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RISING

1. Alshon Jeffery, WR: Jeffery did a little bit of everything in the Week 4 loss in Detroit. He came up with a tough touchdown catch despite blanket coverage (he dropped a sure touchdown the play before), showed the ability to beat a defense deep with a 44-yard reception, and proved he can also be a weapon in the run game with a 27-yard end-around. With the exception of the Bears' win against the Vikings on Sept. 15, Jeffery has been a reliable target for Jay Cutler the entire season. Jeffery figures to reach 60 catches in 2013 if he continues to avoid injury -- he missed six games his rookie season. Jeffery's confidence seems to be growing every week.

2. Julius Peppers, DE: The Bears' failure to sack the quarterback is still alarming, but Peppers had his best game of the year on Sunday, by far. According to NFL statistics, Peppers finished with six tackles and the Bears' lone sack and quarterback hurry. Peppers also dropped Reggie Bush for no gain on the Lions' first offensive play from scrimmage, and overall, the defensive end appeared to be moving better than in previous weeks. With the Bears' depth on the defensive line tested due to injuries, it's vital Peppers contribute some impact plays to the defensive effort moving forward.

3. Earl Bennett, WR: Bennett's role in the offense is expanding. The wide receiver participated in 49 plays and caught a late fourth-quarter touchdown from Cutler, Bennett's second score in the past two weeks after hauling in the Week 3 game-clincher versus the Pittsburgh Steelers. Bennett isn't targeted often, he has seven catches on the season, but when the ball does come his way, the wideout generally makes a play. Bennett is clearly the fifth option on offense, but he is sure-handed and dependable.

FALLING

1. Jay Cutler, QB: The Bears lost to the Lions for two reasons; (1) Cutler turned the ball over four times, and (2) the defense failed to tackle Bush. Cutler will throw interceptions. That is a fact. Sunday marked the seventh time since 2009 that Cutler tossed three or more interceptions in a game. The Bears claim Cutler's mistakes were all physical, that his decision-making was sound in the 40-32 defeat. If that's the case, then all of Cutler's miscues are correctable. But these performances are always a concern with Cutler. The Bears might be able to beat a bad Minnesota team at home when the quarterback turns the ball over three times, but on the road against a quality opponent, the Bears have no shot to win if Cutler gives the ball away at such an alarming rate.

2. Entire defense: The whole group gets the nod for Bush rushing for 112 yards on 11 carries in the first half alone. The Lions seemed to have a solid gameplan for how they wanted to attack the Bears, but that does not excuse the poor tackling. Bush was making Bears defenders miss all over the field. The Bears have allowed way too many big plays on defense this season. The turnovers and defensive touchdowns are great, but this group is expected to produce better results. Even without Lovie Smith, Rod Marinelli, Brian Urlacher and now Henry Melton, there are enough Pro Bowl-caliber defensive players on the roster to prevent these kinds of breakdowns. And where is the pass rush? This all better improve in a hurry with Drew Brees coming to town on Sunday, otherwise the Bears' 3-0 head start to begin the season could evaporate over the next month.

3. Adam Podlesh, P: He had a rough afternoon at Ford Field, there is just no other way to put it. Despite punting in a controlled climate, Podlesh averaged only 40.2 yards per kick with a net average of 28.8 yards. Heading into Week 4, Podlesh had been averaging 44.6 yards per punt with a 42-yard net average. Punters will have bad games from time to time. Podlesh had a mild slump last year but finished the season exceptionally strong. The hope is he puts the Lions game behind him and bounces back against the Saints. Field position figures to be at a premium against the high-powered Saints' offense, so Podlesh pinning the Saints deep in their own territory whenever possible will be an important key to victory.

DETROIT -- Here are five things we learned in the Chicago Bears’ 40-32 loss to the Detroit Lions:

1. High turnover games remain a reality for Jay Cutler: Cutler deserves some credit for not calling it quits when the Lions led 40-16 late in the fourth-quarter, but his four turnovers were a major reason why the Bears lost. There isn’t a coach alive that can permanently eliminate these types of games from Cutler’s resume. When interceptions happen, they tend to happen in bunches with Cutler. That’s part of the package. It will never change. However, Cutler has been clutch for the Bears in three games this season, and certainly deserves the benefit of the doubt that he can bounce back with a stellar effort against the New Orleans Saints next Sunday. And I liked the fact Cutler and the offense kept fighting until the bitter end, even when the game was painfully out of reach. But the reality is that Cutler will always be a high-risk, high-reward quarterback, no matter the team, coach or system.

