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"NFL Live's" Cris Carter discusses Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall's best attributes.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Versatility and fit for the new scheme expected to be employed by new offensive coordinator Mike Tice trumped character red flags Saturday, when the Chicago Bears selected former Temple tight end Evan Rodriguez with their fourth-round pick (111th overall).

Bears general manager Phil Emery extolled Rodriguez’s potential as a “move tight end,” adding the new rookie’s off-the-field problems have come as the result of issues with “maturity, more than any single factor.”

“I’m very glad to have drafted Evan Rodriguez, and have Evan become a Chicago Bear,” Emery said. “Right role, right fit for the player and team; we see Evan as a combination of a fullback and an F tight end (primarily a receiving tight end). As we analyzed our team needs, we really felt that we had a defined need with the system changes that coach Tice will bring in terms of having a vertical tight end, somebody that could challenge the inside of the defensive structure of our opponent.”

Upon taking the job as Chicago’s GM, Emery came away from his initial analysis of the roster and anticipated changes on offense that the Bears needed to add multiple weapons for quarterback Jay Cutler. Emery believes the acquisitions of Brandon Marshall, second-round pick Alshon Jeffery and Rodriguez accomplish that objective.

“We feel good about where we’re at in that process.”

Often compared to New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez by people in the scouting community, Rodriguez (6-1 1/2, 239 pounds) flashes sufficient speed (4.56-second 40-yard dash) to stretch defenses, but the Bears feel they acquired even more in terms of a fit for what they want to do offensively.

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LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Bears selected their second offensive player of the 2012 NFL Draft when they grabbed Temple tight end Evan Rodriguez in the fourth round (No. 111) on Saturday.

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The San Diego Chargers fired the proverbial starter's pistol to ignite the sweepstakes to land receiver Vincent Jackson on Monday when they decided against making him one of the record 21 players to receive the franchise designation by the league's 3 p.m. deadline.

Believed to be one of the teams expected to make a run at Jackson, the Chicago Bears certainly aren't complaining. But they'd better be preparing their best offer for Jackson because there's sure to be competition for his services from a variety of clubs, including the Chargers, which continue to negotiate with representatives for the receiver on a long-term contract.

By standing idle as the franchise-tag deadline passed, the Chargers opened the door for Jackson to negotiate and sign with another team when free agency begins on March 13 (many times, deals are consummated before the official start of free agency). Jackson wants to remain in San Diego, and it's believed he'll accept a lesser deal to stay with the club. But it became virtually impossible for the Chargers to franchise Jackson under the new CBA regulations.

Jackson earned $11.4 million as the Chargers' franchise player in 2011. To retain Jackson again in that capacity in 2012, San Diego would have been required to pay the receiver 120 percent of his '11 salary, which all would count against the team's salary cap for the upcoming season.

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MOBILE, Ala. -- Undoubtedly, the Chicago Bears need to add a receiving threat to quarterback Jay Cutler's arsenal of offensive weaponry.

The problem seems to be that none of the receivers at the 63rd annual Senior Bowl has emerged, according to several scouts in attendance.

One small-school prospect -- Brian Quick, of Appalachian State -- managed to catch the eyes of Chicago Bears scouts during the week's workouts. But one of the team's personnel evaluators cautioned against becoming overly giddy about Quick's prospects because despite "all his upside, he's really raw."

Appalachian State's all-time leader in receptions (202), receiving yards (3,418) and touchdown receptions (31), Quick (6-3 5/8, 209 pounds) is described by Scouts Inc. as being "a gifted athlete with excellent body control and ability to make highlight reel catch. However, hands are a bit inconsistent. Will have an occasional drop and/or double catch with routine throws. Does a nice job of using big frame to shield defenders and shows ability to climb the ladder to win one-on-one battles."

Quick's relative rawness stems from the fact he didn't play football until his senior year at Ridge View High School in Columbia, SC. Prior to joining his high school football team, Quick played on the basketball team as the starting point guard, which is somewhat interesting considering the Bears have said in the past -- with Mike Martz was the offensive coordinator -- that they covet point-guard types at the receiver position.

Quick struggled to catch passes Monday during his team's first Senior Bowl practice at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, but quickly settled in over the next few days while matched up against some of the county's best cornerbacks to generate a buzz among personnel evaluators in attendance. Still, it's worth noting that several times throughout the week of workouts coaches often pulled aside Quick after drills to make corrections because of what appeared to be shoddy footwork and imprecise routes.

