ESPN

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith declined to divulge the players the team plans to hold out for Thursday's preseason finale at Soldier Field against the Cleveland Browns.

Still, it appears the Bears' choices will be obvious, given the injury situation, in addition to the importance of some of the key vets, and the fact the club already knows full well what they can do.

"We're going to hold a few players out," Smith said after Wednesday's practice. "But we'll have a good group we'll put on the football field. We have an idea of what the 53-man roster will look like. But [this is] one last look for the players."

Quarterback Jay Cutler and running back Matt Forte will likely be held out of action against the Browns. Offensive coordinator Mike Martz didn't provide a clear answer about Cutler's possible participation, but indicated he spoke to Smith about keeping the quarterback on the sidelines for the finale.

"You know, we thought about that," Martz said. "[Cutler is] probably not [playing]. He's right now playing very, very well. His last two games were exceptional, so I'm pleased with where he is. The line has really made terrific progress. So we're happy. If we felt like we needed the work, certainly we would do that. But at this point, I don't see the need, and I've talked to Lovie about that."

Practice absences from Wednesday likely provide another picture of who the club plans to hold out against the Browns. Defensive tackle Anthony Adams (calf), defensive end Corey Wootton (knee), tight ends Desmond Clark (knee) and Kellen Davis (back), running back Marion Barber (calf) and linebacker Lance Briggs (knee) sat out of Wednesday's session, while Sam Hurd (ankle) appears to have participated in somewhat of a limited capacity.
Hurd has been seen catching passes from a JUGS machine after the last two practice sessions.

Playing time for the starting offensive line, meanwhile, hasn't yet been determined. Although the unit played well in its last two outings, it could probably use some work before the Sept. 11 regular-season opener against Atlanta.

On the defense, expect stalwarts such as linebacker Brian Urlacher and Julius Peppers to play very few snaps if any.

"We don't know yet," defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli said when asked specifically about Urlacher and Peppers. "We'll talk to Lovie tonight. But if they do [play], it will be very, very little."

Michael C. Wright covers the Bears for ESPNChicago.com and ESPN 1000.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The on-field relationship between Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and receiver Roy Williams is probably best defined as a work in progress.

"We're still working on it, so we'll see how it goes," Cutler said following the Bears 14-13 road defeat against the Tennessee Titans Saturday night.

Held without a catch in the first two preseason games, Cutler found Williams on the Bears’ first offensive play of the game for a 17-yard completion. The quarterback then went back to Williams on the very next play, but the duo failed to connect on a deep pass down the middle of the field that resulted in an interception by Titans safety Michael Griffin. At first glance, it appeared a Tennessee defender tipped the ball before it got to Williams, but that theory was later debunked in the postgame locker room.

"No. It didn't get tipped," Cutler said.

Williams finished the night with a pair of receptions for 33 yards on four targets.

"I mean, you know he was just putting the ball where it needed to be," Williams said. "Right out of the gate, first play of the game, it was on the money. The second one, that's my fault, I still have to catch that one. I felt like it should have been a flag somewhere in there, but it's the NFL. I got past that one, and go to the next play."

Although Williams is currently listed as one of the Bears starting wide receivers, he is being pushed by former No. 1 Johnny Knox, who replaced Williams on the Bears next offensive possession following the Cutler pick. However, Williams said the plan going in was for the two players to split time, and the decision to insert Knox into the game after the failed hookup between Cutler and Williams was merely coincidental. Knox caught one ball for 21 yards.

"Don't look to far into that," Williams said. "Please, don't look to far into that. We were rotating the whole night."

While Cutler and Williams are still working towards getting on the same page, there are no such issues with receiver Earl Bennett. Bennett, who played with Cutler at Vanderbilt, had a game-high six catches for 89 yards.

"I've known Earl for a long time," Cutler said. "Earl hasn't changed one iota since his freshman year at Vandy, and he probably never will. I just feel comfortable with him out there. He does what he is supposed to do. In a couple of words, he's just a football player.

"We need a couple more of those in the locker room."

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Chicago Bears offense racked up 239 total first-half yards and headed to halftime with a 10-7 lead over the Tennessee Titans on Saturday.

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler finished the half 13 of 20 for 170 yards and one interception. The offensive line didn’t surrender a sack in the first 30 minutes of play.

The Bears had a pair of scoring chances in the second quarter, but Robbie Gould missed a 29-yard field goal as the ball hit off the left upright. Gould later connected from 45 yards.

The Titans punched the ball in the end zone near the end of the half on a Jamie Harper 9-yard touchdown run. It was a poor showing by the Bears defense on the drive, as Major Wright missed a tackle on Harper’s touchdown run and cornerback Tim Jennings was hurdled by Tennessee's Ahmard Hall a few plays earlier.

