National Football League

Bears get more kick with Peppers on 'D'

Published Aug. 24, 2010 6:37 p.m. ET

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The ink had barely dried on his gargantuan contract when Julius Peppers started to feel comfortable in his new surroundings. The Chicago Bears can only hope that means plenty of discomfort for opponents.

If not, they could be in for more changes.

''All I know is this year, we really aren't in need for much,'' Peppers said. ''We pretty much have everything we need. I predict great things from this defense, and hopefully, we can live up to it.''

Whether that group comes through will go a long way toward determining if the Bears get back into contention following a 7-9 season and third straight playoff miss that has coach Lovie Smith and general manager Jerry Angelo down to maybe their last chance.

Patience is running thin in Chicago.

Even president Ted Phillips acknowledged he had seen enough, although not quite enough to get rid of the head coach and GM, when he issued a win-or-else mandate after last season.

The coaching staff got a makeover with two new coordinators and an overhaul on the offensive side. Rod Marinelli got moved up to defensive coordinator, although Smith will still set the tone. The Bears turned over the offense to Mike Martz, hoping he can get Jay Cutler to cut down on his interceptions and deliver the way they thought the quarterback would last season.

The Bears brought in Chester Taylor to beef up the running game alongside Matt Forte and added tight end Brandon Manumaleuna to help protect their quarterback.

The biggest move of all was bringing in Peppers, the five-time Pro Bowl defensive end.

The Bears envision him taking pressure off the oft-injured Tommie Harris on the line and terrorizing quarterbacks the way he did in Carolina, in turn helping a secondary that has its share of questions.

Peppers just might be the Bears' best pass rusher since Richard Dent. He had 81.0 sacks in eight seasons with Carolina and ranked third in the NFL over that span, which is why the Bears gave him a six-year deal potentially worth $91.5 million. A defense that tied for 13th with 35 sacks and ranked 17th overall last season needed help in a big way, and reinforcements don't come much bigger than the 6-foot-7 Peppers.

''Julius is a great addition to the Bears,'' Harris said.

But he alone can't carry them.

They'll need more from Harris after being limited by knee and hamstring problems the past few years. They'll need middle linebacker Brian Urlacher to show his old Pro Bowl form after suffering a season-ending wrist injury in the 2009 opener. And they'll need to answer some questions in the secondary, particularly at safety.

And on offense, there's the Martz-Cutler relationship.

Can these two strong personalities coexist? They've spent the offseason singing each other's praises, but what happens the first time Cutler throws an interception - or five?

Or will their relationship simply produce big results rather than a big blowup?

''I've heard that sometimes he is going to put a lot of pressure on you, sometimes he is going to yell at you, sometimes he is going to scream at you, but he does it for a reason,'' Cutler said of his new boss. ''I think that is the biggest thing. You've got to see the big picture with Mike. You've got to realize that he wants to get the best out of you and he knows how to get the best out of you.''

Martz's track record with quarterbacks is well-documented. No need to rehash the Kurt Warner story. And it would be difficult for him not to get Cutler to reduce his interceptions; the 26 he threw last year were the most in the NFL since Brett Favre's 29 for Green Bay in 2005 and the most by a Bears quarterback since Sid Luckman's club record 31 in 1947.

Then again, the offensive line will play a big part.

A year ago, Cutler was running for his life and got sacked 35 times when he wasn't simply making poor decisions.

At least he was on the move.

Forte simply went nowhere, going from 1,238 yards rushing as a rookie to 929 last season while averaging 3.6 per carry. He finally acknowledged after the season that hamstring and knee problems had slowed him, though his blockers weren't much help.

Now, with no major additions, they're relying on self-improvement and hoping new line coach Mike Tice can bring out something that was missing a year ago when the Bears ranked 23rd on offense and 29th in rushing.

They still have a six-time Pro Bowl center in Olin Kreutz, although he is 33, and left tackle Chris Williams showed some promise late last season. For now, the rest of the line looks like this: Roberto Garza at left guard, 2009 seventh-round pick Lance Louis at right guard, with Frank Omiyale at right tackle.

''I just like the potential of the group,'' Smith said.

The Bears open the season Sept. 12 at home against Detroit.

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