Bears have edge over Browns on injury report

The Bears are relatively healthy heading into Sunday’s home game against the Browns.

Linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa (knee) is out for the season and defensive tackle Matt Toeaina (calf) has been listed as doubtful on the injury report, but no other Chicago players are expected to miss the game.

Safety Al Afalava (shoulder), cornerback Zackary Bowman (knee), linebacker Lance Briggs (shoulder), defensive tackle Tommie Harris (knee), defensive lineman Israel Idonije (knee), safety Danieal Manning (foot), defensive end Adewale Ogunleye (ankle) and running back Adrian Peterson (knee) are probable.

For the Browns, defensive end Kenyon Coleman (groin), tight ends Greg Estandia (knee), Steve Heiden (knee) and Robert Royal (hamstring/finger), guard Rex Hadnot (knee) and cornerback Anthony Madison (not injury related) are questionable.

Quarterback Derek Anderson (hip), linebacker David Bowens (knee), kicker Phil Dawson (calf), running back Jamal Lewis (wrist), center Alex Mack (shoulder), cornerbacks Brandon McDonald (shoulder) and Eric Wright (shoulder), defensive end C.J. Mosley (back), defensive tackles Shaun Rogers (foot) and Robaire Smith (shoulder), fullback Lawrence Vickers (shoulder) and punter Dave Zastudil (knee) are probable.

Bears players, coaches praise Payton

Most Bears players and coaches know exactly what Walter Payton meant to their fans, franchise and city. 

The Hall of Fame running back will be honored at halftime of Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns on the 10th anniversary of his death. He passed away on Nov. 1, 1999 of bile duct cancer at the age of 45.

“He’s an icon,” said coach Lovie Smith. “You think about Chicago Bears football, and that’s one of the first names that comes to mind. He was a great person on the field, but even a better person off the field.

“It’s an honor to represent the Bears knowing what he did for the organization, so that will be a special day, not only for our football team playing but to honor him this Sunday.”

The ceremony will provide some motivation for Bears players who are determined to rebound from last Sunday’s embarrassing 45-10 loss to the Bengals in Cincinnati.

“That’s just going to be another log on the fire of what we have to do on Sunday, knowing that a man of his stature is going to be honored,” said defensive end Adewale Ogunleye.

“He’s just not a Bears symbol. Everybody in the league from any team looks at Walter Payton as the man. We have awards named after him, and he’s arguably the best running back in the history of the league.

“So it’s definitely another log on the fire of what we need to do, and when you think about it that way, a loss like we had last week is just a total embarrassment because of people like him, people who have come through these same hallways that we walk through, and hopefully we can make up for that.”

Bears tight end Desmond Clark emulated Payton while playing youth football in Florida.

“I wanted to carry the ball in one hand, stiff-arm people, and do the high steps and all of that kind of stuff,” Clark said. “You always see him diving over the pile for the touchdown. You want to do all that stuff that you’ve seen him do.

“You always hear about what kind of person he was off the field. That means more now than it did back when I was a kid to know what kind of person he was. If you were a running back, you had to want to be Walter Payton.”

Bears looking forward to first home game in four weeks

Bears players are excited about returning to Soldier Field Sunday for the first time in four weeks. They haven’t played a home game since Oct. 4 when they beat the Lions to improve to 3-1.

“You’ve got to protect your home field and win at home. That’s the nature of the NFL,” said quarterback Jay Cutler. “And then you’ve got to pick up your road wins as you can get them because it’s tough. It’s tough for us to go on the road. It’s tough for any NFL franchise to go on the road. Your home is where you’ve got to make it happen.”

Although the Bears (3-3) have lost their last two games in Atlanta and Cincinnati, they’ve won five straight home contests, including two this year over the Steelers and Lions.

“Guys are looking forward to that; not traveling, being in front of our fans, coming back home where we’re comfortable,” said tight end Greg Olsen. “We feel pretty good about coming home and playing the Browns, so we’re looking forward to this weekend.”

The Bears are the only NFC team that has not played at least three home games so far this season. In addition, this year marks the first time the Bears played fewer than three home games before Nov. 1 since 1969 when they shared Wrigley Field with the Cubs.

Cribbs presents tough challenge on special teams

The Bears will face a difficult test on special teams Sunday when they host the Browns at Soldier Field. Cleveland’s Joshua Cribbs leads the NFL in punt returns with a 16.4-yard average and has scored touchdowns this season on a 67-yard punt return and a 98-yard kickoff return.

“He can do both,” said Bears special-teams coordinator Dave Toub. “He started off as a kick returner and he was effective right away, and then he developed into a punt returner, and now he’s leading the league.

“He’s great because he’s got great vision and he’s very strong, and he’s been doing it a while now. He’s very impressive. Every time we watch him, it’s scary.”

The Bears coverage teams, which rank 10th in the NFL on punts and 26th on kickoffs, will be buoyed by the return of veteran Adrian Peterson, who missed the last two games with a sprained knee.

“Getting ‘AP’ back is going to help us in the return game as well,” Toub said. “He’s a good blocker. He’s a four-phase starter for us. Anytime you get a guy like him back, it’s going to help us.”

A starting wide receiver who also takes direct snaps in the wildcat formation, Cribbs has caught 10 passes for 38 yards and rushed for 102 yards on 13 carries this season.

“He’s dangerous wherever he gets the ball, period,” said coach Lovie Smith. “In the wildcat, they’re doing a good job of getting him the ball in a lot of different areas. As a wide receiver, he’s dangerous. As a wide receiver, you can try to do some things to keep the ball away from him.

"In the wildcat, he’s getting the ball, and just like we talk about Devin Hester, when he gets his hands on the football a lot of good things happen for them. So we’ll be conscious of where he’s lining up throughout the day.”

High expectations don't bother Harris

After practicing without restrictions for the third straight day, defensive tackle Tommie Harris told reporters Friday that he doesn’t have a problem with teammates having high expectations for him.

“They’re supposed to expect [a lot],” Harris said Friday. “That’s what I got paid for. They’re supposed to [feel that way], so it’s not a bad deal that everybody’s talking all this other stuff. They’re supposed to expect that. If you give a guy a whole bunch of money to perform or you ran a Fortune 500 company and the guy didn’t produce [as expected], what are you supposed to do?”

After sitting out last weekend’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Harris is slated to start Sunday when the Bears host the Cleveland Browns at Soldier Field. The three-time Pro Bowler has registered nine tackles with no sacks in five games this season.

Asked what he has to show coach Lovie Smith to get back on the field, Harris said: “I don’t have to show him anything. He knows what I can do, and everybody knows what I can do. I don’t have to prove anything to anybody. It’s all about [how] I prove it to myself. I owe it to my teammates. I owe it to this organization to get back to tip-top shape, so that’s what I’m doing.”