The Bears added Kevin Jones during the 2008 off-season thinking he would be a solid complement to the rookie Matt Forte. The former first round pick out of Virginia, Jones, was coming off knee and ankle injuries.

During 2008 he appeared in 11 games rushing 34 times for only 108 yards. This past season he tore a ligament in his left ankle and was declared out for the year during a preseason game against the Browns.

The Bears needed to get rid of some used space by dumping Jones. Chester Taylor, who was recently signed has been named the “co-starter” with Matt Forte by offensive coordinator Mike Martz. Add Kahlil Bell and Garrett Wolfe to the mix and the Bears have some talent at the running back position.

Jones, the 27 year old Pennsylvanian native will have a hard time finding a roster spot with his history of injuries. Maybe he kind land a spot with the Steelers or the Browns. I know he has to fight hard to find a spot on a team and if he can he’ll have to work his way up the depth chart.

Good luck Kevin Jones sorry we let you go so early. Find a team where you can get some playing time.

Jones had this to say about his departure from the Bears:

“I’m just thankful for the opportunity the Bears gave me here.”

All quotes from chicagotribune.com

The Chicago Bears have officially made the biggest moves in free agency they basically had no choice. They wee forced to add big time players because this could be the last year with this coaching staff and they don’t have a draft pick until the third round.

Julius Peppers is an instant upgrade at DE. Put him on the defensive line with Tommie Harris, Alex Brown and Mark Anderson and this line could be the best since their Super Bowl season. Also consider Lance Briggs, Brian Urlacher and others being on the field at the same time, that could be scary.

The reason the Bears landed the top free agent in the class, Julius Peppers was because they were aggressive before free agency started and they were committed when it did start. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the deal is believed to be in the range of a six-year, $72 million contract with $40-45 million in the first three years. That’s a lot of money for a defensive end. People around the league constantly bash the guy for being a good player who doesn’t really give his full effort every game. Peppers has 81 sacks in his NFL career, which began in 2002. That’s the third-most in the NFL during that time, behind only Jason Taylor and Dwight Freeney.

Besides this exciting signing of Peppers, the Bears add a familiar face Chester Taylor. As we all know Taylor was the backup runner for Adrian Peterson in Minnesota for the last couple of years. Taylor was the most versatile back in this class of running backs. Taylor is 30 years old, but his body is very young because he has been a backup every season except one, which took place before Adrian Peterson showed up on the scene in Minnesota. Taylor will provide the Bears with another good runner, a very good receiver out of the backfield and a talented pass blocker. Plus he was a cheap option, they gave a four deal worth about 12 million dollars, they gave him seven million in guarantees. Put Chester Taylor with a healthy Matt Forte and they might be the best one two punch in the league. Taylor’s coming in, might spell the end for Kevin Jones, who is constantly injured.

The addition of Brandon Manumaluna is also very good considering he is arguably the best blocking tight end in the NFL. Manumaluna wasn’t an expensive option, his deal is reported to be five years worth 17 million dollars, six million dollars in guarantees.

Just a thought:

This might be the best off-season the Bears have ever had. Last season the Bears gave up almost everything for Jay Cutler, but they got Johnny Knox in the fifth round, so it wasn’t too bad. Bears fans thought the addition of Cutler would instantly make the Bears a playoff contender they were wrong. Cutler and the offense were in a wrong system with offensive coordinator Ron Turner calling the plays. Now with Mike Martz’s philosophy, which is a pass happy system by the way it suits Cutler and the young receivers they have. Knox, Aromashodu, Bennett, Hester and even Iglesias should get plenty of looks. Hester will be a slot receiver which suits him, he isn’t a number one receiver and he should be the kick returner once again. Now they have some very good tight end protection with Dez Clark and Brandon Manumaleuna and they have excellent backs who are pass catchers out of the backfield Forte and Taylor.

The Bears defense weren’t as bad as they seemed to be last season. There main problem was there lack of pass rush, their injuries and their inexperience in the secondary. Adding Julius Peppers, having Brian Urlacher, Tommie Harris, Charles Tillman, Pisa Tinoisamoa healthy this season will be a huge boost. Maybe they should look at bringing Mike Brown back, he was pretty solid in Kansas City last season.

Stealing a player from the division rival Vikings is a win and having Peppers face Vikings tackle Bryant McKinnie two times a year could be a deciding factor in games.

Are the Bears done signing free agents? They need a safety and some depth on the offensive line. We’ll see. Atleast we know the Bears actually are committed to winning next season, they could be early favorites to win the NFC.

The Bears added a tight end today. His name is Brandon Manumaleuna he almost immediately signed a five-year deal after he walked through the doors of Halas Hall. Manumaleuna spent the last four years in San Diego and before that was with Mike Martz and Lovie Smith in St. Louis. The 30 year old tight end was the best available tight end and Martz values the tight end as a blocker more than a receiver.

