Physical Graham making the most of his chances
The Bears might actually benefit Sunday night from having Corey Graham replace starting cornerback Nate Vasher, who is out indefinitely with a fractured right hand and a reinjured thumb.
Graham is the much more physical player and provides more run support in the quest to contain Adrian Peterson.
Graham has already started once in place of Vasher on merit, three other times when Vasher was out with a thumb-wrist injury, and the two split reps against the Packers.
"Corey's gotten some quality reps throughout the year," said defensive coordinator Bob Babich. "He just keeps getting better. He works extremely hard. He's a big corner who plays physical and understands the game."
The fifth-round pick out of New Hampshire has an interception, forced fumble and recovered fumble and is sixth on the team with 51 tackles. He's also tied for second with 14 special teams tackles.
"It's a good thing when you get an opportunity to play," Graham said. "I've been playing already, so it's not like it's a big difference. It may just be a little more reps."
With Vasher's regular season probably over, Graham should get a lot of reps in the five remaining games.
Room for improvement: Defensive coordinator Bob Babich did not want to be reminded of the Bears' 48-41 victory over the Vikings on Oct. 19.
"We were very disappointed after that game," Babich said, speaking for the defense that allowed 439 yards but did force 5 turnovers. "We won the football game, but on our side of the ball we felt like we lost. We felt like we gave up too many yards. We were up 48-31, and they were able to get back into a little bit. So that's on our mind. We want to do things better."
Avoiding mistakes: Quarterback Kyle Orton has the fourth-best attempts-to-interception ratio in the NFL at 74.8.
He has thrown just 4 picks in 299 passes and none if the past six games. Orton's current streak of 185 passes without an interception is a Bears record, surpassing Erik Kramer's mark of 175 set in 1995.
The Redskins' Jason Campbell leads the NFL with 113.3 passes per interception, followed by the Bucs' Jeff Garcia (82.7) and the Titans' Kerry Collins (77.5).
Playoff payoff: Invoices have been sent to Bears season ticket holders who wish to purchase tickets for possible playoffs games. The deadline for payment is Monday, Dec. 8.
The Bears could host a wild card game at Soldier Field on Jan. 3 or 4, or a divisional playoff game the following weekend. If the Bears advance, they could host the NFC championship game Sunday, Jan. 18. Price ranges for the wild card game are $98-$530, for the divisional game $108-540, and for the NFC title game $140-$572.
For more information, call (847) 615-2327.
Bob LeGere's picks
Sunday's games
-3&189; VIKINGS 24, Bears 17
-7&189; JETS 33, Broncos 23
-7 BILLS 24, 49ers 20
+4&189; Saints 27, BUCS 21
-3 PACKERS 23, Panthers 16
-3&189; Giants 27, REDSKINS 13
-7&189; Dolphins 30, RAMS 14
-7 RAVENS 28, Bengals 10
-4&189; *Colts 31, BROWNS 19
-5 CHARGERS 30, Falcons 27
+1 Steelers 20, PATRIOTS 17
-3 RAIDERS 23, Chiefs 16
Monday's game
-3 TEXANS 34, Jaguars 23
* best bet
Last week: Straight up 9-7; against the spread 4-11-1.
Season: Straight up 111-64-1; against the spread 86-74-6.
Best bet: Last week 0-1; season 6-6.