He insists he won't be thinking about another injury during tonight's preseason opener, though.

"I don't worry about that, I really don't," he said. "I know some people find that hard to believe, but you can't play this game with any doubt, and I have no doubt.

"I'm planning on playing the whole season. Now I've said that for all my career and it hasn't happened like that. But I've been hurt before, and I think when I've come out and played, I don't think you've seen any drop-off in my intensity or in the way that I play, and it's not going to be any different this year."

Brown didn't miss any games in his first four seasons and started 63 of the 64 he played.

PLAYER
--WR Marty Booker was shut out in the preseason opener, dropping the only ball thrown in his vicinity.

--LB Rod Wilson has the only interception in the preseason opener, setting up the first TD.

--RB Matt Forte picked up 25 yards on seven carries and caught three passes for 10 yards in the first preseason game.

--LG Terrence Metcalf is expected out two more weeks after arthroscopic knee surgery.

--RB Kevin Jones (knee) is back at practice but won't play in the next preseason game and might not see any preseason game action.

BATTLE OF THE WEEK: The preseason opener last Thursday didn't do much to settle the QB contest between Kyle Orton and Rex Grossman.

"Both guys did some good things," coach Lovie Smith said. "Our team isn't ready to play the Colts yet (in the regular-season opener); none of us. We'll go back to the practice field, flip the rotation (with Grossman starting this Saturday vs. the Seahawks) and go from there."

Orton's performance could be classified as efficient but ordinary. In three possessions, he compiled an 83.8 passer rating but put just three points on the board.

"Personally, I thought I saw the field pretty well," Orton said. "I felt comfortable, and for the most part I thought I threw the ball very well. A couple batted balls, but other than that I thought I played pretty well."

Grossman's passer rating of 106.2 was inflated by a short toss to Garrett Wolfe that turned into a 25-yard TD. Neither quarterback committed a turnover, but each had a notable negative play.

"When I did play, it was all right," Grossman said. "I think we could definitely execute better."

Orton completed 7 of 10 passes for 56 yards but failed to sustain any drives. At one point, Orton was flushed from the pocket but scrambled to safety only to drop the ball, which he was able to fall on at the Chiefs' 24, as the Bears settled for Robbie Gould's 42-yard field goal.

"We have to find a way to score some more points," Orton said.

Grossman's first three possessions ended with punts. But on the first play after a Chiefs turnover gave the Bears the ball at the K.C. 25, Wolfe turned Grossman's short flip into a TD.

OTHER BATTLE FRONTS: It didn't take long for rookie running back Matt Forte to claim the starting job.

It became official when the depth chart for last Thursday's preseason opener was distributed and he was listed ahead of veteran Adrian Peterson. But Forte hadn't been informed before he was interviewed, so he wasn't taking anything for granted.

"I haven't heard that yet, so I'm still in the same mindset, I'm at the bottom of the totem pole," the second-round pick from Tulane said. "I've got to work my way up."

In the off-season and through the first half of training camp, Forte shared the first-team reps with veteran Adrian Peterson, but he has impressed coaches in almost every phase of the game, on the field and in the classroom. According to Forte, though, he's still got a long way to go.

"We haven't even played a game," he said. "But that's why we have these preseason games, so I can show them."

There are specific aspects of his play Forte would like to display against the Chiefs.

"I just have to show them how I play against full contact," he said. "Just be consistent, no mental errors and run all the plays right with no mistakes, hold on to the ball and make positive plays."

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Caleb Hanie, is the Bears' "other" quarterback; the one who isn't competing for the starting job. But he was the team's most productive quarterback in the preseason opener, and he displayed the poise of a veteran while leading the offense to 10 points playing with and against second- and third-stringers.

Hanie completed 9 of 16 passes for 101 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Rideau. Those numbers and his passer rating of 96.1 would have been even more impressive were it not for drops by rookies Marcus Monk and Earl Bennett during a two-minute drive that came up short because of the drops and a pair of penalties. That final drive was the only one of three Hanie possessions that didn't produce points.

It was an encouraging performance for the undrafted rookie out of Colorado State. Still, he maintained his poise and his grip on reality after the game when questioners wanted to include him in the battle between Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton for the starting job.

"I'm really just trying to make the team," Hanie said. "So that's as much motivation as I need. The top two quarterbacks are way ahead of me right now as far as knowing the offense and everything, so I'm not too worried about them, just trying to keep focused on what I'm doing."

Even before his impressive debut Hanie had already cleared a major hurdle when he easily distanced himself from Nick Hill, the other undrafted free-agent quarterback who opened camp with the Bears, but was released after one week. Hanie has decent size at 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, and he showed better athleticism than Grossman or Orton, running twice for 21 yards against the Chiefs.

Hanie started 28 games at Colorado State and led the Mountain West Conference in passing efficiency last season yet still went undrafted. He missed 2 of his first 3 passes vs. the Chiefs but quickly settled down.

"At first I was a little antsy, a little hyped up to be in a game, and I sailed my first pass," he said. "But after that first drive, I kind of settled in and felt a lot more comfortable. You just try to stay as relaxed as possible and trust the linemen and receivers that they're gonna be there for you."

Hanie said he went into his first professional game with a basic plan.

"Just to control the offense, manage the game and try to do the best I can to stay poised," he said. "Just go out there and show them that I'm ready and know my reads and everything. Just kind of simple."

Thursday night, "simple" worked pretty well for the rookie.

ROOKIE REPORT: First-round OT Chris Williams had back surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back and will be out indefinitely according to the Bears, which means probably at least two months.

Rookie running back Matt Forte continued to give indications in Thursday night's preseason game that he's exactly what the Bears ordered when they selected him in the second round.

"He's solid," said running backs coach Tim Spencer. "He goes out and works hard. He's a young guy, but he acts like he's been around a little bit. He practices hard, the guys like him; he doesn't say two words. He just goes about his business. I like him. I like his demeanor, his attitude, his work ethic. There isn't anything I don't like about him."

--During training camp last year, the Bears believed they had more than enough depth at safety to trade Chris Harris to the Panthers, where he became an every-game starter.

But later in the season, after injuries to Mike Brown and Brandon McGowan, plus the ineffective play of Adam Archuleta, the secondary was left short-handed. This year's fourth-round pick, Craig Steltz of LSU, was chosen to provide depth for now and to contend for a starting spot soon.

"He's a very smart, instinctive player," Brown said of Steltz. "I think they're grooming him to be the next starting safety for the Chicago Bears."

The 6-1, 210-pound Steltz has looked good in practice, frequently making plays on the ball, although he came in with more of a reputation as a physical hitter.

WRs Earl Bennett (third round) and Marcus Monk (seventh round) both dropped passes during the final drive in the Bears' 24-20 preseason-opening loss to the Chiefs that could have changed the outcome of the game. But both rebounded nicely in the next practice, Saturday night, making excellent grabs, including a 35-yard TD by Bennett that came in the hurry-up offense.

Guard Chester Adams, a seventh-round draft pick from Georgia, practiced for the first time last Monday night after beginning camp on the non-football-injury list because of an intestinal problem.

INJURY REPORT: OT Chris Williams (back) is expected back this week. He has missed the past nine days.

OG Terrence Metcalf has arthroscopic knee surgery and will probably miss the second and third preseason games.

NT Dusty Dvoracek (calf) was removed from the non-football-injury list and participated in individual drills in Saturday night's practice.

RB Kevin Jones was removed from the PUP list and practiced Friday night, participating in individual drills.

LB Hunter Hillenmeyer (hip flexor) missed the preseason opener and did not practice Saturday night.