In the second of a two-part series, coach Lovie Smith answers email questions from fans on ChicagoBears.com:

How would you assess the safety position and what role do you envision Mike Brown playing this season?

Rob
Chicago

Mike Brown returns to the secondary after sustaining a season-ending knee injury in last year's opener in San Diego.

Mike is healthy and Mike’s our safety. It starts with Mike Brown. Mike’s our team leader, and a Pro Bowl-type safety. I’m very pleased with what we’ve seen from him in the offseason. Brandon McGowan has been productive when he’s gotten an opportunity to play. We really like the ability that Kevin Payne has shown in a short period of time. Danieal Manning has played quite a bit and been productive. And you don’t draft players like Craig Steltz unless you have a plan for them. I just named five safeties, but I like what some of the other guys—a guy like Leonard Peters—can do too. Leonard has really made progress this offseason. It seems like we go through quite a few safeties, so you can’t have too many and we have a few right now.

Do you see promising young linebackers Jamar Williams and Michael Okwo challenging Hunter Hillenmeyer for the starting strongside position in training camp?

Joe
Chicago

We’re very pleased with Hunter. He’s a veteran who’s been around here, going through all the offseason workouts and looking good doing it. But in the same sense, Jamar Williams and Michael Okwo are good players. They have a lot of talent. They’ve made a lot of progress. I don’t think Michael has missed a day the entire offseason and Jamar has been here just about the entire time too. I like all three of the players, but we’re not disappointed in Hunter at all. I’m still going to say that we’re starting over. We haven’t handed out any positions. Everyone who plans on starting is going to have to earn it, and if you have competition you’re going to have to beat out the competition.

If Devin Hester played for another team, would you kick the ball to him?

Fabian C.
Gilroy, California

If I was a coach from the opposing team, yeah, I would kick to him. You can’t let one guy take you out of your game plan. I’d have a hard time going in and telling my team, “Hey, this guy is so good we’re not going to kick to him,” so yeah, I would. Of course, it’s easy for me to say that.

Do you feel that the defense is finally being put on equal footing with the new radio receiver in the helmet, and when you do get to try them out in a team situation?

Michael
Willow Springs, Illinois

I think we’re evening it up a little bit with it. For the most part, we know how it will work. But the NFL hasn’t worked out all the bugs yet with how we’re going to do it, like if the guy with it gets hurt, what do you do with a backup helmet and all that? But the basic concept of it is very good. We’re talking to the quarterback on the offensive side, so you should be able to talk to the linebacker on the defensive side. No one is getting an advantage because all teams are going under the same rules.

Will the starting running back position be Cedric Benson’s to lose or will there be an open competition between Benson and Matt Forte, similar to what will transpire at quarterback?

Blake
Waxhaw, North Carolina

It’s totally different. Matt Forte has never played a down for us here. He’s like all other rookies, starting from the bottom and working his way up. Cedric was our starter last year, and he’s our starter right now. For someone else to be the starter, they’re going to have to beat him out. I’m going to put Adrian Peterson and Garrett Wolfe in there also. We like what Matt Forte brings. When you draft a player that high, you’re expecting him to eventually play and have a role with your team. But Cedric Benson has looked good in workouts out here. I’m hoping that Cedric will get back to form and we see that guy that we know he is.

What are the chances of the Bears carrying four running backs on their roster this season?

Brad G.
Iowa City, Iowa

There’s definitely that scenario. You have numbers and I know our number at running back has been three for most of the years that we’ve been here. But you find a way to keep all good players that you think can help you win. So to say that we wouldn’t keep four, I wouldn’t say that at all. There’s a chance we’ll do that. I’m going to say the same thing about every position. If there’s a player that we really like … there are numbers that you have to have to play, and then there are a couple wildcard positions that you can use, so we’ll be able to keep all the guys we need to.