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At the NFL scouting combine, the Chicago Bears were said to be interested in Alabama right tackle D.J. Fluker. Then they went and signed left tackle Jermon Bushrod on the first day of free agency, sliding J'Marcus Webb into a competition with Gabe Carimi and Jonathan Scott at right tackle.

So does that mean Fluker is no longer a candidate to be the Bears' top pick (No. 20 overall)? Go back and read those names and tell me if you think the Bears should be satisfied. Or watch this fun video Fluker did with ESPN's Sport Science, which among other things demonstrates his power against bull rushes.

Chicago Bears
Running back Armando Allen signed his exclusive-rights tender, keeping the two-year veteran from becoming a free agent.

GM Phil Emery needs to set aside the "best player available" approach in the first round of next month's draft and strengthen the Bears' offensive line, argues Dan McNeil of the Chicago Tribune.

The Tribune's Brad Biggs has the contract details for recent free-agent signees James Anderson, Kelvin Hayden and Jonathan Scott.

Detroit Lions
Kicker Jason Hanson wants to return to the Lions for a 22nd NFL season, the Free Press reports, though the team has given him a "minimum-salary offer" and plans to host free agent David Akers next week.

NC State cornerback David Amerson and Central Michigan left tackle Eric Fisher visited the team facility as the Lions continued to mull what they might do with the No. 5 overall pick.

Green Bay Packers
Expect big new deals for quarterback Aaron Rodgers and linebacker Clay Matthews to get done in the not-too-distant future, Tom Silverstein writes in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, now that the Packers have taken care of other business.

Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette takes a look at Purdue's Kawann Short, a defensive lineman the team could consider with its first-round pick.

Coach Mike McCarthy has set his offseason schedule, and Packers will hold their mandatory, full-squad minicamp in the midst of their organized team activities for the first time, writes ESPNMilwaukee.com's Jason Wilde.

Minnesota Vikings
The team's official web site takes a look at whether the Vikings might look at Brian Urlacher or Manti Te'o for the middle-linebacker spot.

The Vikings' stadium deal was "fool's gold" and legislators should scrap it and start over, argues The Pioneer Press' Ruben Rosario. "This already was corporate welfare at its worst. Then news broke this month that confirms that Minneapolis and state taxpayers will be getting hosed for more than the $498 million in public contributions to the estimated $975 million stadium project," Rosario writes.

Chicago Bears

The Bears added another player to the mix at right tackle by re-signing Jonathan Scott.

Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune: "Phil Emery had been moving along pretty well in changing a Chicago Bears teams that missed the playoffs five of the last six years. Then came last week. Emery went from the mousy handling of Brian Urlacher to replacing him with a problem that might cost the Bears defense big."

Detroit Lions

The Lions brought in Auburn running back Onterio McCalebb for a pre-draft visit.

Lions general manager Martin Mayhew made it known which position he has focused on most in the past four drafts.

Green Bay Packers

Tight end Jermichael Finley is ready for the heightened expectations that go with a big salary. "... [I]t's a great opportunity to stay with a great organization and a great quarterback to move forward and win more championships," Finley said. "I'm ready to take my game to another level. Every player wants to achieve as much as possible. In my case, I want to get back to what I know and that's playing great football."

The team's annual Tailgate Tour has been scheduled for May 14-18.

Minnesota Vikings

Former Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield is scheduled to visit the Washington Redskins on Wednesday. Winfield reportedly hasn't ruled out a return to Minnesota.

After the Chicago Bears' 28-13 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, here are three issues that merit further examination:

1. 

