Will lack of playoff experience hurt Cutler, Forte, Knox and others?

When it comes to playoff football, experience is an extremely valuable commodity.

But seven key members of the Bears' offense will be playing in their first postseason game on Jan. 16 at Soldier Field. That group includes quarterback Jay Cutler, featured ball carrier Matt Forte and the team's top two wide receivers, Johnny Knox and Earl Bennett, and three of the five starting offensive linemen.

The veterans with playoff experience can preach to the novices about the increased speed of the game and the elevated intensity, but until the first-timers get on the field, they won't really know what it's like.

But they already know it will be different.

“It's pretty well understood,” Forte said. “I'm not going to go up to a guy and say, ‘What do you know about the playoffs?' There's nothing that anybody could really tell you that's going to make you more ready than you already have to be.

“The basic thing is to just focus on what we're trying to do as an offense and go out there and be intense about it.”

Safety Danieal Manning is one of 10 defensive starters with playoff experience, seven of whom were with the Bears for the 2005 and '06 postseason appearances.

“Veteran guys need to step up even more, but we need everybody to step up,” Manning said. “Guys can be called upon at any time. Coach (Lovie) Smith, all the coaches and the players, we touch base on that a lot.

“I feel like those guys coming in from college understand the seriousness of the playoffs. They've played in big bowl games. They understand that every play matters, every practice counts, everything that needs to be corrected counts.”

Nerves are part of the equation, too, but it's not as if the guys who have been there before are immune.

“There are going to be some jitters,” Cutler said. “If there aren't jitters, then you don't care that much. The good thing about having a young team is we're just going to go out there and play. We have nothing to lose.

“The guys know the magnitude of the playoffs and what a good position we're in. But at the same time, we've got to take care of one game at a time, keep running the offense and executing and doing the little things.”

Coaches are using the bye to get a head start on eliminating mistakes, self-scouting and attention to detail. But offensive coordinator Mike Martz doesn't believe he needs to remind his quarterback what's at stake in the postseason.

“I've always felt that was unnecessary,” Martz said. “Kurt (Warner) went through that (when he was the quarterback of Martz's Rams teams). Obviously it was his first time, but they know.

“(Cutler's) been around. If he were a rookie or something like that, (but) he's been in some big games this year, kind of playoff atmosphere. We just talk about managing the game, like we do every week with him.”

In his previous four NFL seasons, Cutler never even played on a winning team, so he appreciates the position he and the Bears are in now.

“It's very hard, especially to get a bye,” he said. “Some guys go to the playoffs every year; some guys never make it. I've got a good understanding of how hard it is to get in.”

Defensive end Israel Idonije will be making his first playoff start a week from Sunday, but he played in the Bears' four postseason games in '05 and '06, so he knows the routine.

“We're coming in and working and leading by example,” Idonije said. “Everybody knows what's at stake. We've been there before. So we know this is not an opportunity that comes every other day. You've got to pay the price and do more, so you can have the opportunity to play in that big game.

“Because you'll look back, and it will all be worth it, regardless of what price you pay.”

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