On this episode of Jeff & Jahns, the Sun-Times beat writer tells me that…

• Shea McClellin has been handed the reins of Vic Fangio’s defense (and I laugh)
• He believes Jay Cutler’s lack of interceptions thus far is newsworthy
• Marquess Wilson is still out there making too many mental errors to expect major impact
• Pernell McPhee and Marc Mariani are the players jumping off the field (Mariani at wideout)
• Jordan Mills still looks to be the weak link on the offensive side of the ball
• Much, much more!

The Bears have one of the best defensive coordinators in the league, but he alone won’t make the defense respectable.

No team upgraded any position more than the Bears did by replacing Mel Tucker with Vic Fangio. Tucker is one of the worst defensive coordinators in the history of the league and Fangio is pretty good. That’s a huge jump, but it might be the only jump they made. You could argue that the team’s talent level is about the same as it was the last two years.

Yes, they added Pernell McPhee to pressure the quarterback, but they also lost Stephen Paea (six sacks) and it would be a surprise if Willie Young had anywhere near the same impact he had a year ago, registering ten sacks. Is that a net positive for the Bears?

The secondary is still a disaster.

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During the Miami Heat’s first championship run with Erik Spoelstra and LeBron James, Spoelstra coined the phrase “positionless basketball.” There was no set point guard or center. It was about getting the best five players on the floor and letting them play.

The Bears have the pieces to make something similar work with their front seven.

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Aaron Leming, who is apparently dating Ryan Pace’s sister or something, reported this morning the Bears are finalizing a deal with Ravens edge rusher Pernell McPhee for 5 years and just south of $40 million. Four thoughts from the DBB Twitter feed:

(1) Wary of buying players successful organizations are willing to walk out the door. Ravens never seem to miss these guys when they leave.

(2) Haven’t watched the tape on McPhee but look at his game logs. Lots of zeroes in that sack column and lots of sacks against crap teams.

(3) Bears will be thrilled if 2015 Pernell McPhee – at about a zillion times the cost – produced at the level of 2014 Willie Young.

(4) But Bears have money to spend & need to get as many talented defenders in the building as they possibly can. McPhee is DEFINITELY that.

(5) The deal is reportedly worth only $16 million guaranteed. That makes it a difficult contract to dislike.

(6) Signing McPhee should not alter Bears draft approach an iota. They are not settled at a single position on the defensive side of the ball.