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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. -- Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler flashed some comedic timing guest-starring with wife Kristin Cavallari on Wednesday night's episode of FXX’s “The League.”

But Cutler maintains that acting probably isn’t in his future after football.

“It was good. But like I told Kristin, it’s a lot of waiting around,” Cutler said. “You do your thing and then, it’s like three hours, just sitting around. I was like, ‘This is what you do?’ Played on the iPad, played some cards. It was fun, but I don’t think I would’ve done it if she wouldn’t have asked me. So I don’t think it’s something I’ll be doing regularly.”

Cutler joined Cavallari in the episode “Chalupa vs. The Cutlet,” and in one scene, the couple is standing in a playground speaking with another couple about their children. During the conversation, Cutler and Cavallari’s son throws a toy from his stroller over the heads of the couple with whom they’re conversing.

The husband tells Cutler: "The kid’s got a cannon; probably gets that from his mother.”

Cutler responds: “We’re working on his accuracy. He loves throwing the ball.”

While Cutler indicated Thursday that he enjoyed the acting experience, he said he won’t be watching the episode.

“Kristin watched it the other day and said it was pretty good. So I’ll take her word for it.”

Asked whether he’s now got more respect for Cavallari’s profession, Cutler laughed and joked, “I’m supposed to say more, right?”

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Undefeated and seemingly in sync, with a winless opponent on the horizon, it should be all sunshine and lemonade at Halas Hall this week.

Forget about it.

The Chicago Bears are acting like somebody is planning to steal their lunch money, giving them a sense of paranoia that is playing out in focused practices and cautious optimism as they prepare to face the 0-2 Pittsburgh Steelers.

Call it the Dick LeBeau factor as the Steelers' defensive guru, with his 3-4 alignment, has the Bears acting like they are about to face a dreaded monster this week instead of the wounded animal Pittsburgh really is.

"You always have to be on your toes," tight end Martellus Bennett said. "You never know who's going to come. They have a lot of great players on the defensive side of the ball. They have a lot of guys who can run around and play multiple positions. The linebackers can play defensive end, the defensive ends can play linebacker. We just have to have our ears up and be ready for everything."

Instead of being satisfied with what they have -- a 2-0 record, improved play form the offense, the ability to rally when necessary, etc. -- the Bears are fully aware of their liabilities this week. They have two rookie offensive linemen heading into their first road game, a hostile environment awaiting that will require the use of a silent snap count and an opposing defense that will attack like a swarm of ninjas.

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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. -- Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall felt he ‘disrespected’ veteran Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor when the two squared off during in the 2010 regular season, but promises not to overlook the 11-year veteran defensive back on Sunday night.

“He’s one of the best in the business,” Marshall said. “It seems like he’s getting better as he ages. I remember a few years ago playing against him in Miami. I disrespected him a little bit. I didn’t do my film study and I got out there and he did some things that really put me in a tough spot. So I’ve been going back to my Denver days and my Miami days just watching him and seeing how he played me, watching a lot of film because I have a lot of respect for this guy and no longer will I overlook him.”

The game in question occurred on October 24, 2010 when Taylor limited Marshall to five catches for 57 yards in the Steelers’ victory against the Dolphins.

Taylor probably isn’t a household name out of Pittsburgh, but the cornerback has been a regular starter for the Steelers since 2005 and played in 135 consecutive games before he suffered a season-ending injury late in 2012.

“You know what, he’s a technician,” Marshall said. “He’s smart. He’s always in the right spot. Sometimes we think it’s all about having supernatural ability. But it’s not. Sometimes when you have your technique down and you really know your game plan and you know what you’re supposed to do, that’s better than having a guy that’s all-world.”

The Steelers’ problems on offense have been well-documented, but their defense is still ranked No. 10 overall after two weeks.

“It’s similar to our defense,” Marshall said. “Different schemes, but you have guys who've been in the same system for 10 years, made a few runs. So whenever you have guys who really know the system, it just makes it so much harder on opposing offenses 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.”

Marshall failed to finish practice on Thursday because of a tight back, but the Pro Bowler gave every indication that he expected to play in Week 3. Marshall was born in Pittsburgh (he moved to Florida in the 5th grade) and remained a die-hard Steelers’ fan right up until the Broncos drafted him in the fourth-round of the 2006 draft.

“That was my team,” Marshall explained. “I was cheering for the Steelers all the way up until I got drafted. The year I got drafted the Broncos and the Steelers played in the AFC championship and I remember watching that game in my dorm room with my Steelers blanket cheering for the Steelers and we went on to go to the Super Bowl.

