LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The last time Brian Griese started a game at Soldier Field, he threw four interceptions—including three in the end zone—in a 16-7 loss to the Detroit Lions last Oct. 28.

Kyle Orton and Brian Griese became good friends during their two seasons together with the Bears.

The Bears and their fans certainly would welcome a repeat performance in Sunday’s home opener against the Buccaneers. Griese was traded to Tampa Bay in March and will make his second straight start against his former team after supplanting Jeff Garcia.

“It’s going to be fun,” said defensive tackle Dusty Dvoracek. “Griese’s a great player. He seems almost like an uncle, like Uncle Brian. It’s going to be nice to get out there against him. He’s very smart, runs the offense well and looked really good last week.”

Griese led the Buccaneers to a 24-9 win over the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday, completing 18 of 31 passes for 160 yards with 1 touchdown, no interceptions and an 82.7 passer rating. His only completion over 13 yards was a 36-yarder to former Bears tight end John Gilmore.

Facing a Bears defense that he practiced against for two seasons should give the 11th-year pro an edge Sunday. But the unit Griese has watched on tape so far this year doesn’t appear to be the same one he was familiar with.

“There may be an advantage in knowing the personnel, but the way they’re playing defense right now doesn’t resemble quite what they played last year or the past two years for that matter,” he said. “I have to get ready for their scheme and their defense just like any other opposing quarterback. It just so happens that I know a bunch of the personnel and am friends with them.”

The Bears have employed an aggressive approach on defense, moving linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs up to the line of scrimmage in their first two games of the season.

“They’re doing a lot of things pressure-wise to confuse the quarterback,” Griese said. “They had a scheme for Peyton [Manning] and a similar scheme in Carolina that worked really well for them. I expect to see more of it.”

Griese appeared in seven games with the Bears last season, completing 161 of 262 passes for 1,803 yards with 10 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a 75.6 passer rating. Asked if he was surprised he wasn’t allowed to compete with Kyle Orton and Rex Grossman for the starting job this summer, Griese showed that he holds no grudges.

“I look back on my time in Chicago with fondness and I really appreciate all the relationships that I made there and the organization for bringing me in and giving me an opportunity to play,” he said. “I don’t have any ill will or hard feelings about how everything went down. I was happy for the opportunity to be there.”

Griese became very close with Orton during their time together in Chicago, helping the young quarterback develop all aspects of his game and deal with the frustration of being buried on the depth chart.

“He’s done quite a bit for me,” Orton said. “We’re good friends and I look up to him. He’s been a big part of my career the last couple years. He prepares extremely well, and certainly that helped me in my own preparation. I tried to model myself after the way that he prepares.”

Griese is very proud of what Orton has accomplished, both in winning the starting job and helping the Bears defeat the Indianapolis Colts in the season opener.

“Kyle’s put in a lot of hard work, and nothing was given to Kyle,” Griese said. “I had a lot of conversations with him about the patience that it takes to persevere in this league, especially at the quarterback position.

“He’s put in the time and he’s made the sacrifice, and you can see it in his play now, that he’s a more seasoned quarterback than he was his rookie year. He’s seeing more on the field and I think he’s become a better leader, and all those things are going to help not only him but help that team.”