FanHouse Hunter Hillenmeyer

Brian Urlacher stood near midfield on a warm evening last month during Bears training camp in Bourbonnais, Ill. He said that, come what may, the Bears defense will always be easily identified. He said it like he meant it, which is certainly Urlacher's way

"We're never going to change,'' Urlacher said. "I mean, this is how we play and what we do. We're physical. We're hungry. We get as excited about defending the run as we do the pass. And we've always got a history to live up to around here.''

Well, the spirit may be willing but the tools are now certainly weaker for this Bears defense

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In 2003, Pisa Tinoisamoa led the 12-4 St. Louis Rams in total tackles as a 22-year-old rookie. His defensive coordinator was Lovie Smith. After five seasons apart, the two will once again be working together in 2009, as the Chicago Bears have agreed to a one-year deal with the linebacker.

At first glance, due to the hulking presence of Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs, you might think there's no way the Bears need a linebacker. Tinoisamoa does, however, represent an upgrade to the serviceable yet unspectacular duo of Hunter Hillenmeyer and Nick Roach at the strong side linebacker position. It will be a two-down job on many possessions, as Urlacher and Briggs never leave the field.

After the Bears made the announcement of their franchise-shattering acquisition of Jay Cutler, they didn't rest. Within a few hours, they announced they had also agreed to terms with venerable left tackle Orlando Pace. I'll admit, I was overly excited about the two new Bears, as were all my Bears fans friends -- which is weird, usually at least one of us disagrees about player movement. Make no mistake about it, though. We aren't delusional. This team is far from complete and the die-hards know it.

With the team still a decent amount below the salary cap and several holes left to fill for 2009, here's what I think the Bears should do.