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   More than anything, Sunday's game reinforced how reliant the Bears are on their special teams and defense in staking them to a lead and in some cases maintaining it as well. The Bears offense couldn't move the ball on their first drive, but Zack Bowman downed a punt at the Cardinals' 4-yard line, and two plays later, he recovered a Beanie Wells fumble for a touchdown. Quarterback Jay Cutler started the game with 10 incompletions in his first 11 attempts, a performance that could have scuttled the Bears' chances had the defense not started strong. Overall, the defense scored two touchdowns, had four sacks -- three by defensive end Julius Peppers -- and forced three turnovers in a game the Bears won by 15 points. For as much as the Bears thought their offense would carry their share of the load this season, it just hasn't developed.
2. The Bears' offensive line has gotten so much grief this season that it's worth noting it limited the Cardinals' aggressive and productive pass rush to one sack. Based on press statistics, that sack was the only hit Cutler took in the game. That's a pretty amazing statistic considering the Bears were starting their fifth different combination of linemen in this game because of right tackle Jonathan Scott's hamstring injury. Rookie James Brown started at left guard, Chris Spencer started at right guard and Gabe Carimi was back at right tackle. We'll see if Carimi earned back his starting job and if he can re-establish himself at this position before the offseason begins.
3. The Bears will be in some trouble if tailback Matt Forte doesn't make a quick recovery from sprained ankle that was significant enough to require a walking boot Sunday. Backup Michael Bush is already on injured reserve because of a rib injury, leaving the Bears with Kahlil Bell and Armando Allen as their remaining healthy running backs. Both have experience, but the Bears are literally in a must-win situation and Forte is one of their best players. Forte is pledging to be ready for Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions, but willpower alone can't get it done.

And here is one issue I still don't get:

We know the Bears must win this game to get in the playoffs. Do they need to win in order to save coach Lovie Smith's job as well? A loss would leave the Bears out of the playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons since they reached the Super Bowl in 2006. They would become just the second team in the 23-year history of this playoff structure to miss out on the playoffs after a 7-1 start, and at best Smith would be looking at a lame duck contract for 2013. We have no idea what the McCaskey family and general manager Phil Emery are thinking, but the possibility exists that Sunday could be Smith's final game with the team.

» NFC Final Word: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Five nuggets of knowledge about Week 12:

November woes: The Green Bay Packers have won four consecutive road games against the New York Giants, their opponent in Sunday's prime-time game. And are the Packers getting the Giants at a good time? Recent history is inexplicable but clear. The Giants are a bad November team, and this year quarterback Eli Manning has slumped badly as well. Under coach Tom Coughlin, the Giants are 13-21 in November and 67-37 in all other months. The Giants have lost their past five games in November, including two this season. Manning, meanwhile, hasn't thrown a touchdown pass since the fourth quarter of Week 7, a span of 99 passes. Since Week 8, Manning has completed only 54.5 percent of his total throws and has a Total Quarterback Rating (QBR) of 27.1, ranking him No. 29 of 33 qualifiers during that span.

Run opportunities: The Packers achieved rare equality in their run-pass ratio last week against the Detroit Lions, running on 28 plays and passing on 31. Coach Mike McCarthy lamented a relative lack of production from starter James Starks, who rushed for 74 yards on 25 carries, and it appears Starks and Alex Green will rotate more frequently Sunday night. The Packers should have some opportunities against a Giants defense that has allowed at least 150 rushing yards in consecutive home games for the first time since 2006. The Pittsburgh Steelers rushed for 158 yards against them two weeks ago, and 99 of those yards came after contact, an indication of the state of the Giants' tackling.

Big meeting: Few thought when the season began that the Week 12 meeting between the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings would be so crucial to the NFC North race. Only one game separates the Bears (7-3) and Vikings (6-4), and they're set to play twice in the next three weeks. The Vikings have lost 10 of their past 11 games in Chicago, and the only game they've won in that span required a 224-yard effort from tailback Adrian Peterson and a 54-yard game-winning field goal from Ryan Longwell. The Bears are coming off a short week after an embarrassing road loss, but they appear likely to get back the services of quarterback Jay Cutler, who has won 12 of his past 13 games that he has finished. Of ESPN's 14 NFL experts, all but one picked the Bears to win this game.

Tracking Allen: Vikings defensive end Jared Allen had at least one sack in six consecutive games but has now gone two games without one. But the last time Allen saw the Bears, he lit up left tackle J'Marcus Webb for 3.5 sacks in the 2011 season finale. Webb is one of three offensive linemen who kept his job after backup quarterback Jason Campbell was sacked six times by the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night, but offensive coordinator Mike Tice has pledged constant chip help for Webb this weekend. The Bears will try to contain the rest of the Vikings' defense with a new right tackle (Jonathan Scott) and left guard (Chris Spencer).

