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Detroit was the NFC North’s most active team from a personnel perspective in 2009, literally signing dozens of veteran free agents and working out many more. It appears the Lions are picking up where they left off.

The team signed running back DeDe Dorsey on Tuesday, according to Tim Twentyman of the Detroit News. Dorsey was a final cut last season by Cincinnati and played a major role in the HBO production of "Hard Knocks." He spent 2009 in the United Football League, and I doubt he will be the last running back the Lions sign this offseason given the knee and shoulder injuries of starter Kevin Smith.

Meanwhile, the Web site Pro Football Talk reports the Lions will work out free-agent receiver Donte Stallworth on Wednesday. The NFL reinstated Stallworth on Monday after a yearlong suspension for his role in the death of a pedestrian following a drunken driving accident in Miami.

There is a big difference between working out a player and deciding to sign him to a contract. But one thing is clear: The Lions will continue to turn over every rock to improve their talent level.

Continuing around the NFC North:

• From a Detroit Free Press editorial: "No National Football League club should feel worse about the New Orleans Saints winning the Super Bowl than the Detroit Lions, now the sole team in the league's National Conference and the only one of the NFL's original members never to make it to the big game."
• Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who suggested a new lottery game last week to help pay for a new Vikings stadium, said Tuesday there are no such provisions in his upcoming budget proposal. Mike Kaszuba has more in the Star Tribune.
• The relationship between new Chicago assistants Mike Martz and Mike Tice has the potential to be "highly combustible," writes Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com.
• Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris supports the team’s decision to name Rod Marinelli its defensive coordinator, according to Vaughn McClure of the Chicago Tribune.
• The similarities between New Orleans coach Sean Payton and Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy are "striking," writes Mike Vandermause of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
• Nose tackle Ryan Pickett, a pending free agent, wants to re-sign with the Packers. Rob Reischel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has more.

I wish I had thought of it first, but my pal Greg A. Bedard of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (@Greg_A_Bedard on Twitter) has already nailed it:

Wondering if “stupid good” is the new “kick-ass” in the NFC North.

A moment to explain: In 2006, Minnesota coach Brad Childress infamously referred to the Vikings’ scheme as a “kick-ass offense.” Tuesday, new Chicago offensive coordinator Mike Martz might have matched Childress in the memorable statement department.

Speaking on WSCR radio in Chicago, Martz had this to say about Devin Hester’s fit for the slot receiver role in his offense:

“Devin Hester in that role could just be stupid good, if that makes sense to you,” Martz said. “What we can do with him inside, the matchups we can get with him on third corners, safeties and linebackers would be absolutely remarkable.”

(Hat tip to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.)

Stupid good? I think we should adapt that as our motto for the offseason. Let’s have a stupid good offseason on the NFC North blog!

Before we launch ourselves full-bore into the offseason, I think it makes sense to take a look back at Super Bowl XLIV to provide some guidance for NFC North teams. What lessons can we learn from New Orleans and Indianapolis advancing to the final game of the season?

Let’s look at that question in alphabetical order. We won’t force it, so for each team I’ll choose either the Saints or the Colts for guidance:

Chicago Bears

A pressing issue: A defensive approach that has slipped from feared status to one that seems stale and passive.

How New Orleans addressed that problem: By hiring defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, knowing he would shake up and energize a group that was similar to the 2008 Saints with the exception of safety Darren Sharper.

Williams described that attitude change thusly: “It was a culture shock to them from the very first meeting. My aggressive demeanor in the meetings, making them defend themselves with explanations and demonstrations on the field. Every single time we stepped on the field of play in practice, it’s been a game. We had to turn that scout team mentality there on defense.

“I’ve joked with [Saints coach Sean Payton] about this, because a lot of times offensive head coaches want the defense to play scout team in practice. You don’t get better on defense that way. You get worse on defense that way. We had to attack our offense. We had to challenge our offense, and we made our offense better because they had a tough time dealing with us this spring.

