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Can Chicago Bears safeties shut down prolific Rodgers?

Over the past few years the Bears have tried just about every combination imaginable at safety, none of which have worked very well for any length of time.

This year it's 22-year-old rookie Adrian Amos and 32-year-old, 11-year veteran Antrel Rolle as the last line of defense. There are doubts about both, especially against the Packers and two-time league MVP Aaron Rodgers, whose 106.0 career passer rating is the highest in NFL history.

As a fifth-round pick, Amos wasn't really expected to start on opening day. But the season-ending injury to last year's starter, Ryan Mundy, and the failure of last year's fourth-round pick, Brock Vereen, to seize the job left Amos as the starter. But it wasn't by default according to defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.

"He really made a lot of progress every day," Fangio said. "It was never too big for him. We'll see how he does on Sunday against Rodgers and that great offense. But he's just done a good job right from Day One 'til now. I think he'll do fine on Sunday."

Amos arrived with a solid reputation in coverage but not so much as a physical run defender. Fangio believes he can be the total package.

"I don't think there's any one thing that he does best," Fangio said. He just looks like an NFL safety should look in all phases, and hopefully he'll show that."

Rolle was signed as an unrestricted free agent with the expectation that he would be a starter. The question is: How much is left in the tank after 139 NFL starts and three Pro Bowls?

"Hopefully, he's got a enough left," Fangio said. "But I don't know if you've got a good measure of that in the preseason when you're playing a handful plays every game."

Rolle's teammates have enough confidence in him to have elected him as a captain in his first year with the team, which really doesn't change his approach as a veteran leader. He spent the past five years with the New York Giants and his first five years with the Arizona Cardinals. He's missed one game since 2006.

"I just look at it as it's a badge of honor," Rolle said. "You wear it with pride and represent it well. (But) to change anything I do as a player, absolutely not. I'm going to be the same player regardless. This is only my third year as a captain; I think I've been leading for about nine or 10.

"Obviously these guys see something in (me). I like to be held accountable, it just puts that much more emphasis on the game for (me). It allows you to go out there and to understand you have a much bigger role. You don't have to say much, just go out there and lead by example and play ball between the white lines because that's what it boils down to."

Rolle says containing Rodgers is a team effort, and Fangio knows there's no secret formula. Rodgers' laser-like throws helped eviscerate the Bears' defense last year, piling up a combined 93 points in a pair of humiliating losses.

"You just gotta play him," Fangio said. "The one thing about this offense, Rodgers spreads the ball around. There isn't one guy you gotta stop. You stop one receiver, he'll throw it to the other one."

Any other team that just lost a player like wide receiver Jordy Nelson (98 catches, 1,529 yards, 13 touchdowns in 2014) for the season would suffer, but the Packers still have Randall Cobb, who caught 91 passes for 1,287 yards and 12 touchdowns last year. They're also expecting 2014 second-round pick Davante Adams to pick up some of the slack after a promising rookie year, and with Rodgers throwing, that's almost guaranteed.

"He's going to run their offense and throw to the guy based on what he sees," Fangio said. "He doesn't have a particular favorite. He just runs the offense. If you focus most of your attention on one guy, he'll be throwing it other places."

The Bears are counting on Amos and Rolle to be in those places.

• Follow Bob's Bears and NFL reports on Twitter@BobLeGere.

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