With the addition of  Manumaleuna he can now team up Greg Olsen, Dez Clark and Kellen Davis. Clark or Davis is the odd man out. Davis is still a project and not a very good blocker, Clark is a crafty veteran who for the first time in his Bears career was injured last season. Clark is owed a $475,000 today and will see if the addition of Manumaleuna spells the end of Clark. I think the Bears should keep Clark around at least for this season because he has been the most consistent player receiving and blocking.

The addition of the 6′2″, 295 pound Manumaleuna should really improve the Bears running game and offensive line, he is basically another blocker. Plus, the Bears play-by-play announcer Jeff Joniak should have saying his name and Devin Aromashodu’s at the same time.

Good start of free agency by the Bears, Julius Peppers and Chester Taylor will walk through Halas Hall later today hopefully they don’t they don’t leave without signing a contract.

Brandon Manumaleuna’s career stats:

Brandon Manumaleuna had this to say about joining the Bears:

“I played for Mike Martz (in St. Louis) and Lovie Smith was the defensive coordinator. It was a great situation, this team has a chance to be real successful. It was difficult (to leave San Diego). I had a lot of friends and it was close to home, but the business is what it is.”

All quotes from chicagotribune.com

The Bears will not only be hosting DE Julius Peppers and RB Chester Taylor tomorrow at Halas Hall, but also TE Brandon Manumaleuna who thrived in his years with Mike Martz in St. Louis.

Adam Schefter of ESPN is reporting big money for Manumaleuna because Martz values the tight end as a blocker more than a receiver. This could spell the end for TE Kellen Davis because the Bears already have Dez Clark and Greg Olsen on the roster, unless their considering keeping four tight ends.

If the Bears do sign Manumaleuna, I feel bad for play by play announcer Jeff Joniak announcing Manumaleuna’s name and Aromashodu’s name next season.

Tomorrow will be a busy day at Halas Hall.

Brace yourself Bears fans

Safety Antrel Rolle, who was recently released by the Arizona Cardinals wants to become the highest paid safety in the NFL by receiving about eight million dollars a year. The Bears had a lot of interest in him, but because they are going after Julius Peppers and Chester Taylor already they might want not to spend that much money on a safety.

Players that make there first visit a team on the first day of free agency usually leave with a contract. DE Julius Peppers and RB Chester Taylor are both veteran players the Bears will be bringing in tomorrow and they both would help the Bears tremendously.

Taylor would give the Bears their best one-two punch at running back since Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson. Taylor and Forte would probably be the best receivers who play running back in the league. Peppers would be a instant upgrade on the defensive line and if Tommie Harris can return to form, watch out for this defense. Don’t forget Alex Brown is also there.

Chicago Tribune writer Vaughn McClure is reporting that free agent DE Julius Peppers will visit the Bears later today. The Bears need a pass rusher and he is the top pass rusher on the market.

Here’s what McClure had to say:

Defensive end Julius Peppers, the top agent on the market, has agreed to visit the Bears Friday, agent Carl Carey told the Tribune as free agency began Thursday night.

No team was allowed to have contact with Peppers until the free-agent period officially began at 11:01 p.m., but Peppers had a strong interest in joining Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, and Tommie Harris on the Bears’ defense. The Bears were the first team to call Carey and extended a “substantial offer” that was good enough to get Peppers on the plane.

Other teams, such as the Redskins and Seahawks, were expected to make a late push for Peppers as well, but the Bears emerged as the front-runner. He could visit other teams depending on what happens in Chicago.

Greg Olsen was supposedly Jay Cutler’s go to guy and they had clicked from day one of training camp, but last season Olsen didn’t play up to the level people thought he could have.

Fast forward to this off-season and the Bears have already made a lot of changes. They hired a new offensive line coach, offensive coordinator, promoted Rod Marinelli to defensive coordinator, released over the hill lineman Orlando Pace and they are said to be interested in Julius Peppers once free agency starts this Friday.

The new offensive coordinator Mike Martz replaced Ron Turner, who simply didn’t fit Jay Cutler’s needs. Mike Martz runs an offense that is very pass heavy, when he coached the St. Louis Rams, who won a Super Bowl with him by the way, they were called the “Greatest Show on Turf.” The reason was because Kurt Warner constantly threw the ball deep to his receivers behind a solid offensive line.

Martz’s offense demands a big armed quarterback, with many fast receivers, with a solid offensive line and tight ends that can block.

The Bears have one tight end, who is a solid blocker, his name is Dez Clark. Mike Martz is reportedly interested in adding blocking tight end Brandon Manumaleuna, who is a free agent from the Chargers. This report has ticked off Greg Olsen because he has already heard that he can’t fit in with Martz’s style of offense for a while now.

