With Packers in mind, Bears grateful for all the commotion in Denver

The Bears say the circus atmosphere Sunday night in Denver wasn't an inconvenience but rather ideal preparation for their regular-season opener at Green Bay.

Asked if he was glad to be past the "distraction" of a preseason game that was overhyped by Jay Cutler's first trip to the Mile High City since Cutler orchestrated a way out last spring, Bears coach Lovie Smith objected.

"It wasn't a distraction at all, as far as I'm concerned," Smith said. "We play a tough team on the road to start the season in a nationally televised (Sunday night) game. We were able to get that this week, so that's exactly what our football team needed, to come out here and take care of business under these circumstances.

"It was exactly what we needed toward our preparation for the Packers."

The Bears were blown out 37-3 at Lambeau Field last season, but they won by 7 points or more in each their previous four trips to the Wisconsin.

Players also appreciated the side benefits of the 27-17 victory in front of a hostile crowd, which was especially stoked to give Cutler a rude welcome to his former home.

"I know he just wanted to come out and not let the crowd and everything get to him," running back Matt Forte said of Cutler. "We knew it was going to be a hostile environment, just like when we go to Green Bay."

Like the Broncos, the Packers have switched to a 3-4 defense this season and, while the Bears had trouble early in the game establishing the run, they were effective throwing the ball despite poor field position and crowd noise.

"Nothing could have been better for us," center Olin Kreutz said. "The noise, and the (Broncos') 3-4 (defense). If you would have planned it as a head coach, I don't know if you could have planned it better.

"The crowd was loud. If we get the ball on the two-yard line in Green Bay in the first week, I'm sure it's going to be that loud - it'll probably be louder."

With the Bears backed up at their own two-yard line Sunday night, they went 98 yards for a touchdown.

"We got some situations that you don't normally get in preseason," offensive coordinator Ron Turner said. "You can't manufacture this. Because of Jay's situation, we knew it was going to be that type of an environment. We couldn't ask for more."

Cutler got much of the credit for "The Drive," and he was excellent, but it was truly a team effort with six players catching passes along the way.

"Anytime you can do a lot of things throwing the ball and passing the ball and get a lot of guys involved, it makes it tough on the defense," said tight end Greg Olsen, who caught 2 passes for 36 yards on the drive. "They can't just key on one or two guys. That's something we should continue to get going and hopefully we take that into Week One."

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