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LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert checked in Monday after the latest slate of games with his Week 4 Quarterback Report, and here’s what he had to say about Jay Cutler.

"Bad Jay" reappeared after three weeks of good behavior (i.e., sound play) under new coach Marc Trestman. Flustered by the Detroit Lions' heavy pressure, Cutler forced the ball downfield too often. Almost half (45 percent) of his passes traveled more than 10 yards downfield, up from 29 percent over the first three games, and his average pass traveled 12.3 yards downfield -- up from 7.0 yards in Weeks 1-3. Cutler accounted for four turnovers and converted only one third down via passing. The Lions surely played a role in that performance, but Cutler seemed to forget the safety nets built into this offense.

After the game, Bears coach Marc Trestman said Cutler made good decisions, but failed to execute. By choosing to attempt longer passes, Cutler definitely increased the level of difficulty with his throws. During the first three weeks of the season, Cutler opted for more high-percentage attempts (shorter throws), which definitely increased his completion percentage.

“I felt good about my decision making. I just missed the throws,” Cutler said. “They made a great play on the first (interception), and then I underthrew (Brandon Marshall) and overthrew Alshon (Jeffery). They are throws I’m accustomed to making. I just have to make them.”

Trestman agreed.

“It wasn’t about decision making,” Trestman said. “I think it was more about the fundamentals of finishing the two throws (on two interceptions) that were both high.”

After the game, Trestman and Cutler spent some time in front of the quarterback’s locker discussing things each could’ve done better before breaking the meeting with a handshake.

This one bad performance shouldn’t shake Cutler’s confidence or Trestman’s belief in the quarterback.

They’ll recover.

An examination of four hot issues from the Chicago Bears’ 40-32 loss to the Detroit Lions:

Run defense: The Bears allowed Reggie Bush to gain 112 yards in the first half, then held him to 27 yards in the second half. With Henry Melton out, the Bears played Stephen Paea at the 3-technique spot and moved Nate Collins to nose tackle. The Bears might want to consider trying Collins at the 3-technique and Paea at nose.

After the game, Paea wore a walking boot due to minor turf toe on his left foot, and maybe that injury diminished Paea’s effectiveness.

“I’ve played some 3 [technique] before, but it’s just a matter of time, repetitions and practice,” Paea said.

Jay Cutler: This could come off as odd, but despite Cutler’s horrid performance (65.6 passer rating with three interceptions, plus a fumble returned for a touchdown), this game might have shown growth on the quarterback’s part.

Detroit scored 17 points off turnovers, and Cutler appeared to be the culprit on every giveaway but one (his first interception). How the quarterback handled himself in the heat of battle and afterward gives reason for optimism. Despite the mistakes, Cutler held up well and nearly brought the Bears back. After the game, Cutler showed accountability for his contribution to the loss and told it how it was, which signals he’ll take the appropriate steps to correct the issues.

“I have to give us a better chance to win. I mean, three picks. It’s hard to come back from that,” Cutler said. “[I] have to play better.”

Third-down conversions: The Bears converted just one of 13 third downs, and no matter how well the defense plays, it’s difficult to overcome that deficiency. It’s not all on Cutler. In the second quarter, Jordan Mills was whistled for a false start on third-and-10. Two series later, Cutler was in a third-and-21 situation after a 9-yard sack on second down. In the third quarter, a 27-yard gain on third down was negated by a Kyle Long penalty. Then, on the next series, Cutler was sacked and fumbled for Nick Fairley’s 4-yard touchdown.

“The big thing was third down,” Bears coach Marc Trestman said. “We did horribly today [on third down], and that starts with me.”

Too much pressure: Cutler was sacked three times and spent most of the day under duress. This team has invested too much into protecting Cutler for this to continue.

"Either we didn't execute on the play or we didn't give Jay enough time to throw the ball," running back Matt Forte said. "Give credit to them for giving a great rush, but we didn't do our part."

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler moved up a spot from No. 6 to fifth on the MVP Watch list of ESPN.com New York Giants reporter Dan Graziano, and is certainly deserving of the recognition, considering he currently ranks No. 3 in the NFL in total QBR.

You can rank the candidates here.

Cutler has led two comeback victories, and stepped up to make game-clinching plays during a clutch situation Sunday to put away the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Here’s what Graziano had to say about Cutler: “This is the same guy who got called all kinds of unflattering names for standing on the sideline during the NFC Championship Game a few years back? This guy who lowers his (throwing!) shoulder at the end of a critical run play instead of sliding, leveling a defender in crunch time against the Steelers? Marc Trestman hasn't just turned Cutler into a more efficient passer, he's turned him into a superhero. It's the Adventures of Surly-Man!”

Trestman deserves recognition for Cutler finally starting to realize his seemingly unlimited potential as a passer, but new quarterbacks coach Matt Cavanaugh has also been a major contributor to the signal-caller’s success.