2. The defense has dropped a notch: The Bears still have a knack for forcing turnovers on defense, but Reggie Bush became the third opponent (A.J. Green and Antonio Brown) to have a monster game against the defense in the past four weeks. With the exception of Adrian Peterson's crazy game at Soldier Field in 2007, Sunday might have been the worst tackling display that I’ve seen from the Bears’ defense in recent memory. Bush is a talented multipurpose tailback, but he’s hardly considered one of the best runners in the game. However, Bush looked all-world against the Bears at Ford Field. In the span of four games, we’ve witnessed the Bears’ defense suffer multiple breakdowns on multiple fronts. And the pass rush continues to be nonexistent. The Bears sacked Matthew Stafford one time on 35 passing attempts. The individual talent is still present on the roster but, collectively, there is something missing from the Bears’ defense.

3. Alshon Jeffery is on the rise: Jeffery’s five catch for 107 yards and a touchdown performance in Week 4 would have been one of the top stories if the Bears had won. Although Jeffery’s day at Ford Field kind of gets lost in the shuffle of the bitter defeat, it is worth noting that Jeffery has responded well after a so-so game in Week 2 versus the Vikings. Jeffery showed great hands on his 14-yard touchdown reception. And even though he’s not viewed as the fastest wideout on the field, Jeffery can beat a defender deep down the field. The great thing about Jeffery is that because of his size and wingspan, he is skilled at coming down with those 50-50 jump balls that can go either way. The Bears don’t seem to be lacking in the skill position department, and after Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Matt Forte; Jeffery is having one of the Bears’ most productive seasons on offense.

4. Special teams hardly were special: For the second time this season, the Bears’ coverage units were burned for a big return. This time it was Detroit’s Micheal Spurlock taking a punt back 57 yards to set up an easy Lions’ scoring drive. Special teams are held to a high standard around Chicago, and fans aren’t used to seeing that phase of the team struggle. The Bears also had issues with their punting game, which is odd considering Ford Field is an indoor stadium with a controlled climate. Devin Hester didn’t help the cause much when the Bears had opportunities to return the ball, and Hester almost fumbled on one occasion. This really was a complete team loss. All three phases of their game contributed to the Bears’ defeat in Detroit.

5. Future is bright at right guard: Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is a monster on the interior of the Detroit defensive line. The smart money was on Suh making a couple of plays lined up against Bears rookie right guard Kyle Long. As expected, Suh was a disruptive force in the Bears’ backfield with two sacks and a forced fumble that got scooped up for a touchdown. But Long didn’t do anything to embarrass himself. He more than held his own during his individual battles with Suh. Consider this a learning experience for the rookie. Smart money also suggests Long does a better job against Suh when the teams meet at Soldier Field on Nov. 10. Call it a hunch.

CHICAGO BEARS (2-0) at PITTSBURGH STEELERS (0-2)

7:30 p.m. CT Sunday at Heinz Field on NBC

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Here is the first installment of the Chicago Bears’ Friday mailbag.

Lee Holland of Norfolk, Va., writes: What’s it going to take for Alshon Jeffery to get more involved in the offense?

Jeff Dickerson: Jeffery didn’t have his best game last week (one catch for five yards, two rushes for 30 yards), but he’s been targeted 13 times through two games. So Jeffery has been involved in the offense, it’s just that Brandon Marshall, Matt Forte and Martellus Bennett have accumulated better statistics heading into Week 3. Jeffery’s time will come. Bears head coach Marc Trestman is likely telling the second-year wideout to stay patient. Jeffery proved to everybody in the preseason that he is reliable weapon in the passing game. Give it some time.

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Bob from Chicago writes: Is Jay Cutler a $20 million a season QB? What options do the Bears have at QB if they don’t believe Cutler is worth that money?