“I tried to break their spirits and make them do physically unbelievable things from up-downs and running sprints and all these things for semi-attention deficit disorder mistakes they were making. It made them stronger. When things don’t break you in times of easiness, then they find out they become stronger later on.

“I tell them all the time, ‘When you bleed more in times of peace, you’re going to bleed less in times of war.’ They kind of paid the price in minicamp, OTAs and training camp. It was remarkable to see the leaders come back and say, ‘We want more.’ When they started that swagger and attitude back at me, I knew I had them. Now I have to manage them, and that’s not easy. Our motto has been: ‘Live on the edge, play on the edge, never hurt the team.’”

The Bears have already assigned Rod Marinelli their defensive coordinator duties. Marinelli won’t change the Bears’ scheme, but he would be well-advised to find a way to shake up the complacency that seems to have settled over Chicago’s once-proud defense. He has the kind of fiery personality to do so.

Detroit Lions

A pressing issue: A defense that gave up a staggering 392 yards per game in 2009.

How the Saints addressed it: By making turnovers the great equalizer. For as much as Williams’ defense was celebrated this season, it still gave up an average of 357 yards per game during the regular season. That ranked No. 25 among all NFL defenses.

Those totals actually got worse in the playoffs, where opponents averaged 422 yards per game.

But this season, the Saints balanced that yardage by nearly doubling their takeaway total from 2008. After causing 22 turnovers that season, the Saints created 39 takeaways in 2009. They caused eight turnovers in the playoffs.

That trend was no accident. Williams expected players to take risks to create those turnovers. “If you’re afraid to jump routes, if you’re not willing to play aggressively that way, you’re not going to make it,” he said.

The Lions ranked No. 25 this season with 23 takeaways, including only nine interceptions. There’s no doubt they need to elevate their talent level on defense. But encouraging players to take more risks would help cover for that deficiency. They would probably give up some big plays if the risks backfire, but they were already doing that. What is there to lose by taking more chances given that dynamic?

Green Bay Packers

A pressing issue: An aging offensive line that includes probably two players -- left guard Daryn Colledge and right guard Josh Sitton -- who seem locked into starting roles in 2010. That leaves three open spots, although Jason Spitz could return as center if his back is healthy.

How Indianapolis addressed it: The Colts made a change at left tackle, sliding in Charlie Johnson to replace Tony Ugoh. But to me, the lesson of the Colts is that they didn’t do enough to solidify their line and ultimately paid for it in the Super Bowl.

As my AFC South colleague Paul Kuharsky noted, the Colts’ failure to convert key 3rd-and-short situations proved critical in the playoffs during the past two seasons. Kuharsky notes the Colts might want to re-think their approach to building their offensive line as 2010 approaches.

The Packers could share in that lesson. Their first order of business: Develop a depth chart that avoids using starters as the primary backup at another position. As they learned last season, moving Colledge to left tackle when Chad Clifton was injured weakened two positions.

Their second task: Find a long-term answer for at least one of their two tackle positions. Clifton and Mark Tauscher are both free agents. Even if both are re-signed, planning needs to accelerate for their eventual replacement.

Minnesota Vikings

A pressing issue: The conflict between their fundamental desire to run the ball and the current state of the NFL as a pass-happy league.

How the Saints addressed it: By falling into a much more balanced pattern than most people realize. The Saints increased their rushing plays by about 15 percent and decreased Drew Brees’ passing attempts by about 20 percent during the regular season. The Saints, in fact, ranked No. 15 among all NFL teams in passing attempts.

I know I argued several times during the season that the Vikings should recognize their offense had trended toward the passing side, and ride it as far as they could in the playoffs. But based on the way the Vikings are configured, I don’t see that as a good long-term solution.

The Saints provided a paradigm for balance even while recognizing their strength as a passing team. Who would have guessed the Saints would have more running plays and pass fewer times than the Vikings?

