Bears' secondary preps for Fitzgerald, Boldin
To help the secondary prepare for the Cardinals' elite group of wide receivers, the Bears have been using Devin Aromashodu to play the role of Larry Fitzgerald and Juaquin Iglesias to simulate Anquan Boldin in practice.
The challenge Sunday (noon, Channel 32) will be much more difficult than the two backup receivers present, but the purpose in practice is more for defensive backs to work on route recognition.
"They're one of a kind, of course," Bears coach Lovie Smith said of Fitzgerald and Boldin. "But you can at least get a look at some of the plays they will run, and that's what we're trying to get familiar with. Game day is game day, you have to be ready for that, and our guys will be. These are great receivers, but we've played great receivers before."
Fitzgerald and Boldin, plus No. 3 receiver Steve Breaston, all had more than 1,000 receiving yards last season. But Smith isn't ready to put the Cardinals' dynamic duo in the same category as Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt, who were Kurt Warner's main men with the Rams when Smith was the defensive coordinator there from 2001-03.
"That was a long time ago," Smith said. "Those were some great players. These are potentially great players. They haven't done it the amount of time those guys in St. Louis did."
Close to home: Back in high school, when his father was still active in the military, cornerback Charles Tillman lived just in Texas outside of Ft. Hood, the scene of Thursday's massacre that left 13 people dead and 30 wounded.
"I spoke to him last night, so he was good," Tillman said of his father, who now works at the base. "My heart and prayers go out to the families of the ones who were lost. I think it's just an unfortunate situation. There's no one to blame. It's a sad situation."
Ft. Hood is located between Austin and Waco, covers 339 square miles and is the largest military base in the U.S.
Rookie wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias told the Bears Web site that he could see Fort Hood from the home where he was raised.
"I grew up listening to helicopters fly over," Iglesias said. "I feel bad. It's just unfortunate that stuff like that happens."
Turning points: The last time the Bears played the Cardinals, they came back from a 20-3 deficit late in the third quarter to win 24-23 on 3 unanswered return touchdowns, 2 on fumbles plus a Devin Hester punt return. That game served as a rallying point for the journey to Super Bowl XLI.
For completely different reasons, linebacker Lance Briggs believes the 45-10 loss to the Bengals two weeks ago can be a defining moment for this year's team.
"It was an eye-opening game," Briggs said. "It was a swift kick in the pants. What we do from there could be defining or a turning point for us. Our season has been a roller coaster. In a lot of these games, the opportunities that have been missed have been the highlights.
"You look at some of the opportunities we have had defensively, turnover-wise or just getting off (the field) on third downs. Look at the times offensively we've been in the red zone on big drives, drives that may have started in our own red zone, and we drove all the way across the field and don't score any points off of it. We have to continue to keep knocking at the door, we have to continue to fight."
Injury update: Wide receiver Devin Hester (ankle) practiced on a limited basis Friday and is expected to play Sunday, although he was listed as "questionable," on the injury report.
"My ankle's fine, man," Hester said. "My ankle's good, no worries."
Hester, who is tied for fifth in the league with a 12.5-yard average on punt returns, may cede those duties to Earl Bennett, who has averaged 15.8 yards on 4 returns.
Safety Danieal Manning (back) also was limited and "questionable," but he, too, is expected to play. All other injured Bears went through a full practice.
Cardinals Pro Bowl wide receiver Anquan Boldin was limited at Friday's practice and is "questionable," but he is expected to play.