Johnny Knox fumbled the ensuing kickoff, but the Bears caught a break as the ball went out of the bounds.

Bears running back Marion Barber left the game with a left calf injury and will not return.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Chicago Bears running back Marion Barber suffered a left calf injury and has been ruled out for the remainder of the third preseason game versus the Tennessee Titans.

Read the entire story.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Given a game plan to execute, the Chicago Bears played arguably their best opening quarter of the preseason Saturday at LP Field to take a 7-0 lead over the Tennessee Titans.

The Bears marched 59 yards in 12 plays on their second possession of the night, with Matt Forte slipping into the end zone on a 3-yard run with 8:06 left in the quarter.

The team’s opening drive didn’t get off to as fast a start.

Jay Cutler fired a 17-yard gain to receiver Roy Williams on Chicago’s first play from scrimmage. But on the second play, Cutler’s throw into traffic bounced off Williams’ hands and was tipped by a Tennessee defender before Michael Griffin picked off the pass.

Rob Bironas missed a 51-yard field goal on Tennessee’s ensuing possession, giving the ball back to Chicago on its own 41, where the offense started its touchdown drive.

Defensively, the Bears limited the Titans to just five yards of offense, including only one yard on the ground.

The Bears, meanwhile, churned out 137 total yards in the quarter, while leading time of possession 12:32 to 2:28.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Here are five things we learned watching the Bears' 41-13 loss to the Giants on Monday night at New Meadowlands:

1. Jay Cutler remained upright: The game itself for the Bears was poor, really poor, but isn't the goal of every preseason contest to make sure the starters stay healthy? Considering what happened the last time Cutler played in this stadium (9 sacks, 1 concussion), Monday night proved to be a major upgrade. Plus, Cutler had time to throw and he connected on a few big plays with Devin Hester and Earl Bennett. What the Giants matchup showed is that if given even average pass protection, Cutler can hit on those 30-yard-plus completions down the field. Still not convinced? Ask yourself this; how much worse would you feel if, besides playing a clunker of a game, the Bears would've lost a key starter to a season-ending injury like the Giants did with cornerback Terrell Thomas? Exactly.

2. Offensive line appeared to improve: Granted, we won't know for sure how the offensive line fared until after Mike Tice watches the tape, but it's safe to say the early reviews in the Bears postgame locker room were more positive than negative. Other than a few penalties, the line didn't seem to have any glaring breakdowns that would necessitate Tice to make the much talked about changes. After all, Cutler was only sacked one time, Caleb Hanie none. Again, we aren't expected to get a definitive answer until Wednesday when the Bears return to Halas Hall, but the offensive line held up better than most anticipated versus a talented Giants defense.

3. Roy Williams is on cruise control: Williams is a veteran who’s been in the league for eight years. He seems content to just get through the preseason healthy and knows exactly how to do it. That's fine, as long as he turns it on when the Bears face Atlanta on Sept. 11. I'm not saying he will be that elite receiver Mike Martz envisions, but I'm going to hold off making any real judgments because Williams is clearly just going through the motions. That was painfully obvious after a lackluster performance against New York. Who knows, Williams could turn out to be great. Or he could be the guy we all saw in Dallas the last few years. Only time will tell, but right now, I'm not panicking over Williams’ mediocre preseason. Not yet.

4. The defense has a few things to clean up: Let's not make too much of Major Wright's missed tackle on Brandon Jacobs. This is the same safety who made several impressive open-field tackles last weekend versus Buffalo. But that forgettable second-quarter sequence did remind us that Wright occasionally plays a little too aggressively and can sometimes over-pursue on a play. The fear is teams will begin to play action right at him -- draw Wright in, then beat him over the top. However, that's why it's called the preseason, and there's time to improve. But I didn't like the lack of turnovers for a second straight week, and where were the sacks? Between the poor tackling, lack of turnovers/sacks and the breakdowns on special teams, the Bears have plenty of material to review in preparation for their third preseason affair Saturday in Nashville.

5. There is no punter controversy: It's been impossible to overlook how effectively rookie punter Spencer Lanning has kicked the ball in camp. Without a doubt, he is an NFL punter worthy of a starting job somewhere in the league (Cleveland, perhaps), but Lovie Smith ended any speculation that free-agent acquisition Adam Podlesh was in danger of losing his spot. He's not, according to Smith. Podlesh, who signed a nice deal with the Bears, had a better night against the Giants (43.0 avg) than he did versus the Bills, and is expected to keep improving. He was, after all, a Pro Bowl alternate in 2010 for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Lanning deserves all the praise he is receiving, but barring an injury to Podlesh, the South Carolina product probably is punting elsewhere in Week 1. At least, that's the hope if your Lanning.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Jay Cutler nodded in agreement, acknowledging perhaps it’s somewhat of a minor miracle he left New Meadowlands on Monday night in one piece.

