Chicago Bears and a NFC North update

Although the Chicago Bears have been a little sluggish in the free agent market (only two players signed so far: Desmond Clark and Kordell Stewart, as well as the all important loss of linebacker Rosevelt Colvin), they have still fared better than nearly all of their division rivals.

In terms of talent loss, the Bears have suffered little compared to the Green Bay Packers who have either released or lost to free agency, many of their quality players from last season.

The Minnesota Vikings haven't made too much of a splash in the free agent market this year and haven't improved their overall team performance although they have re-signed some key players. They even took a swipe at the Bears by making an attempt to sign kicker Paul Edinger, but Chicago managed to match their offer and keep Edinger with the team.

The Detroit Lions have a new head coach and are attempting to rebuild themselves after several dismal seasons. Their biggest signing so far has been cornerback Dre Bly but the Lions gave up a lot of money to get him and he may not be worth it.

They had also made an attempt to sign ex-Bear Rosevelt Colvin and are now trying sign the Packer's Kabeer Gbaja-Biamilla in an attempt to continue to bolster their defense.

It is highly doubtful that the Bears will lose anymore impact players on the road to the next season. The only losses will come as players are cut in training camp on the way to building next the season's permanent roster.

The draft will be a big key for the Bears and their chances of winning a division title next season as well.

An upgrade in defense is needed immediately and they should use their first round pick on an instant-impact defensive player such as Terrell Suggs of Arizona State or Jimmy Kennedy of Penn State.

Past the first round, the Bears can continue to concentrate on filling a few more holes in their defense as well as adding a few new players to their offense especially on the offensive line and maybe even at wide receiver where Marcus Robinson and Dez White are still question marks.

It also was just announced that Chicago would be receiving additional picks in this years draft to compensate for the loss of Walt Harris, Tony Parrish and James Allen last year. The picks are based on the performance of the players last year with their new teams and are as follows: number 171 (Round 5), number 206 (Round 6) and number 261 (Round 7).

This gives the Bears 11 total picks in this year's draft and this turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the Bears this year.

Hopefully, Chicago uses these extra picks to their advantage and fills in any remaining holes they might have on their roster.

In coming articles, I will examine some of the Bear's specific needs, which could be covered by the draft.