Peterson power: The Bears' defense has proved vulnerable recently to what has been the decided strength of Peterson all season. Specifically, they have given up at least 80 yards on runs between the tackles in each of their past five games. Peterson, of course, has been gashing teams almost exclusively between the tackles since returning from knee surgery. This season, 174 of his carries, 922 of his yards, six of his touchdowns and 11 of his 20-plus yard runs have come on runs that began between the tackles. There is every reason to believe the Vikings will attack that area early and often, and then probably follow up with a heavy dose of their play-action game.

We're Black and Blue All Over:

We could spend all day analyzing the various tentacles emerging from Thursday's wild game at Ford Field, but at least one of them figures to be a storyline for the next few days as the NFL investigates. As the NFL Network's Albert Breer noted, the league almost certainly will look into a play that ended with Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh's left foot hitting the groin of Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub in the first quarter of the Texans' 34-31 overtime victory.

Schaub offered only a curt comment to reporters when asked several times about the incident and whether he thought it was intentional. "I really don't have anything to say about that play or that person," Schaub said.

As we discussed Thursday, there was a lot of gray area in the play. Suh was falling onto his right side as his left leg swung wildly. He never looked at Schaub, but his left leg extended toward him after initially falling away. As always, stay tuned.

Continuing around the NFC North on this fine Friday morning:

• Lions coach Jim Schwartz said "I knew the rule" about not challenging touchdowns but "I was so mad that I overreacted." Bob Wojnowksi of the Detroit News writes the Lions are "not as good, not as smart, not as composed as they thought they were. They can't beat the good teams, they can't hold leads, they can't escape the relentless creep of frustration."
• Lions place-kicker Jason Hanson blamed himself for the loss after missing a 47-yard field goal in overtime, writes Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press. Hanson: "When you're kicking a field goal to win it, it doesn't matter what happened before that: all the controversy or the ups and downs in plays. It doesn't matter then. So it's the same. It's the game-winner, no matter how you got there. It's the same. So, we don't miss those."
• The Lions' offense was exceptional in the week after they benched and deactivated receiver Titus Young, notes Anwar S. Richardson of Mlive.com.
• Bears right tackle Gabe Carimi on being benched, via Michael C. Wright of ESPNChicago.com: "I've got a positive attitude about it. I'll come back from this. I'm just inconsistent right now. So be it the knee or be it aggression, who knows what it is sometimes? I know I'll come back from this. I'll be good."
• Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was limited in Thursday's practice, notes Vaughn McClure of the Chicago Tribune.
• During the portion of practice open to reporters Thursday, Jonathan Scott was at right tackle and Chris Spencer was at left guard, notes Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times.
• Green Bay Packers receiver Greg Jennings participated in a padded practice Thursday, but Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette suggests Jennings could still miss Sunday night's game against the New York Giants.
• Packers cornerback Charles Woodson "feels good" but said his return from a broken collarbone will take a little while longer. Jason Wilde of ESPNMilwaukee.com has more.
• Packers rookie Casey Hayward has proved well-suited to playing the slot position, writes Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
• Minnesota Vikings receiver Michael Jenkins is one of the last relics of last season's roster philosophy, writes Tom Pelissero of 1500ESPN.com.
• Vikings receiver Percy Harvin didn't practice Thursday and seems highly unlikely to play Sunday against the Bears, notes Dan Wiederer of the Star Tribune.