But that’s exactly what happened in 2009, and the Vikings would be wise to re-center themselves a bit for the long-term.

Even if quarterback Brett Favre returns, is it reasonable to expect another career year from him? Like the Saints in 2009, the Vikings’ offense would be better in 2010 if they need to throw a few less times because their running game has offered a more viable alternative.

Sorry for the late notice, but our SportsNation chat has been postponed. I'll let you know when it's re-scheduled. Sorry for the inconvenience.

We’re here to please. So for your convenience, below I’ve listed some key offseason dates as we continue our comedown from the Super Bowl. Remember, the draft is a three-day affair this year.

Feb. 24-March 3: NFL scouting combine
March 5: Free agency begins
March 21-24: NFL owners meeting
April 22-24: NFL draft

New Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz joined "The Afternoon Saloon" to discuss his connection with Jay Cutler as well as his opinion of Lovie Smith.

Please join me for our first offseason chat of, well, the offseason. I’ll be available at our usual time (2 p.m. ET) and place (SportsNation) to discuss any and all NFC North issues. Nothing is too hot to touch.

Chat with you soon.

Thanks for working with me through Monday’s travel day. I’ve returned to NFC North headquarters and am excited for the true start of the NFL offseason.

As I hope you recall from last season, we will plow through the offseason with the same gusto as the regular season. If you can believe it, we’re only two weeks away from the scouting combine and less than a month before the opening of the free-agent market. The 2010 draft is just around the corner as well.

I’m already planning out some posts out this morning. I feel like New Orleans coach Sean Payton (only with more sleep and without the ring): Enjoy the Super Bowl one night, and then get back to work the next morning. Let’s start by taking a quick spin around the division:

• Green Bay appears set to pay linebacker A.J. Hawk a $4.6 million in salary and bonuses for the 2010 season, according to Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
• Chicago cornerback Nate Vasher seems to be a likely candidate for release, writes Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Otherwise, Vasher would earn $2.95 million plus another $500,000 in a workout bonus for 2010.
• Bears receiver Earl Bennett met with new offensive coordinator Mike Martz on Monday, according to the team’s Web site. Bennett: “I’m ready to work hard for him.”
• Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford will be at team headquarters this week to have his shoulder and knee checked out, according to the Lions’ Web site. He’s hoping to be cleared to participate on the first day of the team’s offseason program, which begins March 15.
• Could Minnesota open the 2010 NFL season at New Orleans? Judd Zulgad of the Star Tribune asks that question.

MIAMI -- Greetings from Gate H15 at the Miami International Airport, where I’m continuing what will be a long travel day back to NFC North headquarters. I should probably have my head examined for leaving a cloudless day in South Florida to return in a snowstorm, but I suppose 10 days down here is about as much as I can ask for.

Already today we’ve noted Darren Sharper’s Super Bowl championship and asked for some feedback on Dick LeBeau’s pending enshrinement in the Hall of Fame. Depending on travel conditions, this might be Monday’s last post. If it is, I’ll be back with you Tuesday and throughout this week as the NFL offseason begins in earnest.

Until then, let’s catch up on some NFC North news and analysis:

• Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times takes an in-depth look at the Bears’ “litany of disappointments” since making the Super Bowl three years ago.
• Bears receiver/returner Devin Hester had a chance to “party with my boys” during Super Bowl week in Miami, according to the Chicago Tribune.
• Alex Karras is another former Detroit player who belongs in the Hall of Fame, writes Jerry Green of the Detroit News.
• The grandson of Hall of Fame Green Bay coach Vince Lombardi was part of New Orleans’ championship team. Here’s an Associated Press profile of saints quarterbacks coach Joe Lombardi, via the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
• You can view this Facebook page to see outtakes from Brett Favre’s Super Bowl commercial, the one where he discusses his “role” in the Super Bowl 10 years from now.

