With pass-happy guru Mike Martz now the Bears’ offensive coordinator, the million-dollar question in Chicago is, what will he do for gunslinging QB Jay Cutler?

For starters, Martz was quick to defend Cutler’s perceived bad attitude (after all, the QB did demand a trade out of Denver) when the former NFL Network analyst was interviewed Tuesday morning on the “Mully and Hanley Show” on WSCR in Chicago.

“I didn’t see Jay as being difficult to deal with at all,” Martz said. “I think elite players all have that in them — a sense of wanting to be perfect, wanting everything to be right, and if it’s not right, they get frustrated. …

“What I saw when I met with him is a remarkable, bright young man that was really well-schooled in the game and beyond his years of experience, actually. He’s just a terrific talent.”

Probably a natural talent the likes of whom Martz has never previously coached. Sure, Kurt Warner, with whom Martz won a Super Bowl title in St. Louis, might be a future Hall of Famer. But it wasn’t through sheer talent.

“He’s got Kurt’s accuracy with a stronger arm,” Martz said of Cutler.

Martz was pressed a little more to compare Cutler to Warner.

“It’s a bit of an unfair question, because Kurt has established himself in this league and played at such a high level,” Martz said. “Certainly, Jay has got the abiliity to do all those kinds of things. I don’t know that I’ve ever been around anybody with this kind of skill or just innate ability to throw the football. …

“What Kurt has that I see in Jay, which is really unusual, is the ability to make terrific throws under duress.”

Agent Drew Rosenhaus told the Boston Globe that just-released WR Donte’ Stallworth will work out for an NFL team Wednesday and expects to sign somewhere soon.

Stallworth was released by the Browns on Monday, one day after he was reinstated to the NFL. Stallworth pleaded guilty in June to DUI manslaughter for striking and killing a pedestrian with his car in Miami Beach, Fla., drawing a suspension from the league.

Rosenhaus wouldn’t identify the team Stallworth will visit, but the agent did say Tuesday that he’s “very pleased with the amount of teams interested.”

“He is in the best shape he’s been in since I’ve been representing him,” Rosenhaus told the Globe. “His reinstatement was a very smooth process. He’s developed a very good rapport with (NFL Commissioner) Roger Goodell.”

Stallworth, 29, also has played for the New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints in his NFL career, which started in 2002. He has 296 receptions for 4,383 yards and 32 touchdowns.

Eagles RB Brian Westbrook battled concussions during a disappointing 2009 season, appearing in just eight games and posting his worst statistics since his rookie year in 2002.

But Westbrook admitted Monday on former teammate Blaine Bishop’s radio show in Nashville, Tenn., (via Sports Radio Interviews) that he rushed back from his first concussion, which he suffered against the Redskins in Week 7.

Westbrook tried to return against the Chargers in Week 10, but he had just six rushing attempts and two receptions. He didn’t play again until Week 16.

“I waited three weeks to get back out there, and … you have a normal hit that kind of just glances off of you, or you don’t really feel it all that much … and the concussion came right back,” Westbrook said on WGFX.

“What happened to me was that I was not completely healed from the first concussion. Even though I waited that long amount of time and passed all the tests, I still wasn’t completely healed from the first concussion, and it came back just like that. After that, I had to sit out another five or six weeks just for me to be completely sure that I was 100 percent OK. These concussions are very serious, man. I don’t think a lot of people are taking them as serious as they should be because really it is a life-or-death thing.”

Westbrook also talked about Eagles QB Donovan McNabb, who is the source of many trade rumors. However, Westbrook believes that McNabb will return to Philadelphia for the 2010 season.

As the Saints celebrated their Super Bowl championship Sunday night, Colts QB Peyton Manning trudged off the Sun Life Stadium field dejected after missing out on a second ring.

His younger brother, Giants QB Eli Manning, attended the game and told ESPN Radio New York’s Michael Kay on Tuesday that the Colts’ loss was hard to watch.