Cutler spoke last week about his relationship with Cavanaugh, who joined Chicago after working as quarterbacks coach of the New York Jets from 2009-12, and admitted it’s easier to accept the coaching at this stage of his career, because he’s “older, a little bit more mature.”

“He’s a grinder, he’s a guy that comes in every single day, and he’s looking to help me get better,” Cutler said of Cavanaugh. “And, like on Wednesday’s, it’s hard, I don’t really want to do that, I’m tired, you know. But he pushes you through it. He does a good job. There’s some give and take there. In my younger days there might have been a little bit more rocky (of a relationship) than it is right now, but it’s going real well right now.”

Cavanaugh agrees, and called Cutler a willing pupil.

“He makes it easy [to coach],” Cavanaugh said. “He’s a talent. He works hard. He’s committed. He’s focused. He wants what we want: He wants the Bears to be successful. If you’ve got those things going for you, it’s hard not to have fun.”

Cutler said he and Cavanaugh share “some similarities,” and joked he doesn’t “know if the guy sleeps.” Cavanaugh, meanwhile, acknowledged the connection between himself and Cutler, before providing insight into the quarterback’s personality.

Head coach Marc Trestman called the pairing of Cutler and Cavanaugh “a good match.”

“I don’t think either one of us are really outgoing,” Cavanaugh explained about Cutler. “I think we’re maybe contemplative before we speak. I’ve noticed that about Jay, and I love that about him. He doesn’t just talk the talk. He’s usually thought something out, and that’s whether you ask him a question or he’s got a question for you. He puts a lot of thought into it. He’s a little introspective that way, and I think I am, too. I’d rather listen first than just pop out an answer if I’m not sure what I’m saying. So I think it allows us to communicate pretty well, and sometimes, it’s quiet around the two of us. We’re not saying a whole lot, but we’re both thinking.”

Then come Sundays, they’re both doing.

Good morning, everyone. Here are some Bears Essentials to check out to get your day started:

-- Everyone, please welcome back Dan Pompei, former veteran Chicago Tribune NFL scribe, who is now writing for Sports on Earth. Here, Pompei puts together an outstanding feature about the maturation of Jay Cutler. In the journalism game, we call this shoe-leather reporting.

Pompeii writes:

“That they live about one mile from one another is symbolic. Trestman is a 57-year old coach getting his first chance to run an NFL team. And his livelihood may be dependent on him reaching a player who has been difficult, if not impossible, to reach. But Trestman has an interest in Cutler that is completely selfless. Trestman, who has helped bring out the best in quarterbacks such as Rich Gannon and Steve Young, is convinced he became the head coach of the Bears to help everyone around him self-actualize while expecting nothing in return.

“It’s Marc’s desire to have a real relationship with Jay, and the football is kind of ancillary,” Bears backup quarterback Josh McCown said. “When you have that authentic relationship, the football is enhanced and improved.”

Trestman, McCown and [Brandon] Marshall were among the guests who attended Cutler’s June wedding to reality television star Kristin Cavallari in Nashville.”

There are tons of good nuggets in this piece, and Pompei really digs in deeply to find out just what it is that has led to Cutler’s maturation. Take some time to check it out here.

-- ESPNChicago.com's Jeff Dickerson gives us his Stock Watch. Middle linebacker D.J. Williams' stock is obviously up after his performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Dickerson writes: “[Jonathan] Bostic's time will come. The Bears view the second-round pick as a future starter and the first linebacker off the bench in the event of an injury, but Williams has solidified a spot for himself on the first team. It's hard to envision the Bears turning back to Bostic at MLB in 2013 unless Williams gets hurt.”

-- Detroit receiver Nate Burleson breaks his arm trying to save a pizza. ESPN.com Lions reporter Michael Rothstein writes:

"Burleson leads the Lions (2-1) with 19 receptions this season -- including six for 119 yards in a 27-20 win over Washington on Sunday, his most productive game with the franchise. Matthew Stafford has completed 82.6 percent of his attempts (19 of 23) to Burleson this season, which is the highest completion percentage in the NFL for a quarterback-receiver combo (minimum 10 attempts), according to ESPN Stats & Info."

-- Jay Cutler has put together some strong performances at Ford Field, Mark Potash writes.

-- ESPN Stats & Information has been a great resource for us reporters over the last few years here at ESPN because of the group’s in-depth statistical analysis. Here, John McTigue explains how Chicago’s offense is finally catching up to the greatness of its defense.

Obviously, cutting the sack totals plays a big part in that.

McTigue writes: “From 2009 to 2012, Cutler was sacked on 7.6 percent of his dropbacks, the highest rate in the NFL. This season he’s been sacked on only 2.9 percent of his dropbacks, the second lowest rate in the NFL.”

