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The Bears Den: September 05, 2013 - Week 1 news and notes

The Birdman tastes the air with his tongue to get a feel for air currents and prevailing wind conditions as he prepares to defend the deep ball.

By Spongie

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Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Emery should've turned down the volume on Marshall - Steve Rosenbloom: The more that Phil Emery talked about Brandon Marshall, the more you could imagine the diva wideout expecting to have even better numbers this season. But that's not the point of Marc Trestman's offense.

Bears’ offensive, defensive players say they go up against the best every day - Adam L. Jahns: It’s all about going starters on starters under Trestman, which is a break from the past, and the players seemingly enjoy the increased competition as each unit helps the other to evolve.

Urlacher’s influence is still deeply felt - Mark Potash: While Urlacher’s absence is unmistakable in every facet of life at Halas Hall, he still was one guy. When the Bears say, ‘‘the defense is the star of the defense,’’ they mean it.

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Bears-Bengals

D.J. Williams expected to play in Sunday's opener - Larry Mayer: After missing the entire preseason with a calf injury, MLB D.J. Williams practiced without restrictions Wednesday and could share reps with rookie Jon Bostic.

Williams, Bostic both options at MLB - Jeff Dickerson: Marc Trestman left the door open for both veteran D.J. Williams and rookie Jon Bostic receiving snaps at MLB on Sunday. Moon Mullin: Follow the breadcrumbs; [Video].

[Video] - Jim Miller: Expectations for Jay Cutler in 2013, how comfortable he is with Josh McCown at backup QB, and the Bengals' D vs. the rookies on the Bears' O-line.

Cincy DT Atkins: Long 'likes to get after D-linemen' - Moon Mullin: Rookie has made a distinct first impression on the first-team All-Pro, based solely on tape of Bears preseason games.

Rookie O-linemen ready to build on start - Doug Padilla: Roberto Garza has been key in reassuring the baby Bears, and if he’s concerned about the O-line’s inexperience, he isn’t admitting it. He’s been impressed by their willingness to learn. Adam Hoge: Long will eventually get reps at OT, says Emery.

[Video] Kip Lewis & Moon Mullin - Bostic or Williams? Plus, thoughts on the rookies on the O-Line, and whether the defense will still be monsters.

Bears counting on special teams - Fred Mitchell: Club believes it's up to the challenge a solid Bengals unit (giggity) presents for the opener, and Joe DeCamillis is eager to see his unit (giggity) make the difference.

[Video] Game preview - Laurence Holmes looks ahead to Bears opener.

[Video] Game preview - Mike Sando delivers some key stats to help you decide a winner between the Bengals and the Bearsss.

Know thy enemy - David Haugh: Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, Matt Forte and crew don't inspire fear from the Bengals defense. Trying Taylor Mays at nickel LB?

But they do inspire a range of Cutler-, Marshall- and Forte-themed tops, courtesy of Sackman.

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Bearsss

Trestman 'all business' with debut approaching - Andrew Seligman: Players like what they see so far from Trestman, but what happens when the games start to count? How will he handle the pressure?

For Bears, success starts with 5 key players - Bob LeGere: Team game or not, the Bears' success this year, and that of new head coach Marc Trestman, depends heavily on five key players -- two veterans on offense and three "old-timers" on defense.

Roster news - Michael C. Wright: Bears signed guard Derek Dennis to the practice squad and terminated the contract of former Texas A&M QB Jerrod Johnson, a move Emery described as part of the weekly shuffling of the roster.

Bears restructure Peppers' contract - Michael C. Wright: The deal marks the second time Peppers has restructured his deal as a Bear, his cap number growing to $18.183M in 2014 and $20.683M in 2015. Moon Mullin: Could open 'extension' doors.

[Video] Waddle & Silvy - Which second-tier player is most important to the Bears' success?

Team notes - Adam Hoge: Clean bill of health going into game 1; Peppers renegotiates contract; PS moves and more team notes.

NFL.com: Around the League - Marc Sessler's 10 reasons to watch in 2013, #5: Under the guidance of new coach Marc Trestman, Chicago's starting QB has an offense to smile over.

History not on Bears' side with passing game - Mike Imrem: The buzz around the Bears having a modern passing offense sounds a lot like the buzz around the Cubs building toward a World Series championsip. Nothing against Trestman and Epstein, but only seeing will be believing on these subjects.

Bengals WR a loyal Trestman disciple - Mark Potash: Cincinnati WR Andrew Hawkins is a better player in the NFL than he was in the CFL. And he owes it all to his mentor Marc Trestman, and his meticulous teaching.

NFL.com: Around the League - Gregg Rosenthal projects Cutler to end up at the bottom of the deep second tier of QBs (ranked #6-15) of 2013. Better than Stafford, just. Forte projected in the #10-15 RB range.

Comparing the NFCN QBs - Sean Jensen: Former NFL GMs Jerry Angelo and Mike Tannenbaum go around the NFCN's QBs. If there's one thing Jerry knows, it's the QB position.

Ranking all 32 NFL teams by average age - The Bears got younger, but remain one of the older teams in the league.

Bears not coaching 'diving,' as Urlacher suggested - Moon Mullin: Urlacher said that a coach would give a "dive" sign to have a player go down with a feigned injury. The current head of the Bears defense won’t be doing that.

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Polish sausage

Scott Pioli's 10 lessons from being an NFL GM - Former Chiefs’ GM on juggling the unseen demands of the job, listening to fans complain about their fantasy teams and what it’s like bringing your family along for the unpredictable ride.

NFL history - Josh Katzowitz: People might think some of today's customized face masks are frightening, but check out what players wore in the 1920s.

SI's Preseason All-Pro team - Chris Burke and Doug Farrar don't include any Bears? Not even Kyle Long. Hatersss.....

Know thy enemy: Vikings - Ben Goessling: The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority officially gave the all-clear to the Vikings on Wednesday afternoon to progress with work on the new stadium.

More from Windy City Gridiron:

...is that a formation breaking of wind from the three dancers in green at 2:02? (You don't get this quality of film breakdown in Ronk's excellent Xs & Os posts.)

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