After the Chicago Bears' 32-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, here are three issues that merit further examination:

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1. The Bears' intent on offense was pretty clear. They opened the game with an extra tackle, Jonathan Scott, and rookie Evan Rodriguez lined up at fullback, and desperately wanted to establish the run with quarterback Jay Cutler sidelined. I get that. But that approach provided no alternative when the 49ers took the early lead, and I remain stunned at how poorly the Bears adjusted. Forced into passing situations, they put tackles J'Marcus Webb and Gabe Carimi in matchups they had already proved they couldn't win. It was absolutely criminal to stand by and let 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith beat them for 5.5 sacks. There is no doubt Smith is an elite pass-rusher, but the Bears needed to suck it up at some point and double-team him. Each sack came when the 49ers sent four or fewer rushers, meaning there was always someone available to help out if assigned. Instead, the Bears let Smith have a better game against them than any opponent in their history. In fact, Smith's sack total has been bested in a single game only four times in NFL history. Reggie White never had 5.5 sacks in a game. Neither did Bruce Smith, Lawrence Taylor, nor Mark Gastineau. Why? Because even on their best days, they faced more opposition than Smith did Monday night. I'm not sure any adjustment on Smith would have changed the outcome of the game, given how well the 49ers' offense played, but yikes. That was an eye-opening red flag from offensive coordinator Mike Tice, who was promoted in part because his background as an offensive line coach figured to minimize such jailbreaks. The Bears' scheme was as much, or more, to blame for Smith's night as was the poor play of Webb and Carimi.
2. Jason Campbell's performance gets something of a curve given the pressure he faced. All told, he was sacked six times and hit on five other occasions. But in the bigger picture, I wouldn't say the Bears got their $3.5 million out of him Monday night. The point of making such a commitment on a backup quarterback was to give themselves a chance to win a tough game under adverse circumstances when the starter isn't available. Based on their initial game plan, the Bears didn't appear interested in putting the game in Campbell's hands. And when they had no choice, Campbell fell far short. He threw two interceptions, fumbled twice, and per his career history, rarely pushed the ball upfield. Of his 22 attempts, only six traveled more than 10 yards past the line of scrimmage. He completed two of them for a total of 24 yards. Again, Campbell was in a tough spot Monday night. But the bottom line is the Bears are now 1-7 in the past eight games that starter Cutler has either missed or has left early. It appears Cutler is on track to return for Sunday's game against the Minnesota Vikings. He is scheduled to host his radio show on ESPN 1000 at 1 p.m. ET.
3. Cutler has alluded on several occasions to his role in keeping receiver Brandon Marshall mentally engaged and emotionally in check, and it was instructive to see how quickly Marshall got chippy and eventually combative without Cutler on the sideline with him. Television cameras caught center Roberto Garza putting him in a bear hug to settle down an altercation with an unnamed Bears player late in the game. "I have to a do a better job when I am frustrated of not letting it show," Marshall said. In the end, Marshall only saw four passes thrown his way. He caught two of them, including a 13-yard touchdown. Six of Marshall's eight touchdowns this season have come when the score differential was at least 17 points.

And here is one issue I still don't get:

What happened to the Bears' defense? Part of me wants to tip my cap to 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. It was fair to expect a conservative game plan and a few mistakes when facing a quarterback making his first start. We all thought Kaepernick would give the Bears a chance to add to their long list of takeaways this season. But Kaepernick was poised and stunningly accurate downfield against a Bears team that only blitzed on nine of his 23 attempts. Kaepernick gashed the Bears' standard pressure by completing 10 of 14 passes against it, including two that gained at least 30 yards. The 49ers also burned the Bears' defense by rushing for 94 yards between the tackles. Time will tell, but the Bears' defense -- like most -- was not nearly as good when it couldn't cause turnovers.

Let's power through a look at who practiced, who didn't and why Thursday in the NFC North.

Chicago Bears: It appears that receiver Alshon Jeffery (hand) is going to be the only player unavailable for Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans. Linebacker Lance Briggs (toe) was limited Thursday in practice. Tight end Matt Spaeth (ankle) was a full participant. Linebacker Brian Urlacher and defensive end Julius Peppers had their normal rest days. Offensive lineman Jonathan Scott (groin) did not practice.

Detroit Lions: As we noted earlier, cornerback Bill Bentley (shoulder) has been placed on injured reserve. He'll have surgery next week. Also not practicing were defensive end Cliff Avril (back), safeties Louis Delmas (knee) and Amari Spievey (concussion), and receiver Calvin Johnson (knee). Linebacker DeAndre Levy (hamstring) practiced as a limited participant.