An examination of four hot issues from the Chicago Bears' 40-23 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers:

Front four still not pressuring quarterback: The Bears sacked Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger twice, but they were only able to do that when they manufactured pressure by blitzing linebackers. One hallmark of Chicago’s scheme is the ability to generate pressure with the front four. The Bears did that on occasion, but not enough to where they weren’t putting the secondary in a bind by forcing them to cover receivers too long.

“We got good pressure from the pressures we called,” defensive end Julius Peppers said.

But the Bears wouldn’t be forced to make those calls if the front four was pressuring sufficiently.

Too many explosive plays: Going into the game, the Bears had surrendered eight completions of 20 yards or more through the first two games, only to allow the Steelers to more double that in one outing. On the way to throwing for 406 yards and two touchdowns, Roethlisberger completed 10 passes for gains of 20 yards or more, while receiver Antonio Brown caught nine passes for 196 yards and two scores.

In addition to those completions, the Bears surrendered a 25-yard run to Jonathan Dwyer in the second quarter.

That’s too much. Turnovers, obviously, offset some of those gains. Still, the Bears can’t always rely on takeaways to bail them out of trouble.

“Our goal is always to be plus-2 [in turnover ratio], but if you can get three more it’s always a bonus,” cornerback Charles Tillman said.

Overly conservative with lead: Major Wright’s 38-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter gave the Bears a 24-3 lead. But from there, the Bears took a conservative approach that nearly allowed the Steelers to rally.

“It was just that type of game to get up that quickly like that,” quarterback Jay Cutler said. “We were sitting pretty good early on, and we didn’t want to give them anything easy.”

Injuries to key players: Already slowed by a sore knee, Tillman suffered a groin injury that forced him out of action. The Bears also lost defensive tackle Henry Melton for the season with a torn ACL. So that’s two starters on defense. Obviously, the pass rush -- which was already struggling -- will be weakened significantly by the loss of Melton. Then, with the Bears set to take on the Detroit Lions, it’s probably fair to ponder whether Tillman can be effective against receiver Calvin Johnson.

PITTSBURGH -- Rookie right guard Kyle Long described Jay Cutler as “reptilian” and “cold blooded” Sunday night in the aftermath of the quarterback’s clutch play in leading the Chicago Bears to a 40-23 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In the background, rookie right tackle Jordan Mills whispered: “He’s Mr. Fourth Quarter.”

“He has that ability, when everybody’s nerves are kind of on edge and people have that heightened sense of whatever, Jay’s just cool, just flatline out there,” Long said. “In the huddle, on the sideline, in practice, Jay is a cool cat."

He just caught fire at precisely the right moments Sunday at Heinz Field.

Aided by a defense that produced five turnovers and a couple of touchdowns, Cutler slammed the door on a potential Steelers comeback early in the fourth quarter with three game-clinching plays.

Having gained some momentum on a 44-yard field goal by Shaun Suisham that cut their deficit to 27-23, the Steelers looked to shut down Cutler and make their move to avoid starting 0-3. And it appeared the Steelers would be able to do so. On the Bears' final two drives of the third quarter, Cutler hit on 3 of 6 passes for 8 yards in addition to absorbing a sack for a 6-yard loss.

Through the first two quarters, Cutler had completed 12 of 18 for 75 yards for a passer rating of 75.0 and a sack in the face of seemingly constant Pittsburgh pressure.

“This could have been a very frustrating night,” Bears coach Marc Trestman said. “There were some people in his face. He had to scramble. But we knew going in that it wasn’t going to be simple. It wasn’t going to be clean on every play, and we tried to give him the quick stuff and get it out of his hands. At times, we took some [seven-step drops] and it made it tough. The pressure was coming, and it was coming from different places each and every time.”

But Cutler stepped into the thick of it and delivered when the Bears needed it most. With 9:15 remaining in the game, on third-and-10 from the Chicago 26, Cutler scrambled 13 yards and nearly ran over safety Robert Golden to gain extra yardage. Three plays later, he fired a 41-yard completion to Brandon Marshall.

“Really, it’s all Jay,” Marshall said. “Jay threw a 50-yard back-shoulder [throw]. I’ve never seen that happen before. The guy’s arm is amazing. Jay put it in the right place.”

Cutler did it again three plays later when he found Earl Bennett for a 17-yard touchdown with 5:48 remaining. The play was initially ruled an incomplete pass, but Chicago successfully challenged to get the call reversed. Bennett’s score capped a nine-play, 74-yard drive, and with the extra point Chicago had a 34-23 advantage.

The drive essentially extinguished Pittsburgh’s chances for a comeback, while notching another outing in which the Bears received strong play from Cutler with the game on the line. Prior to Sunday’s contest, Cutler had led the Bears to consecutive come-from-behind victories over Cincinnati and Minnesota.

This time -- despite the Bears building a 24-3 lead in the second quarter -- Cutler found himself trying to hold off a comeback on the road that started with Ben Roelthisberger’s 33-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Brown just before intermission.