“I was rooting so hard for my brother,” Eli said (via Sports Radio Interviews). “I’ve obviously been there in the Super Bowl (two seasons ago against the Patriots), and you prepare all season and it’s so hard to get to that situation, so hard to get there. I just felt for him.

“I got to speak to him after the game a little bit, and I talked to him today. He’s doing good. I just told him he did everything he could, and without him on that team, they wouldn’t be anywhere near what they’ve done or capable of doing.”

In fact, Eli agreed with Kay that the Colts would be a 6-10 team without Peyton, who has been criticized by fans and some media members after the 31-17 loss.

“No question,” Eli said. “I think he makes every player on that team better. … I think he’s earned the respect of every coach, player, announcer, anybody who is a fan of football.”

Eli also said he was surprised by the Saints’ onside kick to start the second half — “I wasn’t even in my seat yet” — and he wasn’t exactly sure what happened on Tracy Porter’s game-changing interception of a Peyton pass in the fourth quarter.

But Eli did provide some insight into how his brother is feeling after the loss.

“I think you’re always disappointed when you have such a tremendous season and get so far,” he said. “I think he knows as well as anyone how difficult it is to get to the Super Bowl, having been to the playoffs many times, having been in AFC Championship Games, divisional games. It’s tough. It’s tough on everybody just to get to the Super Bowl. So obviously he’s going to be disappointed and upset.”

The Browns announced Monday that they terminated the contract of WR Donte Stallworth.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Friday that Stallworth would be reinstated into the league after Super Bowl XLIV. But Stallworth most likely will not play for the Browns in 2010.

While under the influence of alcohol, Stallworth struck and killed a pedestrian while driving on a causeway connecting Miami and Miami Beach on March 14, 2009, resulting in his suspension from the NFL. He served 24 days in jail and was placed on house arrest.

Goodell said he met with Stallworth for 45 minutes to an hour before the Dolphins’ final regular-season game in Miami, where Stallworth lives. Goodell added that Stallworth seemed to be remorseful and worthy of reinstatement. Their conversation helped seal the reinstatement, Goodell said.

Seahawks LT Walter Jones posted a cryptic message on his Twitter account Sunday (via the Seattle Post-Intelligencer), suggesting that he’s retiring after some injury problems.

“I have come to the concussion it is time for me to retire from football,” Jones tweeted.

Of course, Jones later posted that “concussion” was somewhat of a Freudian slip, as he meant to say “conclusion,” but his smart phone kicked in the word “concussion.”

Jones missed the entire 2009 season while trying to return from microfracture knee surgery. Jones also has battled back problems and missed 20 consecutive games dating to the final weeks of 2008.

Jerry Rice is well known for catching bricks while training to become a professional football player. Rice, who was announced as a member of the Hall of Fame Class of 2010 on Saturday, stopped by the Sirius XM set where Gil Brandt asked him about the genesis of that habit.

“We used to be up 20 feet off the ground, and I would be on a scaffold,” Rice said. “I would have my brothers toss bricks in the air, and I would snatch them out of the air. That taught me that this was a very demanding job.”

Despite the fact that Rice was a shoe-in to be voted into the Hall of Fame today, he said he never took that as a certainty.

“Until your name is called — I mean I didn’t take it for granted,” he said. “I’m very superstitious. It’s just like the draft. Until your name is called, you’re like ‘Ok I’m in now.’”

Brandt was sure to remind Rice of how close he was to becoming a member of the Dallas Cowboys, recounting the same story he told me earlier about San Francisco trading up to get him.

“I thought I was going to be a Dallas Cowboy,” Rice told Brandt. “Then San Francisco traded with New England, and I became a 49er. And oh my god did we have some rivalries.”

As fate would have it, Rice will be inducted in August with Emmitt Smith, who was on the other side of the rivalries.

