LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Veteran tight end Desmond Clark appreciates the storied Bears-Packers rivalry a lot more now than he did when he first arrived in Chicago in 2003. 

Desmond Clark caught a game-winning 34-yard TD pass in a 2007 victory in Green Bay.

“It wasn’t really a moment; it just happened over the years,” Clark said while preparing for Sunday night’s season opener at Lambeau Field. “My first year here they asked me about it and I said, ‘It’s another game.’ I hadn’t been here. I didn’t know the history.

“Being this is my seventh year here, I understand what this game means to everybody; the fans, the organizations. We’re two founding organizations of the NFL, so it’s big. To see the same guys every year, you develop that type of attitude that you want to beat them.”

The rivalry dates back to 1921 when the Bears, then known as the Chicago Staleys, blanked the Packers 20-0 at Cubs Park.

It grew in intensity through the years as Hall of Famer George Halas led the Bears against Packers teams coached by Curly Lambeau and later Vince Lombardi. Bad blood between Bears coach Mike Ditka and Packers counterpart Forrest Gregg turned the rivalry into a nasty feud in the 1980s.

When Lovie Smith was hired as Bears coach in 2004, beating the Packers was one of three goals he stated at his introductory press conference; winning the Super Bowl and the NFC North were the others.

Smith has done pretty well, compiling a 7-3 record against Green Bay—including 4-1 at Lambeau Field—after predecessors Dave Wannstedt (1-11) and Dick Jauron (2-8) combined to go just 3-19 versus the Packers.

“It’s the longest rivalry in the NFL; a good, clean rivalry,” Smith said. “Normally they are good football games, and we’re glad to be a part of it. We’ve had success up there. We know it’s tough going up there. It’s always tough going on the road, but this is our rivalry game.”

Tough test: With cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Al Harris and safeties Atari Bigby and Nick Collins, the Packers boast one of the NFL’s top defensive backfields.

Asked whether the Bears will face a better secondary than the one they’ll see Sunday night in Green Bay, offensive coordinator Ron Turner said: “I hope not because those guys are awfully good. I don’t see any weaknesses there. Their two corners are outstanding, and both safeties are experienced, fast, physical and very instinctive.”

Woodson and Harris have excelled in press coverage in the past, something the Bears are preparing to face in the opener even though the Packers have switched to a 3-4 scheme.

“We’ll still see some, there’s no question about it,” Turner said. “They’ve got two guys that can do it really well."

A good cause: Bears quarterback Jay Cutler hopes to complete a lot of passes this season for more reasons than one. It was announced on Wednesday that Eli Lilly and Company will donate $1,000 for every touchdown pass Cutler throws and $100 for each completion to the American Diabetes Association Camp Scholarship Fund to help send kids who suffer from diabetes to camp.

Cutler learned that he had Type 1 diabetes prior to the 2008 season.

“We teamed up with Eli Lilly a while back,” said the Bears quarterback.“We visited a lot of hospitals and talked to a lot of those kids and they really thought a lot of the diabetic camps, so it got us thinking. We wanted to get involved, so Eli Lilly jumped on board, and I think it’s going to be a great thing.”

Cutler tests his blood sugar levels several times a day, including during games.

“We’ve just got to stay on top of it and make sure I go into the game with a good number and maintain it throughout the game,” he said. “It kind of jumps around early, but the training staff here has done a great job of helping me keep everything under control.”

Good preparation: Cutler hopes that facing a hostile crowd in his return to Denver for an Aug. 30 preseason game helps the Bears Sunday night in Green Bay.

“The Denver week was great preparation for us to come into a Sunday night game against Green Bay,” Cutler said. “It wasn’t a preseason atmosphere; it was more like a regular season game, and the guys reacted really well to it.

“We started off a little bit slow—they were doing a lot of stuff which could happen again in Green Bay—but once we got their looks down, the guys started reacting and playing fast.”