As you move past Super Bowl XLIV, let’s circle back on another event that occurred in South Florida over the weekend: The election of Dick LeBeau to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

For coverage purposes, I considered LeBeau’s honor to be AFC North property after his long and distinguished career as a coach in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Many of you disagreed, noting LeBeau’s credentials as a cornerback in Detroit from 1959-72.

JohnWayne506th was particularly adamant. Expletives were deleted:

Come on Kevin!!! …The Lions get a HOF'er in and you just let the AFC North guy take him??? He was a DC there but he played his career here getting 62 INTS, which if I remember right was 2nd place when he retired. … This is the NFCN blog and he was an NFCN player. Now go get it back!!!

You’re right, John, LeBeau’s 62 interceptions did in fact rank second all-time in the NFL when he retired. He still ranks eighth, as you see in the chart accompanying this post. During the meat of his career, from 1960-71, no NFL player had more interceptions.

So while I make my way back to NFC North headquarters, let me know what you think: Was LeBeau a Hall of Fame player independent of his success as a coach?

In other words: Would he have made the Hall of Fame if he had never gone into coaching? Assuming Detroit readers are ready to drop their boycott, I’ll post a representative sample of your responses -- along with my own take -- later this week. Have at it.

MIAMI -- Darren Sharper played in the Super Bowl as a rookie in 1997 -- “and I figured I would be back many, many times,” he said.

“Many” turned out to be once and it came 13 seasons later. But finally, the former Green Bay and Minnesota safety can call himself a Super Bowl champion after New Orleans’ 31-17 victory Sunday night over Indianapolis.

“It feels great,” Sharper said. “This is what all the work is for, to get to this point. This is why you hang around for 13 years after making it to this game as a rookie, to win this game. I’m going to make sure I enjoy this.”

Sharper’s contract expires after this season, but at 34, he appears to have every intention of playing in 2010. All he would say about his future is this: “I don’t think I have another 13 years left in me.”

I have a feeling he has at least one more.

MIAMI -- Of this, there was little doubt: New Orleans brought a smart and fast defense to Miami. Here was the problem as Super Bowl XLIV approached: Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning was smarter and faster.

(That’s what a few of us thought, anyway.)

And so it was fascinating to watch Sunday night’s game turn when a 23-year-old Saints cornerback outsmarted Manning late in the fourth quarter. Tracy Porter said he knew “immediately” that the Colts were running one of their “bread and butter” 3rd-down plays with 3 minutes, 24 seconds left in the game. Porter stepped in front of receiver Reggie Wayne, intercepted Manning’s pass and returned it 74 yards for a touchdown. The play accounted for the final margin of the Saints’ 31-17 victory.

“I saw it over and over on film the past two weeks,” Porter said. “On third down, the route they ran there was always big for them to convert third downs on. Through numerous amounts of film study we’ve done all week, when the route came, it felt like I was watching it on film. When I saw the ball coming, I knew I was going to be in the end zone.”

The play capped another high-risk, high-reward performance by the Saints defense, one in which they gave up 432 yards but only one score after the first quarter. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams mixed versions of the 4-3 and 3-4 in a calculating way that I’ll detail in a bit

Before examining Williams’ successful game plan, however, let’s take a closer look at the play that won New Orleans its first championship. Remember, Wayne would have had an easy first down at the Saints’ 26-yard line in a one-score game had Porter not made the interception.

If anything, Saints players and coaches seemed surprised at how predictable the Colts were on the crucial play. Manning and offensive coordinator Tom Moore are known for prescient late-game play calling, but multiple Saints defenders identified the route tree before the snap.

“I can tell now that Tracy pays attention in the film room,” safety Darren Sharper said. “Because he read that play well and trusted his instincts.”

Before the snap, Porter noticed receiver Austin Collie as the outside receiver and Wayne in the slot position. “We knew Collie wasn’t normally a guy they liked in that spot,” Porter said.

