More effort will be made to get wide receiver Marty Booker the football Sunday against the Rams, but coach Dick Jauron echoed quarterback Chris Chandler’s feelings that the Bears’ “go-to” receiver will be the one who’s open. “We need to get the ball into the end zone, [and] if we have seven, eight guys who catch three, four, five passes each and they all score once, that would be outstanding,” Jauron said Friday. “In everybody’s offense, there usually is that [go-to] guy. Marty has been that guy for us, but he’ll be less rusty this week.” Booker missed three games with a sprained ankle and has only 20 catches for 233 yards and one touchdown this season. . . .
Center Olin Kreutz practiced Friday, and Jauron expects him to play and perform better than he did last Sunday on a gimpy right ankle. Jauron will make a game-day decision whether to play Kreutz. . . . Cornerback Jerry Azumah and Booker were removed from the injury list and safety Cameron Worrell was upgraded to probable with a sprained ankle. Running back Adrian Peterson was downgraded to doubtful and hasn’t played since the Seahawks game four weeks ago. Kreutz and safety Mike Green remain questionable. . . . For the Rams, safety Rich Coady and defensive tackles Damione Lewis, Leonard Little and Brian Young are listed as questionable and cornerback James Whitley is doubtful. . . .
Backup strong safety Bobby Gray’s improvement continues to catch the eye of the Bears, even though his future became a little cloudier when the team awarded starting strong safety Mike Green a five-year contract extension two weeks ago. If Green can’t go Sunday because of a nagging groin injury that dates back to training camp, Jauron feels comfortable with Gray filling in. “He’s a quality person, a tough guy and the more time he spends on the field the better he becomes,” Jauron said. . . . The Rams average 27.3 points per game, and Marshall Faulk missed five weeks with hand and knee injuries. He returned last Sunday night and gained 48 yards on 20 carries against the Ravens, but the Bears don’t expect Faulk to be as rusty or tentative at Soldier Field. “This is our biggest test since we’ve been playing better,” Brian Urlacher said of a Bears’ run defense that has allowed only 59 yards per game in its last three outings. . . .
Chandler played in 12 games for the Los Angeles Rams in 1994. Defensive tackle Bryan Robinson played in 11 for St. Louis in 1997 before being waived on the final cut after training camp in 1998.