Dickerson: Bob, Cutler is off to a strong start, but it’s only Week 3. The smart move is to wait until later in the year to determine whether or not Cutler is the kind of quarterback the Bears want to invest that heavily in. If Cutler continues to shake off his mistakes and lead the Bears to victories and to the playoffs, then all his money concerns (not that he really has any) will be taken care of. But I don’t feel comfortable writing the ‘Jay Cutler is a new guy’ narrative after two games. The true test will come when the Bears face real adversity. How will Cutler respond? As for Plan B; the Bears really don’t have one. I assume if they decide to not re-sign or franchise Cutler, they would search for his replacement via the draft while also signing a veteran quarterback in free agency. The Bears want to make it work with Cutler, however. That is how the scenario would play out in a perfect world.

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Frank from PA writes: Don’t you think the Bears will be hurt without a legitimate No. 2 receiver as they continue to play tougher teams on their schedule?

Dickerson: Yes, the Bears need a dependable No. 2 wide receiver. But I believe the Bears have two on the roster: Jeffery and Earl Bennett. If Cutler ever gets into a situation where he can’t connect with Marshall, Martellus Bennett or Matt Forte out of the backfield, Jeffery and Earl Bennett are more than capable of catching the football in tough situations. Earl Bennett, especially, has shown that he has great hands. Not good, great. The drawback with those two players has been their inability to stay healthy. But if both are active every week, the Bears should have enough at wide receiver to get them through the season with great success.

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Deryll Ringger from Decatur, IN, writes: Why does Devin Hester let the ball hit the ground when fielding punts instead of saving 20 yards by catching the ball before it hits the ground?

Dickerson: Fair question, Deryll. For all of Hester’s brilliance on kickoff returns (249 yards) last week against Minnesota, he does still have occasional lapses in judgment when determining when to field punts or let them drop. Now, I think Hester’s decision making has improved since last season, but he’ll never be perfect. I guess Bears’ fans will just have to live it. Hester is still capable of busting long returns, and I believe the 76 and 80 yard kickoff returns he busted off versus the Vikings made up for his indecision on punt return.

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Frank from Canada writes: If Julius Peppers continues to be nonexistent while cashing the biggest check on the team, do you expect him to be on the team in 2014?

Dickerson: Obviously, Peppers needs to produce for the Bears to keep him around beyond 2013, but the veteran defensive end has time to turn it around. If Peppers goes off and has a monster night versus the Steelers, some concerns should fade away. However, it’s way too early to determine whether or not the Bears want to carry the $18,183,333 cap charge or pay the $14 million in salary to Peppers in 2014. Even though the Bears are expected to have ample salary-cap space next year, Peppers does have an expensive contract, especially for an older player. But if Peppers starts to light it up and finishes with his standard 11.0 sacks, then maybe it would be worth it. Another factor is the development of Shea McClellin, Corey Wootton and Cornelius Washington. If the Bears feel good enough about the younger players stepping up into larger roles, Peppers could become expendable. But just like with Cutler, Bears general manager Phil Emery has plenty of time before he has to make that call.

CHICAGO – Here are five things we learned in the Chicago Bears’ 31-30 win over the Minnesota Vikings:

1. Jay Cutler led in crunch time. Cutler made his share of mistakes on Sunday, but he managed to shake them off and guide the Bears 66 yards down the field in 3:05 to score the game-winning touchdown on a 16-yard pass to tight end Martellus Bennett. Cutler went 7 for 10 on the drive, but keep in mind he had to spike the ball to kill the clock and that his first pass of the drive bounced off an official standing in the middle of the field in front of intended target Alshon Jeffery (another incomplete pass to Jeffery got wiped out by a holding penalty). This is why the Bears traded for Cutler four years ago: to win games. When the chips were down, the quarterback stayed calm, put the team on his shoulders and led them to a come-from-behind victory in the closing minutes of an important game. What an encouraging start to the season for Cutler in a contract year.

2. Turnovers keep inferior teams in games. Now for the bad part: The Bears almost handed the game to Minnesota -- literally. It’s hard to win when a team commits four turnovers. The Bears were able to survive versus the Vikings, but next time they probably won’t be so lucky. In the span of a little more than three minutes in the second quarter, Cutler was sacked and fumbled the ball, which Minnesota returned for a touchdown, and threw an interception in the end zone on first-and-goal from the Vikings’ 1-yard line that killed a prime scoring chance. Cutler later tossed a pick on a deep ball to Brandon Marshall, and Matt Forte had the ball ripped away at the end of a run. Both of those turnovers came in the fourth quarter. Throw in a special-teams breakdown on Cordarrelle Patterson’s 105-yard touchdown return on the opening kickoff, and the Bears have plenty of mistakes to correct going into their Week 3 game at Pittsburgh. That should prevent the team from feeling too good about themselves this week in practice.