In previous instances of that formation, Porter said, Collie had gone into late motion and run the slot position’s route. The slot man, in turn, ran what’s known as a “stick route” -- essentially a 6-yard pattern designed to reach the yardage “stick” and convert a first down.

On cue, Wayne ran that route. He had no chance to make the catch.

“It was just a great play by Porter,” Manning said. “That’s all I can really say about it.”

Indeed, everything about the Saints’ defense on that play suggested a stick route would work. Williams blitzed all three linebackers, leaving open the underneath for what should have been an easy conversion. Who would expect a young cornerback, even one who intercepted Minnesota’s Brett Favre late in the fourth quarter in the NFC Championship Game, to take the risk of jumping a route? Had he missed the ball or guessed wrong, Wayne might have scored.

If you watched the Saints’ defense all year, however, it probably wasn’t a surprise. New Orleans ranked second in the NFL with 39 takeaways, a number you don’t normally achieve if you simply sit back in coverage. Williams, in fact, said he has encouraged his players “to be aggressive, to take chances and to jump routes from the first day I got here.”

Williams added: “If you’re afraid to jump routes, if you’re not willing to play aggressively that way, you’re not going to make it.”

Williams took his own calculated risk Sunday, holding back his trademark blitz packages until the fourth quarter. He employed a 3-4 defense in the first quarter, switched to a 4-3 scheme in the second quarter and then mixed those two fronts with a 3-3 nickel scheme.

“Peyton Manning is too smart to just do the same thing the entire game,” Williams said. “We knew we needed a first half game plan and a second half game plan. And if we could split it between quarters, we would do that too. If you keep doing the same thing against him, he’ll pick you apart.

“But we also said this: If we got to a close game at the end of the Super Bowl, we were going to be who we are. And that’s a pressure defense.”

The blitz didn’t get to Manning on the Porter play. “We had it blocked up fine,” Colts center Jeff Saturday said.

But to me, the triple-linebacker blitz was the reason Manning was so quick to throw in Wayne’s direction -- and play right into Porter’s hands.

“He’s so smart that he’ll figure you out if you stay stagnant as a defense,” Sharper said. “We showed something in the first half and then did something different in the second. That’s what we practiced for the past two weeks. I think by the fourth quarter, we did confuse him a little.”

Ultimately, the Saints did what they had done to Arizona and Minnesota in previous weeks -- limit scoring through turnovers despite giving up massive yardage totals. The Cardinals rolled up 359 yards but only 14 points thanks to a pair of turnovers. The Vikings scored 28 points but committed five turnovers amid their 475-yard effort.

“Everybody wanted to predict and say this and say that,” Sharper said. “But we took it personally that everyone believed Peyton was going to dice us up and that it was going to be a scoring fest. To hold an offense like that to 17 points is a testament to our team.”

And, as much as anything, its intelligence. The Saints outsmarted Peyton Manning. Who would have predicted that?

MIAMI -- Just took a walk around the perimeter of Sun Life Stadium. The weather is beautiful but right now it’s pretty windy. Forecasts called for gusts of up to 20 miles per hour, and I can tell you first-hand it’s awfully gusty right now.

Who do you think has the kicking advantage in a windy situation? New Orleans’ Garrett Hartley or Indianapolis’ Matt Stover? Discuss.

MIAMI -- As you can see from the award-winning photograph in the post below, we ESPN.com bloggers arrived at Sun Life Stadium with a few minutes to spare before Super Bowl XLIV. The primary purpose of posting the shot is to rub it in for those of you who are snowbound or otherwise stuck in weather that is at least somewhat less ideal than what we’ve got here. (Sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-60’s.)

A few words about the plan for today. I’ll pop on the blog as warranted during the afternoon, and then at 5:30 p.m. ET I’ll be moving over to our NFL Nation Live in-game chat thingee. Please join me there.

I’m expecting to write a New Orleans-themed post after the game, which will naturally show up here on the NFC North blog.

Starting Monday we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled programming.