OFFENSE

QB
Jerry Angelo wants to bring in a QB to compete with Kyle Orton. Instead of settling for one of the "available" options in free agency such as Kurt Warner, Kerry Collins, Jeff Garcia, Chris Simms or J.P. Losman, I suggest Mr. Angelo better get a little creative and enter the trade market. Here's a list a QBs who "could" be available for the right offer. But, you'll never know unless you make that offer.
Trade possibilities:

• Donovan McNabb, Eagles (to build instant success)
• Carson Palmer, Bengals (to try and rehab from injury)
• *Kevin O’Connell, Patriots (another Patriot's QB with classic pocket passer size at 6'5" 225lbs)
• *Colt Brennan, Redskins (a heck of a passing machine in college, who may not get a chance for a while behind Jason Campbell)
• Vince Young, Titans (a reclamation project, who may be helped by a change of scenery)
• Chad Henne, Dolphins
• Matt Hasselback, Seahawks
• Marc Bulger, Rams
• *Troy Smith, Ravens (added to this list due to popularity)
  

*O'Connell and Brennan are my top two choices here, as they'll be able to compete with Orton in '09, and may develop into the franchise QB we're looking for. O'Connell has spent his rookie season studying under Belichick with Brady and Cassel, and Brennan has spent his rookie year in Washington with QB guru Jim Zorn. The Bears are horrible at developing QBs, so why not bring in some good talent who's already being shaped by the better QB tudors in the league.

O-Line and RB
If Lovie Smith wants to call his team a "running team," then perhaps he should assemble an offensive line that can run the ball with some authority, and acquire another running back to compliment Matt Forte. According to the fellas at Football Outsiders, the Bears O-line finished the 2008 season ranked 27th in "Stuffed Rank." That means... well, they get stuffed more often than 26 other teams in the NFL.

• Vernon Carey, RT/G, Dolphins, Free Agent
  Former 1st round pick. A big 350lb mountain, who played guard at the "U" of Miami. He's flopped between G and RT in the NFL, and has been starting at RT for the Dolphins this season. Carey is the type of lineman who could really help improve the Bears running game.
• Stacy Andrews, T/G, Bengals, Free Agent
  At 6'7" 340lbs, Andrews would a be good consolation prize if the Bears are unable to land Carey. Andrews has been a versatile lineman for the Bengals, used in a similar manner to how the Bears use John St. Clair... except he's significantly bigger (my goal as imaginary Bears GM is to add major size to the O-line to run behind). The Bengals placed the franchise tag on him last year, and it's undetermined if they'll use the tag on him again.
• John St. Clair, T/G, Bears, Free Agent
  Re-sign Mr. St. Clair, who did an admirable job in 2008, even though he was forced to play out of position at LT. The Chis Williams era will begin for the Bears in 2009... boom or bust. But, St. Clair is versatile enough to provide the Bears with depth on both sides of the line, and may even be an in-house candidate to win a competition at RT over John Tait, if the Bears do not add a new RT in free agency. 
• Paul Fanaika, G, Arizona State, Projected 3rd-4th round pick
  At 6'6" 337lbs, Fanaika is an excellent run blocker who paved the way for Arizona State's top two RBs to average over 5 yards per carry last season. 
• Michael Bush, RB, Raiders, Trade
  Former Heisman candidate at Louisville. The Raiders drafted him with the first overall pick on day two of the 2007 draft (4th round), and red-shirted him last year, while he recovered from injury. This year, the 245lb RB has returned to form, and nearly got traded to the San Diego Chargers in mid-season at the trading deadline.
• Rashad Jennings, RB, Liberty, Projected 3rd-4th round pick
  A big back at 6'1" 232lbs... Jennings is projected to run a 4.46 40. He ran for exactly 1,500 yards last year on 5.7 ypc and scored 19 TDs. He also caught 24 passes out of the backfield.  He'd be my ideal RB with big size to compliment Forte, if we can't acquire Michael Bush. Video
• Garrett Wolfe, RB, Bears
  If you've been watching football this year at all, you've surely become familiar with the name Darren Sproles, who at 5'6" 181lbs, was as electrifying in college as Garrett Wolfe was. Sproles was drafted by the Chargers in 2005, and it really took him until his 3rd season in the NFL (2007) to show his value... and his 4th season (2008) to make a huge impact. It's about time the Bears start understanding how to use their own Darren Sproles...  Wolfe is a play maker and elusive runner, when he gets the ball in the open field.

