"I was very surprised to go from starting to not even playing at all," Adams said. "What can you do though? They told me at 4 o'clock, that's when I found out."

Adams said he is not injured and received no explanation from coaches for his demotion.

"I don't know," he said. "I wish I knew."

Adams doesn't know if his status will change this week or in the future.

"I have no idea," he said. "All I know is I was down. I don't need no explanation. Anything you tell me after that is not really going to matter. I'll just work hard; that's all I can do. That's all I ever do."

Adams' benching also came as a surprise to friends and family. "I had people calling me all at the start of the game, (saying) 'I thought you had surgery,'" he said. "I wasn't hurt. The only thing that was hurt was my feelings."

Coach Lovie Smith explained Adams' inactivity strictly as a numbers problem.

"We dress seven (defensive) linemen," Smith said. "The best seven we think give us the best chance to win are the ones we're going to go with. We have more than seven guys on our roster. You can't dress everyone."

In addition to the starters -- DE's Alex Brown and Adewale Ogunleye, NT Dusty Dvoracek and DT Tommie Harris -- the Bears had backup tackles Israel Idonije and rookie Marcus Harrison active last week, along with backup defensive end Mark Anderson.

"It's nothing that Anthony did wrong or anything like that," Smith said. "But Dusty Dvoracek is our starting nose (tackle). He was ready to go, and that's the way we went that day."

PLAYER NOTES

--DT Tommie Harris (ankle) was limited at practice Wednesday and Thursday but is expected to start Sunday.

--CB Nate Vasher (shoulder) practiced Thursday without limitations after missing some of Wednesday's work.

--WR Devin Hester (foot) was limited in practice Wednesday but is expected to play Sunday.

--OT Fred Miller was re-signed to provide depth on the offensive line. Miller was waived in the off-season after struggling through 2007 on a bad ankle that required surgery and is now much better according to the 13-year veteran.

--DE Adewale Ogunleye was NFC defensive player of the week after having three tackles for loss, including one that produced a safety, three additional tackles and a QB hurry.

--LB Lance Briggs (ankle) was limited in practice but is expected to play Sunday. He was injured early in Week One and limped off but returned almost immediately.

GAME PLAN: The Bears hoped they could run in the opener last week; now they're confident they can after rolling up 183 yards on the ground, including 123 by Matt Forte. But Forte expects the Panthers to crowd him a little more at the line of scrimmage, so the Bears will be prepared to have QB Kyle Orton throw more than the 21 times he did in Week One.

Defensively, the Bears are much more concerned with the Panthers' ground game, not just because WR Steve Smith will be serving the final game of his two-game suspension for punching teammate Ken Lucas, but because DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart present two dangerous threats whose style are dissimilar.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH: Bears OLT John St. Clair vs. Panthers DRE Julius Peppers -- St. Clair had some struggles last week with the Colts' Dwight Freeney and, while Peppers can be just as disruptive as a pass rusher, at 6-foot-7 and 283 pounds, he is also extremely physical.

Bears DLE Adewale Ogunleye vs. Panthers RT Jeff Otah. Ogunleye is the NFC defensive player of the week. Otah is a rookie.

Bears CB Charles Tillman vs. Panthers WR Muhsin Muhammad: Tillman beat up the Colts' receivers last week. Now he'll face Muhsin, his teammate the previous three seasons, who is also known for his physical play.

INJURY IMPACT: DT Tommie Harris (ankle), LB Lance Briggs (ankle), WR-RS Devin Hester (foot), OT John Tait (groin) and CB Nate Vasher (shoulder) practiced Wednesday but were limited, although all are expected to play Sunday.