Despite the Bears losing 41-13 to the Giants, the team experienced a breakthrough along the often-criticized starting offensive line, which protected well enough to allow just one sack on Cutler after giving up four in the exhibition opener against the Bills.

The last time Cutler faced the Giants at the New Meadowlands, he hobbled off the field with a concussion. He walked off a different way this time.

“Yeah, upright,” he joked. “A little bit different guys right now up front, but I think they wanted to come out and have a good standing, and keep me upright. After we started a little shaky, those guys evened out. I thought they played a really solid half.”

In turn, so did Cutler.

Despite a few drops by receivers, Cutler managed to complete 12-of-21 passes for 171 yards with a passer rating of 83.6. Most importantly, Cutler confidently stepped into throws without trepidation about being pummeled by a relentless Giants pass rush.

When the teams faced one another last year in the regular season, Cutler suffered an NFL-record nine sacks in one brutal half. On Monday night, Cutler took one sack on a play that he probably could’ve gotten rid of the ball. Other than that, the Giants managed to score just one quarterback hit on Cutler all night, even though they did force him to scramble and throw the ball on at least two other occasions.

“I think our offensive line as a whole put in a solid performance,” Bears coach Lovie Smith said. “I definitely saw improvement from last week. Our protection got better.”

Cutler said the unit continues to gain confidence, and added, “I think we took a step in the right direction, offensively.”

Left tackle J'Marcus Webb and right guard Lance Louis appeared to make the most pronounced steps. Webb gave up a pair of sacks in the preseason opener and later drew the ire of offensive line coach Mike Tice for admitting to not matching the intensity of Bills’ linebacker Shawne Merriman.

Webb atoned for the Merriman debacle with a strong performance against Jason Pierre-Paul. How strong? Pierre-Paul’s name doesn’t appear anywhere in the official game statistics. Let’s not forget that Pierre-Paul dominated two-time Pro Bowl tackle Jordan Gross of the Panthers last week for two sacks and another pressure that caused an interception.

“He did good,” Cutler said of Webb, who was also called for one false-start penalty. “Both those tackles are young. They’re in different positions than they were last year, but they’re coming along. With the amount of practices they’ve had on foreign sides to them, I don’t think we could ask for much more out of those two.”

Louis, meanwhile, took a hard look at himself after Monday night’s game, just as he did after the opener against the Bills. Coming into the game, Louis knew his performance would likely determine whether he’d remain in the starting lineup.

Louis responded with a better game, but stopped short of getting overexcited.

“I hope (I did better). I’ll definitely have to go in and watch the film because you can’t really go and (say), ‘Oh, I had a good game,’ and they’ve got (bad) things on film,” Louis said. “I think we definitely had more good plays than bad out there. There’s always pressure on the O-line to perform. We’re the guys everybody looks at when things break down. That’s kind of the nature of the beast.”

The team just hopes the momentum continues into Saturday’s matchup with the Titans and into the regular season.

“We needed to see the group take a step,” Smith said. “I thought we did that (and) I thought Jay put in a solid first half as far as passing the ball.”

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants ran over the Chicago Bears in the second quarter en route to a 20-6 halftime lead in the second preseason contest for both clubs.

New York running back Brandon Jacobs sprung loose for the game’s first touchdown, a 18-yard run that ended with Jacobs dragging Bears safety Chris Harris into the end zone. Jacobs also put a move on second-year safety Major Wright, who appeared to over-pursue the play and missed the tackle badly.

Then right before the half, Bears second-string punter Spencer Lanning had a punt blocked by Greg Jones, who came free right up the gut. New York recovered the ball on the 6-yard line, and promptly put another touchdown on the board as wide receiver Domenik Hixon pulled down a 5-yard jump ball over Bears cornerback Corey Graham in the back right corner of the end zone.

Giants kicker Rhys Lloyd also booted a 37-yard field goal earlier in the quarter.

One of the few highlights for the Bears on offense came when Jay Cutler hit Earl Bennett on a 32-yard pass down the right hash. But the drive stalled, and the Bears had to settle for a Robbie Gould 42-yard field goal. Gould missed a 55-yard attempt as time expired in the half.

Otherwise, it was a somewhat sloppy second quarter as Gabe Carimi (false start) and Kellen Davis (holding) were called for penalties. Davis, the Bears starting tight end, also had a drop.

