Bears focus on future, not XLI failure

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<p align="justify">Colts 29, Bears 17.

<p align="justify">OK, that's the last reference the Chicago Bears need of their Super Bowl XLI loss to Indianapolis.

<p align="justify">The fact the two teams play tonight is great for broadcasters to hype. For the Bears, it's just another preseason game.

<p align="justify">Well, they're trying to treat it as such.

<p align="justify">"Personally, I think we want to go in there and play hard," safety Danieal Manning said. "There's going to be somewhat of a little payback.

<p align="justify">"Whenever they put the lights on and are taking scores, you want to win. We're going to take this game seriously, too."

<p align="justify">At the same time, Manning said, it's still a preseason game.

<p align="justify">"We still have a season to go through and everyone's trying to get to the first game," he said.

<p align="justify">"Looking past the Super Bowl, it's a new season. But it's different teams and different players."

<p align="justify">Quarterback Rex Grossman's take?

<p align="justify">"It's hard to get payback in the preseason," he said.

<p align="justify">Grossman is as familiar with the RCA Dome as any Bear. He attended a lot of Colts games growing up, and he played two state championship games there with Bloomington South (Ind.) High School. He won one and lost one while "playing well there."

<p align="justify">Head coach Lovie Smith wavers on the meeting's importance.

<p align="justify">"Yeah, I guess it's only a preseason game," he starts, before adding, "Whenever you get a chance to play against the world champions, it's big, of course. We have a history with them."

<p align="justify">Making progress toward this fall is what matters compared to a peek at the past.

<p align="justify">"I think it's just going to be another opportunity for us to get into a rhythm offensively, and execute and get ready for the 2007 season," Grossman said. "Obviously, the Super Bowl is over with. It's a couple of different teams.

<p align="justify">""We just want to play well to gain confidence and momentum heading into the regular season. Going back to Indy and playing the Colts will be a little bit of wanting to play well. For the most part, we're just trying to establish that rhythm and momentum going into the regular season."

<p align="justify">Grossman said he's watched the Super Bowl film. And?

<p align="justify">"I didn't obsess about it or anything. I just watched it like any other game," he said. "I tried to analyze what went right and what went wrong."

<p align="justify">As for tonight, Smith said it's another chance to see exactly where they are with their evaluations.

<p align="justify">"It helps a lot to know who can finish a play," he said. "As far as the game plan goes, we'll use the same approach and get a little bit better each week. We just want it to be simple and want to see the guys go out and play."

<p align="justify">Smith said that means the starters could play at least a half. Rookies like safety Kevin Payne know it's another opportunity to impress the coaches.

<p align="justify">"We're approaching it like any game," he said. "We understand we both were in the Super Bowl. There's probably going to be a lot of excitement and, of course, it's Monday night. We'll go in there like every game - we've got to win, bottom line."

<p align="justify">Said return specialist/converted receiver Devin Hester: "We've got a big game even if it's preseason. At the same time, we want to win."

Reed Schreck is the NFL Writer for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached at 815-987-1381 or rschreck@rrstar.com.</font>