Bears' tight ends catch defense's eye

The damage done by Chicago's wide receivers in their first meeting with the Vikings was minimal, at least statistically. Marty Booker's 51-yard touchdown proved costly, but he finished with only three receptions, and his score came on a play in which defensive end Jared Allen was in coverage. The Bears wideouts, combined, caught eight passes.

Nonetheless, Kyle Orton threw for 283 yards in that 48-41 victory on Oct. 19 at Soldier Field. One important reason was the performance of tight ends Greg Olsen and Desmond Clark. Olsen had a season-high six receptions for 74 yards and a touchdown, and Clark added three catches for 59 yards.

The Vikings expect Chicago to try to repeat the same formula Sunday night when they visit the Metrodome.

"Their Tiger set, which has two tight ends, is a big formation for them because they have Olsen and Clark and that creates matchup problems," Vikings safety Darren Sharper said. "They are good tight ends. They use them a lot in their passing game."

Sharper and fellow safety Madieu Williams, along with middle linebacker Napoleon Harris and outside linebackers Chad Greenway and Ben Leber, all will be counted upon to slow the Olsen-Clark combination.

Clark already could be slowed by an injury to his right knee he suffered last Sunday in the second half of the Bears' 27-3 victory at St. Louis. Although he's listed as questionable for this game, it's unlikely the 10-year veteran will be a scratch. His streak of 62 consecutive starts is the most among active tight ends in the NFL.

Clark is considered the Bears' best blocking tight end, while Olsen is a pass-catching threat. The Bears' first-round pick out of Miami (Fla.) in 2007, Olsen became the first of three tight ends to lead his team in receiving against the Vikings this season.

Olsen leads the Bears with 391 yards receiving and is second to rookie running back Matt Forte with 33 catches. That ranks fourth among NFC tight ends. Clark, meanwhile, has 30 catches for 295 yards.

Although no one in the Vikings locker room would give specifics, there are indications defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier has tweaked his approach when it comes to coverage of Chicago's tight ends. "They're going to get some special attention this game," Leber said.

This could mean an important role for Williams, who sat out in Chicago because of a neck injury. Williams was signed as a free agent during the offseason in part because he's considered very good in coverage and matching him up against Olsen could make it more difficult for Orton to find the tight end. Olsen did not have a reception last Sunday for the first time this season.

Olsen can be used at multiple spots. He can line up in the backfield, be split out or play in the traditional tight end role. Greenway would be the likely guy to cover the tight end in many situations, but against Chicago this won't always be the case.

"It depends on what defense we're in and what formation they give us," Greenway said. "But it's just about playing the same technique we've been playing. In that [first] game, we tried to show them one thing and play another coverage. That just got us in some bad positioning. I think if we go head-to-head, man-to-man, we would have been better off."

While Frazier would like to slow the Bears duo, he also has made it clear he's willing to give up some plays in order to take away others.

"There are certain situations where you want to take away certain things, and you'll give this up to take away that," he said. "That's part of the strategy. You can't get caught up in the stats of the other guy. It's part of what we do. There are times where we're just so intent on taking away the run by the way we play, we may give up certain things. But the goal is to not give up points and keep us in position to win games in the fourth quarter."