“(Emmitt and I) talked about this backstage, and we just can’t believe this is happening,” Rice said. “This is something that is so special. We have always battled and respected each other. But as football players, the Niners, we did not like the Dallas Cowboys. But I have so much respect going into the hall with him.”

– Aron Angel

Former Broncos running back and new Hall of Fame inductee Floyd Little stopped by the Sirius XM set to sit down with Gil Brandt and Howard Balzer and spoke about his reaction to hearing his name called today when the Class of 2010 was announced.

“When they called my name I fell on the floor, and my family came around me and prayed,” Little said.

Little admitted that after 29 years, he didn’t always believe this day would come.

“We have waited a long time and it didn’t seem like this would ever happen. A couple years ago I actually gave up on it.”

“This year, I had that faith because it was the 44th Super Bowl, I wore No. 44. Dick Lebeau, who was also voted in, wore 44, and it’s the 44th president. I just had the feeling, and I just owned it that it was going to happen this time. Here I am and I feel very good about it.”

— Aron Angel

Watching the tears fall down Emmitt Smith’s face, Gil Brandt was reminded of a conversation he had with good friend Bill Belichick, a frequent visitor to the annual Walter Camp All-America banquet in New Haven, Conn., where Smith was receiving an award one summer.

“I used to invite Bill down to New Haven every summer,” Brandt said. “He comes up to me and says about Smith, ‘This guy’s not a very good athlete, but the guy’s got a big heart.’ “

Smith went on to become the NFL’s all-time leading rusher in a 15-year NFL career. Now Smith is entering the Hall of Fame along with Jerry Rice, the league’s all-time leading receiver.

“To have two players who broke those records and keep those records is something,” Brandt said. “Because a lot of these records are broken now because we play 16 games and all that. It’s amazing to have two guys with that success here together.”

Is anyone today going to play enough years to put up as many yards as Smith and Rice?

“I think there is a chance at wide receiver because of the fact that we’re throwing the ball so much more than ever before,” Brandt said.

— Aron Angel

Former Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith joins Michael Irvin as the latest to be named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. (Ben Liebenberg / NFL.com)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The events unfolding at Saturday’s Hall of Fame news conference are heartwarming. There’s a lot of emotion in the room as the players reflect on the path their lives have taken.

Emmitt Smith, like Jerry Rice moments before him, knew today was coming. But he still became emotional while recounting a story about a past conversation in which his father explained how proud he was and told Emmitt, “You’re living my dream.” It was pretty heavy stuff.

Smith, who spent his time on stage red-eyed from the tears, said there was no way to prepare for today.

“This moment is so real,” he explained. “You try to grasp the magnitude of this, but when your’re stitting back there and you’re waiting for your name to be called, it’s just real. It’s special. You don’t know how you’re going to feel until that moment.”

It has to be special for Smith that he’s sharing today with former teammate Michael Irvin and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who is in the audience. Troy Aikman and Ed “Too Tall” Jones were also in attendance to support Smith.

“Nobody could have wrote a script this perfect,” Smith said about joining in the same class as Rice. “Avatar, as good as the movie is, James Cameron couldn’t have done a better job.”

– Frank Tadych

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Jerry Rice could arguably be the easiest choice ever for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Even though his selection to the Class of 2010 was a formality Saturday, the enormity of the situation and the emotion involved was still felt by Rice.

Rice was speaking on stage with hosts Rich Eisen and Steve Young about his work ethic when the moment hit home.

“I think it came from my parents. What they instilled …” Rice said before being overcome by emotion.

While Rice fought back the tears, the several hundred people in the audience jumped in and applauded him. The moment was felt all across the room.

“I told him this would happen,” Young said.

Rice confirmed a question by Eisen that he was actually nervous for today.

“I never take anything for granted,” Rice said. “My parents, what they instilled in me, it was just hard work. Hard work and your appreciation for this game. And I love this game. I’m just so honored to be here, and be in front of all these legends, who made football the game it is today.”

