Chicago Bears' Fangio familiar with Cardinals' offense

In his previous job as the San Francisco 49ers' defensive coordinator from 2011-14 Vic Fangio spent a great deal of time game-planning for the Arizona Cardinals' offense twice a year.

So the Bears' defensive coordinator has some degree of familiarity with the Cards' personnel and scheme.

"I don't know that it helps you," Fangio said, "but when it came time to sit down and start game-planning for them on Monday, I was more familiar with what I was going to see and what I saw on tape."

There were some things that jumped out at Fangio while studying tape of the Cardinals' season-opening, 31-19 victory over New Orleans.

"They blocked very well," Fangio said. "The Saints didn't get much pressure on them. The rush didn't hinder (quarterback Carson Palmer) at all for the most part. That always leads to a good performance."

Changing it up:

Coach John Fox's practice schedule differs from what most NFL teams have done for the last couple of decades or so.

Instead of a half-speed walk-through on Saturday, the Bears get a more vigorous workout the day before a game, something Fox has been doing for a couple of years.

"Really, it's just science behind it," Fox said. "People used to shut it down on Saturdays. They're saying now, getting a sweat or getting a lather on the day before you compete, is actually a positive thing. It helps you sleep. It helps calm the nerves some. So it's not so much (working harder) Friday as it is Saturday."

Asked when he "stumbled" upon that philosophy, Fox smiled and said, "Yeah, stumble would be (the right word). It could be viewed that way."

Avoid this guy:

Quarterback Jay Cutler's late interception in Week 1 came when he was victimized by Green Bay Pro Bowl linebacker Clay Matthews, who has a knack for making the big play.

Cutler says the Cardinals have a player like that in cornerback Patrick Peterson, one of only four players in NFL history to make four Pro Bowls before the age of 25.

"You look at him - he's 6-foot-1, 220 pounds and then he runs a 4.3 40-yard dash," Cutler said. "You see him jam guys and then run with anybody on the field. He's got unbelievable ball skills. He's a guy you have to be aware of, and you have to know where he's at. He's not a guy you really want to take a lot of chances with."

The other three who made four Pro Bowls before 25 are Jim Brown, Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith.

Waiting game:

As with most any quarterback, Jay Cutler likes the idea of stretching the field by taking some deep shots, but Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase said the time has to be right.

"We'll pick our spots when it's time to go downfield," Gase said. "We'll wait to see who challenges us as far as taking away the underneath stuff first. I'm not going to just start dropping him back there and see how many times he can get hit.

"We have to make sure that the defense is giving us what we want. Maybe that's when we start attacking down the field a little more."

Cutler was sacked twice against the Packers and scrambled four times for 31 yards (7.8-yard average).

Stepping up in class:

The Bears rolled up 189 rushing yards against Green Bay's suspect run defense in the opener, but yardage on the ground is expected to be more difficult to come by against a Cardinals defense that held the Saints to 54 yards on 20 attempts in Week 1.

"It's something we preach very hard," Arizona coach Bruce Arians said. "Our front seven played extremely well. We've got depth. We can rotate guys in and out. But it's just something that, as an organization, you stress that you want to be able to run and stop the run."