Despite that, reporters waiting to speak with Quick after most workouts ended up waiting in line behind the various teams looking to learn more about the receiver.

"I don't think I'm there yet [in terms of polish]," Quick said. "But when the ball is around me, I feel like I'm the type of guy that will go and get it. I've had a couple of drops out here, but I'm out here getting used to these quarterbacks and this atmosphere. It's different [than what I'm used to]. It's been a challenge coming into the kind of offense we've been running out here."

Quick is the eighth-rated prospect at his position, and while Scouts Inc. lauds the his work ethic, the receiver is projected to be a second-day pick.

MOBILE, Ala. -- The Chicago Bears assuaged concerns about the potential departure of offensive coordinator Mike Tice on Monday with an announcement that the coach is no longer in the running for the Oakland Raiders head coaching job.

“I would’ve loved to go through the process,” Tice told ESPNChicago.com on Monday night.

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LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Conclusion of the Chicago Bears' 2011 season provided zero clarity concerning Mike Martz's prospects for a return in 2012 as the team's offensive coordinator.

A day after his team defeated the Minnesota Vikings 17-13 in the season finale, coach Lovie Smith remained tight lipped about Martz's future, saying he and the offensive coordinator haven't yet met to discuss matters.

"I haven't talked to the coaches, so I'm not going to talk to you about any of them right now, and I think you can understand that," Smith said. "This is the process we've gone through: we get off the plane last night, and we came here today, met the team, and eventually I'll meet with the coaches. I'll meet with our administration, and give you a better idea of what direction we're going with everyone then. Mike did a super job for us. He had a lot of injuries this year. I think you guys know how I feel about him. But this is a new year coming up, and we'll see how that goes."

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LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte did not sound optimistic on Monday about the prospects of reaching an agreement with the club on a new long-term contract in the offseason, despite being voted to the Pro Bowl in the final year of his original rookie contract.

"I have no idea," Forte said. "Nobody is talking right now, so we'll see."

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LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz continued to express a desire to return to the team in 2012, while coach Lovie Smith became perturbed with more inquiries about his assistant's future.

Asked whether he planned to bring back Martz next season, Smith frustratingly asked a few questions of his own.

"What kind of a question is that, anyway, at this time?" Smith asked. "What kind of a question is that? Why would you ask a question like that any way?"

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GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Josh McCown avoided pondering Sunday’s postgame buzz about what could have been had he become the Chicago Bears' starting quarterback sooner.

McCown passed for 242 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions to lead the Bears to a season-high 441 yards on offense in a 35-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Naturally, questions arose as to whether McCown could’ve sparked such offensive production weeks ago.

“You know, it’s hard,” McCown said. “I mean, that’s hypothetical. All I know is what I had here; right here, this night. I don’t want to speculate on that. I just know my number was called tonight, and I went out and played as hard as I could. The bottom line is we still came up short.”

A nine-year veteran, McCown started his first game in four years on Sunday, and early on it appeared the team looked to take pressure off the quarterback by relying on the rushing attack. Kahlil Bell ran the ball six times before the Bears ever called a pass play.

When they did, McCown responded with a 17-yard completion to Roy Williams. McCown hit 2 of 3 for 29 yards in that drive, which ended on a missed 49-yard field goal by Robbie Gould with 4:16 left in the quarter.

“He played hard,” Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher said. “He moved us down the field. I was impressed with the way he did. It’s a tough situation to be in with our defense [which gave up five touchdown passes] playing the way we played, getting behind like that. He just kept battling.”

McCown completed 6 of 9 for 81 yards in the first half as the Bears went into intermission behind 14-3. Receiving the kickoff to start the second half, the Bears handed the ball off to Bell three times for 14 yards.

Then McCown went to work.

“We’re playing against the Super Bowl champs [in a] nationally-televised game,” Bears coach Lovie Smith said. “There’s a lot of pressure, if you let it [get to you]. And he didn’t.”

McCown scrambled for a 7-yard gain around left end before firing a dart to Earl Bennett for a 49-yard gain to the Green Bay 1. The Bears scored on the next play when Bell fumbled in the end zone with Edwin Williams recovering to pull the Bears to within 4 after Gould’s extra-point kick.
“He brought a lot of energy to the huddle,” said center Roberto Garza, “a lot of fight as you all saw.”

