Free agency kicks off at 11:01 p.m. Thursday night. For an organization that values building its team through the draft but does not have a first or second round pick this year, free agency will be the Bears’ draft.

Contrary to public opinion around Chicagoland, Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith are no dummies. They can see the writing on the wall that not only are their seats hot and they most likely face a playoffs-of-bust mandate, but they also know that for Smith’s defense to greatly improve in order to make the postseason, they have to add a couple of key pieces in free agency.

Thus, when free agency begins late tomorrow night, expect to read rare news that the Bears have thrown their hat in the ring for some of the top free agents on the market. In years past, Angelo has used free agency as a supplemental source to add necessary pieces to the roster. Free agency has always been used to fill immediate needs, not wants.

Angelo has always stated that they’re not going to “set the market” on any big-named players in free agency. Under his watch, the Bears have typically shopped from the bargain bin. But with Gaines Adams’ death and Adewale Ogunleye set to test the market, the Bears have a glaring need for a left defensive end who can put pressure on the quarterback and improve Smith’s defense.

Little did any of us expect Julius Peppers to be on the top of the Bears’ wish list, but it’s been reported as such by multiple sources. In fact, David Kaplan reported on chicagobreakingsports.com that the Bears met with Peppers’ agent over the weekend. Adding a player of his caliber, a guy who has recorded double-digit sacks in six of his eight years in the league, not only would improve defensive line mates Alex Brown and Tommie Harris, and whoever starts opposite Harris at nose tackle, but his presence would also improve a struggling secondary. The results would be immediately noticeable.

It’s not as if Peppers is the only end on the Bears’ radar, either. Packers free agent Aaron Kampman and the Titans’ Kyle Vanden Bosch have also been mentioned as possible upgrades. I’ve always liked Kampman’s work ethic and non-stop motor and I think he’d be an excellent addition if the Bears do not land Peppers. You could hardly call Kampman a consolation prize because if the Bears did sign him, it would still feel like the Bears won the lottery.

Adding Kampman instead of Peppers might not be a bad option, either. Kampman will command less money than Peppers is rumored to be seeking — somewhere in the range of $15-18 million per season. With the extra money they save on a Kampman deal, the Bears could still pursue a veteran free safety like Antrel Rolle or Kerry Rhodes. Darren Sharper also could hit the market as the Saints are not expected to re-sign him. Angelo and Smith both have publicly stated that free safety is a position that needs to be fixed immediately.

With their backs against the wall with an average defense and serious holes to fill at two of the three most important positions in a Cover 2 defense — left end and free safety — expect Angelo and Ted Phillips to be more willing to shell out the big bucks to fix the problems on the roster. Defensive end is one of the most important positions on a football team, especially in the Cover 2. It may be the second-most important position behind quarterback because rarely do teams win Super Bowls without a good pass rush. I also would expect them to address the offensive line, but probably not with a big-named free agent.

The Bears can ill afford to be cheap at this point in the process. Internal improvement alone will not be enough to end this team’s playoff drought. They need to get better by adding pieces to the puzzle, and those pieces will come with a hefty price tag. But the ramifications of missing the playoffs for the fourth straight season after losing Super Bowl XLI could be just as bad.

With free agency on the horizon it’s time to revisit a feature I did last off-season, my wish list. Every fan has his or her own idea of what the Bears need to do to improve for next season and I will share my thoughts. With new offensive and defensive coordinators as well as new offensive position coaches, the Bears have their work cut out for them this off-season in order to become contenders for the upcoming season.

Here’s my checklist — in no particular order:

Sign Torry Holt.

If I were Mike Martz, I’d continue to give the front office an earful about signing veteran wide receiver Torry Holt, and I’m sure Martz has been doing that since Holt was cut by the Jaguars. Holt was a Pro Bowler under Martz’s leadership in St. Louis and he recently said he thought he would be a perfect for the Bears. The excuses for not bringing him in are tired and pointless. I don’t care if he’s lost a step — or two or three — at his age, he’d easily be the best wide receiver on the roster and would be a dependable target for Jay Cutler. Martz’s offense is complicated to learn and the Bears don’t exactly have the sharpest knives in the drawer currently on the roster at the receiver position. He’s not going to command a lot of money, particularly since he wants to come to Chicago. And if Jerry Angelo gives the same fabricated nonsense about how they’re pleased with the development of their young receivers, then he’s really pressing his luck with his job security. Yes, the wide receivers were the most consistent position group on the team last year. Doesn’t mean they’re ready to handle Martz’s offense and it doesn’t mean there’s a Pro Bowl caliber player among them.

Move Frank Omiyale to right tackle.

