Pass ‘D’ faces toughest test

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The Arizona Cardinals' Larry Fitzgerald stiff-arms a Seattle Seahawks defender Oct. 18, in Seattle. Fitzgerald and teammate Anquan Boldin comprise the best receiving tandem in the NFL, Bears defensive end Adewale Ogunleye said. The Bears will host the Cardinals on Sunday at Soldier Field. (AP file photo)

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LAKE FOREST – Bears cornerback Zackary Bowman quickly listed the three toughest wide receivers to line up across from him and his teammates this season.

No. 3: Chad Ochocinco (10 catches, 118 yards, two touchdowns).

No. 2: Calvin Johnson (eight catches, 133 yards).

No. 1: You’ll see (Wait until Sunday).

“It’s Larry Fitzgerald,” Bowman said before Thursday’s practice.

“We all know what he did last year. He basically took those guys to the playoffs with the team on his back.”

Fitzgerald continued to carry the Cardinals all the way to Super Bowl XLIII. After he became the fourth wide receiver in NFL history to surpass 1,400 yards in three seasons, Fitzgerald tallied at least 100 receiving yards in each of Arizona’s four playoff games.

Oh, and fellow Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin wasn’t too bad, either. His 89 catches ranked second in the NFC last season, which trailed only – you guessed it – Fitzgerald.

Did we mention that Arizona’s third receiver, Steve Breaston, also notched 1,000 yards?

“Their receiving corps is as good as it’s going to get,” said Bears defensive end Adewale Ogunleye, who leads the team with 4½ sacks and three fumble recoveries. “No. 11 [Fitzgerald], No. 81 [Boldin], they’re the best combo in the league.

“We’ve got to create havoc in the passing game,” Ogunleye said. “It starts with the defensive line, because you can’t expect our secondary to cover those guys for long. They’re just too good.”

This season, Arizona’s triple threat has cooled off slightly. Yet Fitzgerald’s 47 receptions rank third in the NFL, while Boldin and Breaston also have more than 400 yards after seven games.

Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner also likes to check down to running back Tim Hightower, who leads all NFL running backs with 39 receptions this season.

All told, the Cardinals’ passing attack is No. 8 in the NFL with 263.3 yards a game. Many of those yards have come at the expense of Arizona’s running game, which ranks last in the league with only 64.9 yards a game.

“They definitely have a lot of weapons,” said Bears linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer, who emphasized the need to limit big plays on defense.

“They probably run as many four-wide receiver sets as we’ve seen.”

The Bears could catch a break if Boldin is unable to play because of an ankle injury. He missed his second consecutive day of practice Thursday, and his status for Sunday is uncertain.

Most Bears players said they expected Boldin to play. Some even said they preferred it.

“I believe in you lining up your best guys against ours,” said Bears linebacker Lance Briggs, “so there’s no excuses once the game is over.”

Ogunleye’s approach was equally no-nonsense. If the Bears failed to pressure Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner with consistency, he said, Fitzgerald and Boldin would beat them.

“Going into this game, my mind-set is if we don’t get to Kurt – pressure him, sack him – it’s going to be a long day,” Ogunleye said. “With that said, there’s a lot of pressure on our backs, a lot of pressure on my back, to get to Kurt.”

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