"They were just two old buddies bantering, Bernard Berrian and Charles Tillman.

Berrian, the ex-Bears wide receiver now with the Vikings, was asked during a teleconference Wednesday who won most of their battles in practice when they were teammates.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha," Berrian laughed wickedly. "I think you guys know the answer."

Nobody in the room did, so we asked Tillman. If you think Tillman's defensive stance helps keep receivers in check, you should see it around reporters.

"I never counted," Tillman said. "He has won some, I've won some."

He smiled, spreading the feel-good vibe from here to Minneapolis regarding Berrian's return for Sunday's game. Tillman even justified Berrian becoming the only player in the Jerry Angelo regime the Bears wanted to re-sign but couldn't. Berrian had 42 million reasons for signing a six-year free-agent contract with the Vikings, all of them apparently understandable to the Bears.

"He had to do what was best for him and his family," Tillman said. "That had nothing to do with the Bears or with friendship. It was just a business decision. … I'm not mad at him."

Coach Lovie Smith sounded downright proud of the way the Bears developed the Vikings' best wide receiver for them.

"I'm going to say he got a great deal there, and we're happy when any of our guys can get set up for life," Smith said.

Our guys? Berrian will be wearing a purple helmet Sunday, right?

At the risk of ruining any pregame party plans, mustering up a little anger at Berrian before Sunday might not be such a bad idea. The Bears are a team that plays better with an edge.

Good reason or not, this guy dumped you, Chicago.

So everybody would understand—even encourage—the Bears if they took out some frustration on Berrian. Get mad at the guy who took the money and ran to a division rival. Treat it like a football game, not a family reunion.

If added aggression helps slow down the player who could give the Vikings their biggest advantage, why not unleash it?

The Bears know better than anybody that Berrian is a finesse receiver who struggles most when he has trouble getting off the line of scrimmage. So whether it's Tillman or Corey Graham or Nate Vasher, the Bears need to have a physical cornerback in a bad mood interrupt Berrian's first couple of steps off the ball.

Stopping Adrian Peterson remains a top priority given the history he made his last trip to Soldier Field, but the Bears have the NFL's fifth-ranked run defense. Their injury-plagued pass defense is the league's sixth worst.

Besides being a swell guy and a beloved ex-teammate, Berrian arrives as the NFL's biggest deep threat, averaging a league-high 19.8 yards per catch.

Stopping the run won't matter if Berrian runs past the Bears' secondary.

Beyond that, shutting down Berrian means more than giving the Bears their best chance in an important division game. This game also represents a referendum on the Bears' off-season.

Despite all the fond memories of Berrian shared Wednesday at Halas Hall, there really hasn't been a day since the 2008 season began that the Bears have missed him."