3. Devin Hester is again ridiculous. People snickered at the positive reviews Hester received from observers during training camp, but even the most anti-Hester fans have to admit he ran with a purpose on Sunday, returning five kickoffs for a career-high 249 yards, with long runs of 76 and 80 yards. The decision to limit Hester to strictly special teams was a brilliant one. He has fresh legs. That’s been obvious since the preseason. But the most important thing with Hester is always his confidence. Ever since he got over the whole ‘I want to retire’ drama at the end of last season, Hester has been walking tall with his head held high. When Hester feels good about himself, he’s dangerous. Don’t be surprised to see his success in the return game snowball over the next couple of weeks. That’s how it goes with Hester.

4. Defense is still searching for an identity. The Bears continue to take the ball away on defense, which is good, but they are simply not generating enough pressure up front. Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder attempted 30 passes and was sacked just once. That’s not good enough. For the second straight week, Pro Bowl defensive linemen Julius Peppers and Henry Melton were non-factors, with a combined three tackles (before the coaches review the film). What’s going on up front? Overall, the Bears surrendered six plays of 20-plus yards against Minnesota after being torched repeatedly by Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green in Week 1. To be fair, the Vikings scored 14 points on Sunday on a fumble return and a kickoff return. But I think we would all agree the defense looks very un-Bears-like to open the regular season.

5. Ponder better than expected. Ponder is still the fourth-best quarterback in the NFC North, but he deserves some credit for almost leading the Vikings to their first win in Chicago since 2007. Ponder completed some key throws late to finish with 227 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception, while also showing no fear running with the football. He took a heck of a hit from Bears linebacker James Anderson near the home team’s sideline in the second half, but at no point did Ponder shy away from the contact. Minnesota is still 0-2 and in deep trouble already with two loses to NFC North teams, but I don’t think Vikings fans will be clamoring for Matt Cassel to start anytime soon. Or at least they shouldn’t be.

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.

Jay Cutler called his best throw of Chicago’s 24-21 win over the Cincinnati Bengals the 38-yard completion down the right sideline he fired to Brandon Marshall with 11:22 left to play during what turned out to be the game-winning drive.

Out of the shotgun formation, Cutler dropped the pass between the cornerback and the safety to Marshall for the completion.

“The best throw I made, probably the one to [Marshall] down the sideline late in the game,” Cutler said Monday during the “Jay Cutler Show” on ESPN 1000. “We finally caught man [coverage]. We had been dialing up man plays, and hadn’t caught man; finally got it. It’s just gratifying whenever you can hit one.”

The play came just after a 6-yard completion to Marshall. Three snaps later, Cutler scrambled for 18 yards, before finally capping the drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Marshall, who was locked up in a one-on-one situation with Cincinnati safety Reggie Nelson.

Marshall finished the game with eight catches for 104 yards and was targeted a team-high 10 times. Cutler threw Alshon Jeffery’s direction eight times and to Matt Forte and Martellus Bennett six times apiece.

While there’s the perception that Cutler tends to lock on to Marshall, the quarterback said the game plan always is to spread the ball around to all of the team’s weapons.

“There’s gonna be games where we’re gonna have to ride [Marshall], where we’re gonna have to [ride] Matt. There’s gonna be games where Alshon is gonna have to step up and Martellus,” Cutler said. “Ideally to keep the defense guessing, you want to [spread] the ball to these different guys. That’s kind of the game plan that we’re going with; with different formations, putting guys in different spots, and being able to get the ball around to different areas of the field. I don’t think going into the game we thought Brandon was gonna get 10 catches [Marshall had eight]. He did. Sometimes it works out like that.”

CHICAGO -- In describing Jay Cutler during the second half of the Chicago Bears' 24-21 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, some of the quarterback’s teammates used words such as "calm," "patient" and "reassuring."