Cutler admitted it was difficult to remain patient with the Steelers starting to rally. But by doing so, he finished the game having completed 67 percent of his passes, with no turnovers and a passer rating of 90.8.

“It’s not something I’m used to,” Cutler said. “We have been practicing ball security a lot. We were sitting pretty good early on and we didn’t want to give them anything easy, especially when they started getting a little momentum. We didn’t want to force the ball. We didn’t want to give them positioning in our territory. We just wanted to be patient, and we caught man [coverage] there that last play, and we were able to get a big one to Earl.”

Here’s a look at five things to watch during Sunday’s game between the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field:

One-dimensional game from Pittsburgh: Adrian Peterson rushed for 100 yards in Week 2, but the Bears totally minimized his impact on the game, which is likely what they’ll do on Sunday against Pittsburgh’s running backs. According to Elias Sports Bureau, dating back to last season, the Steelers have rushed for fewer than 100 yards in eight games, which represents the team’s longest skid of futility since 1935. That means there’s a good chance the Bears will easily shut down the Steelers early, and make them a one-dimensional passing team. That, in turn, should enhance Chicago’s pass rush, which has struggled thus far this season. With no threat of the rushing attack hurting them, Pittsburgh’s play-action will be ineffective, meaning the Bears can basically pin back their ears and go after the passer.

Chicago’s offensive line against Pittsburgh’s 3-4 front: The Bears faced back-to-back one-gapping 4-3 teams to start the season. So Pittsburgh’s 3-4, two-gapping front will be different than what the Bears are used to dealing with. That could lead to a slight adjustment period in the first half, but it shouldn’t excessively inhibit what the Bears can do on offense.

“It just changes the protection base, and actually your run reads too (as well as) how to get to a certain linebacker if we’re blocking zone schemes and they start blitzing, and everything changes,” said running back Matt Forte. “So it just makes it more difficult that way. I would say most of the NFL runs 4-3. So when you get a 3-4 team, you’ve got to study that 3-4 more than you do 4-3s.”

Complicating matters is the fact the Bears start two rookies on the right side in guard Kyle Long and tackle Jordan Mills.

“Technique is different when you’re playing a 3-4 defense, two-gap, way different,” offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer said. “They play very stout two-gap defense on first and second down with a combination of some pressures. But then on third down, (Steelers defensive coordinator) Dick LeBeau has been known for years to have a lot of tough nickel blitzes, show you one way, blitz the other way, roll a guy down from the line of scrimmage down to a deep half to cover. So that’s what makes it difficult. It’s just hard to see where they’re coming from.”

Julius Peppers: No sack contributions in the first game from Peppers seemed strange, but nothing out of the ordinary. Then, in Week 2, Peppers finished without a sack again, as he played through flu-like symptoms. So Peppers has received passes for his lack of production in the first two contests, but he’ll need to make more of an impact against the Steelers and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who has a penchant for buying time in the pocket with his feet. Peppers has gone three games without a sack just twice during his tenure with the Chicago Bears, and both instances came in 2010, which interestingly, marked the only season with the club in which he didn’t finish with double-digit sack totals.

“This week (the pass rush) is going to be improved,” Peppers said. “I’m not interested in talking about anything from last week. My focus is on Pittsburgh and getting better.”

With a quarterback possessing Roethlisberger’s size, the key is simply “getting him down,” Peppers said.

“He shakes guys off,” said Bears defensive coordinator Mel Tucker. “It usually takes more than one. The first gy usually doesn’t get it done, so we’ve got to get multiple guys on him. He’s one of the tougher guys to get down on the ground, and even when you’re hanging on the guy, he still makes a throw down the field. When he scrambles, he’s looking to throw. He can throw it 60 yards on the run. He’s a rare guy in that way. It’s going to be a huge challenge for us.”

The return of Heath Miller: Miller’s return is significant because of Chicago’s minor struggles against opposing tight ends through the first two games. Miller participated fully in practice earlier in the week, so there’s a good chance he’ll play against the Bears.

Over the first two games, tight ends Kyle Rudolph, Tyler Eifert and Jermaine Gresham have combined for 13 catches and a touchdown to go with 124 yards. So the Bears are allowing tight ends to average nearly 10 yards per reception, which clearly is too much.

The deep ball: Roethlisberger’s mobility causes defenses to break down on the back end, and if you pair that with Chicago’s recent inability to consistently rush the passer, it could conjure a recipe for disaster. The Bears have given up eight completions of 20-plus yards, including two for gains of 42 yards or more. It’s also worth noting that cornerback Charles Tillman has missed practice time with a sore knee, not to mention he struggled in Week 1 against A.J. Green, who finished that matchup with nine catches for 162 yards and two touchdowns.

Given Pittsburgh’s rushing woes, play-action shouldn’t pose much of a threat. But in third-and-long situations, when Roethlisberger is forced to take deep drops, the Bears need to get to him quickly to force errant passes and gobble up sacks.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The old quarterback showed off his arm after practice Thursday as Chicago Bears head coach Marc Trestman played catch with tight end Martellus Bennett.

