Beating Green Bay's secondary no easy task

Kyle Orton is expected to be back at quarterback Sunday at Lambeau Field after increasing his participation in practice Thursday, even though he was still limited somewhat by a sprained right ankle.

Backup Rex Grossman is still preparing as though he'll start, but regardless of who is throwing the ball for the Bears, he'll be working against the oldest cornerback tandem in the NFL: the Packers' Charles Woodson and Al Harris. Unfortunately for the Bears, the Green Bay veterans may also be the best and the most physical pair of corners in the league, with an emphasis on physical.

"They're up in your face," Orton said. "They hold you, grab you; you've got to play physical with them. You've got to get off the coverage. They're going to be pulling and grabbing at you all the way down the field, so the receivers have to do a great job of beating man coverage and making plays, and I've got to do a great job of seeing it and throwing to the open guy."

Orton was able to jog Thursday without favoring his ankle and again showed improvement.

"He (was) a lot better (Thursday) than he was (Wednesday)," coach Lovie Smith said. "If he continues to make the same type of progress, hopefully we'll have him available for Sunday."

Between them, Woodson and Harris have an evenly distributed 22 years of NFL experience, and they're still playing at a high level as evidenced by the Packers' defense, which has allowed the third-fewest passing yards in the NFL and is No. 1 in interceptions. Opposing quarterbacks have a 58.8 passer rating against the Packers and have completed just 51.5 percent of their passes, both worst in the league. A lot of the credit goes to Woodson and Harris.

"They play a pretty aggressive style of pass coverage," Grossman said. "They can run with you deep, and they can get a jam on you as well."

Harris has not allowed a pass to be completed on him in the two games since returning from a spleen injury. Woodson is tied for the NFL lead with 5 interceptions, which he has returned for 124 yards, including 2 touchdowns. Oh by the way, Packers free safety Nick Collins is the player tied with Woodson for the league lead in interceptions, and he has returned 3 of his picks for touchdowns.

"They're both very smart," Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner said of the corners. "They're both physical, and they mix it up. They're physical at times and then they'll back off. You just don't know what's coming, but they get up and challenge you. They play with an attitude, and we've got to come out and match it and play with the same attitude and be aggressive and get after them."

Easier said than done, considering six of the Packers' nine opponents have been held to fewer than 200 passing yards, and no team has thrown for more than 262 yards on them. At the other end of the spectrum, all of the Bears' last four opponents have thrown for 280 yards or more.

The Bears' offense will have wide receiver Brandon Lloyd back after he missed the previous five games with a sprained knee. Lloyd was the team's leading receiver with 15 catches for 249 yards (16.6 average) through the first four games before he was injured, but he knows he'll have to be ready to mix it up when he lines up opposite the Packers' "old-timers."

"We know those guys like to play physical and hold and make plays downfield and get interceptions," Lloyd said. "They've got a bunch of playmakers, so you definitely have to be on your 'A' game."

Lloyd was asked: How physical?

"It's everything," he said. "It's off the line, it's a couple of yards down the field. They really get after it the entire time."

Some opponents have complained that Woodson and Harris go beyond what the rules allow in their physical approach.

"As a receiver, I'd like to agree with that," Lloyd said, smiling. "But it's all part of the game, I guess."

That game within the game should be a challenging one for the Bears on Sunday.