“It makes you feel good when your quarterback comes into the huddle and just tells us if we keep doing what we have to do, we’ll be successful,” left tackle Jermon Bushrod said. “We listened to him. We got behind that guy.”

The result became Cutler delivering just his second comeback victory from 10 points or more behind as a Chicago Bear, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Throughout Cutler’s NFL career, which began in 2006 in Denver, the quarterback has engineered just two other come-from-behind victories in which he overcame a deficit of 10 points or more.

“I thought his confidence coming out of the first half was uncomfortable because we hadn’t moved the ball successfully,” Bears coach Marc Trestman said. “But there were signs that we could. I think he did a very good job in the second half not only [of] throwing it against man-to-man coverage and making some very, very difficult throws, but also some runs.”

With the Bears behind 21-17, Cutler engineered an eight-play, 81-yard drive and completed a 19-yard strike to Brandon Marshall for the go-ahead touchdown. Cutler completed three of four for 63 yards during the drive and scrambled for an 18-yard gain.

“We started clicking a little bit,” Cutler said. “They brought James [Harrison] off the edge. The line did a good job of picking him up. They doubled Martellus [Bennett] going down the middle, flipped it back and jumped Alshon [Jeffery], and [Brandon] Marshall was one-on-one in the corner. I put one up for him.”

Approximately halfway through the third quarter, Cutler led a nine-play scoring drive that spanned 80 yards and kept the possession alive with a nifty third-down scramble and throw. Facing third-and-7 from the Chicago 35, Cutler scrambled and found an open Bennett for a 30-yard gain.

In that instance, Cutler recognized Cincinnati’s coverage and took advantage.

“They were playing a little two-man [coverage] there, and the line was giving me time,” Cutler said. “I was able to run once, and got Marty [Bennett] down the sideline. The line likes that. Break the pocket and make some yardage, and it takes pressure off them.”

In turn, the quarterback applied the pressure to Cincinnati’s defense. After a slow first half in which Cutler completed 10 of 19 for 70 yards and a touchdown to Bennett, the quarterback picked up the production over the third and fourth quarters.

Cutler finished the game with 242 yards through the air and a passer rating of 93.2. Cutler completed eight of his 10 throws directed at Marshall for 104 yards and a touchdown.

“Jay was patient,” Bushrod said. “He played lights out, man. As an offense, we weren’t getting it done the way we wanted in the first half. But in the second, Jay moved around in the pocket, looked nice, got the ball out.”

Let’s take a look at some Bears Essentials.

Bears receiver Alshon Jeffery caught flak before the club even drafted him in 2012 due to concerns about his weight and level of fitness. But with a year of experience under his belt and an offseason of training with Brandon Marshall, the new coaching staff is impressed with what they’ve seen.

Offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer said Jeffery has become more consistent than he was as a rookie.

“Alshon has been a true pro since this new staff got here. He’s been impressive because he’s changed his body from college,” Kromer said. “He’s really worked to become a fit athlete. So that was his first step. He had the talent. Now his talent shows up on an every-play basis because he’s in shape to do it.”

Jeffery missed six games due to hand and knee injuries last season, but finished ranked No. 10 in receiving yardage among NFL rookies with 367 yards, and caught 24 passes, which ranked 13th among rookies.

Jeffery's production is expected to increase dramatically in Year 2, with the team executing Marc Trestman's offense.

Let’s take a look at some other coverage.

• ESPNChicago.com's Jeff Dickerson caught up with Earl Bennett, who expects to be active for Sunday’s game.
• In case you missed it, Matt Williamson and I preview Sunday’s game at Soldier Field and give you our predictions.
• Rick Morrissey likes Jay Cutler’s fiery attitude. It’s his decision-making that needs to improve.
• The Bears have two middle linebackers capable of starting for the first time in years, which is a point often missed with all the focus on whether D.J. Williams or Jon Bostic will start against the Bengals.
• Vaughn McClure talks to former linebacker Brian Urlacher about the backlash regarding his revelation that the Bears feigned injuries.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Not even the Chicago Bears’ players themselves are entirely sure what to expect on Sunday when their revamped offense is unveiled for the first time in a regular season game.

