Hester had fans (and coaches) worried after block

According to the Bears, Devin Hester's shoulder injury is just a bruise.

But it caused some consternation while he was lying face down on the ground for several moments in the first quarter, especially for special-teams coach Dave Toub, who admitted he held his breath for a while.

"Everybody did," Toub said.

Hester, who started at wide receiver in place of Muhsin Muhammad (general soreness), was injured while attempting to throw a block on a running play.

"On the TV replay, I saw him come in and he kind of got his head down, so I don't know what happened," offensive coordinator Ron Turner said. "He'll learn proper technique and keep his head up and everything. He's just new at the position.

"We haven't spent a lot of time with him on that aspect of it, and he'll get it. It's part of the game, and if he's going to be out there, he's got to go out and play."

Voicing their opinion: Rex Grossman's interception and fumbled snap, which he recovered, were both greeted with boos from the Soldier Field crowd.

"It's definitely disappointing," wide receiver Bernard Berrian of the crowd's reaction. "It's hard to play in Chicago; that's all I can say about that.

"You always feel bad, but you know he can handle it. He went through all of it last year. Rex is a tough character, and we know he can get through that."

Getting a shot: Mike Hass, a practice-squad player last season who came to training camp as a longshot to make the team, ended up getting some reps with the first team Saturday night because Muhsin Muhammad didn't play and Devin Hester was injured in the first quarter.

"They wanted to take Bernard (Berrian) out, so I went in there and it was cool," said Hass, who had 1 catch for 10 yards.

His primary competitor for the sixth receiver spot is Brandon Rideau, who missed the game with a sprained ankle. Hass also had 2 catches for 48 yards in the second preseason game.

"I've done what they have asked," he said. "That's all I can do."

Hitting streak: Free safety Mike Brown was in on a couple of big hits that helped to limit the 49ers to 44 yards of offense in the first half.

"Once again, Mike did make some big open-field tackles," defensive coordinator Bob Babich said. "The last two weeks of training camp and these first three games in the preseason, he's looked as good as I've seen him look."

Brown suffered a season-ending foot injury in Week 6 last year but has shown no lingering effects from the surgery.

Mum's the word: The Bears were hit with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for excessive celebration after Bernard Berrian's 25-yard TD catch.

"I didn't celebrate. It wasn't me. I didn't do it," Berrian said as fellow wideout Rashied Davis snickered in the background. "I'm not going to tell on him now. I already threw him halfway under the bus. I'm not going to back up over him."