Cutler was sacked once in the first half.

Bears rookie linebacker J.T. Thomas, a sixth-round pick, made his preseason debut and recorded a tackle.

Mario Addison, Nick Reed and Vernon Gholston all saw action at defensive end in second quarter. The Bears are looking for somebody to pick up the slack at the third defensive end spot with Corey Wootton out for the next few weeks due to a knee injury.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J -- The Chicago Bears released their list of inactives for Monday night’s game against the New York Giants, and it includes cornerback Zack Bowman, linebacker Lance Briggs, running back Harvey Unga, defensive tackle Anthony Adams and defensive end Corey Wootton.

Read the entire story.

Chicago Bears guard Lance Louis twisted his ball cap to the back and listened to questions, seemingly disgusted with his own performance on a team that surrendered nine sacks Saturday in its preseason win over the Buffalo Bills.

Players and coaches often discuss the need to review game tape before making critical self assessments.

But for Louis, why wait?

“Anytime you give up a sack, it’s not a good thing,” Louis said. “You always want to protect your quarterback, and tonight I didn’t do that. I was just out there trying to head-butt people, and just be too aggressive. That’s it. I got beat by a club and on an inside move. It wasn’t anything special; it was me. I’ve just got to get better, man.”

Louis isn’t the only one. The whole unit needs to improve. But reflection usually offers clarity, and a day after what appeared to be a nine-sack debacle at Soldier Field, the truth is that what transpired really wasn’t out of the realm of what was expected.

The first-team offensive line played the entire first half, allowing four sacks, and committed only one penalty -- a holding call on left tackle J'Marcus Webb on a sack by Marcell Dareus that was declined -- while opening the rushing lanes for the Bears to run for nearly five yards (4.9) a pop.

Behind both the starters and backups up front, Chicago’s rushing attack churned out 164 yards, which qualifies as the second-best rushing performance of the preseason. Such a feat surely couldn’t have been accomplished if the blocking was truly horrendous.

“There were definitely a lot of positives,” Webb said. “That goes in with the [rushing] numbers. We definitely want to run the ball well. We’ve got a lot of big guys and we want to move the ball.”

Obviously, the ability to move the chains through the rushing game makes for unpredictability on offense while taking pressure off Jay Cutler in the passing game. But as expected, the pass-blocking portion of the offensive line’s responsibility still leaves much to be desired.

It’s important to remember that of the team’s five starters up front, Chris Williams -- arguably the most inconsistent of last year’s performers -- has the most experience (11 starts) at his current position.

“Too much pressure on the quarterback, we have to tighten that up a little bit,” Bears coach Lovie Smith said. “We have so far to go.”

No question.

Of the starters, Webb seemed to struggle the most, and a team source confirmed as much. Not only was Cutler sacked once, he was pressured to scramble on another play because of a combination of protection issues and solid coverage from the Bills defense.

Webb also appeared to bear the responsibility of back-to-back sacks by Shawne Merriman on backup quarterback Caleb Hanie.

Does that mean offensive line coach Mike Tice should switch Webb back to the right-tackle spot and move rookie first rounder Gabe Carimi to the left? Not yet. Tice now has the dilemma of whether to flip-flop the tackles, allow time for Webb to improve or re-insert Frank Omiyale into the starting lineup at left tackle, where the team would run the risk of enduring the same production this season as it did in 2010 at that spot.

Tice also needs to consider whether to plug in free-agent acquisition Chris Spencer at center, and kick Roberto Garza back out to guard -- his more natural position -- while making Louis a reserve.

The coaching staff, as of Sunday afternoon, hadn’t made any decisions about whether to tinker more with combinations along the offensive line, or give the current group more time for cohesion. As the team reviews film from Saturday night, Tice will put a stopwatch on each of the sacks to determine whether his unit was truly at fault, or if the quarterbacks held the ball too long.

Hanie admitted that could’ve been the case on at least two of his three sacks. It’s also worth noting that the Bills played solid man coverage on the receivers throughout the game, which likely extended the time quarterbacks had to hold the ball before targets came free.

While Cutler and Hanie understand the concept of quickly throwing to spots in Mike Martz’s offense, which somewhat explains their 50 percent completion percentage against Buffalo’s coverage, rookie Nate Enderle produced a higher completion percentage (70 percent), but suffered five sacks; evidence he may have actually waited for receivers to come open before unleashing passes.