“No expectations, really,” Bears tight end Martellus Bennett said. “We’re just going out there trying to fly around and play ball. I think we have a high ceiling. But there are a lot of places with high ceilings. Right now, we’re just an offense trying to figure out what we’re going to be. So this will be our first chance to go against somebody else when it really counts and really matters. I don’t think we have our identity yet. I think we’re going to figure out our identity during this journey. So we’ll figure out if we’re a run-first team, a pass-first team. We have no clue.”

One of the Bears’ most important offseason acquisitions, Bennett was kept under wraps in the preseason after signing a four-year, $20.4 million deal that contains $9.215 million in guarantees. Bennett caught just one pass for 16 yards in three preseason games as the majority of quarterback Jay Cutler's passes went in the directions of wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery.

It’s silly to overreact to anything, good or bad, in the preseason, but the Bears didn’t invest that kind of money at the tight end for Bennett to be a spectator when the games count -- especially not after the club had such poor results at the position last season from ex-starter Kellen Davis, who managed a mere 19 receptions for 229 yards.

How it unfolds for Bennett against a talented Cincinnati Bengals’ defense remains a question mark, but Cutler should have no trouble finding the starting tight end in the huddle or on the sideline.

“I’m always there to reassure Jay and make sure he’s calling the right play,” Bennett said. “So I’m like his backup guy. Like, ‘I don’t think that’s to the right.’ Or the ball’s on the left hash. We’ve got to flip the play. So I’m there.

"I’m like Jiminy Cricket in his ear, making sure the tight ends are always the quarterback’s best friend. So I stay in all of the quarterback meetings and the offensive line meetings. So I pretty much know what everyone is doing. So I try to help people out as much as possible. But sometimes there are so many calls, I tell a receiver, you got this, I got this. Like I say, I over communicate in the huddle. So I probably talk the most.”

General manager Phil Emery made fixing a porous offensive line a priority in the offseason, investing free agent money and draft picks on the Bears' Achilles' heel. Free agents Jermon Bushrod, Matt Slauson and rookies Kyle Long and Jordan Mills give the Bears four new starters on the line to go with a head coach who has a history of keeping his quarterbacks upright on Sundays.

Will it be enough to give Jay Cutler the time he needs to live up to his potential in Chicago? Our panel weighs in on that and more:

Fact or Fiction: Jay Cutler will be sacked less this season than in any of his previous four as Bears quarterback.

Jeff Dickerson: Fact. However, I'm not including 2011 when Cutler was sacked 23 times in just 10 games. The number the Bears need to beat is 35. That's the amount of times Cutler went down in 2009, his first season in Chicago after arriving from Denver via trade. I think with Marc Trestman's emphasis on Cutler getting rid of the ball quickly, coupled with the obvious improvements made on the offensive line in the offseason, I predict the Bears surrender fewer than 35 sacks. It could get a little rough for the Bears on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals' defensive line, but the Bears will eventually figure it out.

Jon Greenberg: Fiction. He was only sacked 23 times in 2011. Beat that. What's that? He only played 10 games that year. Oh yeah, that explains it. But I'd guess he gets sacked less times than in any full season in a Bears uniform, which would be fewer than 35 from 2009. That was a West Coast-style offense under Ron Turner with a better line. I'm guessing Cutler gets sacked around 30 times this year as the Bears work with two rookies on the line and a new playbook. Let's just hope he gets up every time.

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Don’t ring the alarm regarding recent concerns expressed by Bears receiver Brandon Marshall about his place in the offense, level of conditioning and recovery from a January arthroscopic hip surgery.

Marshall dropped two passes and had another knocked away against the Raiders. But the week before, he caught four of the five passes thrown his way, including one grab for a 5-yard touchdown. Despite the limited action we’ve seen thus far from Marshall, would any of the few snaps we’ve seen (50 by my count) suggest the Bears should be worried?

“I had about 10 drops,” Marshall said in recalling last week’s win over Oakland. “I think the offense did well. For myself -- mentally, physical -- we need to pick it up a little more.”

That’s the mentality of an elite player: hypercritical. It’s simply Marshall digesting the reality that with less than two weeks before the start of the regular season, with the team learning a new offense, he’s still got a ways to go if he plans on matching his record-setting production from 2012.

