Battered Bears debut at Soldier Field

CHICAGO — Apparently the new look includes a big ice wrap straddled around your leg.

Though no Bears players have suffered season-threatening injuries, the nagging kind keep popping up. Even at Saturday night's Family Fest at Soldier Field.

This time, it was defensive end Julius Peppers with a wrap around his hamstring, as he and second-year receiver Alshon Jeffery both had tightness in the muscle and left practice for precautionary reasons.

Defensive back Kelvin Hayden also went with the wrap look for his hamstring, though he was put at a more serious status, leaning more toward "week to week." He stayed wrapped up on the sideline during the team's last meeting in the heart of the field after practice.

Peppers had his wrap off before the end of practice, but defensive end Cornelius Washington also suffered an elbow strain, and receiver Earl Bennett left to be evaluated for a concussion.

Bears' Brandon Hardin done with the waiting game

When the Bears kick off the regular season on Sept. 8, it will mark 1,009 days — almost three years — since Brandon Hardin last played in a regular-season football game.

But the 2012 third-round pick needs to prove himself to solidify his roster spot after the last two years were derailed by injuries.

"Totally, 100 percent healthy now," Hardin said with the smile and confidence of someone who has been asked, "how's your health?" several dozen times since coming to training camp.

Last preseason, Hardin was carted off the field on a stretcher during a preseason game after going low to tackle Redskins tight end Logan Paulsen. The sight was scary, but much more so than the diagnosis.

"I think the injury last year was a 4-to-6 week injury, and after that, I was really healthy," Hardin said. The Bears placed him on injured reserve, setting up an essential redshirt year, and his second season in a row without football.

Bears' Frey taking advantage of chance

More than a few eyebrows were raised when the Chicago Bears selected Isaiah Frey in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft.

Most pundits had the University of Nevada cornerback listed as undrafted free agent, but the Bears were instantly enamored with Frey's ability to find the football — a trait players such as Charles Tillman have made the organization famous for over the last decade.

In fact, Frey tied for the Division I FBS lead and recorded a career-high five interceptions during his senior season on the way to All-Conference honors in the Western Athletic Conference.

His biggest knock: how extremely raw his abilities were. Now, in his second NFL training camp, Frey is starting to flash the ball-hawking skills that the Bears have been counting on.

"He is making a lot of plays," defensive backs coach Jon Hoke said. "He's playing with a lot of confidence right now.

Bears Notebook: Britton still starting with ones

Eben Britton remained the first-team left tackle, as Jermon Bushrod only took part in individual drills on Monday. On the defensive side of the ball, with Stephen Paea out, Nate Collins ran with the first-team D-line in the base and nickel — with Julius Peppers out, Corey Wootton bounced back outside. Collins has had a solid camp and has great battles in pass-rush drills with center Roberto Garza.

Depth chart notes

Judging by the Bears' unofficial depth chart, return specialist Eric Weems has some work to do, as he is listed behind Devin Aromashodu and Marquess Wilson.

Bostic improving

Rookie middle linebacker Jon Bostic received praise on a run fit he made in team drills. Tucker said Bostic is getting "better and better every day" as he takes over for the injured Williams. "I think he's playing faster," Tucker said. "His alignments are better, just more detailed, more precise in what he's doing.

Bears TE Bennett mixes it up with teammates at Friday's practice

So much for Martellus Bennett's cheery attitude.

Just hours after describing himself as "always happy" on Friday, the Chicago Bears' newest offensive weapon found himself in the middle of a pile that looked more like a benches-clearing brawl than a training camp practice at Olivet Nazarene University.

Bennett was taken to the ground by cornerback Kelvin Hayden during 11-on-11 drills, and the two quickly became encircled by teammates as they wrestled before finally being separated.

"Everybody's aggressive. Everybody's a little tired. Everybody's a little sore," Bennett said. "Guys do something you don't like, and you just react."

It was the tight end's third run-in of the day, as the Bears held their first afternoon practice of camp after morning storms forced practice from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Earlier in practice, Bennett and safety Major Wright exchanged words after Bennett threw Wright to the ground during 1-on-1 drills between the tight ends and safeties.

Today's Chicago Bears practice moved to 11 a.m.

Today's Chicago Bears practice moved to 11 a.m.

Today's Chicago Bears practice, originally scheduled for 3:15 p.m., has been moved up to 11:15 a.m. due to expected bad weather.

Follow The Daily Journal's Twitter account (@TDJnews) for updates.

Veteran Leonard Pope added to Bears' tight end mix

He was at practice Friday at Olivet Nazarene University, and the Bears announced the signing of tight end Leonard Pope on Saturday morning.

Pope signed a one-year deal, and the Bears waived tight end Brody Eldridge.

Pope, who's a huge target at 6 feet, 8 inches, and 264 pounds, is entering his eighth year, spending last season with Pittsburgh. He was drafted by Arizona in 2006 out of Georgia, played three seasons for the Cardinals, then played three years for Kansas City.