There have been quite a few moves made by the front office and the coaching staff over the past few years that have left me scratching my head, but perhaps none more perplexing than what the Bears did with Omiyale last year. The Bears scouted Omiyale, formerly of the Carolina Panthers, and watched him play well at left tackle for a few games. They were aggressive when free agency opened and agreed to terms with the big-bodied tackle on the first day. Then they inserted him into the starting lineup during minicamps because John Tait retired and the Bears only had two other tackles on the roster at the time — Chris Williams and Cody Balogh. Then what happened? They signed Orlando Pace and tried to insert Omiyale at guard, because, as Lovie Smith likes to say, they were trying to get on the field the players that “gave them the best chance to win,” even if one of those players was out of position. How do you scout a tackle, let him practice at tackle, and then move him to guard? This isn’t a video game. You can’t switch a guy’s position and expect him to be as effective as you thought he’d be. Omiyale would probably be the best fit at right tackle right now and would improve the quality of the line while playing there.

Sign a left guard.

I like Josh Beekman, but he’s only a marginal player at guard.  He’s supposed to be the eventual replacement for Olin Kreutz at center, and who knows how many years Kreutz has left.  The aforementioned Omiyale played poorly at guard and he belongs at right tackle. This position is a tricky one to fill, so I won’t blame management too much if they botch it. Ideally, you’d like a mauler, a guy who is a beast at run blocking and can help improve a run game that was woeful last year. At the same time, you would like somebody athletic who can pull much like Ruben Brown used to do while lead blocking for Thomas Jones back in the day. You’d also like the guard to be a good pass blocker because if he can’t do that, Cutler will get pummeled in Martz’s pass-happy offense.  It’s kind of difficult to get an all-around great guard because those types of players are already under contract on most teams and the collective bargaining agreement will reduce the number of available unrestricted free agents. But if the Bears don’t at least try to upgrade this position, shame on them.

Sign and draft a defensive end.

Defensive end is a position that requires improvement whether or not Smith’s tenure as head coach lasts beyond this year. While the Cover 2 scheme requires a steady pressure from the defensive line, no team will succeed in the NFL without a consistent pass rush.  The Bears recognized this and tried to remedy that by acquiring Gaines Adams last year.  Tragically, Adams passed away leaving the Bears in the same position they’ve been for a couple years.  The team will most likely re-sign Mark Anderson, but he’s certainly not an every-down player and probably never will be.  Adewale Ogunleye is a free agent, but aside from his career-high 15 sacks with the Dolphins, he’s never been a great pass rusher.  If the Bears are going to look for a defensive end on the wrong side of 30, they should probably look elsewhere.  The three names thrown around most have been Julius Peppers, Aaron Kampman, and Kyle Vanden Bosch.  Of the three, I like the idea of Kampman best because Peppers will demand too much money and we all know the Bears won’t pony up to get him. In addition to signing a free agent that can fix the team in the present, the Bears should explore drafting one in the middle rounds of the upcoming draft to help for the future.  They also have Jarron Gilbert and Henry Melton to compete for playing time.

Step up the pressure on Tommie Harris.

Tommie Harris is done.  Clarification: he can still play a little football and will have a job as long as he stays healthy. But his time as one of the NFL’s best defensive tackles has come and gone so quickly and lasted a meager three years. I’m tired of people saying, “if Tommie can only stay healthy” or “if Tommie can only return to the player he once was.”  I’m having déjà vu from when the same things were being said about Mike Brown. For the Bears’ defense to work, it requires a dominant three technique, something Harris is not. The Bears need to send a message loud and clear to Harris either by increasing the rotation with the young players already on the roster, or looking outside the organization for competition. The defense will continue to struggle without rectifying this position.

Re-sign Pisa Tinoisamoa.

It’s a shame that the injury bug bit Tinoisamoa before Bears fans could get a true understanding of what kind of player he is.  The guy is a head hunter and flies to the ball.  What I remember most about Tinoisamoa was in the preseason during the game against the New York Giants.  The defense, ever a finesse unit that has always had trouble tackling, was getting run over by the truck known as Brandon Jacobs.  It takes two or three players from most teams to take Jacobs down.  I remember one play vividly where Tinoisamoa pursued Jacobs nicely and stuck him — by himself — at the line of scrimmage for no gain.  The fact that he’s a willing and disciplined tackler is a nice refreshing thing to watch.  I know the Bears are high on Jamar Williams, Nick Roach, and Hunter Hillenmeyer, but it would be a good idea to give Tinoisamoa another chance.

Cut ties with Nathan Vasher.

Talk about another player who has fallen from grace.  A one-time Pro Bowler who had a nose for the football and was nicknamed “The Interceptor” has looked lost out on the field since suffering multiple injuries in recent years.  Vasher was probably best remembered last year for stumbling and failing to keep up with wide receiver Greg Jennings on the game-winning 50-yard touchdown pass in an opening-night loss to the Packers.  In fairness to Vasher, he failed to receive safety help over the top, but he also looked awful during that game.  It wound up costing him his job in favor of Zack Bowman.  The Bears’ secondary is hardly stable and it may be questionable to cut ties with a player from a position of weakness, but he has a big salary and that money might be better spent elsewhere.