Against the Raiders, Jay Cutler targeted second-year receiver Alshon Jeffery eight times for seven completions; twice the number of passes thrown to Marshall. But let’s not forget Marshall accounted for close to half of the team’s receiving yardage in 2012, and while that number will fall off some in 2013 in Marc Trestman’s new offense, he’ll still catch his fair share of balls. So Marshall, at this point, shouldn’t be worried that he’s “still trying to figure out my role and my place in this offense.”

Jeffery and tight end Martellus Bennett will see plenty of passes thrown their way. But ultimately, the success of Chicago’s passing game this season will hinge on Marshall, who at this point says “it’s [now about] getting a feel for [the new offense], and having more experience in the offense.”

Trestman made that clear Monday, saying the receiver is “going to have a lot of catches and certainly be instrumental in the success of our offense, and ultimately our team.”

“It’s B,"" Cutler said. “He’s going to take it hard for a couple of days, and then he’ll snap out of it and he’ll be the guy we need next week. This week we don’t need him. So he can stay on the ledge for a couple more days, and then come back next week. Conditioning-wise, he’s a little behind. He knows where he needs to be. It’s just a matter of him pushing his hip through things when it gets tight a little bit. Once we start getting into a routine in a game week, and we shorten some of these reps, we’ll really figure out exactly what routes we want him on, and where we want him on the field. Hopefully things will sharpen us for his hip, and he’ll be able to make it go.”

Given the limited amount of snaps played by Marshall throughout the offseason, training camp and the preseason, he can’t yet fully visualize the role Trestman envisions for him because he simply hasn’t been on the field enough to become immersed in it. As for Marshall’s implication the club might be rushing him back too soon, perhaps there’s some truth to that. But he should know and understand the balancing act the team is performing in its attempt to keep him healthy, while also getting him the necessary reps to fully digest the offense which, eventually, will work the receiver into playing shape.

Coming into training camp, it appeared Marshall and Trestman weren’t necessarily on the same page. On the day the club reported, Marshall said he needed to “listen to his body” and expected (and also eventually received) a few days off here and there as he continued to recover. That same day, Trestman spoke about how teams could no longer be liberal in granting days off for veterans because of the limited practices allotted in the new collective bargaining agreement.

When Marshall first underwent the surgery, a source close to him said he expected the receiver to be back “playing basketball in two weeks.” Surely, Marshall expected the same.

Now that things haven’t gone the way he expected, Marshall's a little concerned, and rightfully so, because only the receiver truly knows what’s going on in his body. Still, it’s worth it to remember the type of athlete Marshall is, and his sky-high expectations for the season.

“Brandon is working his tail off to get himself ready,” Trestman said. “He feels a sense of urgency. He’s a highly competitive man. He can only comment on how he feels. You saw him on the field at Soldier Field. You saw that he does have those moments where he can practice and work at a very high level. There have been days that haven’t gone so well for him, and then he will bounce back.”

So now isn’t the time to get overly worked up about Marshall. Oakland might have been the setback, but my guess is Cincinnati on Sept. 8 is the bounce back.

Here's a couple of links to Bears news:

-- ESPN The Magazine columnist Chris Jones loves him some Jay Cutler.

-- Adam Jahns would be surprised if the Bears cut Devin Hester.

-- John “Moon” Mullin looks at the battle at swing tackle between Jonathan Scott and J’Marcus Webb.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Instead of leaning on the basic plays utilized over the first two preseason games, the Chicago Bears dug deeper into the playbook Friday night to execute “more of our packages,” tight end Martellus Bennett said.

That resulted in Chicago’s first-team offense putting up 27 points on the Oakland Raiders over two quarters, while scoring on five of six first-half drives. The showing provided “signals of the kind of team we can be,” Bears coach Marc Trestman said after the 34-26 win, “but we’re certainly not going to get ahead of ourselves, either.”

Jay Cutler spoke a similar message.

“It is the preseason,” he cautioned. “You can’t get caught up in that. We start out the season 0-0 like everybody else, and we’ve got to get back to work. I wouldn’t get too high on this game. Obviously, we made some mistakes. We need to go back and look at them. But it’s a good barometer of where we’re at and where we can go.”