The Bears appeared to seize some momentum with the score, but the Packers quickly responded with a 55-yard bomb from Aaron Rodgers to Jordy Nelson.

McCown managed to move the Bears down the field for only one more TD, a 1-yard pass to Kellen Davis to cap a 12-play drive, before running the ball in for the two-point conversion that made the score 35-18.

“When you’re playing a ballclub like Green Bay and a quarterback like Aaron, who’s not going to blink, you can’t either,” McCown said. “It’s a tough assignment, but you’ve got to find a way to pull it off.”

McCown couldn’t, but that’s not to say he didn’t open eyes within the organization, similar to what Caleb Hanie did last season in the NFC title game when he filled in for Jay Cutler against the Green Bay Packers. Smith said he wasn’t surprised with McCown’s performance.

It’s expected the Bears will close the regular season Sunday on the road at Minnesota with McCown as the starter.

“Josh McCown did a heck of a job of coming in and just leading our offense, making throws when he had to,” Smith said. “He’s a veteran and he knew the offense. [He] is a mature guy, and felt comfortable coming into the game. But we needed to see it, and it was good to see.”

Still reeling from Sunday's 13-10 overtime loss at Denver, described by players as shocking, the Chicago Bears convened Monday at Halas Hall with coach Lovie Smith outlining the reality of the team's now desperate situation.

"At 7-6, we're on the outside looking in," Smith said. "You lose three games in a row this time of year, you're normally not in a great position. But we are in position, and that's what we have to keep in mind."

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DENVER -- What seemed a promising performance Sunday became a catastrophe for Chicago Bears running back Marion Barber when the veteran committed two late errors that directly contributed to the 13-10 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos.

Even Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow said, "I might have thanked the Lord when [Barber]" made the first blunder that allowed the Broncos to tie the game at 10 in regulation.

Led by Tebow, the Broncos scored 10 unanswered in the last 2:08 to tie it with three seconds remaining in regulation, before winning on a 51-yard field goal by Matt Prater in overtime. Mistakes by Barber paved the way for both to transpire.

"We gave it away," said Bears return man Devin Hester. "We were up 10 points."

Barber made the first miscue just after the two-minute warning with his team leading 10-3 when he didn't stay inbounds to milk the clock, and he fumbled in overtime to set up Denver's game-winning drive.

"It's tough because you feel like you lost the game," said receiver Roy Williams, who bobbled a potential game-tying pass last week against Kansas City that was intercepted. "I had to go through that last week. In reality, you didn't lose the game. You could've been the hero. You could've won the game, yes. But you didn't lose the game. He played well, ran hard. He made one big mistake."

Taking a handoff from Caleb Hanie near the end of regulation, Barber ran around left end only to let Broncos linebacker D.J. Williams push him out of bounds, which stopped the clock after a 5-yard gain on second down.

The problem with that is the Broncos had already burned their final timeout with 5:30 left after a Kahlil Bell run up the middle. Had Barber remained inbounds, the Bears would have been able to run more time off the clock to preserve the victory in regulation.

"He obviously, probably shouldn't do that, and that kept us in it," Tebow said. "I mean, we probably would have had 10 seconds if he stayed inbounds, but, it was just special."

The Bears didn't share that sentiment, and coach Lovie Smith said that given the time left on the clock, Barber should have known what to do. After all, Barber is a seven-year veteran and had the opportunity to put the game away instead of opening the door for yet another Tebow comeback.

"We have to know the situation," Smith said. "In that situation we have to keep the ball in bounds. He'll tell you that."

Actually, Barber wasn't able to because he left the locker room immediately after the game, never making himself available for comment. A couple members of the team's public relations searched for Barber, who was never seen in the locker room by any of them.

Barber's fumble in overtime came five plays into the drive on third-and-7 from the Denver 38 and was the final blow in what should have gone down as a productive day for the veteran. Running with power and unusual shiftiness, Barber gained 108 yards on 27 attempts and scored the team's only touchdown.

Perhaps that's why teammates remained supportive of Barber despite the running back's mistakes potentially costing the team a berth in the postseason.

"Marion Barber is a heck of a football player. Marion Barber is gonna help us to get into the playoffs," linebacker Lance Briggs said. "Things happen, they happen to all of us. I'm proud of the guy. If he just keeps his head up, he's gonna help the Bears win."

The "Sunday NFL Countdown" crew breaks down the Bears quarterback situation.