– Frank Tadych

Former 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice was named to the 2010 Hall of Fame class. (Ben Liebenberg / NFL.com)

Watching Jerry Rice up on the stage at the Hall of Fame selection show is a bittersweet moment for Gil Brandt. Working in the front office for the Dallas Cowboys in 1985, Brandt and one of his scouts had their eye on the skinny receiver from little-known Mississippi Valley State, and they were confident they were going to get him.

“We had a scout named Ron Marciniak who was really good. He really loved Rice,” Brandt said. “I’ve got to take you back to February of that year for Rice’s pro day. Rice didn’t run very well — 4.6(-second 40-yard dash), something like that. We were getting players lined up in order and Marciniak was standing on the table, talking about Rice and how he caught bricks. His dad used to drop bricks to help his hands. Now, we’re feeling we have a good chance to get him.

“New England was picking at 16 and we were 17, and San Francisco was 28th (after winning Super Bowl XIX). None of the teams ahead of us needed a wide receiver. All of a sudden, a trade. San Francisco trades up with New England and takes Rice. Talk about being deflated.

“He didn’t run fast, but he was so strong that when he put on that uniform, he would run faster than guys did in shorts.

“I pulled his scouting report out the other day and it was something. I just remember Marciniak standing on the table, and us just missing out on the best wide receiver of all time.”

At 17, the Cowboys settled for Michigan defensive end Kevin Brooks.

— Aron Angel

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, John Randle, Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith , Dick LeBeau and Floyd Little are the newest members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, elected Saturday as members of the Class of 2010.

The final list was pared down from a group of 15 modern-era nominees by the 44-member Hall of Fame selection committee that met this morning at the Super Bowl XLIV media center. The selectors first pared that list from 15 to 10. In addition to the final five, the others that were part of the final 10 were Dermontti Dawson, Richard Dent, Cortez Kennedy, Andre Reed, and Shannon Sharpe. Each finalist had to receive a minimum positive vote of 80 percent to be elected.

“Nobody could have written a script like this,” Smith, the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, said before the announcement about entering with Rice, the NFL’s all-time leading receiver.

– Frank Tadych

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — As we wait for the official announcement of who will be voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame today, I’m sitting here on the Sirius XM Radio set alongside Gil Brandt, pulling little bits of knowledge as only Gil can provide.

Brandt points out that five of the original 15 finalists were from small, non-Div. I colleges, including John Randle, who was an undrafted free agent from Texas A & I.

“As a defensive tackle, for Randle to get 100 sacks is unheard of,” said Brandt. “These defensive tackles today, if they get five sacks (in a season), that’s good. He had over 10 sacks in nine out of 10 consecutive years.

Randle is a little bitty guy — around 240 pounds coming out of college. That’s why he wasn’t drafted out of college, and was originally considered to be a defensive end.”

– Aron Angel

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, John Randle, Jerry Rice, and Emmitt Smith are the five modern-era finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2010. They are joined by seniors committee finalists Dick LeBeau and Floyd Little. A final, secret ballot was taken that will determine how many of those seven are elected. The class will have a minimum of four.

The NFL Network began live coverage of the announcement at 5 p.m. ET and NFL.com will stream the announcement beginning at 5:30 p.m.

The final list was pared down from a group of 15 modern-era nominees by the 44-member Hall of Fame selection committee that met this morning at the Super Bowl XLIV media center. The selectors first pared that list from 15 to 10. In addition to the final five, the others that were part of the final 10 were Dermontti Dawson, Richard Dent, Cortez Kennedy, Andre Reed, and Shannon Sharpe. Each finalist had to receive a minimum positive vote of 80 percent to be elected.

Rice and Smith, widely considered automatic entrants, were both eligible for the first time. Rice, who holds every major receiving record, was chosen first-team All-Pro 10 times, and was a 13-time Pro Bowler during 20 NFL seasons. Smith was a four-time first-team All-Pro and voted to eight Pro Bowls during a 13-year career that he finished as the NFL’s all-time leading rusher.