For the fourth straight day, Alex Smith is practicing in a black jersey, which suggests that he's playing on Monday but doesn't quite clinch it. Unlike the Bears, who declared concussed starter Jay Cutler out for Monday's game, the 49ers haven't said for sure whether Smith will play.
Jim Harbaugh on Friday said that Smith continues to show progress but stopped short of saying that Smith would start against the Bears. "Again, it's in the doctors' hands and they'll evaluate him as the week goes," Harbaugh said. "There seems to be some progress."
Harbaugh said that backup Colin Kaepernick was getting "a little bit more work than normal" in case Smith isn't ready.
Jason Campbell will start for the Bears. Campbell was a starting quarterback for two years with the Raiders, and he is very familiar to 49ers cornerback Carlos Rogers, who played with Campbell both at Auburn and with the Redskins where they both were first-round draft picks.
Rogers said the 49ers aren't approaching the game any differently with Cutler on the sideline. "I think both of them have strong arms, the ability to throw any throw," he said. "We know what Cutler can do. I played with Jason for a while. I know what he can do. We don't look at them as being any different - they both can throw the ball, they both can scramble. As a defense, it's easy to prepare for those guys when we're looking at them the same way."
-- Matt Barrows
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