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OAKLAND, Calif. -- Here are five things we learned in the first half of the Chicago Bears’ 34-26 win over the Oakland Raiders, when the starters carried the team to a 27-3 halftime lead:

1. Matt Forte is focal point of offense: Even before Forte’s brilliant performance (six rushes, 76 yards; two catches, 33 yards and one touchdown) versus the Raiders, the tailback had been nothing short of spectacular the entire preseason. Forte seemed to gain lower-body strength in the offseason without sacrificing an ounce of his quickness and agility. Now, it needs to be pointed out that Oakland is terrible (more on that later), but Forte glided with the football in the open field. And he also showed he can change direction on a dime and cut back when necessary. With Michael Bush expected to be used more under Marc Trestman, a fresh Forte will be a nightmare to opposing defenses throughout the season, if healthy. The Bears have made several moves to upgrade the offense the past two seasons, which is great, but the team cannot overlook one of the most tenured guys on the unit. This needs to be Forte’s offense.

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CHICAGO -- Injuries continued to gnaw at the Chicago Bears on Saturday when starting nickel corner Kelvin Hayden strained his left hamstring, and receiver Earl Bennett left practice with athletic trainers to be evaluated for a concussion.

The team said Hayden is week-to-week, while results for Bennett’s concussion evaluation weren’t made available.

Bennett suffered the injury during a collision with safety Chris Conte during team drills.

“No, I did not see [the collision],” Bears coach Marc Trestman said.

Bennett missed two games in 2012 after sustaining a concussion during a Week 12 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

In other injury news, rookie defensive end Cornelius Washington suffered a strained elbow and is day-to-day. Receiver Alshon Jeffery and defensive end Julius Peppers both experienced hamstring tightness, forcing the staff to pull them out of practice as a precautionary measure. Neither is expected to be out for an extended period.

The team also held out offensive tackle Jermon Bushrod (calf), defensive end Jamaal Anderson (knee), linebacker D.J. Williams and offensive tackle Jonathan Scott (knee). Defensive end Corey Wootton (hip) suited up for Saturday’s practice, but only took part in individual drills before taking on a spectator’s role for full team work.

Wootton appeared to be hobbled during the limited time he worked.

“[I’m] feeling better. I did individual [drills] today. I just kind of tweaked it,” Wootton said. “I’m just trying to get back in the swing of things. There’s a little bit [of discomfort]. I’m just trying to work through it, be smart at the same time, and just come back when I’m healthy.”

Other notes:

• Newly-signed tight end Leonard Pope took part in his first practice Saturday at Soldier Field when the club conducted its annual Family Fest.

Pope officially signed with the Bears on Saturday morning. An eight-year veteran, Pope started in 51 of 103 games with the Arizona Cardinals (2006-08), Kansas City Chiefs (2009-11) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (2012), catching 105 passes for 982 yards and 11 touchdowns.

“It’s a blessing. I’m just happy to be able to have the opportunity to be here and bring what I need to bring to the table; to just be able to help out whenever I’m able to help out,” Pope said.

• Players were introduced and ran out onto the field for the start of practice, and when the announcer got to the defensive backs, he called their names one by one just like he had done with the coaches and every other position.

“Kelvin Hayden,” the announcer said. But no one came onto the field for several seconds. The announcer followed with “Sherrick McManis.”

Still, nobody emerged.

Several seconds later, all of the team’s defensive backs came out onto the field at the same time.

Throughout training camp, the team’s defensive backs have shown more unity than most of the position groups. The group put that on display just a day before, when Hayden became involved in a scuffle with tight end Martellus Bennett that eventually involved almost every member of the secondary.

• Tight end Gabe Miller fooled safety Brandon Hardin on a double move during one-on-one drills for a reception.
• During the same drill, tight end Fendi Onobun got separation on safety Craig Steltz but dropped what appeared to be a perfectly thrown ball.
• Kick returner Devin Hester returned a kickoff during a special-teams drill, and tossed the ball into the crowd when he reached the end zone.
• Trestman raved about his team’s energy level during Saturday’s night practice at Soldier Field.

“It was just exciting to be out here tonight,” he said. “You can see our players just had a blast out here. Our effort was at a high level. There was great competition. We have to remember that it was still just practice, and we were trying to improve as a football team. I’m sure coming out here tonight, being in this crowd, helped our energy level after seven practices.”