LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Bears radio analyst Tom Thayer, a former Bears guard who played for the 1985 Super Bowl XX championship team, shares his thoughts exclusively with ChicagoBears.com:

Which individuals have impressed you most during OTA practices?

The first guys who come to mind are Earl Bennett, Kevin Payne, Rod Marinelli and Marcus Hamilton. Obviously it’s harder to evaluate the strong guys—the defensive linemen and linebackers—in non-contact drills just because it’s harder to see a demonstration of strength.

What do you like about the three players you mentioned?

Receiver Earl Bennett has been working with the No. 1 offense in OTA practices.

You have a chance to see these guys in drills that highlight their athleticism, and they’re all quality athletes. I also think that they’re all coming around to the academic side of it where you have to make sure you’re assignment-sure and all of that. When they incorporate going from individual drills to team drills, they look like they belong.

Earl Bennett is the first guy you mentioned. How has he impressed you?

You can tell that he’s a naturally-gifted innate receiver. He’s not learning the receiver position. Earl is a receiver who’s getting better at the position, especially in terms of his ability to get off the line of scrimmage and knowing what he wants to do when he’s confronted at the line of scrimmage.

How has Payne stood out?

A lot of it has to do with his athleticism in individual drills. You watch him doing basic drills compared to the guys in front and back of him, and he looks very athletic. He has all the traits they look for in evaluating defensive backs. He’s very smooth. Obviously we know he’s confident in his contact. He just has to make certain that he’s sure about his assignments, so that every adjustment that needs to be made can be made instinctively and not have to be thought about, and I think that’s where Kevin Payne is really making the most strides.

What have been your impressions of Jay Cutler to this point?

It’s like watching any world class athlete, whatever sport you’re talking about, when you see his arm strength, his confidence and his athleticism, where he can get out of trouble with his feet. He’s a creative athlete. As impressive as his arm strength is, you can see how his feet can be a real weapon.

Which player or players will benefit most from having Jay Cutler on the Bears?

Every defensive back is going to see a faster, tighter pass with accuracy and quick decision-making at the line of scrimmage, and they’re going to have to make quicker decisions in practice. I also think that every receiver has to be on guard because on every play there’s the possibility that every receiver will have the ball thrown to him. Cutler has the ability to get the ball anywhere you could possibly put it.

What type of impact will that have on Bears receivers?

Cutler’s accuracy and his ability to get the ball to everybody should heighten everybody’s concentration. If you hear a play and you’re the third option, you’re as likely to get the ball as you are if you’re the first option. Once the ball is snapped, everybody’s concentration has to be the same, and anytime you raise the concentration level at practice, you’re going to improve as a team.

With Cutler’s arrival, the changes to the offensive line have been a bit under the radar. How much will adding Orlando Pace, Frank Omiyale and Kevin Shaffer bolster the line?

Orlando Pace’s experience is invaluable. He can really expedite the learning curve for Chris Williams because there’s no scenario that Orlando hasn’t faced in his career. I think the big thing is that the competitiveness is what will make these guys better. If you have five guys who are guaranteed starters, the guys sitting behind them would be jockeying for backup positions. But I don’t think that every starter has yet to be determined, so I think the competition that’s created in the weight room and on the practice field ultimately is going to make everybody better.

Most of the changes during the offseason on the defensive side of the ball involved coaches and not players. How much of a difference can those changes make?

I think it’s immeasurable. If you come here with a coaching staff from last year, they already have an opinion of you as a player; your habits, the effort you’re giving and the way you play in games. But I think right now everybody has a clean slate. They can go back and watch tape, but they have to be involved in the practices and see their work habits and their preparation. With the level that coach Marinelli puts these guys through on the practice field on a daily basis, they’re going to become better players. But I also think they’re going to identify themselves as workers or as guys that you need to get a little bit more out of. I think the hands-on approach that Marinelli has with the defensive linemen is going to benefit the team because I’m a big believer in offensive and defensive line coaching. There’s positive reinforcement that you have to experience every single day.

How confident are you that the Bears defense will revert to the form it displayed in 2005-06?

I think they’re going to be better. I think there’s going to be more pressure on some of the high impact players to play better. When they put more pressure on you, raise the expectations and have a hands-on approach like the coaches have on this team, they have a chance to be a better defense that they have been the last few years.

What’s your biggest concern heading into training camp in terms of an individual or position group?

To me, it’s the safety position. As impressed as I am with Kevin Payne and what he’s been able to do out here in a short time, I still think the Bears have to identify the second starter. And it’s more than just being a starter. You have to be a starter who understands the defense so well that you can make sure that everybody is in the right position. You can’t expect Charles Tillman, Nathan Vasher or one of the other corners to be looking over to make sure everybody’s in their right spot because their assignment is already hard enough. So as much as the safeties have to be athletes to play the position, they’ve also got to have the mental side of it down too.