He has 105 receptions for 982 yards and 11 touchdowns in his career. Last year, he only had three catches for Pittsburgh, appearing in all 16 games but only starting two. He did have a career-high 24 catches with Kansas City in 2011.

Quick hits

The defense showed unity Saturday during introductions at Family Fest at Soldier Field. Players were announced individually, but that unit came running out of the tunnel together.

Bears Notebook: Defense rules the day with 4 picks

The defense was the story during Tuesday's practice with their four interceptions. We also got to see several physical run plays and some work inside the 10-yard line for the offense. Here's a look at some news and notes from the second-to-last practice before preseason game No. 1.

Cutler Comfort

The passes knocked down at the line certainly make things frustrating for Jay Cutler, and offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer discussed ways they've challenged Cutler by making things uncomfortable. "We're trying to keep Jay Cutler uncomfortable as we sit here because we're adding more and more plays everyday," Kromer said. "He'll become more comfortable when he runs the plays a second time. You can see the plays that he does run for a second time because they're more efficient." Cutler understands how that lack of comfort could help him in games. "I think you try to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Siren fails to slow down Bears

This is a test. This is only a test.

If this were a real emergency, the Bears would have been running and screaming and praying to God (or is it Ditka?) (trick question!) to have mercy on their souls.

An overcast sky and a slight breeze greeted the Bears on Tuesday when they arrived to the practice field at Olivet Nazarene University. One hour later, at 10 a.m. on the nose tackle, something else greeted them.

It was a tornado siren.

Whirrr-WHIRRR-Whirrr-WHIRRR.

Hut, hut, hike!

Whirrr-WHIRRR-Whirrr-WHIRRR.

"That's the first time since I've been here that I've heard the sirens go off," veteran running back Michael Bush said with a smile. "But it didn't alarm me or anything."

Possibly, this is because Bush is a human wrecking ball at 6-foot-1 and 245 pounds. Alternatively, this is because Bush and his teammates were warned ahead of time that the nearby siren would blare at 10 a.

Bears' backup receivers trying to snag roster spots

From a fan's perspective, the Bears' preseason opener Friday against the Carolina Panthers amounts to little more than a formality on the way to the real deal in September.

Don't tell that to the 12 wide receivers on the roster fighting to make the team, though.

That first game action is a much needed clue to what that final roster will look like a month from now when the Bears open the regular season against the Cincinnati Bengals.

On Friday, first-year coach Marc Trestman and his staff will get their first full-speed opportunity to evaluate the team's progress after two weeks of training camp at Olivet Nazarene University. There's no denying the trip to Charlotte looms large for some players.

"It sure does," rookie wide receiver Marquess Wilson said. "You've got guys in front of you, but you've also got to realize that everybody is out here competing.

Bears opener tonight is worth watching

Generally, the only thing that matters in a first preseason game is how quickly we get to the final whistle and the health of all involved when it arrives. But this Bears team is different in a number of ways, and it's possible the preseason opener tonight at Carolina will be, too.

Regardless of which players he's coaching, it will be Marc Trestman's first time in the driver's seat on an NFL sideline, and I'm sure we'll form certain impressions that will stick with us for a while. Nothing is worth the ridiculous ticket prices NFL teams charge for these exhibitions, but it will be well worth our time to observe how the new sheriff in town runs the show.

More than that, though, what fascinates me about this Bears team is I can't remember the last time the Bears entered the first preseason game with so many starting positions up for grabs.

Kyle Nabors: Chicago Bears' preseason game grades are in!

The Bears' first preseason contest is in the books. What does that mean? Well, not much in regard to the team's 2013 season.

Coach Marc Trestman and company will be back in Bourbonnais on Sunday, and a 24-17 loss to Carolina isn't going to change much over the last few days of training camp.

That shouldn't stop us from breaking down the film, however. We might not be closer to discovering the Bears' potential as a team, but we're one step closer to finding out what this roster will look like.

So with that, let's hand out some grades.

Quarterback: B- Jay Cutler didn't exactly get the Marc Trestman era off to a pretty start as he was picked off his first throw. He recovered nicely, however, to finish 6 of 8 for 56 yards in a brief appearance.

Elsewhere, the Bears backup signal callers handled their first action of the season fairly well.

Hub Arkush: Bears don't look sharp in loss

First the good news. Marc Trestman, Jay Cutler and Josh McCown all agreed leading up to the first preseason game in Carolina that the most important thing they needed to do was get the calls in from the sideline and called in the huddle correctly, get everybody lined up in the right spot and get the ball snapped in rhythm.

Mission accomplished. The Bears had no problems running Trestman's offense, and that is significant for a first preseason game with a new coaching staff.

Unfortunately, that's where the good news stopped as the Bears didn't execute the offense very well, they failed to take care of the football, turning it over four times in the first three quarters, and the defense was mediocre at best.

You will be tempted to overreact to the fact that Cutler was intercepted on the Bears' first offensive play and you shouldn't.