Urlacher and Brown together again, ready to win
In his eighth NFL season, perennial Pro Bowl linebacker Brian Urlacher doesn't get overly excited about season-openers, but he is jacked about getting safety Mike Brown back in the lineup.
Brown's 2006 season ended after six games with a foot injury that required surgery. At that point the Bears were allowing just 243 total yards per game, but by the end of the regular season that average yield had climbed to 294.1 yards.
"In my opinion, he's the best safety in the league," Urlacher said. "I've played with him, this will be eight years now. When he's on the field, we're a different team. I don't know what it is. He just gets people lined up, he gets people in the right spots. He doesn't make mistakes; just a great football player."
Urlacher and Brown were drafted in the first and second round, respectively, in 2000.
"Mike's not only one of our captains, but he's one of our vocal leaders," coach Lovie Smith said. "We're a better football team with Mike Brown on the field."
Running on empty: Center Olin Kreutz continues to hear complaints about the Bears' feeble preseason running attack, and he believes they're somewhat justified.
"I've been here long enough (to know) there are going to be questions about everything you do if it doesn't work in the preseason," said Kreutz, who has been voted to six straight Pro Bowls. "They're valid questions. And until we run the ball, there will always be questions. (But) we're here to win games. Last year we were 6-0 and everyone was wondering about the run game. We're going to do what it takes to win the game."
After six games last season the Bears were averaging just 97 rushing yards per game, which ranked 23rd in the league. But over the final 10 regular-season games, they averaged 133.6 yards on the ground and finished 15th, with a season average of 119.9.
The Bears averaged just 86.2 rushing yards in four preseason games with an average per carry of 2.7 yards, compared to last year's 3.8-yard average.
Not to worry: Dusty Dvoracek missed his rookie season with a foot injury, but he emerged this year from a strong veteran group as the No. 1 choice to replace talented but troubled Tank Johnson at nose tackle.
Johnson was seen as a key component in the Bears' defense until his off-the-field problems led to his release, but Dvoracek said he isn't burdened by the importance of his role, which will be shared with Darwin Walker and Anthony Adams.
"I don't feel any extra pressure," the third-round pick said. "Anybody that's playing on Sunday feels a little pressure to perform well, but we have a lot of good guys. We're going to rotate all of us. I've just got to go out there and do my job like I've been doing, and secure my job and make plays.
"It's just football. It's the same game I've been playing since I was 7. Nothing's going to change, so there's no added pressure."
Making progress: Rookie tight end Greg Olsen returned to practice Thursday but was limited by his sprained left knee and is still not expected to play Sunday.