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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