Peggy Kusinski of NBC Chicago reports that friends of Olsen say he was not happy about the hiring of Martz, and that he quietly sent his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, into “trade request” mode.

It seems like Olsen really wants out and with Drew Rosenhaus being his agent it’s a big chance he could get his wish. It’s just a shame Olsen and the Bears might not work out because I think if you give a couple more years he could be one of the best tight ends in the league. He reminds me of a Jason Witten type tight end.

The reasons why I wouldn’t trade him are because what if the Mike Martz experiment doesn’t work out and the Bears clean house next year with the coaching staff, what if you can’t even get a second round pick for him.

If I was Bears management I would see what Olsen can do in Martz’s offense this season and if he doesn’t fit then you trade him next year, unless of course the rumor about him being in “trade request” mode is true.

Greg Olsen’s Stats:

The Bears 1st round pick in 2007, is only 24 years old. I think the Bears should think about what there doing with Olsen before they just throw him away for basically nothing. If your going to trade him get value for him, but I still think it would be a horrible move by the Bears to trade a future star in Olsen. I heard the Patriots are interested in Olsen, maybe because they have three second round picks this year.

Update:

The Chicago Sun-Times reported this,

Frank Omiyale can play left guard and right tackle and he is expected to be a starter at one of those positions this season. Omiyale also known as “The Tank”, a reference to Old School a movie with Will Ferrell has to be pretty good in order for this style of up tempo offense to work.

Lovie Smith talked about what his plan with Omiyale would be:

“We’re going to lock Frank in at one position, whatever position that ends up being.”

“He can play the left guard position. He can play the right tackle position. I think it’s safe to say that Frank will be at one of those positions for us and play well. We’re looking at all that right now.”

GM Jerry Angelo also had some words about Omiyale and the offensive line in general:

“We’ve talked a lot about that, there’s the possibility of moving him out to tackle. The coaches are continuing to go through our team [to] evaluate all the players and see where we are with the guard position, if we’re able to do that.”

The former fifth round pick by the Atlanta Falcons, Omiyale, 27 years old, started 12 games at left guard in his first season with the Bears. Omiyale wasn’t very good at left guard and he was replaced by Josh Beekman during parts of the season. Right tackle is Omiyale’s natural position and I think he can easily beat out veteran Kevin Shaffer out for the starting gig.

Here’s my projected starting offensive line for the 2010-2011 season:

LT: #74, Chris Williams

LG: #67, Josh Beekman

C: #57, Olin Kreutz

RG: #63, Roberto Garza

RT: #68, Frank Omiyale

Bench: Kevin Shaffer (tackle), Lance Louis (tackle), James Marten (tackle), and John Asiata (guard).

If this is the Bears starting offensive line it’s not too bad because they all played together last season and Chris Williams and Frank Omiyale should be steady at the tackle spots. My two concerns are with Josh Beekman at the left guard position and the lack of depth on the roster. The draft and free agency should be where the Bears add some needed depth. Josh Beekman needs to prove himself in training camp and the preseason to earn my trust, I know he’s a good kid but I don’t know if he’s a starter in the NFL just yet.

The addition of offensive line Mike Tice is a big deal, he has a reputation for being a very good coach. When Tice was coaching the Vikings they were one of the best lines in the league and year after year a couple of the players would make the Pro Bowl.

The Bears know what must be done at the offensive line position, they saw how much they struggled last season and with Mike Martz’s new philosophies there is a very small room for error.

All quotes from chicagobears.com

Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times believes that Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall will end up as a Bear in 2010. We all heard this rumor last season once Jay Cutler was traded and head coach Josh McDaniels and Brandon Marshall bickered back and forth.

Obviously, Brandon Marshall would be a great fit in Chicago’s new style of offense with Mike Martz running the show. According to Neil Hayes of the Sun-Times, the McCaskey family has given GM Jerry Angelo the OK to spend $25 million in up-front money this offseason, but I’m sure the Broncos want a high draft pick in return, something the Bears don’t currently have.

Would the Bears be willing to give up on next years draft just like they did last season? Would Brandon Marshall be worth all of the money? Is wide receiver really the biggest need right now?

These are all questions that should be answered soon by so called “experts” and once free agency starts Brandon Marshall is sure to be on the move, where no one really knows. But he could find himself in a Bears uniform catching passes from #6 again. It all depends on if they want to give up on the 2011 draft, spend number one money on an actual number one receiver and rank receiver as one of their top needs.

If they can get Brandon Marshall, he could be a perfect fit with the young receivers they currently have on their roster.

Update:

I guess Neil Hayes owes me a steak. The Broncos tendered Brandon Marshall with a first round tender as well as former Bears QB Kyle Orton. If the Bears want to get Marshall, they’d have to give Denver another first round pick. I just don’t see them making this mistake.