WR
Unfortunately, it's slim pickings in this years free agent crop of WRs. And that's a big problem for the Bears, as their group of WRs is among the worst in the league and is in dire need of talent. Adding further insult, is that it'll be hard to convince the #1 WR in this year's free agent class, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, to come play in Chicago, when he'll likely have offers to go elswhere with better QBs and a better opportunity at a Super Bowl. The Bears will have to get creative in order to add an experienced WR.

• Anquan Boldin, WR, Cardinals, Trade
  Not much of an explanation needed here... Boldin wants to get paid, and that's not going to happen in Arizona. It would likely cost the Bears multiple draft picks based on recent trades (Randy Moss,  T.O., and Roy Williams), however it may not require a 1st round pick.
• Shaun McDonald, WR, Lions, Free Agent
  McDonald has been a quality receiver in this league for 6 years now, and has played behind Torry Holt, Roy Williams, and Calvin Johnson. He had 79 catches in 2007, under Mike Martz's offense in Detroit, but dropped off this year for the 0-16 Lions. He's not very big at 5'10" 185, but he gets open and catches the ball... more than we can say for Rashied Davis. He'd be a big improvement, and give our QB a reliable target.
• Jacoby Jones, WR, Texans, Trade
  Jones (6'2" 210lbs 4.4) was drafted by the Texans in the 3rd round in 2007... and has done next to nothing for them except tantalize them with his electrifying speed. WR coach Daryl Drake has a done a pretty good job developing Bernard Berrian (who was all raw speed when we drafted him), and has made progress with Devin Hester. Perhaps Drake can work with Jones, who has more pure speed and size than any other WR on the Bears.  

DEFENSE

Safety
The Bears have had a revolving door of mediocre football players at safety over the last two seasons (Adam Archuleta, Brandon McGowan, Kevin Payne, Daniel Manning, Craig Steltz). Given the fact that Lovie Smith is married to the base Cover 2, the safety position is critical to the success of the Bears defense. With Mike Brown aging, and possibly not returning to the Bears in 2009, acquiring a top talent and leader at safety should be among the top priorities of the off-season. Lack of talent at safety may have been the primary reason why Bob Babich's CBs played a very soft cushion off the line of scrimmage, allowing WRs to get into their routes very easily this year. This is a major contradiction to one of the main rules of the Cover 2: jamming WRs at the line.   

• Charles Tillman, CB, Bears
  When the Bears first drafted Tillman, Greg Blache's opinion was that #33 could be a pro-bowler at either CB or S. Well, after a sub-par season in pass coverage, I say it's time Tillman moves to FS, where he can roam more like a ball hawk and also continue to force fumbles. With his move to safety, Corey Graham, Trumaine McBride, Nathan Vasher, and Zachary Bowman can man the depth chart at CB, while Daniel Manning serves as the nickel back, and utility DB.
  
• Taylor Mays, S, USC, Projected 1st round pick
  The 6'3" 230lb Mays could be a force in any secondary... his supposed 40 time of 4.32 seconds is sure to get Lovie Smith's attention. He's played FS at USC, but his size makes him an ideal SS at the NFL level. Mays is currently projected to be a mid-first round pick, and likely the first safety taken in the draft.
  

DT
With the Bears needing to use 8 men in the box all season long (accompanied by blitzes) to stop the run, it's time for Lovie to evolve his one-gap front, and add a run-stuffing DT to compliment a healthy Tommie Harris. The line performed a lot better when Dusty Dvoracek was replaced by non-prototypical fat man Anthony Adams. Aside from top FA, Albert Haynesworth, this year's free agent class is void of run stuffers, and there aren't many big men in this year's draft class either.

• Marcus Tubbs, DT, Seahawks, Free Agent
  The former 1st round pick out of Texas in 2004 is a heck of a talent... but Tubbs has been plagued by injuries which have forced him to miss almost all of 2007, and left him completely out of football in 2008. At only age 27, Tubbs (6'3" 320lb) could be a comeback player of the year candidate for someone if he regains his form. Would be a low risk, high reward type of signing.
• Shaun Cody, DT, Lions, Free Agent
  Assuming that Rod Marinelli joins the Bears coaching staff, he may ask to bring along Cody, who hasn't quite fulfilled his potential yet in the NFL, after being a force in college at USC. At 6'4" 310lbs, he's not the massive run-stuffer I'm looking for, but still gives the Bears a little more size and could be a good rotational player. The Lions drafted Cody with the 37th pick overall (2nd round) in 2005.