Sign and draft a cornerback.

Whether or not the Bears cut Vasher, they’ll still need to improve the cornerback position.  Bowman had his ups and downs last year and has had a history with injuries since his days in college.  Charles Tillman can still be reliable, but he’s been struggling with injuries for the past few years as well.  D.J. Moore is undersized and untested and it’s hard to judge Corey Graham on his body of work.  The Bears have to at least explore all options on the free agency market, which, again, figures to be thin, and they also need to look to address the position in the draft.

Sign or draft a free safety.

Free safety, like defensive tackle, is one of the key cogs of the Cover 2 defense and the Bears haven’t had a decent one since Mike Brown.  Instead, they’re constantly rotating strong safeties into the free safety role and are experiencing poor results.  Regrettably, there are not a lot of options available to them and I don’t see them rectifying this position in this off-season.  Whether they sign one or draft one, getting this position fixed is of the utmost importance.

Torry Holt said it best in a recent interview on WMVP AM-1000.

“I think it’s a match made in heaven if they were to bring someone like me in to actually show these guys how to run this system, efficiently, effectively and consistently.”

Forgive me for being cynical as years of disappointing transactions have left me doubtful that Jerry Angelo will pull the trigger on bringing in a guy that would help new offensive coordinator Mike Martz’s offense work.

All last off-season, we heard from Angelo that the Bears were going to “go with the hand they’ve been dealt” in reference to the young receiving corps they seemingly neglected last summer.  Ironically, that position group was the least of the Bears’ concerns and arguably played the most consistently.

That doesn’t mean we can expect any one of them to become Pro Bowlers any time soon, and Angelo wouldn’t be doing his “due diligence,” as he frequently likes to say, if the Bears didn’t explore other outside options for upgrading the group.

Signing Holt, who was cut by the Jaguars this week after one season with the team, would make perfect sense for many reasons.  First, although he’ll be 34 when next season commences, and while his best years are certainly far behind him, Holt would step into Bourbonnais as the hands-down best receiver on the team.

Do I need to go any further than that?  I will, anyway.

Holt thrived for years in Martz’s offense while with the St. Louis Rams.  As it stands now, the only player on the Bears offense familiar with Martz’s system is Orlando Pace, and he may not be on the team for much longer.  While everybody else is trying to learn the system, Holt would be able to help teach it and, more importantly, show it.

Holt probably would be the most intelligent receiver on the team, too.  Football IQ is something that is far underrated.  How many fewer interceptions would Jay Cutler have thrown if he and his receivers were on the same page?  Easily, a half-dozen.  When a play breaks down, to where are receivers supposed to run?  Typically, intelligent veteran receivers know where their quarterback wants them to go.

Martz’s offense is so complex that the learning curve could be more than one season, and the players may only have one off-season to learn it all because everybody’s job security at Halas Hall is paper-thin.  How embarrassing will it be to watch a dysfunctional offense get obliterated every week because players are in the wrong position?  Well, think back to how you felt watching last year’s team get pounded and multiply that feeling by two.

If Earl Bennett couldn’t get onto the field his rookie season because he had trouble learning Ron Turner’s offense, how is he going to pick up Martz’s scheme?  What about little Johnny Knox from diminutive Abilene Christian? There’s a guy that froze up during a postgame interview following a preseason game because he wasn’t used to being in front of so many fans.  And how about Devin Hester?  Not exactly the embodiment of brains, he had to be positioned properly by Muhsin Muhammad nearly his entire first season as a receiver and several times miscommunicated with Cutler last year.

Critics and skeptics will say Holt is way past his prime and doesn’t have much left in the tank.  Sadly, I repeat: he’d be the best wide receiver on the team in Bourbonnais.  Others will claim he’ll cost too much.  Maybe, maybe not.  He did say during that radio interview this week that he’d be very interested in playing for Martz in Chicago, so he could give a discount.  Still others will say that the Bears don’t need a tutor and they already tried that, unsuccessfully, with Muhammad.  And they’ll claim that if all they want to do is bring in Holt to help teach the offense to these receivers, then they should hire him as an assistant coach.

The excuses are weak.  Especially from those who clamor that if the Bears are going to get receiver help, they should go after bigger fish like Anquan Boldin or Brandon Marshall.  Sorry, Bears fans.  That’s not going to happen.

For the best value to help improve the position and make the transition to Mike Martz’s system as seamless as possible, there’s one player that provides the perfect fit.  Let’s see if Angelo is smart enough to pull the trigger.