Actually, it isn’t uncommon for Trestman, the former signal caller at the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State-Moorhead, to pick up the ball on occasion and fling it around, even at the age of 57.

“We play catch every day after practice and talk a little bit; a little father-son time,” Bennett said. “It’s always good to get to talk to him while we play catch. He’ll ask me what I thought about practice or different things like that, and I will tell him different things I do to get better and how I think I can help the team in the game plan this week, the plays I like. It’s just like our quiet time with one another at the end of the day.”

Quiet time and Bennett don’t always go hand in hand, although the 26-year old begged to differ, saying he only turns on the charm once the television cameras start rolling.

Told about Bennett’s father-son comment, Trestman bowed his head and laughed.

“It’s not the first time I’ve played catch with another player on the team,” Trestman said. “And I’ve met Martellus’ father. I appreciate the kind words, but he’s a father who is a heck of a man as the father of two great kids. I’ve spent time with them and he doesn’t need me to spend time as a father (figure), but I appreciate the compliment.”

As it turns out, the games of catch started out as more of necessity than an attempt to have a bonding moment.

“Early on, we didn’t have a Juggs machine and I said ‘I’ll be your Juggs machine after practice,’” Trestman said of the device that uses two spinning wheels to thrust footballs forward. “‘I’ll make sure you get the 23 to 30 balls you need to finish your day.’ I’ve done that with other guys and I enjoy doing that. You get to go outside and play catch with the football. Who doesn’t want to do that?”

So how is Trestman’s arm after all these years?

“It’s pretty good,” Bennett said.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Undefeated versus winless means nothing for Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler as he prepares to lead his 2-0 team into Heinz Field on Sunday to face the 0-2 Pittsburgh Steelers.

Regardless of the record, Cutler considers Pittsburgh to be Chicago’s most significant test to date.

“We’re on the road, first road game. The noise is going to be a problem for us offensively,” Cutler said. “Just the travel; you know we have some young guys on offense. Just see how the communication goes with the noise, keeping our poise out there. It will be a good test for us. It’s [been] only two games.”

The Bears go into Pittsburgh with their third 2-0 start in the last 10 years, and a victory would make the club 3-0 for just the third time in the last 20 years. The Steelers, meanwhile, have won only one of their last five games at Heinz Field, coming off a seven-game home winning streak. What’s more, Pittsburgh is 0-2 for the first time since 2002, marking the first time the Steelers have been two games under .500 during Mike Tomlin’s tenure (since 2007).

If the Steelers fall to 0-3, it will mark just the second time that’s happened in the last 25 years.

“We’re excited about going,” Bears coach Marc Trestman said. “It’s a great environment for football like ours. We’ll find out more about ourselves. We’ve got to play in the noise. We’ve got to play in an environment that there’s going to be a great sense of urgency on both teams. It’ll be exciting. I think it will help measure us a little bit more.”

Cutler believes this year’s team is better equipped to handle the hostile environment. Even with rookies starting on the right side of the line in guard Kyle Long and tackle Jordan Mills, the Bears haven’t yet committed any pre-snap penalties such as false starts on offense.

A raucous crowd might change that, but Cutler doesn’t expect perfection.

“I feel better about the plan. So far, I feel really good about our third-down plan protection-wise,” Cutler said. “They show a lot of different fronts. They show a lot of different blitzes and dogs. We’ve got to be prepared for that. [Offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer] and [Trestman] and those guys have done a great job of getting us ready for the different looks we’re going to see. We won’t be perfect out there. We’re going to see some stuff that maybe we mess up, but we just have to work through it, work through the crowd noise, and get to the second half in a good place for us to win the game.

The Bears practiced inside the Walter Payton Center on Thursday and piped in crowd noise from a public address system throughout the entire workout session in preparation for what they’ll face in Pittsburgh.

Receiver Brandon Marshall considers Pittsburgh’s defense to be similar to Chicago’s because of the abundance of veterans in the lineup.

“Different schemes, but you have guys who’ve been in the same system for 10 years, made a few runs,” said Marshall, who grew up in Pittsburgh a fan of the Steelers. “So whenever you have guys who really know the system, it just makes it so much harder on opposing offense because they’re really the pitcher sometimes and not the batter. So as an offense, my philosophy is you always want to control the game. But this is going to be an all-day sucker.”

Will the Bears effectively handle this upcoming bout of adversity? Cutler expects them to.

The quarterback said the offense is now in a much better place than it was at this time last year.

“Yeah, we are, I think we’re in a good spot right now. I think it goes back to the protection, our ability to protect right now opens up a lot of holes out there, not only for [Marshall], but for us to space the ball around,” Cutler said. “I don’t think defenses can say ‘Hey, just [cover] him for two seconds, just put two guys on [Marshall] for two seconds and we’ll get to the passer.’ They’ve got to protect the whole field and we’re getting three or four seconds at a time to scan things over and find an open guy.”

