Cutler’s demeanor impresses Trestman

Since Marc Trestman was hired as the Bears’ 14th head coach on Jan. 16, he has spent a lot of time around Jay Cutler, but he said he learned something new about his quarterback last Sunday.

“What I learned is he can be as consistent demeanor-wise during a game, during the ebb and flow of a game, as he was during the ebb and flow of practices,” Trestman said, “because it wasn’t all good on Sunday.

“There was adversity there. There were some bad things that happened. There was some frustration — general frustration, not his personal frustration — because we had blown the opportunity early to miss a first down.”

On the play in question, Cutler was forced to throw the ball away, and the offense converted just 2 of 8 third-down opportunities.

“He handled it very well,” Trestman said. “His demeanor was very even-keeled, and he didn’t seem to get frustrated at all. I asked (quarterbacks coach) Matt (Cavanaugh) how he was with him on the sideline, and he had moved on and was getting ready for the next series. That’s a good sign.”

Call me, maybe:

Retired linebacker Brian Urlacher says quarterback Jay Cutler was the only teammate who didn’t call him after he retired in the spring.

“I did not hear from Jay out of all the guys I played with,” Urlacher said on “In Depth with Graham Bensinger,” that will air on Yahoo! Sports. “Maybe we weren’t as close as I we could have been.

“That’s the way it is. That’s just the way to let you know where you stand with people. It’s not his job to text me. Maybe that’s not his thing, which is fine. That’s the way it is.

“I felt I stood up for him a lot more than anyone else over the past three or four years in the media because that guy takes a lot of grief, too. He takes a lot of heat from the media, too. But that’s our business. Guys are going to take grief, and that is the way it goes.”

Asked about Urlacher’s statement after Thursday’s practice, Cutler said: “I haven’t spoken to Brian. I did not call him, so I guess I’ll reach out to him.”

Tackling a dilemma:

There was a lot of talk about poor tackling around the league after Week 1, and a lot of the blame was placed on the collective-bargaining agreement that prohibits tackling in the off-season and in training camp.

Bears coach Marc Trestman said he wasn’t qualified after one game in the NFL as a head coach to speculate. But he agrees with defensive coordinator Mel Tucker and seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs that the Bears’ tackling needs to get better than it was in the opener.

“We’re just focusing on doing what we need to do this week, and that’s tackle better,” Trestman said. “We all know that. We don’t tackle during the preseason or during training camp.

“Even if we (could), we wouldn’t because we want to get our guys to the season safe. We know there’s a cost-benefit to not doing more of it.”

Health beat:

Cornerback Charles Tillman (personal/knee) and defensive end Julius Peppers (fever, flu-like symptoms) did not practice Thursday. Both are expected back Friday.

For the Minnesota Vikings, four starters were limited: defensive tackle Kevin Williams (knee), center John Sullivan (knee), cornerback Josh Robinson (quadriceps) and offensive tackle Phil Loadholt (knee).