The next year I got drafted to the Broncos and I was like, ‘Oh sorry guys.’"

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Chicago Bears held out cornerback Charles Tillman on Thursday for the second consecutive day of practice leading into Sunday’s matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the team sat down receiver Brandon Marshall toward the end of the workout after he suffered tightness in his back.

“Brandon had a very good practice,” Bears coach Marc Trestman said. “Then, at about the middle to late practice, (he) tightened up a little bit. Just to be cautious, we pulled him out of practice. He walked around and moved around. We’ll just be cautious and we’ll have him limited tomorrow.”

Having dealt with hip issues early on stemming from his third arthroscopic knee surgery, Marshall hasn’t had any issues with his back up to this point. Marshall’s back tightness isn’t expected to affect his availability for Sunday’s matchup at Heinz Field.

Tillman spent most of the workout on Thursday with the team’s athletic trainers doing conditioning work, according to Trestman, who said the cornerback took part in walk-throughs near the end of the session.

“We worked actively with the trainers,” Trestman said. “He was limited.”

In other injury news, the Bears listed tight end Martellus Bennett (shoulder) and guard Kyle Long (back) as having participated fully at practice. For the Steelers, running back Le'Veon Bell (foot), cornerback Curtis Brown (illness) and defensive end Brett Keisel (calf) participated fully, as did defensive tackle Steve McLendon (hamstring) and tight end Heath Miller (knee).

Pittsburgh cornerback Cortez Allen (ankle) did not practice, and linebacker Jarvis Jones (heel) participated in a limited capacity.

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.”

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- With all these indoor practices the Chicago Bears have been going through, perhaps new coach Marc Trestman thinks he’s still in Canada in early winter, preparing for a Grey Cup with the Montreal Alouettes.

Despite ideal temperatures Wednesday and only moderate humidity levels with clouds providing natural shade, Trestman had the Bears practicing inside the Walter Payton Center.

Because the Bears have been under the roof more than usual this year, Trestman was asked about his distaste for the outdoors. He placed all the blame on longtime equipment man Tony Medlin.

“Because Tony Medlin said it was going to rain and we didn’t want to practice in the rain,” Trestman said. “That’s the reason. He’s the meteorologist. So if he says we’re going to have some weather, we’re going inside. That was the reason. I threw him under the bus today.”

Of course the rain held off Wednesday, not reaching Halas Hall until nearly three hours after practice had ended.

And it’s not like a rainy practice would have had its advantages with the team heading to Pittsburgh for the first road game of the season. According to weather.com, there is only a 10 percent chance of rain Sunday evening in Pittsburgh with temperatures in the mid-60s.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Those personal-best 249 return yards Devin Hester racked up for the Chicago Bears on Sunday appear to have been born from a conversation early in the summer.

New coach Marc Trestman revealed Monday that it was Hester who suggested that a reduction in responsibilities could help him to once again be the kind of return man who used to pile up weekly honors while heading off to Pro Bowls.

“The conversation, to my recollection, was, ‘It sounds to me like you just want to be a returner, and that’s OK with me. I would like you to be the returner and focus solely on that,’” Trestman said.

The revelation debunks a common belief that Hester was demoted to a return-only role after years of mostly choppy results as a wide receiver.

“I don’t ever remember me telling him that that was the way it’s going to be,” Trestman said. “I remember our conversation being more like, ‘I know that’s what you want to do, and I’m all-in.’ That’s sort of the way I remember it.

“Now, this was six and a half months ago. It was literally the second week I was here, I think. And it just stopped right there. [Special-teams coach] Joe [DeCamillis] started meeting with him, and we started developing a dialogue when we saw each other. It wasn’t complicated at all. It just seemed to happen that way.”

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LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Chicago Bears veteran defensive end Julius Peppers had no desire to revisit his two performances in the opening weeks of the regular season when he stopped to meet the media at the conclusion of Wednesday’s practice inside the Walter Payton Center.

Peppers’ productivity is a hotly debated topic in Chicago. The eight-time Pro Bowl selection failed to register a sack in either of the Bears’ wins against Cincinnati or Minnesota, and according to the team’s official defensive stats based on coaches review, Peppers has just two total tackles and one quarterback pressure in 97 combined snaps.

“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.”

Peppers battled an illness last week that forced him to miss the Thursday practice leading up to the Minnesota game and eventually landed him on the final injury report as “probable." The 12-year NFL veteran continued to feel ill on Sunday during the Bears’ 31-30 victory over the Vikings, and then actually felt worse the next day on Monday, according to Bears coach Marc Trestman.