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- For a meticulous planner such as Chicago Bears coach Marc Trestman, the slow manner in which the offense continues to evolve appears to be a function of design rather than circumstance.

Running back Matt Forte indicated as much on Wednesday, revealing the offense hasn’t “really shown a whole, whole lot.”

“I don’t expect us to two games into the season,” Forte said. “This is a hefty playbook. We’ve got a lot of games left. So we have a lot of stuff saved for teams that play certain coverages or certain fronts. We have a lot of stuff I would say left over that we ran in camp and gone over. We know the stuff. We just put it back on the shelf so that when it is the opportune time to call it, it’ll be called.”

Facing a winless Pittsburgh Steelers team, which operates out of a 3-4 front, Sunday on the road might present Chicago that opportunity to expand the playbook. In its first two outings, the club played similar zone-reliant 4-3 teams in the Cincinnati Bengals and the Minnesota Vikings.

The opponent this week presents a radically different challenge offensively for the Bears, who will be tasked with unfamiliar blocking schemes in their attempt to neutralize Pittsburgh’s pressure.

“They’re different than what we’re used to facing. They’re coming from everywhere. They do it a lot of different ways. They come from different places,” Trestman said. “They’ve got size at their linebacker. The unusual aspect of having size at their linebacker positions where they’re pass-rushers, they represent matchup issues for our backs, particularly our backs. So we’ve got a formula for picking up blitzes, and things change a little bit with 3-4. But we’ve had a lot of work against it. I spent time on it in our OTAs, a little bit of time at training camp. We played against a 3-4 team in the preseason, which helped. Certainly there’s nothing like going against the Steeler 3-4. It’s very good conceptually. It’s structured.”

Forte generated 161 yards from scrimmage in Week 2 on 30 touches against Minnesota’s zone-heavy scheme, which focuses on taking away explosive plays while allowing for completions on underneath routes.

Pittsburgh plays a more aggressive scheme than Chicago’s first two opponents, and despite the Steelers’ two losses, it’s worth noting their defense ranks No. 10 in total yards allowed. Pittsburgh is one of just three teams (with Kansas City and Seattle) to allow only one touchdown through the air. The Steelers have also limited opposing passers to a completion percentage of 55.4, which ranks as sixth-lowest in the NFL, and they’ve given up just 18 first downs through the air.

So it’s highly likely the Bears unveil concepts this week that they haven’t shown thus far.

"That’s part of what Trestman does,” Forte said. “He’s a genius in this offense. We have a lot of different plays that isolate a lot of different people in this offense. But it depends on what the defense is running (on) when to call them. He’s doing a great job of calling them in the right situations so that we can make a play.”

Good morning. We’re coming up on Week 3. Here are some Bears Essentials to get you going as Chicago begins preparations to face a winless Pittsburgh Steelers team on the road:

-- Jay Cutler is no longer seeing ghosts when he drops back into the pocket, which is somewhat of an oddity the quarterback is trying to become accustomed to, writes ESPNChicago.com's Doug Padilla.

"The hardest thing right now is stepping in the pocket and not seeing ghosts because these guys are doing such a fabulous job protecting," Cutler said Monday on ESPN 1000's "The Jay Cutler Show." "It's just getting used to being able to take my steps, take my appropriate drop and step up and go through all my reads. It's a good problem to have, but it's still something I have to get used to with these new guys."

-- Former NFL head coach Herm Edwards, now an analyst for ESPN, attended Sunday’s game between Chicago and Minnesota, and came away impressed with the Bears’ offense. Edwards puts together a thorough breakdown that’s definitely worth reading.

Here’s a snippet of what Edwards wrote:

Another thing that is improved -- though I can't yet say vastly improved -- is Cutler's decision-making. On that play I mentioned, he recognized that Brandon Marshall was being bracketed by cornerback Josh Robinson and safety Harrison Smith, and never hesitated in throwing to Bennett. It was the right read and resulted in an easy TD. Last season, he might have forced that throw in to Marshall, potentially resulting in an interception. And for most of the game, Cutler made the correct reads.

Against Minnesota's Cover 2, Cutler repeatedly checked the ball down to Forte (11 catches for 71 yards on 11 targets) or threw to him on flare passes out of the backfield. When Minnesota switched to single-high safety looks, Cutler took his shots downfield with Bennett and Marshall. Cutler's mechanics also look much improved, something else that can be attributed to offseason work with (Marc) Trestman.

-- Rick Morrissey finds Trestman’s candor refreshing.

-- Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless discuss Cutler and his late-game heroics here.

-- Charles Tillman’s horse-collar tackle of Greg Jennings turned out to be expensive.

Chicago Bears coach Marc Trestman warned his team just before it came out to the field Sunday that the Minnesota Vikings would throw the first punch, but the most important thing would be how the club responded.

