Hester doing all he can to face Vikings
The Bears hope to have wide receiver Devin Hester back Monday night after he missed two games with a strained calf. He practiced for a second straight day Thursday but was limited again.
Despite his latest injury and missing half of the Detroit Lions game in Week 4 with a shoulder injury, Hester leads the Bears with 54 catches and 682 receiving yards.
"Devin has been a good player for us," offensive coordinator Ron Turner said. "He's made a lot of plays. You take his playmaking ability, and you take that speed off the field, it always hurts.
"So hopefully we'll get him back this week, and I'm looking forward to it if we do."
Like just about everyone else on the team, Hester did not play well last month against Minnesota, catching just 1 pass for 20 yards in the 36-10 blowout. So this game is an opportunity to make amends and more.
"It's not just Minnesota, this is Monday Night Football and, as an NFL player, everybody wants to play in a game like this," Hester said. "I'm just trying as hard as I can to get back out on the field."
Earlier in the season, Hester was on schedule for a 1,000-yard season, and although he has fallen off that pace, he's hoping to finish strong.
"We don't want to go into the end of the season with these two games and regret not taking advantage of it," he said. "At the end of the season we want to feel good about ourselves."
Don't believe it: Linebacker Lance Briggs doesn't buy the theory that Vikings quarterback Brett Favre fades down the homestretch, even though the future Hall of Famer is in the midst of a second straight subpar December.
"I think January is a much more important month than December, especially when you're sitting atop the division," Briggs said. "The guy has proven himself for many years. It makes for good speculation. It makes for good conversation, but that's about it."
Injury update: With an extra day to prepare for the Vikings, the Bears have more time to allow injured players to heal.
Safeties Al Afalava (knee) and Kevin Payne (ankle) and running back Adrian Peterson (illness) were held out of practice Thursday for a second straight day.
Cornerback Charles Tillman was excused from practice for personal reasons. Offensive tackle Chris Williams, who was out Wednesday, was limited Thursday, as was Devin Hester.
Linebacker Lance Briggs (back), tight end Desmond Clark (illness), defensive tackle Tommie Harris (knee) and offensive tackle Orlando Pace (groin) all were full participants.
Winning ratio: In their 5 victories, the Bears have run the ball on 48 percent of their offensive plays, while throwing on 52 percent. In their 9 losses, the Bears have run the ball on just 32 percent on their offensive snaps, while calling for passes on 68 percent of their plays.