Bears Pro Bowl kick returner Devin Hester returned to practice on a limited basis this week after missing last Sunday's game with torn cartilage in his ribs.
But, he still isn't sure if he'll play against the Eagles at Philadelphia this week.
"I'm pushing for it," he said. "I'm still sore."
The way Lance Briggs sees it, the Chicago Bears could avoid another late collapse on defense by following one simple strategy; start slowly.
"We've been doing well at the beginning of the games. Maybe if we don't do so well at the beginning of the games we'll pick it upin the fourth quarter," Briggs said with a straight face.
Then, the linebacker burst into a big grin. The truth is, he can't explain what's been happening.
"There's no real answer for it," he said, laughing.
He's certainly not advocating a slow start, and Briggs realizes what's happened lately is no laughing matter for the Bears.
Chicago vowed to contend in the NFC behind a healthy defense, but back-to-back meltdowns against Carolina and Tampa Bay left the Bears (1-2) staggering into this week's game against Philadelphia (2-1).
Last week, the Bears couldn't come up with key stops and were unable to sack former teammate Brian Griese, even though Griese attempted a franchise-record 67 passes.
Now, the Bears are facing the more mobile Donovan McNabb, who appears to be back to his old form for the Eagles after being limited last season following knee surgery.
"He's on top of his game," Bears defensive coordinator Bob Babich said. "He's just a very good player. If you do get near him and get an opportunity to tackle him, he's a big, strong guy. He breaks a lot of tackles. He's mobile. He does a lot of different things that can hurt a defense."
In other words: He's tough to sack.
It remains to be seen if the Monsters of the Midway can take lessons from their losses to defeat their opponents this week and in the remainder of the season.