“[Trestman] warned us before the game before we came out, ‘Get ready for them to strike first,’” Bears quarterback Jay Cutler said Monday during “The Jay Cutler Show” on ESPN 1000. “[The Vikings were] coming off a tough loss the first game. We knew we were gonna get their best punch. They didn’t want to go down 0-2. He warned us. He called it. He said get ready for these guys to come out and strike first. It’s gonna depend on how we answered back, and we did.”

Vikings rookie receiver Cordarrelle Patterson took the game’s opening kickoff and returned it 105 yards for a touchdown to put the visitors ahead 7-0 after Blair Walsh’s extra-point kick just 13 seconds into the game. Chicago responded on the ensuing kickoff with a 76-yard return from Devin Hester to set up the Bears at the Minnesota 32.

Five plays later, Cutler connected with Martellus Bennett for a 1-yard touchdown.

So Trestman’s pregame words proved prophetic.

“I don’t know that it was prophetic because it was just a kick return. But they did strike first, and it was great to see how our guys responded,” Trestman said. “I think I was trying to just break the game down to what it was gonna be. They’re coming in here, they had a tough loss in Detroit, and they’re trying to find a way to strike first. You have to anticipate that. You can underestimate that sometimes. I just thought it was the thing to say at the time, that it could have happened anywhere. It could have happened with a play-action pass because our overemphasis on stopping the run. It could happen in the kicking game with some kind of aggressive play. It could happen defensively with some kind of oddball blitz that happens early that we don’t prepare for. So that’s all. It was just a sign of a team that was trying to find a possession, or trying to find something to gain an edge early.”

The Vikings did just that, but as Trestman correctly predicted, the Bears bounced back. With two consecutive come-from-behind victories to start the season, linebacker Lance Briggs said the team is creating a “clutch” identity, that “when the chips are down, some Bear is going to make a play.”

Bennett considers the team’s comebacks a microcosm of real life.

“Things never really go the way you want them to go in life; never goes as planned,” Bennett said on “The Jay Cutler Show.” “So the only thing you can do is pick yourself up and keep going. That’s kind of the approach I take with the offense. It’s never gonna go the way we planned or the way we draw it up on paper because those guys get paid millions of dollars to keep us from doing it correctly. I think we just have a bunch of guys that just never quit and keep playing.”

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Chicago Bears tight end Martellus Bennett revealed Sunday he’s playing with a shoulder injury, but coach Marc Trestman said Monday that he’s “scheduled to play this week.”

“He was negative in terms of his… he had a bruise, but nothing significant,” Trestman said. “He had a full range of motion today.”

Bennett caught nine passes for 76 yards and a career-high two touchdowns, including the game-winning score from 16 yards out with just 10 seconds left in the game. Bennett caught a 23-yard pass three plays before the game winner, and shook Vikings linebacker Erin Henderson to gain extra yardage.

Bennett sustained the injury in the second quarter, and said, “probably so” when asked whether he expected the shoulder to be an issue as the season progresses.

“It was an issue today,” Bennett said. "But I was still able to play. There’s nothing I can do about it. If it hurts, it hurts. If it doesn’t, that’s a great thing.”

Through two games, Bennett ranks as the club’s third-leading receiver behind Brandon Marshall and Matt Forte, with 10 catches for 125 yards and three touchdowns. By comparison, 2012 starting tight end Kellen Davis finished all of last season with 19 catches for 229 yards and two TDs.

Bennett’s 76 yards ranked as the third-best receiving day of his career, and his seven catches tied a career-high set on Sept. 19, interestingly, against the Bears. Having caught touchdown passes through the first two games, Bennett is the first Bears tight end to haul in TD receptions in each of the first two games since Earl Thomas in 1972.

“We’re fortunate to come out of this thing in two games,” Trestman said. “We’re relatively healthy, which is a good thing going on the road next week.”

Here are five things to watch Sunday when the Chicago Bears host the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field:

Faster start from the offense: The Bears started off slowly in Week 1 because Marc Trestman wanted to first see whether the offensive line could adequately protect Cutler, before potentially exposing him to punishment. So after the protection proved sufficient in the first two quarters, Trestman decided to open up the offense, and the results were near immediate. After putting up 97 yards of offense in the first half, the Bears racked up 226 more in quarters Nos. 3 and 4.

The Bears will go into this game looking to open things up offensively from the onset.

“Early in the game especially against a front like [Cincinnati’s] there’s a little bit of uncertainty about what’s going to happen,” Cutler said. “We had two new guys on the right side, four new guys in general. As we progressed through the game I got more comfortable. Marc [Trestman] got more comfortable calling plays and being able to trust them. Even looking at the film on Monday there were times whenever I was moving around or I could have stepped up and I didn’t. That’s just gaining trust in those guys and not only throughout a game, but throughout a season I’m going to get more and more trust with them.”