However, Peppers was listed as having full participation on Wednesday.

“I’m feeling fine. I’m not interested in talking about the first two weeks right now," he said. "My focus is on Pittsburgh and winning the game this week.”

The prospects of Peppers having a rebound effort Sunday night in Pittsburgh look to be promising. The Steelers are one of the worst offenses in the league through two weeks (No. 31), and 6-foot-5 quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has had a difficult time staying upright -- Roethlisberger has been sacked seven times in two games.

“It’s getting him down,” Peppers said of the challenges in facing Roethlisberger. "It’s one thing to get there, but when you get there you have to get him down, and we’re going to need a group effort to do that.

"We’re not looking past anybody. We’re really concerned about ourselves, and getting better, that’s where the focus is at.”

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Through two weeks of the regular season the Chicago Bears’ offense (No. 14) actually outranks the defense (No. 17), a feat the offense was unable to accomplish during the majority of the Lovie Smith era.

The Bears are still on the plus side of their turnover ratio (+1, good for 11th in the NFL) thanks to the defense, but the unit ranks a pedestrian No. 14 in rushing defense and No. 17 in passing defense, despite the club’s 2-0 record to begin the season.

Sunday night’s game in Pittsburgh could present the Bears with an opportunity to get back on track defensively. The Steelers have averaged a woeful 9.5 points per game -- fewer than all but two teams in the league -- and rank second-to-last in the league in total offense and rushing offense. Pittsburgh is also converting only 28 percent of its third-down chances, primarily because the Steelers found themselves in so many third-and-long situations in losses to Tennessee and Cincinnati.

Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger stated the obvious on Wednesday during a conference call with Chicago media members.

"We need to score more points," Roethlisberger said. "You’ve got to score more points. We do, we need to run the ball more effectively. We need to be better throwing the ball, and like I said, turning the ball over just kills you. That eliminates points."

So does poor pass protection – Pittsburgh has surrendered seven sacks in two weeks.

In fairness to the Steelers, (1) they had a major injury on the offensive line in Week 1 when starting center Maurkice Pouncey suffered a season-ending knee injury, (2) Roethlisberger has never been the quickest quarterback moving around in the pocket and (3) the team has won Super Bowls before with a bad offensive line.

But the Steelers can’t seem to do much of anything on offense, which has led to an inordinate amount of frustration in the Steel City in the infant stages of the 2013 season.

"I think winning pulls a lot of, helps cure a lot of issues," Roethlisberger said. "That’s what we need to try and do is get a win. I’ve never started a season like this since I’ve been in Pittsburgh. It’s a challenge for us, and one we’re not going to back down from.

"We know we have a tough opponent coming in, especially offensively for us. They’re a really good defense. It’s going be … it’s not like it’s getting any easier. So we need to get on our Ps and Qs and focus in."

Given all of the Steelers’ issues on offense, the Bears should be able to jump-start a dormant pass rush Sunday night at Heinz Field. The Bears have managed to record just two sacks and 10 quarterback pressures the last two weeks, a far cry from the eight sacks the defense had after two regular-season games in 2012.

"Pass rush is something we need to improve on," Bears defensive coordinator Mel Tucker said. "We need to finish in our rushes. We were getting closer, but no cigar. This week is about finishing. Four guys [need to be] working together. When we pressure, we have to get there."

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Chicago Bears held out cornerback Charles Tillman (knee) from Wednesday’s practice inside the Walter Payton Center, but he is expected to be ready to play Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“Just precautionary -- he should be ready to go in practice [Thursday],” Bears coach Marc Trestman said.

Tillman was listed on the injury report last Wednesday with a knee ailment. He participated in one practice in a limited capacity heading into the club’s Week 2 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings. Tillman appeared to reinjure the knee Sunday in the Bears' win over the Vikings but was able to play the entire game.

In other injury news, tight end Martellus Bennett (shoulder) worked on a limited basis, as did rookie right tackle Kyle Long (back).

Despite missing practice time last week after exhibiting flu-like symptoms, defensive end Julius Peppers participated during Wednesday’s session.

Coming off back-to-back years in which he contributed 11 sacks or more, Peppers seems to be off to a slow start through the first two games this season. Peppers’ contributions thus far have been two tackles and zero sacks, leading to speculation that he’s playing injured.

Peppers denied that Wednesday as he walked off the practice field.

“I'm feeling fine,” Peppers said. "I'm not interested in talking about the first two weeks right now. My focus is on Pittsburgh and winning the game this week."