LeGere: Cutler can't say enough about Marshall

Quarterback Jay Cutler and wide receiver Brandon Marshall are different players now than when they were drafted by the Denver Broncos in 2006.

"When we were younger, it seemed like he worked himself into a rage and kind of exploded on Sunday," Cutler said of Marshall. "And he used that rage to play football.

"Now he's trying to stay calm and use 'positivity' and stay in that mode, rather than be (ticked) off at everything and try to run everybody over. He'd call himself an animal or a beast, a machine. He's had a lot of nicknames. Now he's kind of matured and evolved into this different guy."

That maturity has been tested by the sprained ankle that slowed Marshall for four weeks and drastically cut his production. He had just 6 catches the last three games, about a third of his normal contribution, and he was targeted only 17 times, about half the passes he sees in normal game plans.

"He's a different guy now than even last year or two years ago," Cutler said. "He's changed a lot just in the last six, seven months. Why? I don't know, but I think it's definitely for the better. He's easy to work with.

"Whenever anyone else is kind of down in the dumps, he's one of the first guys that's trying to lift people up, stay positive and keep moving on. It makes life easier."

Third down's a charm:

The Bears' defense has allowed opponents to convert 43.3 percent of their third downs, slightly worse than the league average of 42.1 percent and is looking to show continued improvement.

"We obviously want to try to get off the field (defensively) and continue to ascend on third down," coach Marc Trestman said. "We have to get better (there); it's been a priority for us."

That won't be easy this week. The Falcons' offense has converted 46.8 percent of its third downs, including 63.6 percent at home.

Lance's rib:

Seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs missed practice the Monday before the season opener to attend the grand opening of his Double Nickel Smokehouse barbecue restaurant in California, which features brisket, chicken and ribs.

Now he's missing a game because of ribs - his own, which are sore enough to have kept him out of practice all week and out for the Falcons game. Coach Marc Trestman said he didn't know if any of Briggs' ribs were fractured, but the defense will be missing its leading tackler.

"You've got a guy who has played a lot of great football, done a lot of great things in this league," said linebacker Jon Bostic, who hopes to play Sunday despite a back injury that limited his practice time earlier in the week.

"Not having him out there is definitely going to be a big task to get over. But you've got to be able to move on and get through this one."

Ask me later:

In two weeks the Falcons will play the Detroit Lions in London, one of three regular-season games the NFL will play in England in a continuing effort to wring every last dollar, pound, shilling and doubloon out of the international market.

Bears coach Marc Trestman was asked his opinion of the ongoing series, but since the request was made in the middle of his preparation for the Falcons, he politely declined.

"I don't have any space in my brain to answer the question," he said, chuckling. "Can we save it for the bye week? With all due respect."