More pressure from the front four: Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton fired the ball quickly at the end of his drops, but Minnesota will be looking to connect on more home run balls than the Bengals, in part, because the Vikings expect the Bears to be overly focused on stopping Adrian Peterson. The Vikings will give the Bears a big dosage of Peterson, and then look to get the ball deep off play-action to Jerome Simpson or Greg Jennings. But for those types of plays to work, Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder will have to hold onto the ball for a while to let the routes develop.

“They live off of play-action,” Bears safety Chris Conte said. “Their running game is what gets them going, and we really just have to be prepared for [Ponder] on the move. He’s really good outside the pocket. So boots and play-action really is the big thing against them.”

That means players such as defensive end Julius Peppers and defensive tackle Henry Melton might be poised to nab their first sacks of the season.

“We’ve got to generate the pass rush with [the] four [down] linemen,” defensive coordinator Mel Tucker said.

More production from the rushing attack: Rookie right tackle Jordan Mills put together a strong NFL debut, as did veteran left guard Matt Slauson, but the rest of the offensive line -- which played fairly well -- needs to step up its game a notch.

Matt Forte finished the season opener with 60 yards on 19 attempts, and as a team the Bears rushed for 81 yards, averaging 2.9 yards per attempt. Obviously, that’s not good enough.

“We thought we would run the ball better [in the opener]; we didn’t,” Trestman said. “We didn’t run the ball as effectively as we’d like to be able to.”

Will secondary targets step up if Brandon Marshall is neutralized? They’ll certainly have to, but it appears the Bears are equipped to handle the Vikings taking away Marshall. In the opener, Cutler targeted three receivers (Alshon Jeffery, Forte and Martellus Bennett) other than Marshall at least six times, which is promising considering last season, the quarterback completed more than five passes to only one other receiver not named Marshall in a game (Forte).

With another week of practice under his belt, Earl Bennett might wind up playing a more prominent role in the offense. Trestman said Bennett is ready after catching one pass in the opener. It’s also important to note the chemistry Bennett shares with Cutler.

“Oh he’s caught up,” Trestman said of Bennett. “He’s had catches in practice, and been one of the targets in practice and that bodes well for us.”

Devin Hester on returns: Of Hester’s 19 touchdowns on kickoff or punt returns, four have come against the Minnesota Vikings. So he’s victimized Minnesota more than any other team in the NFL, with his last touchdown coming on a 98-yard kickoff return on Oct. 16, 2011.

“The first kickoff return (against Cincinnati last week), obviously, he gets it out to the 31. I blinked my eyes, and all of the sudden, I was like, ‘Wow, he’s at the 31,’” special-teams coach Joe DeCamillis said. “So he’s still got the speed, no question. Hopefully we’ll get more opportunities with the guys we’re playing.”

So if Hester is poised to finally break a TD return, the Vikings would seem to be the mostly likely opponent to do it against.

Good morning, here are some Bears Essentials, as the team prepares to host the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at Soldier Field:

-- Maybe you missed it, but during an interview on “In Depth With Graham Bensinger”, which airs Sunday on WMAQ-TV NBC Chicago, former Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher said he likely would’ve signed the contract that maxed out at $2 million had the team been more candid during negotiations.

Sounds to me like Urlacher has had some time to reflect on the whole ordeal, and although he claims to not miss football, I think at least a small part of him wants to be a part of what’s taking place now with new head coach Marc Trestman at the helm.

-- Vikings team reporter Ben Goessling and I preview the matchup between Minnesota and Chicago, and give our predictions. Spoiler alert: we both picked the same team to win.

-- Bears right tackle Jordan Mills was listed at No. 8 on Mel Kiper Jr.’s NFL Rookie Rankings. Mills tried hard to play it cool at first, but he was smiling ear to ear while talking about how much he respects Kiper and the fact the draft guru placed him among the top 15 rookies.

-- Rick Telander says Bears quarterback Jay Cutler has way too much on his plate right now to be worrying about calling Urlacher. This is one of the smarter takes on the situation.

-- ESPNChicago.com’s Jeff Dickerson and Jon Greenberg debate four questions during the sites weekly Four Downs feature. Dickerson doesn’t believe in Cutler just yet, and made that abundantly clear in answering the question of whether the quarterback will make fewer mistakes this season in Marc Trestman’s offense.

Here’s what Dickerson wrote: “Fiction. Can't make that assumption based off just one week. Cutler had an excellent performance in Week 1, and if he consistently plays at that level, the Bears are in great shape. But it's too early to tell. Cutler is still prone to making bad decisions. Remember, he lit up the Colts last season in Week 1 with 333 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception. The next week in Green Bay he tossed four picks and posted a quarterback rating of 28.2.”

You write the truth, Dickerson. I agree for right now. One game is not a large enough body of work to make a definitive judgement.

-- Speaking of Cutler, CSNChicago.com’s John “Moon” Mullin ponders whether the quarterback is becoming a clutch player.