as loyal as fantasy football owners in their continued commitment to LT. Take the Jets in the upset.

So, where to go with your loyalties after this weekend, Bears Nation? Stick with the Cardinals. Call them the “Chicago” Cardinals and bring out your No. 33 Ollie Matson jerseys. And know that the Bears could certainly use the same mix of aerial expertise, speed and complementary running to their own benefit next season. The Cardinals' defense continues to improve and, with Whisenhunt in charge, they’re likely to become one of the NFC’s (and NFL’s) best units before too long. And that’s the goal for every Bears fan: a team with the ability to harness a young, sometimes lunkheadead but dynamic-armed QB with a powerful running game and lash it together with a bad-ass defense with attitude. That’s the Bears team everyone wants to see.

Remind you of anything? Back in 1969, the Bears and Steelers were tied with 1-13 records and the Bears lost the coin toss for the first pick in the draft. The Bears could have tanked their one win of the season – a victory over the same Steelers in Week Eight – but they won when a loss could have brought them greater spoils. The Steelers used that first pick to bring in a strong-armed yet erratic quarterback who, early in his career, was often ridiculed for his backwater ways and perceived lack of intelligence, especially the many times he passed into the hands of his opponents rather than those of his own team.

But he sorted that all out. And Chuck Noll built a Super Bowl powerhouse around Terry Bradshaw that included a good multi-dimensional running game, tremendous receivers and a Steel Curtain defense that every Bears fans could love. Those Steelers played in eight AFC Championships and won four Super Bowls. With a flip of the coin – and a consistent strategy and plan – they went from a 1-13 laughingstock to laying the foundations for what is still one of the NFL’s most storied and successful franchises.

Whisenhunt’s Cardinals are Steelers West, and they lost by an eyelash to those Steelers in last season’s Super Bowl, before the Steelers failed by an eyelash to make the AFC playoffs this time. The Bears might have been the Steelers. They could still become the Steelers, and with the Steelers no closer to the Super Bowl tournament than the Bears these next few weeks, the best alternative is the Cardinals – the Chicago Cardinals.

And then we all hope that Whisenhunt’s mentor, the iron-jawed Bill Cowher, builds enough of a will to return to the game that, should the Bears tank again in 2010, the search for a new leader on the Bears sideline ought to be self-evident.

-- THOMAS TYRER