Bears can't afford to have Peppers take any plays off

The addition of defensive end Julius Peppers, which cost the Bears $42 million in guaranteed money (up to $91.5 million total over six years), is expected to make the line, the defense, and the team as a whole better.

That's not asking too much, considering the money Peppers got and his 81 sacks in eight seasons (25 in the past two seasons). Peppers may not deserve his reputation as a guy who takes plays off occasionally, but if he does it will certainly be highlighted under the glare of the Chicago media.

Deserved or not, Peppers is being touted as the player who can, almost single-handedly, get the Bears back into the postseason after a three-year absence, which has jobs throughout the organization hanging in the balance.

The Bears' brain trust is betting that the addition of Peppers more than offsets the loss of defensive ends Adewale Ogunleye and Alex Brown, solid starters for the past six and eight seasons, respectively. Ogunleye, an unrestricted free agent, isn't expected back. Brown was cut to save his $5 million salary and was snapped up by the Super Bowl champion Saints.

If the combination of Mark Anderson and Israel Idonije doesn't at least equal the production of Brown, the Bears will have spent $20 million on Peppers (for 2009) and saved $5 million on Brown and whatever Ogunleye gets, without getting appreciably better. Embarrassing doesn't come close to describing that potential situation.

It is hoped that Anderson will provide more than occasional pass-rush pressure, while Idonije should provide an anchor vs. the run. Anderson has not been a consistent threat since getting 12 sacks as a rookie in 2006, and Idonije has been a solid backup but never a full-time starter. Last year's fourth-round draft pick Henry Melton could also be in the mix after spending a rookie season on injured reserve.

"It's a competition between everybody right now," coach Lovie Smith said. "You don't give out any positions this time of the year. We'll let the guys start practicing on the field, we'll start evaluating them and let them tell us everything we need to do, (such as) what positions they'll play and how much they're going to play."

It remains to be seen whether the Bears will ultimately use Peppers exclusively at one end spot or move him back and forth to take advantage of matchups.

"We could just lock him into the left (side) and let him go against the worst tackle, the right tackle," Smith said. "But we're going to let him play both. We can try to find ways to get him one on one, which is important for us. He really doesn't have a preference. He's had sacks on both sides. I've seen him be dominant on both sides."

Like last year, Marcus Harrison is expected to make a strong push for the starting job as nose tackle, next to 3-technique tackle Tommie Harris, a three-time Pro Bowler who no longer plays at that level. Harrison will have to play much better than he did last year to take the job from Anthony Adams, who the Bears try to replace every year. But Adams ultimately plays better than his challengers.

Harris has slumped the past three seasons, partly because of an on-again, off-again knee injury. But with Peppers around he will face fewer double-teams tham in the past.

Jarron Gilbert, the third-round pick last year, will get a longer look this year after having little impact as a rookie. Matt Toeaina is stout vs. the run and provides depth at both tackle spots, but he's strictly a backup.