Green Bay Packers: Fullback John Kuhn (hamstring), receiver Jordy Nelson (hamstring), linebacker Nick Perry (knee), defensive lineman Jerel Worthy (concussion) and cornerback Sam Shields (shin) did not practice. Defensive end Mike Neal (ankle) returned to practice as a limited participant.

Minnesota Vikings: Receiver Percy Harvin didn't practice because of a family issue, but coach Leslie Frazier indicated Harvin will be available for Sunday's game at the Seattle Seahawks. Tight end John Carlson (concussion) also missed practice.

Bob Sansevere's column provides us with another instance of Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman going out of his way to suggest that he is far from certain to draft USC tackle Matt Kalil with the No. 3 overall pick in the April draft.

Last month, Spielman on multiple occasions noted how important it is to surround a young quarterback with playmakers, and fill in at left tackle as needed. More recently, Spielman asked Sansevere to name the starting left tackles of the past two Super Bowl champions and apparently talked up LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne.

I judged the first instance to be blatant draft posturing, and the second might well fall into the same category. But let's take a closer look and make sure we all understand why Kalil is the presumed pick at No. 3 rather than Claiborne, Oklahoma State receiver Justin Blackmon or even Alabama running back Trent Richardson.

First off, it's true that the Giants won Super Bowl XLVI with a replacement left tackle, David Diehl, who took over during the season for an injured Will Beatty, a second-round draft pick in 2009. The Packers won Super Bowl XLV with left tackle Chad Clifton, a second-round draft pick in 2000 and two-time Pro Bowler. For good measure, we should note that the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers advanced to the title games with Matt Light and Jonathan Scott starting at left tackle, respectively. Light was a second-round pick in 2001 and is a four-time Pro Bowl player; Scott was a fifth-round pick of the Detroit Lions in 2006.

That cross section of history allows Spielman to make an obvious point: There is no step-by-step manual for building a championship team, other than having a good quarterback, and a contending team does not necessarily need an elite left tackle. But to me, the argument for Kalil is not so much that he plays left tackle but that he is widely assessed -- at least by media draft analysts -- to be the third-best player in the draft.

The Vikings shouldn't target Kalil just because he is a left tackle, nor should they zero in on Claiborne because they are thin at cornerback or Blackmon because they want a downfield threat for quarterback Christian Ponder. The only relevant question is who the best player is.

So we will give Spielman some leeway here. I still think his public statements lend themselves more to posturing than honest assessments. But if he and his scouts truly judge Claiborne or Blackmon or even Richardson as a better prospect than Kalil, then by all means they should draft that player and put up that evaluation to stand the test of history.

If that's the case, however, you can only hope that Spielman will have made a position-neutral decision. At such a high spot in the draft, it seems like splitting hairs to debate which position is more valuable. The only choice at No. 3 is to take the best player. The media consensus suggests it's Kalil, but the media has been wrong before.

Explaining the first practice report of Super Bowl XLV bye week:

Pittsburgh Steelers: Center Maurkice Pouncey (left ankle) has the most significant injury among the six players who sat out Wednesday's practice. Doug Legursky replaced him Wednesday and would start for him if necessary. AFC North colleague James Walker broke down the injury and Pouncey's chances of playing earlier Wednesday. Also sidelined were safety Will Allen (knee), cornerback Bryant McFadden (abdomen), safety Troy Polamalu (Achilles), receiver Emmanuel Sanders (foot) and tackle Jonathan Scott (ribs). Defensive end Aaron Smith, who is hoping to make it back from a triceps injury, participated on a limited basis.

Green Bay Packers: As we noted earlier this week, the Packers won't practice until Friday. But the NFL still required a practice report Wednesday for injury updating purposes. Had they practiced Wednesday, linebackers Erik Walden (ankle) and Frank Zombo (knee) would not have participated. Linebacker Desmond Bishop (ankle), tackle Chad Clifton (neck), linebacker A.J. Hawk (neck), receiver Greg Jennings (knee) and offensive lineman Jason Spitz (calf) would have been limited. Meanwhile, quarterback Aaron Rodgers said Wednesday he did not suffer a concussion in Sunday's NFC Championship Game, as has been speculated. He was not listed on the Packers' practice report.