“It’s definitely technique. From the mental part of the game, I think it was pretty good. I’ve just got to keep harping on technique,” a visibly disappointed Louis said. “I don’t know about those other guys because we didn’t watch film yet, but speaking on behalf of myself, I’ve got to get some more work in so I can be better for those guys. This year I’m just trying to stay stress-free, man. The opportunity is there, it’s all about what I do with it.”

Again, Louis isn’t the only one.

In-game quotes from the Chicago Bears during their preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills:

Jay Cutler

On how it felt being back out on the field for the first preseason game:

"It felt good. Obviously the lockout was long. For us to get out here and go against a different team, it was good for everybody."

On how much the players can take from the experience of the first preseason game:

"You can take a lot, especially those second team guys and guys who haven't had a lot of experience. It was also good for the line to go out there and see some different fronts and go against some different guys. We have to go back and look at the film and see what we did good, see what we did bad and learn from it."

Lovie Smith

On the Bears offense in the first half:

"We wanted to play the offensive line the entire half just to get them some work playing together. We were able to get that done. I liked the stuff we did on the scoring drive -- Caleb Hanie's run -- we did a lot of good things, running and passing. Marion Barber, great job running the football. We're pleased but we've got a long way to go."


Brian Urlacher

On getting out and playing again:

"Full speed contact is always more fun."

On what they took away from today's play:

"We need to get better. That's all there is to it. We're a defensive team and we'll get better every week."

On starting a new season:

"Yeah it's a real game. After a long lay-off it's fun to get back out there and play football again."

Chris Harris

On how it felt to be back out playing:

"It felt good. Anytime you get a chance to hit the other colored jersey it's always fun. I was excited to back out on the field after the long off-season."

On the take-away from today's game, based on his two series:

"Man, pretty much just working on fundamentals. Everything we're doing is fundamentals. Make sure our fundamentals are sure, good to go, so when the regular season does kick-off, we hit it full stride.

On how having veteran players helps with the shorter off-season:

"I think it helps great, especially for our defense. We do what we do. We don't do anything fancy. We don't try to trick anybody. We just try to out fundamental them. We do what we do."

Roy Williams

On how it felt to play his first Bears' game:

"It felt good. A little different not being in a Detroit Lions uniform on the other side, but it feels like home. It feels good."

On what he took away from today's game:

"That our offense is going to be okay. We have a lot to improve on, but we'll be ready week one. We just wanted to come out here and work on our fundamentals and win the game."

On what he's going to be doing to prepare for week one:

"Get better day-by-day. Each day get a little more in sync with Jay and just try to be a leader on this football team. Just try to help us win."

On the field

"Field wasn't bad. It wasn't bad at all. I'm looking forward to November, December to see how it really is. But, today it wasn't bad."

Devin Hester

On how it feels to get back to playing a game:

"I'm just happy the lockout got lifted. We were able to come back out as players and do something we love doing, which is play football."

On what he accomplished in the first preseason game:

"Just getting a feel for how the pace of the game is going to be. With the situation of the lockout, the preseason is a great opportunity to get a grasp and feel for where we stand and how the season can potentially be."

On his second-year in the Bears offensive system under Mike Martz:

"I'm very comfortable. We're now at the point where we are just out there playing fast and we can make plays without even thinking."

On Johnny Knox's 70-yard kickoff return:

"It was a great return. We know Johnny is a great returner. He has showed us that since day 1 when he stepped foot on this organization. He is capable of taking it the house anytime."

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. -- Chicago Bears defensive tackle Anthony Adams stepped out of the cafeteria at Olivet Nazarene University on Wednesday wearing a walking boot on his left foot, which casts doubt about his availability for Saturday's preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills.

Adams downplayed the injury, saying the walking boot makes the injury look more significant than it actually is.

But given Adams' role as a starter, and his thorough knowledge of the system, it's likely the team will hold him out of action in the opener.

"I'll be alright. I've got a little boo-boo, as my son calls it," Adams said. "It's frustrating, but it's part of football. You're not just gonna have a clean slate every time. You can't climb the mountain if it's smooth, right?"

Adams sustained the injury earlier in the week, and the team will hold him out of Wednesday's session, which is scheduled for 7 p.m.

"Doing drills, I just kind of felt something, and [I] went to the training staff [to have it looked at]," Adams said. "They're taking all the precautions. I don't know [when I'll be cleared to return]. It's kind of a day-today thing; one of those freaky-type issues. But that's why we pay the training staff the big bucks."

An eighth-year veteran, Adams re-signed with the Bears in free agency on July 30, inking a two-year deal worth $4.4 million.

Adams has logged 36 starts in four seasons with the Bears.

The Chicago Bears will face the St. Louis Rams in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 7 at Fawcett Stadium in Canton, Ohio.

Read the entire story.